Vietnam

I lived in Hanoi for two great years between 2001 and 2003 while working for the British Council. During that time I went on many motorcycle explorations throughout the northern and central parts of the country. The three main areas I cover here are Hanoi, The Central Coast towns of Hue, Hoi An and the ruins at My Son and the Central Highlands.

But for many more photos mainly of the beautiful mountainous regions bordering China and Laos and of the local ethnic minorities, go to the site click ethnic minorities of northern vietnam.

vietnam map

Hanoi

Hanoi is an absolutely fascinating place and my all time favourite place to have lived. There are quite a few annoying things - mainly the traffic - but these pale in comparison with all the great things - most notably the architecture of the old town, the food and the surrounding countryside.

At the centre of the old town in Hoan Kiem Lake, where you may be lucky enough to see a giant tortoise.

living room of my house near Lenin Park

Although Hanoi's streets are clogged with traffic, once you're out of town the countryside is a wonderful rural idyl

the ancient royal capital of Hue with its imposing citadel is the gateway to the central coast

Hoi An is probably the miost picturesque town in all of Vietnam but is rapidly becoming "chi-chi-fied" as it is now a World Heritage site in its own right

One of the main reasons people came to Hoi an in the past was to see the ancient Cham empire ruins of My Son

Further south are the Central Highlands. I spent a week in 2003 motorcycling about the area and finding a diverse collection of ethnic minorities

I happened upon a small village where they were in the middle of a wedding party which involved drinking copious amounts of the local rice wine which is brewed in big pots. It was strong stuff!

Vietnam is a communist country and so there is no official religion. However, in addition to the Chinese buddhist beliefs of most of the population, the hilltribes people are mainly animist and there are also quite a few christians, especially in the south as evidenced by this very oriental looking church.

and a more traditional church