Thinh Pham

Once I was trolling along the coastal line in Vung Tau, right below the statue of Jesus Christ, and see two boys around a little hole. I asked them what they were doing and the answer was to catch mantis shrimps. I’ve eaten many mantis shrimps in Viet Nam. The first time I’ve enjoyed them was years ago, in a mixture of chilly and other delightsome spices. I can’t speak the names but very love the way they color and spice up dishes. You should try some shrimp dishes, spiced up, and served hot with dipping sauces, which is very popular in Ho Chi Minh city. The vietnamese call them…

When I received a potato crisp pack from the girl, then I realized that “Giving” means “taking somehow, somewhere and sometime later, by chance”. Here’s my story At the end of my busy day of Nghinh Ong festival, I was resting on a hammock, in the local coffee shop, which locates nearby the central park of town. It was a exhausting day and I was really really burnt out. I just wanted some rest, preparing for the next day. Everybody occupied their own hammocks, ready to take a sleep after the long day of activities. I was sleepy and nearly shut my eyelids down, then I noticed 2 girls looking around. They…

My Con Dao travel story covers how I met some travel friends, got to amazing trails, beaches and coffee around island and a sacred night in Hang Duong cemetery. After a night onboard, I head toward the town for accommodation. My bike stopped at a garden-like hostel, with a sign board “Uyen’s house” in simply black-and-white style. After few minutes check-in, I went to dorm room. It was nice. Read More: Guide to Hostels for Beginners My next-bed roommate was an 40s-something woman, she traveled alone. When I asked her recommendations, then she showed me some trails in national park, where to ask for permission papers and for most, where to get the useful map, just on…

Weird food is always a funny topic to be mentioned. It’s like a challenge for travelers. “Dare you try this crazy dish?” “Oh, come on, dude. You can do it” and then looking at faces with different emotional expressions. In the festival, when I was wandering on my beloved bike, then I noticed a signboard mention a dish “pig eye soup”. Oh come on, it’s truly WEIRD FOOD. I ran away, for 1 minute, then I turned back. I think that this was an awesome way to enrich my travel experience. By the way, I had a story to tell. It was a small stall, some man sat and enjoy their…

Con Dao prisons is very well-known. Actually, the island was built for only purpose – imprison. So it is interesting to do a short trip. I also covers the previous night when I had chance visiting Hang Duong mass cemetery at night. Very memorable moments in these. It was raining, no lightning, but grey clouds covered whole sky, which was very suitable for a day exploring somethings haunting. There are several prison. The first one, locating in town is Phu Hai. You can park your bikes/ cars right at front of the prison. There’s a ticket booth to the left of the gate. Ticket price is 20 000 (12/2016), you receive a…

The Con dao travel guide covers how to get to and get around the island, some facts about night on ship, foods and what to do to explore the paradise. My first time in Con Dao was so amazing that I decide to write a “short” travel guide. Hopefully it helps you plan for your trip. This is a beautiful remote island in Vietnam that any travelers should visit once-in-a-lifetime. Travel to Con Dao A. Air There’s no budget flight on HCMC-Con Dao. The only airline is Vietnam Airline, national fleet, price ranges around 80 usd/ one-way. The airport is quite far from the town, so if you’ve booked hotel, kindly…

I’ll share you my finding accommodation story and include some budget tips which I come up with after joining in the festival last week (with some painful and unforgettable experience). Accommodation is not developed in Can Gio yet. There’s no dorm rooms for backpackers, few hotels for tourist. Hostel is usually people’s choice when they travel here. I love Can Gio. It’s peaceful town by the sea. I’ve visited it many times and painfully admit that room price is quite high while the comforts are poor. Even more, when the festival is at peak, most of hosts purposely increase the room charge. The situation has remained for years For me,…

Vung Tau is a beautiful and crowded city. It’s just 120km away from HCMC so you can easily take a short trip there at the weekend. A great spot to entertain! I usually take a short bike trip to Vung Tau as a retreat after days of hard working. The quick travel guide will be very useful for your first time experience the city. The city at dawn There are many beaches to sunbathe, nice coffees to have cosy seat and sip, stunning landscapes and historical spots to discovery and get some fresh air among many mountains right inside the city that you can even have a good hiking day.…

I love Dalat not just for its stunning landscapes, or old architectures but also for best foods. They’re not just delicious but very creative. Every times having a chance to meet the town, I am going to be surprised that there’s a new dish in town to check-it-out. Dalat is really the competitor of HCMC for food war, if it happens. Tôi yêu Đà Lạt, không chỉ bởi khung cảnh đẹp như tranh vẽ hay những tòa nhà cổ kính, mà còn bởi ẩm thực. Không chỉ ngon miệng mà còn sáng tạo. Thị trấn luôn làm tôi bất ngờ mỗi lần trở lại. Luôn có món mới để ăn…