Healthy Leafy Tasty - Vietnamese Regional Dishes

Regional Vietnamese cuisines are scattered around the city of Ho Chi Minh, so if you have very limited time and still want to have a food adventure, this is the city to explore.  There are abundant choices from northern to southern provinces' specialties, here are some of the meals I have tried:

Bún bò Huế with other dishes

Panoramic Ho Chi Minh

2009 was my first time to visit Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), at that time we visited the usual tourist attractions - Cu Chi tunnel, Mekong River, the historical structures in District 1 - Notre Dame, Post office building, Ben Thanh Market.

Vung Tau a Scenic Coastal Town

Vung Tau city is located in the south of Vietnam, situated at the tip of a small peninsula. It has traditionally been a significant port, particularly during Vietnam's period of French rule.  

Wraps and Rolls in HCMC

Our arrival at HCMC was at night time, hence our first food adventure was dinner.

Day 1 - Dinner 

Pho5Sao, along Hoang Hoa Tham road.

Trang - Sea Adventure

Trang has both mainland beaches and a whole string of offshore islands; the province features an archipelago in the Andaman Sea consisting of more than 46 islands.

Trang - Land Adventure

With an abundance of blissful attractions mixed with cultural heritage, Trang Province is truly a fascinating tourist destination with numerous jungles, mountains, waterfalls, and beaches.

Upon landing we took an airport shuttle to bring us to the city. (90 Thb per pax)

Mandalay Morning City Tour

Coming from Bagan the night before, we arrived Mandalay toll gate at 2:00 am, but since there was curfew till 3 am, our bus had to wait for an hour before entering the city. (Note: Curfew was already lifted since August 2014)

Mount Popa - The Mt Olympus of Burma

During our second day started with a sunrise tour in Old Bagan,

we went to Mt Popa resort - to see vantage view of Mt Popa and monastery.

Capturing Sunrise and Sunset in Bagan and Mandalay

Visiting Mandalay and Bagan is incomplete without witnessing the sunrise and sunset amidst the great planes of 4,000 temples and pagodas !

Temple Run in the Ancient City of Bagan

Upon our arrival at the new Bagan bus station, we spent 15 minutes of haggling to get a Jeep to bring us to Manisanda Hotel, the agreed rate was 8000 Kyats. This probably is the only bad experience we encounter in our trip.  Those barkers have guts to offer us high rates, and yet they are not the one who will be driving! Hope the Bagan tourism office can impose some regulation on this, perhaps a fix rate or a published pricing list, to give tourists a smooth welcome experience.

On the Road to Mandalay

Mandalay is the second-largest city and the last royal capital of Burma.  The city gets its name from the nearby Mandalay Hill.  The root word has been speculated to be: "Mandala" (meaning, circular plains), "Mandare" (believed to mean "auspicious land"), or "Mandara" (a mountain from Hindu mythology).

Noodle Salads - Mandalay and Bagan Food Guide

The main purpose of traveling to Mandalay is to see the Bagan temples specially during sunrise.