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Hotel de la Coupole M Gallery by Sofitel in Sapa, Vietnam. Why you need to go to Vietnam in 2019.

Why You Need to Go to Vietnam – Cheap Flights and Fab New Hotels and Restaurants

Why you need to go to Vietnam this year beginning with the fact that I’m hosting a delicious Vietnam Cuisine and Culture Tour in July-August and there are brilliant flights deals with Vietnam Airlines right now. Then there are the new boutique hotels and restaurants, some of Asia’s best street food, and fantastic shopping.

Vietnam is always a good idea but there are lots of new reasons why you need to go to Vietnam this year, as well as some old ones, so I thought it time I shared some of them with you: brilliant flight deals, beautiful new hotels, brave new restaurants, and the extension of the Vietnam e-visas to even more nationalities.

One of the best reasons why you need to go to Vietnam is the prices of the flights. I spotted some cheap flights to Vietnam (and Cambodia) from Australia, the UK and Canada this morning and I wanted to share those with you, as the offers end soon for Australians and soon-ish for our British and Canadian friends.

I also wanted to let you know that, at our readers’ request, we added a new and more affordable ‘boutique’ accommodation level to our Vietnam Cuisine and Culture Tour. As a result we’ve had loads of enquiries and a few bookings, but we still have some spots left. There’s a reason to nab those flights – along with five more reasons why you need to go to Vietnam this year.

Why You Need to Go to Vietnam – Cheap Flights and Fab New Hotels and Restaurants

Vietnam Airlines Has Some Bargain Flights on Offer

Vietnam Airlines recently announced some bargain flights to Vietnam flying into Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi from Australia, departing from Sydney and Melbourne, starting from A$728 return (must be booked by 28 February 2019) from the UK, flying out of London, from UK£533 (book by 31 March), and from Vancouver in Canada from CA$927 (book by 31 March). As far as I’m concerned discounted flights are always a good reason to go somewhere. And Vietnam is a no-brainer. And we love Vietnam Airlines. They have a fleet of beautiful 787 Dreamliners, which, with their comfy seats, loads of leg room, lovely lighting, and great entertainment system, are a real delight to fly in. Staff are incredibly sweet, too, and the food is just fine, which is more than I can say for most airlines these days. Worth noting: Vietnam Airlines also has great deals on flights to Cambodia from those countries as well.

Entering Vietnam Has Got Easier

Late last year the Vietnamese announced they were extending their pilot Vietnam e-visa programme until 2021 and were now allowing nationals of 46 countries to apply for a 30-day single-entry e-visa online. Eligible countries include Australia, Canada, China, Germany, India, Japan, South Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, the UAE, and USA among other countries (full list of eligible nationalities here). The online e-visa fee is US$25 paid online and non-refundable, and takes three working days for applications to be approved (or not). Successful applications can then print off their e-visas to present when they arrive at any of Vietnam’s eight international airports, including Tan Son Nhat in Ho Chi Minh City, Noi Bai in Hanoi, and Da Nang in Central Vietnam, via land at 13 international border gates, and via sea at seven ports across the country. Visa agents can still process visa letters faster – for an additional fee, of course. Handily, those agents can also provide fast-track services to whisk you through immigration. Earlier, Vietnam approved visa exemptions for visitors from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the U.K.

There’s a Tantalising Cuisine and Culture Tour

Old town strolls, street food tours, cooking classes, river cruises, beachside sundowners, mouth-watering restaurant meals… yes, that means I’m hosting another slow, local and experiential small-group, all-inclusive Vietnam Cuisine and Culture tour over 12 days in July-August, starting in Ho Chi Minh City and taking in Dalat, Hoi An, Hue, and Hanoi. Optional extensions include a 3-day luxury cruise in an off-the-beaten part of Halong Bay and a 3-day side-trip to Sapa and the surrounding mountains. There are two levels of accommodation: ‘boutique’ in stylish 3- and 4-star hotels for US$3,828pp single occupancy and US$3,228 for a second person in a twin/double room (must be booked by 15 March to get these rates and paid in full by 30 May), and ‘luxury’ in grand 4- and sumptuous 5-star hotels (like the Sapa property above) for US$5,910pp single occupancy and US$4,967 for a second person in a twin/double room (U$$500 early bird discount if booked and paid in full by 30 April). You can peruse the full Vietnam itinerary here, read about our first epic Vietnam tour here, and follow us on Instagram on @grantourismo and @terence_carter_photography to see the Vietnam pics we’re sharing.

From Boutique to Luxury, Vietnam’s Hotels Just Get Better

I remember the days when Ho Chi Minh City didn’t have any decent boutique lodgings and now there are half a dozen stylish boutique hotels in Saigon, plus luxurious hotels such as the Park Hyatt and The Reverie. Hanoi was the same and that atmospheric capital now has a handful of chic sleeps (we’ll be posting a guide soon), while all over Vietnam the luxury hotel market has exploded, however, with lavish resorts opening in destinations you’d expect, such as Central Vietnam and Phu Quoc – and in surprising places, such as Sapa. Bangkok-based American designer Bill Bensley, who is really having his moment right now, is responsible for some of Vietnam’s most sumptuous new properties, including the flamboyant Hotel de la Coupole MGallery by Sofitel in Sapa (pictured above, where we’re going to check in on my Vietnam tour!) and the majestic JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay Resort & Spa, which is the first Marriott hotel I’ve ever wanted to stay at. Take a look at the images of this place and you’ll see what I mean. We’ll be bringing you more on Vietnam’s hotels soon.

Vietnam’s Restaurants Are Getting Creative

Vietnam is one of the best eating destinations in the world, without question. But it’s been all about Vietnamese street food and traditional food with very few restaurants experimenting with Vietnamese cuisine, until recently. First, Vietnamese-Australian chef Luke Nguyen opened his swanky Modern Vietnamese restaurant called Vietnam House in a colonial-era building he remodelled in Saigon. Then, formerly Hong Kong-based Vietnamese-American chef Peter Cuong Franklin opened ănăn in a bustling neighbourhood wet market, where he’s creating street food-inspired dishes with a twist, serving inventive seven-course chef’s tasting menus, and selling extravagant off-menu items such as the hugely popular US$100 banh mi packed with pork belly, foie gras and caviar. Now things are starting to get interesting in Hanoi, where a group of young Vietnamese chefs and a sommelier who worked at Michelin-starred restaurants in Scandinavia, returned home to open Nordic influenced T.U.N.G, where they’re serving fresh, light contemporary cuisine made from organic produce and edible flowers, which they want you to wash down with fermented juices and local craft beers.

Vietnam Is An Increasingly Hot Destination

Vietnam has landed on numerous lists of places to visit in 2019 and hot destinations for 2019 – alongside countries such as Cambodia, Iceland, Colombia, Portugal, Croatia, Bhutan, Bolivia, Myanmar, and Ethiopia – in travel magazines and newspapers, and in surveys of tour operators, travel agents, and travellers. Everyone is predicting that Vietnam will be the next big thing and the Vietnam government is very keen to see its tourism industry rival that of Thailand’s. And their strategy seems to be working. Vietnam welcomed 15.5 million foreign travellers in 2018, an increase of 20% on the year before, and hopes to get 18-20 million foreign visitors to Vietnam by 2020. So what does that mean for you? It’s just one more reason why you need to go to Vietnam – before everybody else does!

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About Lara Dunston

A travel and food writer who has experienced over 70 countries and written for The Guardian, Australian Gourmet Traveller, Feast, Delicious, National Geographic Traveller, Conde Nast Traveller, Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia, DestinAsian, TIME, CNN, The Independent, The Telegraph, Sunday Times Travel Magazine, AFAR, Wanderlust, International Traveller, Get Lost, Four Seasons Magazine, Fah Thai, Sawasdee, and more, as well as authored more than 40 guidebooks for Lonely Planet, DK, Footprint, Rough Guides, Fodors, Thomas Cook, and AA Guides.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Matt says

    February 22, 2019 at 10:49 pm

    Nice place to visit, love the photos of your travel.

  2. Lara Dunston says

    February 23, 2019 at 11:09 am

    Thank you!

  3. jim corbett says

    March 12, 2019 at 6:44 pm

    Vietnam is the great place to enjoy your vacations. once i was there in last year. I really loved this place. Almost everything that you have mentioned in this post, I have visited.

  4. Lara Dunston says

    March 13, 2019 at 12:21 pm

    Pleased you love Vietnam as well, Jim – thanks for dropping by!

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Lara and Terence are an Australian-born, Southeast Asia-based travel and food writers and photographers who have authored scores of guidebooks, produced countless travel and food stories, are currently developing cookbooks and guidebooks, and host culinary tours and writing and photography retreats in Southeast Asia.
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Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check o Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check out our seafood recipe collection, especially if you celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve with a fish focused meal in the Southern Italian tradition, transformed by Italian-Americans into the Feast of the Seven Fishes, or like Australians, who celebrate Christmas in the sweltering summer, feast on seafood for Christmas Day lunch, we’ve got lots of easy seafood recipes for you.

Our recipes include a classic prawn cocktail, blini with smoked salmon, a ceviche-style appetiser, and devilled eggs with caviar. We’ve also got recipes for fish soup, seafood pies and pastas, salmon tray bake, and crispy salmon with creamy mashed potatoes.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/seafood-recipes-for-christmas-eve-and-christmas-day-menus/
(Link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas if you’re celebrating!! 

#christmas #christmasfood #seafood #fish #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #grantourismo #grantourismotravels #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you’re still looking for food inspo for Chris If you’re still looking for food inspo for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day meals, my smoked salmon ‘carpaccio’ recipe is one of dozens of recipes in this compilation of our best Christmas recipes (link below). 

The Christmas recipe compilation includes collections of our best Christmas breakfast recipes, best Christmas brunch recipes, best Christmas starter recipes, best Christmas cocktails, best Christmas dessert recipes, and homemade edible Christmas gifts and more.

My smoked salmon carpaccio recipe makes an easy elegant appetiser that’s made in minutes. If you’re having guests over, you can make the dish ahead by assembling the salmon, capers and pickled onions, and refrigerate it, then pour on the dressing just before serving. 

Provide toasted baguette slices and bowls of additional capers, pickles and dressing, so guests can customise their carpaccio. And open the bubbly!

You’ll find that recipe and many more Christmas recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/best-christmas-recipes/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas!! X

#christmas #christmasfood #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #salmon #smokedsalmon #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels 
#xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I sh If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I shared a collection of recipes for homemade edible Christmas gifts — for condiments, hot sauces, chilli oils, a whole array of pickles, spice blends, chilli salt, furakake seasoning, and spicy snacks, such as our Cambodian and Vietnamese roasted peanuts. 

I love giving homemade edibles as gifts as much as I love receiving them. Who wouldn’t appreciate jars filled with their favourite chilli oils, hot sauces, piquant pickles, and spicy peanuts that loved-ones have taken the time to make? 

Aside from the gesture and affordability of gifting homemade edibles, you’re minimising waste. You can use recycled jars or if buying new mason jars or clip-top Kilner jars, you know they’ll get repurposed.

No need for wrapping, just attach some Christmas baubles or tinsel to the lid. I used squares of Cambodian kramas (cotton scarves), which can be repurposed as napkins or drink coasters, and tied a ribbon or two around the lids, and attached last year’s Christmas tree decorations to some.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/homemade-edible-christmas-gifts/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Yes, that’s Pepper... every time there’s a camera around... 

#christmasgiftideas #ediblegifts ##christmasfoodgifts #foodgifts #giftideas #homemadegifts #christmasfood #ediblegiftideas #hotsauce #chillisauce #sriracha #pickles #homemadepickles #recipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood 
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This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’ This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’s perfect if you’re just back from the fish markets armed with luxurious fresh crab meat. It’s a little sweet, a little spicy, and very, very moreish.

Our crab omelette recipe was one of our 22 most popular egg recipes of 2022 on our website Grantourismo and it’s no surprise. It’s appeared more times than any other egg recipes on our annual round-ups of most popular recipes since Terence launched Weekend Eggs when we launched Grantourismo in 2010.

If you’re an eggs lover, do check out the recipe collection. It includes egg recipes from right around the world, from recipes for classic kopitiam eggs from Singapore and Malaysia and egg curries from India and Myanmar to all kinds of egg recipes from Thailand, Japan, Korea, China, Mexico, USA, Australia, UK, and Ireland.

And do browse our Weekend Eggs archives for further eggspiration (sorry). We have hundreds of egg recipes from the 13 year-old series of recipes for quintessential egg dishes from around the world, which we started on our 2010 year-long global grand tour focused on slow, local and experiential travel. 

We’re hoping 2023 will be the year we can finally publish the Weekend Eggs cookbook we’ve talked about for years based on that series. After we can find a publisher for the Cambodia cookbook of course... :( 

Recipe collection here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio):
https://grantourismotravels.com/22-most-popular-egg-recipes-of-2022-from-weekend-eggs/

If you cook the recipe and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either in the comments at the end of the recipe or share a pic with us here.

#recipe #recipes #eggs #eggslover #breakfasteggs #WeekendEggs #egg #breakfast #brunch #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #lookingforapublisher #writingacookbook  #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angko I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angkor Archaeological Park, home to stupendous Angkor Wat, pictured, celebrated 30 years of its UNESCO World Heritage listing. 

That’s as good an excuse as any to put this magnificent, sprawling archaeological site on your travel list this year.

While riverside Siem Reap, your base for exploring Angkor is bustling once more, there are still nowhere near the visitors of the last busy high season months of December-January 2018-2019 when there were 290,000 visitors. 

Last month there were just 55,000 visitors and December feels a little quieter. A tour guide friend said there were about 150 people at Angkor Wat for sunrise a few days ago.

If you’re looking for tips to visiting Angkor, Siem Reap and Cambodia, just ask us a question in the comments below or check Grantourismo as we’ve got loads of info on our site. Click through to the link in the bio and explore our Cambodia guide or search for ‘Angkor’. 

And please do let us know if you’re coming to Siem Reap. We’d love to see you here x

#siemreap #cambodia #asia #travel #instatravel #traveldeeper #slowtravel #localtravel #experientialtravel #exploremore #neverstopexploring #goexplore #igtravel #angkorwat #angkor #temple #temples #angkorwithoutcrowds #unesco #unescoworldheritagesite #unescoworldheritage #archaeology #archaeologicalsite #traveladdict #beautifuldestinations #beautifulplaces #travelgram #wanderlust #picoftheday📷 #grantourismotravels.
Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky, flavourful and succulent chicken thighs that are fantastic with steamed rice, Chinese greens or a salad, such as a Southeast Asian slaw. 

The chicken can be marinated for up to 24 hours before cooking, which ensures it’s packed with flavour, then it can be cooked on a barbecue or in a pan.

Terence’s soy ginger chicken recipe is one of our favourite recipes for a quick and easy meal. I love the sound of the sizzling thighs in the pan, and the warming aromas wafting through the apartment. 

It’s amazing how such flavourful juicy chicken thighs come from such a quick and easy recipe.

Recipe here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio): https://grantourismotravels.com/soy-ginger-chicken-recipe/

If you cook it and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either here or in the comments at the end of the recipe on the site or share a pic with us x 

#recipe #recipes #chicken #soygingerchicken #asianfood #southeastasianfood #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #cookingtime #recipe #recipes #comfortfood #foodblog #food #foodstagram #healthyfood #instafood #healthy #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re mak Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re making with my market haul from Psar Samaki in Siem Reap — all for a whopping 10,000 riel (US$2.50)?! 

Birds-eye chillies thrown in for free! They were on my list but the seller I spent most at (5,000 riel!) scooped up a handful and slipped them into my bag. She was my last stop and knew what I was making.

My Khmer is poor, even after all our years in Cambodia, as I don’t learn languages with the ease I did in my 20s, plus I’m mentally exhausted after researching and writing all day. I have a better vocabulary of Old and Middle Khmer than modern Khmer from studying the ancient inscriptions for the Cambodian culinary history component of our cookbook I’m writing.

So when one seller totalled my purchases I thought she said 5,000 riel but she handed back 4,500 riel! The sum total of two huge bunches of herbs and kaffir lime leaves was 500 riel.

Tip: if visiting Siem Reap, use Khmer riel for local shopping. We’ve mainly used riel since the pandemic started— rarely use US$ now as market sellers quote prices in riels, as do local shops and bakeries, and I tip tuk tuk drivers in riels. I find prices quoted in riels are lower.

Psar Samaki is cheaper than Psar Leu, which is cheaper than Psar Chas, as it’s a wholesale market, which means the produce is fresher. I see veggies arriving, piled high in the back of vehicles, with dirt still on them — as I did on this trip. 

The scent of a mountain of incredibly aromatic pineapples offloaded from the back of a dusty ute was so heady they smelt like they’d just been cut. More exotic European style veggies arrive by big trucks in boxes labelled in Vietnamese (from Dalat) and Mandarin (from China), such as beautiful snow-white cauliflower I spotted.

Note: the freshest produce is sold on the dirt road at the back of the market.

#cambodia #siemreap #foodwriter #foodblogger #foodphotography #igfood #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #instadaily #picoftheday #market #siemreapmarket #psarsamaki #marketfresh #vegetables #healthyfood #marketshopping #traveltips #foodtravel #culinarytravel #localtravel #cooking #cookingtime #curry #homemade #currypaste #grantourismotravels
My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recip My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recipe makes tender meatballs doused in a delightfully tangy-sweet sauce, sprinkled with crispy fried shallots, with carrot-daikon, crunchy cucumber and fragrant herbs. 

The dish is inspired by bún chả, a Hanoi specialty, but it’s not bún chả. No matter what Google or food bloggers tell you. Names are important, especially when cooking and writing about cuisines not our own.

This is an authentic bún chả recipe:  https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-bun-cha-recipe/ You’ll need to get the outdoor BBQ/grill going to do proper smoky bún chả meat patties (not meatballs).

My meatball noodle bowl is perhaps more closely related to dishes such as a Central Vietnam cousin bún thịt nướng (pork skewers on rice noodles in a bowl) and a Southern relation bún bò Nam Bộ (beef atop rice noodles, sprinkled with fried shallots (Nam Bộ=Southern Vietnam) though neither include meatballs. 

Xíu mại= meatballs although they’re different in flavour to mine, which taste more like bún chả patties. Xíu mại remind me of Southern Italian meatballs in tomato sauce.

In Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, home to millions of Khmer, there’s bánh tằm xíu mại. Bánh tằm=silk worm noodles. They’re topped with meatballs, cucumber, daikon, carrot, fresh herbs, crispy fried onions. Difference: cold noodles doused in a sauce of coconut cream and fish sauce. 

Remove the meatballs, add chopped fried spring rolls and it’s Cambodia’s banh sung, which is a rice noodle salad similar to Vietnam’s bún chả giò :) 

Recipe here: (link in bio) https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-meatballs-and-rice-noodles-recipe/

For more on these culinary connections you’ll have to wait for our Cambodian cookbook and culinary history. In a hurry to know? Come support the project on Patreon. (link in bio)

#recipe #recipes #vietnamesefood #cambodianfood #asianfood #southeastasianfood #ricenoodles #rice #noodlebowl #meatballs #igfood #igfoodie #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #writingacookbook #writingacambodiancookbook #patreon #patreoncreator #grantourismo
It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour matches the furnishings of our rented apartment. So, no, I did not colour-coordinate the interiors to match our cat’s eyes. 

I keep getting DMs from pet clothing brands wanting to “partner” with Pepper and send her free cat clothes and cat accessories. Although she did wear a kerchief for a few years in her more adventurous fashion-forward teenage years, I cannot see this cat in clothes now, can you? 

#pepper #blackcat #blackcats #blackcatsofinstagram #blackcatsrule #blackcatsmatter #cat #cats #catsofinstagram #catstagram #catlover #catlovers #catlove #catoftheday #catphoto #catpic #catpics #cambodiancat #cambodiancatsofinstagram #catlife #catloversclub #catoftheday #catgram #catstagram #cats_of_instagram #catphotography #catsofig #catsoftheworld #catsofinsta #cats🐱 #siemreap #cambodia

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