Continue Your Adventure - Travel Blog

Phở - the archetypal dish of Vietnam. Travellers from far and wide come to Vietnam, hoping that they will eat the best bowl of Phở. We've been in Saigon for a long time, and we think we've found the best bowl of Phở in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). It's a super local place where you'll rarely see a tourist at a table. First- we need to explain what makes one bowl of pho better than another. There's a few key components to Phở, which are combined in a bowl for one outstanding meal. You'll be craving this dish for…

    Planning on coming to Hoi An but don't know how to get here? It’s pretty much inevitable that you will have to pitstop in Da Nang, one of Vietnam’s most up and coming cities. It’s where the Hoi An’s closest train station and airport are. Here are some ways to get to Hoi An, along with our top recommendation. By Plane If you’re travelling from Saigon or Hanoi, the quickest way is to fly into Da Nang. Flights take about 1 hour, and range from $50-$100 USD. After you arrive in Da Nang, you can take a car,…

  The Nomadic Boys are big foodies. Stefan & Sebastien have been travelling & eating their way around Asia since 2014, so they've tried a massive variety of cuisines, delicacies, and experienced many cultures (they even have great recipes!). So obviously we were thrilled to have them on our Streets & Eats of Hoi An tour to see what they had to say about our foodie adventure. These guys were ready to hit the streets on our vintage Vespas for an evening packed of delicious Vietnamese dishes. "Our favourite part of Vietnam for local food was around the centre of…

  Take a second and think of a bed. Any bed. Your bed. You’re probably thinking of a sumptuous, thick, comfortable mattress, right? Well, in Vietnam, things are a little different. Your typical mattress here is a thin handmade sleeping mat made out of dried reeds and laid either on the floor or on a raised platform. This helps keep the ‘sleeper’ cool in the tropical heat and ‘beds’ can be quickly assembled and therefore put away to make more cooler space indoors during the day. Take our ‘Countryside & Islands Explorer’ into the beautiful Hoi An countryside and see…

  For all the vegetarians worried about not being able to eat anything but rice in Vietnam- don’t worry! Believe it or not,  Vietnam has a variety of vegetarian dishes. One reason for this is the main religion of the country. A majority of Vietnam is Buddhist, and on the 1st and 15th day of each month (on the lunar calendar), the Buddhist population eats “An Chay” – which means vegetarian in Vietnamese. You may notice many restaurants are closed on these days since they don't offer vegetarian dishes.  There are many restaurants that make classic dishes in vegetarian or vegan…

Mr. Ngai lives in Hoi An, Vietnam and owns the famous restaurant, White Rose. This dish is a classic Hoi An specialty and only one place in town makes it. This recipe was started by Mr. Ngai's grandfather 100 years ago. The dish is made with a special shrimp paste that's skillfully placed into delicate rice flour dough and shaped into a beautiful White Rose and steamed to perfection.  The White Rose is then topped with crispy fried scallions for a little crunch.There's also a special fish sauce to go with this- one that no one in town can make.…

In the mood for a sweet and refreshing cold drink?  We recommend grabbing a cup of fresh sugar palm juice to cool down on a hot day in Cambodia.  Cambodians are amazing at utilizing their surroundings in everyday life. Sugar Palm trees provide wood for many things such as large boats or even small chopsticks, the leaves can be used to create airy thatched roofs, and the flowers create one of our favorite drinks- Sugar Palm juice.  Harvesting the juice Many families sell Sugar Palm juice as an extra source of income. Typically, the young men in the family are…

Coffee is a huge part of Vietnamese culture, economy, and cuisine. Introduced by the French, the production of coffee in Vietnam has increased so much that it is now the second-largest coffee producer in the world after Brazil. The most common thing to do when you have free time in Vietnam is going to a cafe with some friends, sit back, and relax with a strong cup of coffee. The most famous style of coffee in Vietnam is “cà phê sữa đá”, or Vietnamese Iced Coffee. Cà phê sữa đá is made with sweet condensed milk and strong, thick coffee…

Markets in Southeast Asia are some of the most thriving parts of cities and towns. The sounds of people bargaining and the scents that waft through the air make an exciting shopping atmosphere unlike the airconditioned grocery stores many of us are used to back home. While walking through a typical market in Vietnam, you may wonder "Um...what is that??" Well here's part 1 of our list of common things you may be wondering about. **Prices may vary according to season and location 1. Giant...cucumber? This is actually Luffa, or in Vietnamese "mướp hương". Most people spell it Loofah. This…

Meet Thanh. He builds an astonishing 300 meter bamboo bridge every year in Hoi An, Central Vietnam. This bridge must be well maintained and rebuilt yearly due to the large amount of flooding that occurs during the rainy season in Hoi An- around October through December. Since this river can be dangerous to cross by boat or ferry, the government allows Thanh to build this bridge to give people a safe crossing in the countryside. Him and his family live right next to this bridge, and charge a small fee for people to cross.  Want to see this bridge for…

Cambodian New Year is a special nationwide holiday, so we’ve got all the info you need to know. In 2015, this holiday will begin with New Year’s Day - Monday, April 13th- and will last until Thursday the 16th. So now you may be thinking “New Year in April?   Yup, New Year in April. Cambodians celebrate New Year according to the Lunisolar Calendar, contrary to many of its neighboring countries celebrating the Lunar Calendar New Year (link to Tet post). This time of year is also special because it marks the end of the dry season, and beginning of…

The Noodles of Quảng Nam If you're in Hoi An, you have to try Mì Quảng. This delicious noodle dish is famous in the Quảng Nam Province (hence the name Mì Quảng, or "Quang noodles"). You can find it in other cities such as Saigon, but if you're coming to Central Vietnam we suggest you hold out on trying Mì Quảng til you get here. It's a popular breakfast dish, but you can also find Mì Quảng for lunch before 1:00pm. One bowl of this deliciousness typically costs around 15,000-20,000VND (about $1 USD!).    Meet My. My runs a classic Vietnamese red tabled street food vending spot…

We were recently featured on CNNGo! We are so proud to have been chosen to show CNN's travel team around Ho Chi Minh City. Our tour guide, Dieu (pronounced like "You"), led the camera crew around the bustling streets of Saigon-on our restored vintage Vespas of course- showing off some of our favorite local spots that tourists don't get to typically see.  CNNGo - Vespa Adventures in Vietnam Interested in what you see in CNN's video? Check out our Insider's Saigon tour to experience Saigon like a local and witness the bird club and coffee culture!    

Today, you can see Vespas all over the streets of Vietnam. But you might ask yourself, how did Vespa come to be the famous icon that it is today? It all began in 1884, when the Piaggio company in Italy started out producing timber, seaplanes, and airplanes. Due to its success, it became one of the largest airplane companies in the world! Unfortunately, that happened to not be the best thing in Italy when World War II started in 1933. The fact that Piaggio became so successful with its airplanes led to it being a target for enemies and to…

-The Traditional Vietnamese Dress- Ao Dai's (pronounced like "Ow Zai" or if you're in the Quang Nam Province- "Ow Yai") are the traditional Vietnamese dress for women. If you've ever been to Vietnam, you've probably seen a lot of these traditional dresses, whether it was on locally made artwork, girls biking home from school, or even at your hotel reception desk. It consists of silk pants and a matching silk top that has long panels on the front and back.  -High School Uniforms- Girls are required to wear Ao Dai's once they go into High School- Year 10. I don't…

Bon Om Touk is an exciting celebration that occurs once a year in Cambodia. Bon Om Touk, also known as the Cambodian Water Festival, celebrates the reversal of the Tonle Sap River. The Tonle Sap River reverses twice a year, lining up with Cambodia’s rainy and dry seasons. When the water from the Mekong River flows into the Tonle Sap River, a large lake forms. This takes up a vast amount of land. When the river reverses however, there are silt deposits that enrich the soil for farming and the fish are abundant. Bon Om Touk occurs on different dates…

Traditional Cambodian garments are like many other aspects of Cambodian culture: rich and vibrant. Cambodian clothing is tends to be very bright and beautifully embroidered. The styles have lasted throughout time since the Khmer Empire, and can be seen in present day Cambodia. The sampot  is the most common article of clothing. An array of colors are used for this clothing. It is wrapped around the body in the fashion of a skirt. For more formal occasions women tend to wear a sampot chang kben, which is similarly wrapped as a sampot, but in the fashion of pants. The brightly…

We often get asked about tipping in Vietnam. Tipping is one of those things that varies from country to country, andoften travelers can get confused on the subject of tipping. So we are here to help clear that up. Frequently, people receive completely different answers to this question. Here are the most common occurrences when someone may ask themselves, “Should I leave a tip?” and how to properly respond.   Taxis: In some countries, like the United States, it is considered rude to not leave a tip for a taxi driver. In Vietnam, it isn’t required and a driver will…

The humble rice cracker graces many a low plastic table in Vietnam, and is quite the accompaniment to many dishes across the country for the cuisine embraces textures, of which ‘crunchy’ plays a big part. The Vietnamese equivalent of the famous Indian poppadum is an incredibly popular snack across the country, and each region has it’s own version and Hoi An is no exception. We pay a visit Mrs Linh and her family on one of our day tours of Hoi An, where we can all have a go at making the perfect rice cracker – it’s trickier than it…

Every month in Hoi An, on the 14th day of the lunar calendar, Hoi An celebrates the full moon with locals placing offerings on their ancestral shrines and burning incense. Tomorrow will take at extra special significance as this is Tet Trung Thu (Mid Autumn Festival). Local kids form groups and perform incredible Lion Dances in elaborate costumes in the streets of Hoi An before and during the festival. These ‘lions’ will also go into shops and homes and start dancing as a blessing of luck and fortune. It is customary for locals to give ‘lucky money’. It is primarily a festival for…

The last rice harvest of the year has just started in Hoi An, and will continue for the next few weeks. If you book either of our two half day tours in Hoi An, the 'Countryside & Islands Experience' or the 'Rural Village Experience' - you will be able to witness the locals in action! Not only can you see the age old manual processes involved in harvesting the rice, this is a fantastic photo opportunity! Swathes of stunning golden brown rice crops as far as the eye can see, and the locals working away in the rice paddie fields,…

The seafood in Hoi An is legendary - and we believe we have found the best clams in Vietnam! To taste them for yourself, while taking in the stunning view out to The East Vietnam Sea, book on our morning tour around Hoi An - the 'Countryside & Islands Experience' where we finish off with a delicious seafood lunch at one of Hoi An's quieter beaches. To book, please visit: http://vietnamvespaadventures.com/category/our-tours/ or call: =84 (0)907 933 855  

Exhilarating!  Please click http://youtu.be/0x1W0vX93Lo to see a short video clip of our tour in Hoi An - riding through the dirt tracks around Hoi An.

Our new tours in Hoi An and now up and running! Let us take you out and explore the stunning countryside around Hoi An on one of our two amazing half day tours, or our fabulous night tour, taking in the local street food scene of Hoi An. To book your tour, please contact us: email: info@vietnamvespaadventures.com or call: 0907 722 681 or come into our new Cafe Zoom in Hoi An at 134, Tran Cao Van St.  

  We were featured on a television show in Australia: Vintage Hunter. In the show Vintage Hunter, flea market junkie Dominic Johnson-Hill takes us on a journey across Asia to find captivating curios and antiques, both valuable and intriguing. It can be like finding a needle in a haystack, but whatever happens, it's a road trip that Dominic always gets a kick out of. Flea markets are haunts for colorful characters from all walks of life. As the Vintage Hunter, Dominic gets a different peek at history via its collectors and their prized possessions.   In this episode of Vintage…