Table Of Content

P D F Vietnam PDF ebook Edition 13th Edition Release Date Aug 2016 Pages 520 Useful Links Want more guides? Head to our shop Trouble with your PDF? Trouble shoot here Need more help? Head to our FAQs Stay in touch Contact us here © Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd. To make it easier for you to use, access to this PDF ebook is not digitally restricted. In return, we think it’s fair to ask you to use it for personal, non-commercial purposes only. In other words, please don’t upload this chapter to a peer-to-peer site, mass email it to everyone you know, or resell it. See the terms and conditions on our site for a longer way of saying the above – ‘Do the right thing with our content’. 4 easy-to-use How to Use This Book sections Look for these symbols to quickly identify listings: 1 4 Sights Sleeping r 5 Beaches Eating 2 6 PLAN YOUR TRIP Activities Drinking C 3 Courses Entertainment Your planning tool kit T 7 Photos & suggestions to help Tours Shopping you create the perfect trip. z Festivals 8 Information & Events & Transport All reviews are ordered in our authors’ preference, starting with their most preferred option. Additionally: Sights are arranged in the geographic order that we suggest you visit them and, within this order, by author preference. ON THE ROAD Eating and Sleeping reviews are ordered by price range (budget, midrange, top end) and, within these Your complete guide ranges, by author preference. Expert reviews, easy-to-use maps & insider tips. These symbols and abbreviations give vital information for each listing: Must-visit recommendation Sustainable or green recommendation No payment required % Telephone number f Ferry UNDERSTAND h Opening hours j Tram p Parking d Train Get more from your trip n Nonsmoking a pt apartments Learn about the big picture, to a Air-conditioning d double rooms make sense of what you see. i Internet access d m dorm beds W Wi-fi access q quad rooms s Swimming pool r rooms v Vegetarian selection s single rooms E English-language menu ste suites c Family-friendly tr triple rooms # Pet-friendly tw twin rooms g Bus SURVIVAL GUIDE Your at-a-glance reference For symbols used on maps, see the Map Legend. Vital practical information for a smooth trip. ©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd Vietnam Northern Vietnam p99 Hanoi p54 Central Vietnam p152 Siem Reap & the Temples of Angkor (Cambodia) p417 Southwest Highlands p287 Southeast Coast p233 Ho Chi Mekong Minh City Delta p311 p366 THIS EDITION WRITTEN AND RESEARCHED BY Iain Stewart, Brett Atkinson, Anna Kaminski, Jessica Lee, Nick Ray, Benedict Walker P LAN ON THE ROAD YOUR TRIP Welcome to Vietnam . . . . 4 HANOI . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Lang Co Beach . . . . . . . . . 192 Hai Van Pass & Tunnel . . . 193 Vietnam Map . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Ba Na Hill Resort . . . . . . . 193 NORTHERN Vietnam’s Top 20 . . . . . . . 8 VIETNAM . . . . . . . . . . 99 Danang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 Need to Know . . . . . . . . . 18 Around Danang . . . . . . . . . 199 Northeast Vietnam . . . . 102 First Time Vietnam . . . . . 20 Hoi An . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 Ba Be National Park . . . . 102 Around Hoi An . . . . . . . . . 220 What’s New . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Con Son & Den Kiep Bac . . . . . . . . . . 103 My Son . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224 If You Like… . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Haiphong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Tra Kieu (Simhapura) . . . 226 Month by Month . . . . . . . 25 Halong Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Chien Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226 Itineraries . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Bai Tu Long Bay . . . . . . . . 120 Mong Cai & SOUTHEAST Vietnam Outdoors . . . . . 36 the Chinese Border . . . . . 122 COAST . . . . . . . . . . . 233 ELiakte & a DLroicnakl . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Northwest Vietnam . . . 127 Quang Ngai . . . . . . . . . . . . 235 Hoa Binh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 Around Quang Ngai . . . . . 236 Regions at a Glance . . . . 50 Mai Chau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Quy Nhon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238 Son La . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Cha Ban Cham Area . . . . 243 Dien Bien Phu . . . . . . . . . . 131 Tuy Hoa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244 HUYTHOAI/GETTY IMAGES © MLSLBaaaauiopc oC aCnH . hgaa .a i . . . 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T . .h r . .aa . . nT . .gr . .a . . . n . . .g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .222266443357 Ha Giang Province . . . . . . 148 Ninh Chu Beach . . . . . . . . 265 Ca Na . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265 CENTRAL Mui Ne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265 VIETNAM . . . . . . . . . 152 Phan Thiet . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272 HA GIANG PROVINCE P148 North-Central Ta Cu Mountain . . . . . . . . 273 Vietnam . . . . . . . . . . . . .153 Phan Thiet to Ninh Binh Province . . . . . 153 Long Hai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273 Phong Nha-Ke Bang Long Hai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274 PETER ADAM NDoantigo nHaol iP &a rAkr . o .u .n .d . . . . . . . . . . . 116627 VCuonng D Taaou I . s .la .n .d . .s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .227795 S/GETTY IMAGES © SVDZoioeenmutetni hl(ait-DmaCMre i .sZn .e)t . . dr .a . . .l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116699 SHOIGUHTLHAWNEDSST . . . . . . 287 Dong Ha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172 Dalat & Around . . . . . . . . . 289 Quang Tri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 Ngoan Muc Pass . . . . . . . . 298 Hue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 Cat Tien National Park . . . . . . . . . . 298 Around Hue . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 Lak Lake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 FLOWER HMONG PEOPLE, Bach Ma National Park . . 190 BAC HA P145 Contents UNDERSTAND Buon Ma Thuot . . . . . . . . . 301 Can Tho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379 Vietnam Today . . . . . . .434 Around Buon Soc Trang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436 Ma Thuot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303 Ca Mau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385 Pleiku . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305 U-Minh Forest . . . . . . . . . . 387 People & Culture . . . . .454 Kon Tum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307 Rach Gia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .387 Arts & Architecture . . .460 Phu Quoc Island . . . . . . . . 389 Food & Drink . . . . . . . . . 464 HO CHI MINH Ha Tien . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399 Environment . . . . . . . . .470 CITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311 Chau Doc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405 Around Sam Mountain . . . . . . . . . 409 Ho Chi Minh City . . . . .359 Long Xuyen . . . . . . . . . . . . 411 Cu Chi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359 Cao Lanh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412 SURVIVAL Tay Ninh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362 Sa Dec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415 GUIDE One Pillar Pagoda . . . . . . .364 Can Gio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365 SIEM REAP & Directory A–Z . . . . . . . . 478 THE TEMPLES OF MEKONG DELTA . . . 366 ANGKOR . . . . . . . . . . 417 Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . 488 My Tho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368 Siem Reap . . . . . . . . . . .418 Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498 Ben Tre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372 Temples of Angkor . . . . 426 Language . . . . . . . . . . . . 503 Tra Vinh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373 Angkor Wat . . . . . . . . . . . . 426 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512 Vinh Long . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376 Angkor Thom . . . . . . . . . . 427 Map Legend . . . . . . . . . . 518 BRUNO DE HOGUES/GETTY IM AGES © SPECIAL FEATURES Vietnam Outdoors . . . . .36 Eat & Drink Like a Local . . 43 Hue in 3D . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 Scenes of Vietnam . . . . 227 Angkor Wat in 3D . . . . . 428 HOI AN P203 ©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd 4 Welcome to Vietnam Astonishingly exotic and utterly compelling, Vietnam is a country of breathtaking natural beauty with a unique heritage, where travel quickly becomes addictive. Sensory Overload A Culinary Superpower Unforgettable experiences are everywhere The Thais may grumble, but in Southeast in Vietnam. There’s the sublime: gazing Asia nothing really comes close: Vietnam- over a surreal seascape of limestone islands ese food is that good. Incredibly subtle in from the deck of a traditional junk in Ha- its flavours and outstanding in its diversity, long Bay. The ridiculous: taking 10 minutes Vietnamese cooking is a fascinating draw just to cross the street through a tsunami for travellers – myriad street-food tours and of motorbikes in Hanoi. The inspirational: cooking schools are testament to this. Geo- exploring the world’s most spectacular cave graphy plays a crucial role, with Chinese systems in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National flavours influencing the soups of the north, Park. The comical: watching a moped spices sparking up southern cuisine, and loaded with honking pigs weave a wobbly herbs and complex techniques typifying route along a country lane. And the con- the central coastline, rightly renowned as templative: witnessing a solitary grave in a Vietnam’s epicurean epicentre. And up and cemetery of thousands of war victims. down the country you can mingle with vil- lagers, sample local dishes and sip rice wine War, Peace & Progress in Vietnam’s many regional markets. Forty years after the carnage and destruc- Thrills & Chills tion of an epoch-defining conflict, Vietnam is resolutely a nation, not a war, in the If you’ve got the bills, Vietnam’s got the eyes of the world. Self-confident and fast- thrills and chills. Some require a little developing, its progress is all-evident in the physical effort, such as motorbiking switch- country’s booming metropolises. Vietnam’s back after switchback up the jaw-dropping allure is easy to appreciate (and something Hai Van Pass in central Vietnam. Others of a history lesson) as ancient, labyrinthine require even more sweat: kitesurfing the trading quarters of still-thriving craft in- tropical oceanic waters off Mui Ne or hiking dustries are juxtaposed with grand colonial the evergreen hills around Bac Ha or Sapa. mansions from the French era, all overseen And when you’re done with all that adrena- from the skybars of 21st-century glass-and- line stuff, there’s plenty of horizontal ‘me’ steel highrises. time to relish. Vietnam has outstanding spas – from marble temples of treatments, to simple family-run massage salons with backpacker-friendly rates. 5 JAKKREE THAM PITAKKUL/500PX © Why I Love Vietnam By Iain Stewart, Writer I find myself returning to Vietnam for the same reasons: to feast on the best seafood in the world, ride a lonely mountain pass I’ve not yet experienced, and search for that perfect cove beach I’ve not yet found. The country has changed immeasurably since I first arrived in 1991 (when the nation was still shell-shocked from the war with the USA and Hanoi was a city of bicycles) but I continue to be astounded by the spirit, determination and sheer lust for life of the Vietnamese people. For more about our writers, see page 520 Above: Terraced rice fields, Sapa (p136) 200 km120 miles 20ºN 18ºN ParacelIslands Vietnam00 C H I N ASapa TrekkingHa GiangLai ChauNanningHike through tribal(Tam Duong)LaoBac Havillages (p137)CaiBa BeCao BangNational ParkSapaExtreme NorthHoang LienBa Be LakesHill tribes and spectacularPingxiangNational ParkMuong Laymountain scenery (p148)(Lai Chau)FansipanTuyen (3143m)HLang Son oQuangYen Bai Dien BienaM Thaion Phugu TuanNguyen Mong Cain DongxingtL Giaoia Tay TrangeViet TriiBac Ninh ZhanjiangSon Lann HalongsBa ViHANOIBai TuCityNationalBa Be National ParkLong BayParkForested peaks and fineHoa BinhHaiphongHaiHalong BayMai Chauhiking (p102)DuongThousands of amazingHalongCat BaCuc Phuong BayIslandlimestone islands (p107)National ParkL A O SThai BinhTamNinh BinhNam XoiNa MeoCoc Thanh Hoa NongHanoiNam CanPhonsavanHaetCaptivating capital steeped Hainanin history (p54)Island(China)Gulf of TonkinVinh CauVIENTIANEHa TinhTreoPhong Nha-Ke BangMNamNational ParkePhaokoCaves, rivers and outstandingngCha LoRmountain scenery (p162)iveNa PhaorDong HoiTha KhaekPhong Nha-KeBang NationalParkHueMajestic former imperialLaoDong HaBaocapital (p174)DansavanhKhe SanhHue ) A M R U B ( R A M N A Y M DanangBach MaSavannakhetChamNationalIslandsParkHoi AnT H A I L A N DHoi AnTam KyMy SonA delightful ancient port(p203)Quang NgaiPakseAttapeuS O U T HBo YAngkor Wat (Cambodia)C H I N AOne of the wondersKon TumS E Aof the world (p426)CPleiku 14ºNeNGKOK C A M B O D I An tQuy Nhon rAngkor Wat a Yok DonlSiem ReapHNationalBattambangM Tonlé Parki DalategSapTuy HoakhoAtmospheric old French nl gahill station (p289)nBuon MaR diThuotv esr Cat Tien National ParkGulf of Nha TrangWildlife-spotting, hikingThailandDalat12ºNand biking (p298)Cat TienPHNOMNationalPhan Rang &PENHParkThap ChamLEVATIONMui NeTay NinhKaam SamnorCu ChiCosmopolitan beach andVinh Xuong1500mMui Newatersport resort (p265)HO CHI MINH1000mTakeoBien HoaCITY (SAIGON)Phan500mKampotTinhThietChau200mCao LanhBienDoc0My ThoDuongHa TienLong HaiLongDongHo Chi Minh CityBen TreVung XuyenVinhVietnam at its liveliest,TauRachPhu QuocLongCan ThoTra Vinhbuzzing best (p311)Gia10ºN Island MekongSoc TrangDeltaPhu Quoc IslandBac LieuParadise island in theCon Dao IslandsCa MauCon DaoGulf of Thailand (p389)Far out, far east (p279)NationalCon DaoParkIslands108ºE110ºE104ºE106ºE102ºE A E B ©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd 8 Vietnam’s Top 20