Incense Travel - BLOG

Asia is known as the largest continent in the world, both by land area and population. It’s home to nearly 4.5 billion people, more than half of the world’s population. The continent is too wide and diverse to conceptualize as a single digestible travel "destination", and we want to see it all. So we want to invite you to start with our hand-picked choices of where to go in Southeast Asia in 2020, which is overflowing with ancient cultures that would take a lifetime to fully explore.

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Confucianism is a social, moral, educational and political philosophy (or simply a way of life), which was initiated by the Chinese scholar, Confucius, who lived from 551BC to 479BC. His philosophy was later developed by his followers with the purpose of building a harmonious and peaceful society. The philosophy was then spread in Vietnam during the 1000 thousand years Chinese domination, and together with Buddhism and Taoism - they became the 3 main religions in the country.

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Much of living in Hanoi has to do with eating and loving some of the noodle dishes that have emerged from this exciting part of the world. Naturally, pho bo (beef noodle soup) noodle dish is a popular choice. If you’ve ever tried one Vietnamese food, it’s most likely pho bo. Made with beef stock and rice noodles, the beef noodle dish is a must-try on the streets of Hanoi. But there’s much more to Hanoi’s diverse noodle scene than this familiar noodle dish.

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I took some of my food tour clients to the “Hanoi Strain Street” yesterday, and it reminded me of a quote by Mark Twain: “I saw a startling sight today, a politician with his hands in his own pockets”. The Hanoi’s railroad has become an Instagram-famous street, where tourists come in hopes of a perfect picture with a unique background. I saw no politician there, but the increasing number of coffee shops with chairs sitting next the tracks are making it a startling sight.

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On my Hanoi food tours, I’m often asked “Where are the best pastry shops in Hanoi?”, which is a tough question. There are hundreds of pastries and bakeries in Hanoi, and it’s hard to whittle them down to just a handful of them. You can find both local Vietnamese bakery and foreign-chef owns bakery cafes in Hanoi, each has its own personality reflecting the neighborhood it’s located in.

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Last weekend, my wife and I came back to Halong Bay for an overnight stay on a wooden boat, being a tourist couple. Those were beautiful days of the north Vietnam’s autumn weather, the white painted wooden cruiser was teeming with eager, and the Gulf of Tonkin sparkled like wrinkled cellophane. The short trip was my wife’s first overnight boat experience, so she was moving around quite often taking photos of the islands and selfies around the vessel.

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When I was first working as a tour guide more than a decade ago, some travelers came to Hanoi and went to a vegetarian restaurant in the Old Quarter. The next day, they told me how stunned they were as there weren’t any mushroom or tofu on the menu. Yes, being a vegetarian used to be a challenge in Hanoi, but it’s not anymore! As the vegetarian dining scene has blossomed in the last decade, and there are more vegetarian (and vegan) places in Hanoi than ever.

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That is one of the most asked questions I have as a trip leader, which I do love to answer. I like delicious food, so I want to make sure my travelers find their ways to the best local restaurants in the town. Also, it requires quite an amount of sometime to reach the mountains of Sapa, then beside enjoying the mountain hikes we should be rewarded with good local food available there as well. This article therefore shows you the best 5 local restaurants in Sapa.

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September is the beginning of the best time to travel Vietnam, as it’s the harvest time in the region. Visitors to northern Vietnam this month will have opportunities to see the golden color of the ready-to-harvest rice fields, spreading from Red River Delta to terraces on the hillsides around Sapa. On my most recent tour, I took my clients from Hanoi to Tam Coc, to Lan Ha Bay, and to Sapa. Following is how we experienced the destinations in our 7 days exploring northern Vietnam.

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Being a trip leader, I travel to the mountains of Sapa with my group almost every month. Beside showing my travelers the fascinating cultures of the ethnic people living on the hill sides, the gorgeous mountains and valleys of Sapa during our hikes, I love to take them to a local rooftop bar for a drink for its panoramic views. There is no better way to take in the magnificent views of Sapa than being on a rooftop with a drink, and here are my favorite rooftop bars in Sapa.

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