Category: Asia
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Ninh Binh: Boats Rowed by Foot, and the End of a Ten-Part Trip
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Asia · Solo Travel Solo traveller · 17 min read Trip snapshot Region Ninh Binh, North Vietnam Trip length 1 day, Episode 10 of 10 (series finale) Travel style Solo, day trip from Hanoi Quick Answer Ninh Binh, often called “Ha Long Bay on land,” genuinely earns that comparison, and…
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Ha Long Bay: A Dragon Legend and an Island Named for a Cosmonaut
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Asia · Solo Travel Solo traveller · 16 min read Trip snapshot Region Ha Long Bay, North Vietnam Trip length 1 day, Episode 9 of 10 Travel style Solo, day trip from Hanoi Quick Answer Ha Long Bay is genuinely worth the roughly 3.5-hour drive each way from Hanoi, even…
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Hanoi: A Train, a Closed Mausoleum, and a Sardonic Nickname
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The Mausoleum is closed as you’re reading this, and a train really does pass close enough to touch your coffee cup.
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An Imperial Citadel Still Scarred From 1968
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Asia · Solo Travel Solo traveller · 18 min read Trip snapshot Region Hai Van Pass & Hue, Central Vietnam Trip length 1 day, Episode 7 of 10 Travel style Solo, with a driver-guide Quick Answer Take Hai Van Pass by road rather than flying between Da Nang and Hue,…
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Watching a Mountain Become a Buddha in Da Nang
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A mountain named for each of the five elements, and watching an actual Buddha statue get carved from raw marble.
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Ba Na Hills: A French Town in the Clouds
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32,000 visitors can pass through here in a single day, here’s exactly when to go to feel like you have the place to yourself.
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My Son Sanctuary and a Night on Dragon Bridge
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An Indian archaeological team restoring a 1,000-year-old Shiva temple in Vietnam, then a bridge that breathes fire at night.
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Independence Palace and the War Remnants Museum
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604,481 foreign soldiers, listed on a basement wall, and a museum that tells only half the story, one heavy day in Saigon.
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Hoi An: The Lantern City by Basket Boat
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A 400-year-old merchant house with two entrances, one for the market, one for the river, and a road that floods every November.
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Ho Chi Minh City: Inside the Cu Chi Tunnels
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War-disabled artisans, a rice paper demo, and tunnels built every 200 metres with a different trap, one day at Cu Chi.