Vietnam
Street Art: Tam Thanh Mural Village
“If you paint it, they will come.” So lies the philosophy behind the Tam Thanh Mural Village in Vietnam’s Quang Nam province. A joint effort between Vietnamese and Korean artists, mural painters spent weeks converting this poor, unassuming fishing village into one of Vietnam’s premier places for street art. And exploring the 100 or so
A Day in Da Nang: Bridges, Beaches & the Lady Buddha
Da Nang, Vietnam’s third largest city, is also the country’s fastest growing. Local authorities are already bracing for a major tourism boom in the near future, with construction cranes dotting the skyline and high-rise hotels popping up all along the coast. As it stands today though, most tourists merely pass through Da Nang on their
Hiking Through the Marble Mountains of Da Nang
The Marble Mountains, located about halfway in between Da Nang and Hoi An, hold true to their name. They’re a group of five marble rock formations, each one having been named after a natural element of Taoism. Most people, though, only explore one of them: Thuy Son, the water mountain. Thuy Son is home to
My Son: 1,000 Years of Ruins in a Single Afternoon
The My Son temple complex, the spiritual center of the Champa Kingdom, contains buildings constructed over a span of 1,000 years. Ranging from the 4th to the 14th century, this is one of the longest-occupied archaeological sites the world has ever seen. To put this into perspective, the temples of the Khmer Empire at Angkor
Hoi An Ancient Town Attractions: The Ultimate Guide
Hoi An, central Vietnam’s former bustling trade port, remains one of the country’s most-visited locales. Visitors flock to the town to see its colorful buildings and its picturesque riverside views. Unfortunately, the ticketing system of Hoi An Ancient Town, where most of the main attractions are located, is far from straightforward. To prevent you from
Entering the Dragon of Ho Thuy Tien: Hue’s Abandoned Waterpark
Hue may be home to a lost imperial city and several grandiose tombs of former emperors, but one of its most intriguing destinations also happens to be from this millennium. Opened in 2004 and shut down just a few years later, the abandoned Ho Thuy Tien waterpark is now in a state of decay which
7 Special Temples from Hue’s Imperial Era
Beyond the Imperial City and Royal Tombs, Hue has even more to offer those with a knack for exploration. While the imperial era of the Nguyen Dynasty is long gone, many of the pagodas and temples they founded or refurbished are still in operation. Some of the places on this list, like the Thien Mu
Exploring the Royal Tombs of Hue
Spread throughout Hue’s quiet rural surroundings are six large and opulent tombs which remain architectural marvels to this day. The Nguyen emperors, who ruled Vietnam from 1802 to 1945, spent much of their time and immense wealth building extravagant monuments to none other than themselves. Though it can be disheartening to learn how the projects
The Hue Citadel: Inside the Walls of a Lost Imperial City
In 1777, a fifteen-year-old boy was forced into hiding after his entire family was killed. His name was Nguyen Phuc An, and he was the nephew of the final Nguyen lord who ruled over the southern half of Vietnam. As the lone surviving member of a once-powerful clan, he vowed to take revenge against their
The Symbols & Ceremonies of the Cao Dai Holy See
A few hours’ drive from Saigon is the small town of Tay Ninh, a place few outside of Vietnam have heard of. Roughly six million people today, however, consider it their holy land. It was here in 1919 that a man named Ngo Van Chieu received a revelation during a séance. An entity known as Cao
A Day in Cholon: Touring the Smoky Pagodas of Saigon’s Chinatown
Looking for a break from the glitz and glamour of Saigon’s central District 1, I decided to spend a day in Cholon, one of the city’s most unique neighborhoods. Cholon is Saigon’s Chinatown. In fact, it’s considered the largest Chinatown in the world by area. But its size isn’t the only thing that makes it
Hunting for Colonial Architecture in Saigon
Vietnam is one of the fastest developing countries in Southeast Asia, and there’s no better place to witness these changes than in Saigon, its largest city. Skyscrapers are popping up all over the place, and the neon lights of corporate logos light up the nightly sky. Viewing the Saigon skyline from up on high, you’d
A Guide to Saigon’s Best Art Spaces
Saigon may not be the first city that springs to people’s minds when thinking of burgeoning arts scenes in Asia. And it may be true that the city lacks the number of art spaces or special events of its regional neighbors. But if you know where to go, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what Saigon