Welcome to Southern Vietnam
Phan Thiet & Mui Ne
Vietnamese traditional & desert beauty
About 200 km north of Ho Chi Minh City are Mui Ne and Phan Thiet. Together, these traditional fishing villages are fast becoming a popular leisure destination. Resort-style developments have been rising along the coastline, though so far the lives of the fishing communities remain unchanged and Mui Ne’s long beach is quiet and serene, great for walks, jogging and spectacular sunsets.
Phan Tiet, which is rather larger, is famous for its fish sauce, an ingredient in most Vietnamese dishes. It, too, has a beautiful beach. There is a wide range of accommodation, and restaurants offer a huge selection of seafood at very affordable prices. There are golf courses, beautiful pagodas, spectacular red and white sand dunes, and a variety of water sports.
White sand dunes, Mui Ne
Dalat Highland
Seasons floral Highland
Da Lat is the capital city of Lam Dong province, Vietnam (Dalat or Da Lat) is the City of Flowers and honeymooners with lovely French villas, the fresh air, the beautiful waterfalls and gorgeous lakes sits in a lush and green valley of postcard beauty. Dalat’s specific sights are pine forest (forming the name: “City of thousands of pine trees”) with twisting roads and tree marigold, cherry blossom in the winter.
The city’s temperate weather stands in contrast to Vietnam’s otherwise tropical climate. Mist covering the valleys almost year-round leads to its name “City of eternal spring”, Spring is eternal and “unique season” in Da Lat.
Da Lat sits approx. 1500 m (4921 ft) above sea level on the Langbiang Plateau in the southern parts of the Central Highlands, and is surrounded by lovely mountains, according to a local, carry lyrical names like Elephant’s Head and Lady’s Body. So, you do not be surprised when someone called Da Lat as The City in the Forest.
Dalat Highlands
Ho Chi Minh City
Paris of the Orient
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is the business and financial hub of Vietnam, with a prominent history going back hundreds of years. The Khmers originally settled the region, with the Vietnamese taking over in the 17th century. The French conquered Saigon, as it was then known, in 1859, and made it the capital of Cochin China in 1862, which resulted in numerous elegant architecture and broad boulevards that are still present to this day.
At the peak of the Vietnam War in 1969, the city had 4.5 million inhabitants who were all evacuated when Saigon and the rest of the South fell to North Vietnam in 1975. The city has recovered in the 30 years since then, with the current population at over 7 million. It was renamed Ho Chi Minh City, after the spiritual leader of Vietnamese Communism, but residents were so reluctant to adopt the new name that authorities kept the official name but the city centre is still called Saigon.
