Visit this famous Vietnamese cattle market (no, not that kind)

LAO CAI - Monday, March 16, 2015 12:43   Can Cau Cattle Market in the northern highlands province of Lao Cai is the largest of its kind in Vietnam’s northwestern region with hundreds of buffalo and cows put up for sale. It is organized every Saturday along the Can Chu Su Hill in Can Cau Commune, about 115 kilometers from Sa Pa.  Most...

Vietnam to host first Dugong Festival on Phu Quoc Island

A festival will be held on Phu Quoc on November 30 to raise awareness about the protection of the Dugong, an endangered marine creature that lives in the waters around Vietnam’s largest island. On Sunday morning, the Dugong Festival 2014 will kick off in the island's Duong Dong Town and will include a parade and dramatic contest designed to encourage participants to take part in saving the endangered mammalian marine creatures. According to WWF, Phu Quoc and Con Dao are the only two marine habitats in Vietnam and were home to no more than 100...

Choosing your own adventure at Saigon's late-night rice porridge emporium

Rice porridge offers a prime example of Saigon's delectable mix of culinary traditions. The dish may sound like a simple, even boring proposition. In fact, it's served with dozens of sides from throughout the country and up into China.  In this way, diners get to choose their own adventure. Fans of traditional central flavors will no doubt opt for salted fish and shrimp simmered dry or pork braised with pepper.  Chinese-Vietnamese traditionally opt for pickled roots and greens that have been dried and fermented with salt, sugar,...

A lone world traveller's faith in second chances

Pablo Rojas visits Hanoi on his year-long journey to 18 countries. Photo credit: Pablo Rojas After surviving altitude sickness in the Himalayas and a near-deadly brush with a pair of scissors in Mexico, Pablo Rojas arrived in Ho Chi Minh City on his way around the world. The 24-year-old Chilean-Canadian said he funded his trip by spending...

The life and death of Phu Quoc Island

A gorgeous woman digging for a dinner of periwinkles on an otherwise touristy beach on Phu Quoc Island  Clouds swallowed the rice paddies outside Ho Chi Minh City minutes after takeoff; 45 minutes later, they parted over a scratch of red clay road and a verdant canopy"”neither a sooty stand of street trees, nor a dusty rubber plantation,...

VietJetAir crew suspended for landing on wrong runway

A VietJetAir aircraft at Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh. Photo: Kham/REUTERS ​VietJetAir has suspended two pilots who landed a passenger flight on the wrong end of the runway at a central Vietnamese airport last week despite air traffic controllers' correct instruction. The no-frills airline also asked the two pilots to cooperate with...

Vietnam taps Singapore to develop Phu Quoc Island

Foreign tourists arrive on Phu Quoc Island in southern Vietnam. Photo: Quang Minh Nhat A call for investment in Vietnam’s largest island has attracted enthusiastic feedback from Singaporean companies, news website Thoi Bao Kinh Te Saigon (Saigon Times) Online reported. Many companies have taken an interest in Phu Quoc Island after...