Our Route
Bangkok
Bangkok represents the quintessential Asian capital. Saffron-robed monks, garish neon signs, graceful Thai architecture, spicy dishes, colourful markets, traffic jams, and the tropical climate. A furious assault on the senses - visitors are immediately confronted by the heat, the pollution and the irrepressible smile that accompanies many Thais. It is a tropical metropolis that is also one of the most traveller-friendly cities in Asia. Despite the sensationalised international news reports and first impressions, the city is surprisingly safe and more organised than it initially appears, and full of hidden gems waiting to be discovered. The high relative humidity and warm temperature favour the growth of tropical plants so you'll find exotic orchids and delicious fruit everywhere. Thai cuisine is justifiably famous, varied, and affordable.
History
Originally Bangkok was a small village on the banks of the Chao Phraya river, until a new capital was founded on the west bank (present-day Thonburi) after the fall of Ayutthaya. In 1782, King Rama I built a palace on the east bank (now Rattanakosin) and renamed the city Krung Thep, as it is now known to Thais and which in English is translated as the 'City of Angels'. The full name "Krung thep mahanakhon amorn ratanakosin mahintharayutthaya mahadilok popnoparat ratchathani burirom udomratchanivetmahasathan amornpiman avatarnsathit sakkathattiyavisnukarmprasit" is listed as the world's longest location name by the Guinness Book of Records; an English rendering goes like this: "The city of angels, the great city, the residence of the Emerald Buddha, the impregnable city of Ayutthaya of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarn".
Modern Bangkok is predominantly Thai-Chinese who make up the majority of the population, but the city is also a second home to millions of upcountry "Thai-Thai" folk who come to make a living. The city is also home to a remarkable array of expats from all over the world, with districts inhabited by Chinese, Indians, Japanese, Koreans, Arabs and many more.
Kanchanaburi
For most visitors the main interest in Kanchanaburi is the Bridge over the River Kwai, made famous by the film of the same name. It was the start of the infamous World War II Death Railway to Burma (now Myanmar), and now has a number of associated museums. There is an increasingly thriving tourist scene taking advantage of the chilled-out riverside vibe for those that need to get away from Bangkok. Kanchanaburi is also the gateway to the surrounding province of the same name, widely regarded as one of the most beautiful provinces in the country with its easily accessible waterfalls and national parks.
The bridge was constructed by POWs working for the Japanese in hellish conditions during World War 2. Some 16,000 POWs and 100,000 Asian workers died during the railway construction so it’s a centre of pilgrimage for Thai’s too. The present iron bridge is the second wartime incarnation (a part of the original can be found in the War Museum), but two central box spans were rebuilt after the war to replace three sections destroyed by Allied bombing.
You can cross the bridge on foot as the centre of the track has been turned into a steel-plated walkway with little side platforms between the spans for sightseeing and avoiding trains. There are no guardrails so vertigo sufferers and small children should steer clear. Off the end of the bridge, you can feed or ride an elephant bare-back at negotiated price. The State Railway of Thailand operates a little tourist train which trundles back and forth across the bridge at around 20 baht (check price on arrival) for the 15 minute round trip.
Tiger Temple
The Tiger Temple, which is located some 40kms north west of Kanchanaburi, was founded in 1994 as a forest temple and sanctuary for numerous wild animals. In 1995 it received the Golden Jubilee Buddha Image, made of 80 kilograms of gold. According to the abbot and others associated with the temple, in 1999, the temple received its first tiger cub that had been found by villagers but died soon after. The story goes that several tiger cubs were later given to the temple over time, typically when the mothers had been killed by poachers or from others getting rid of their tiger "pets". Numbers are rising as by 2007 more than 21 cubs have been born at the temple. As of late December 2009, the total number of tigers living at the temple had risen to almost 50.
The subspecies of these tigers is unknown as none of them have been DNA tested, but it is thought that they are Indochinese Tigers, except Mek (a Bengal Tiger). There is also a possibility that there may be some of the newly discovered Malayan Tigers and it is likely that many are cross breeds or hybrids.
Sukothai
Sukhothai, which literally means "Dawn of Happiness" is about 427 km north of Bangkok and was founded in 1238. Sukhothai was the capital of the Thai Empire for approximately 140 years. Today 193 temples have been excavated and some partly reconstructed. Old Sukhothai, located within the park, is a very quiet town with almost no hotels but provides a great way to experience life in a Thai village.
There are 193 ruins on 70 square kilometres of land including the remains of the royal palace and twenty-six temples, the largest being Wat Mahathat. The park is maintained by the Fine Arts Department of Thailand with help from UNESCO, which has declared it a World Heritage Site.
Chang Mai
Chiang Mai is the hub of Northern Thailand. With a population of over 170,000 in the city proper (but more than 1 million in the metropolitan area), it is Thailand's fifth-largest city. Located on a plain at an elevation of 316 m, surrounded by mountains and lush countryside, it is much greener and quieter than the capital, and has a cosmopolitan air and a significant expat population, factors which have led many from Bangkok to settle permanently in this "Rose of the North".
Founded in 1296 AD, Chiang Mai is a culturally and historically interesting city. At one time it was the capital of the ancient Lanna kingdom. Located among the rolling foothills of the Himalayan Mountains 700 km north of Bangkok, it could only be reached by an arduous river journey or an elephant back trip until the 1920s. This isolation helped preserve Chiang Mai's distinctive charm.
Inside Chiang Mai's remaining city walls are more than 30 temples dating back hundreds of years, in a combination of Burmese, Sri Lankan and Lanna Thai styles, decorated with beautiful wood carvings, Naga staircases, leonine and angelic guardians, gilded umbrellas and pagodas laced with gold filigree. The most famous is Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, which overlooks the city from a mountainside 13 km away.
Modern-day Chiang Mai has expanded in all directions, but particularly to the east towards the Ping River where Thanon Chang Klan, the famous Night Bazaar and the bulk of Chiang Mai's hotels and guesthouses are located. The locals say you've not experienced Chiang Mai until you've seen the view from Doi Suthep, eaten a bowl of kao soi, and purchased an umbrella from Bo Sang. Of course this is touristic nonsense, but the Kao Soi, Bo Sang umbrellas and Doi Suthep are important cultural icons for Chiang Mai residents.
Phitsanulok
Phitsanulok is an important and historic city in lower northern Thailand and is the capital of Phitsanulok Province, which stretches all the way to the Laotian border. Phitsanulok is one of the oldest cities in Thailand, founded over 600 years ago. It is probably best known as the birthplace of King Naresuan, who freed the country from Burmese domination in the late 16th Century, and his brother and successor King Ekathosarot (Sanpet III). As the cross-road between the northern and central regions of the country, it has long been important both for political and strategic reasons, and was fought over many times in centuries past. Phitsanulok was the capital of Thailand for 25 years during the reign of King Boromma Trailokanat of Ayutthaya. Located on the banks of the Nan River, the city was originally a small Khmer outpost known as Song Kwae, before the Khwae Noi river changed its course in the 11th century. Phitsanulok was also a provincial centre of the Angkorian Empire during the Angkorian period. Phitsanulok is home to Naresuan University and Pibulsongkram Rajabhat University, as well as a major Royal Thai Army base.
Khon Kaen
Khon Kaen is a regional centre for education, financial institutions, government offices and transportation. The city is also an industrial centre, especially for the region's silk trade, as well as an agricultural hub. Khon Kaen has some noteworthy Buddhist temples. On the south side of the city and East of the Friendship highway, there is a beautiful lake—Bueng Kaen Nakhon, with a diverse range of places for entertainment. There is a lively night market by the lake, buzzing with activity where one can buy an assortment of food, clothing and souvenirs.
The Khon Kaen National Museum was opened by His Majesty King Bhumiphol Adulyadej on the 20th of December, 1972. It has a wide selection of antiques, precious art pieces and archaeological finds from the region. The museum isn't overly large, having two floors, but the exhibits range from the pre-historic to historical periods, including ancient relics. One of the many highlights includes a skeleton of the 'New Stone Age' man and tools from that period, most of the archaeology being conducted at Muang Fa Daet Song Yang excavation site and Ban Chiang.
Khorat
Archeological evidence has discovered that there were two ancient towns that later became named Sema and Nakhon Raj which currently are in Sung Noen district, 32 km west of present-day Nakhon Ratchasima (Khorat).
From 1656-1688 King Narai of Ayutthaya Kingdom ordered a 'new' Khorat to be built, to guard Ayutthaya 's north eastern frontier. From the beginning of the Bangkok period, Nakhon Ratchasima became the kingdom's biggest north eastern frontier's stronghold, supervising the Kingdom's Laotian and Khmer 'vassals'.
The city was attacked by Anouvong, the King of Vientiane, in 1826 in an attempt to halt growing Siamese domination of Laos. A prominent figure of this time was Thao Suranaree, a local heroine who has been honoured with a statue in the centre of downtown Korat; she is credited with having freed the city from Anouvong's army.
Nakhon Ratchasima continued to be the important, political and economic centre in the north eastern region even after the administrative reform in the late nineteenth century. The first railway to the north eastern region, Isan, arrived in early twentieth century. Nakhon Ratchasima then became the main junction of railway in the region.
In October 1933, after the 1932 Revolution had ended the absolute monarchy, the city became the headquarters of the Boworadej Revolt, an abortive uprising against the new government in Bangkok. During the Vietnam War, Nakhon Ratchasima was home to United States military bases.
Siem Reap
The name Siem Reap means the 'Defeat of Siam' - today’s Thailand - and refers to a century-old bloodbath, commemorated in stone in the celebrated bas relief carvings of the monuments. The name has also been translated as 'The Brilliance of Siam', as, for nearly 500 years, before the massacre, it was one of the main border crossings from Ancient Cambodia into Siam.
In 1901 the Ecole Française d'Extrême Orient (EFEO) began a long association with Angkor by funding an expedition into Siam to the Bayon. In 1907 Angkor, which had been taken from Siam (Thailand) by force, was assigned to Cambodia. The EFEO took responsibility for clearing and restoring the whole site. In the same year, the first tourists arrived in Angkor - an unprecedented 200 of them in three months. Angkor had been 'rescued' from the jungle and was assuming its place in the modern world.
Siem Reap was little more than a village when the first French explorers re-discovered Angkor in the 19th century. With the acquisition of Angkor by the French, in 1907, Siem Reap began to grow, absorbing the first wave of tourists. The Grand Hotel d'Angkor opened its doors in 1929 and the temples of Angkor remained one of Asia's leading draws until the late 1960s, luring visitors like Charlie Chaplin and Jackie Kennedy. In 1975, the population of Siem Reap, along with that of the rest of the cities and towns in Cambodia, was evacuated by the communist Khmer Rouge and driven into the countryside.
As with the rest of the country, Siem Reap's history (and the memories of its people) is coloured by spectre of the brutal Khmer Rouge Regime, though since Pol Pot's death in 1998, relative stability and a rejuvenated tourist industry have been important steps in an important, if tentative, journey forward to recovery. With the advent of war, Siem Reap entered a long slumber from which it only began to awake in the mid-1990s.
Today, Siem Reap is undoubtedly Cambodia's fastest growing city and thanks to the temples it has transformed itself into a major tourist hub. Today it is a vibrant town with modern hotels and architectures and despite international influences, Siem Reap and its people have conserved much of the town's image, culture and traditions.
Phnom Penh
Once known as the "Pearl of Asia" Phnom Penh is considered one of the loveliest of French-built cities in Indochina. Developed in the 1920s, Phnom Penh, along with Siem Reap and Sihanoukville is a significant global and domestic tourist destination for Cambodia. Founded in 1434, the city is noted for its historical attractions as well as providing a number of examples of surviving French colonial architecture, such as the The Royal palace.
Situated on the Tonle Sap, Mekong and Bassac rivers, Phnom Penh is home to more than two million of Cambodia's population of more than 14 million. Phnom Penh is the wealthiest and most populous city in Cambodia. It is also the country's commercial, political and cultural hub.
During the Vietnam War, Cambodia was used as a base by the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong, and thousands of refugees from across the country flooded the city to escape the fighting between their own government troops, the NVA/NLF, the South Vietnamese and its allies, and the Khmer Rouge. By 1975, the population was two million, the bulk of whom were refugees from the fighting. The city fell to the Khmer Rouge on April 17 1975. Many of its residents, including those who were wealthy and educated, were forced to do labour on rural farms as "new people". Tuol Svay Prey High School was taken over by Pol Pot's forces and was turned into the notorious S-21 prison camp, where Cambodians were detained and tortured.
Pol Pot sought a return to an agrarian economy and therefore killed many people perceived as educated, "lazy", or political enemies. Many others starved to death as a result of failure of the ‘back to the land’ society and the sale of Cambodia's rice to China in exchange for bullets and weaponry. The former high school is now the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, where Khmer Rouge torture devices and photos of their victims are displayed. Choeung Ek (The Killing Fields), 15 kilometres (9 miles) away, where the Khmer Rouge marched prisoners from Tuol Sleng to be murdered and buried in shallow pits, is also now a memorial to those who were killed by the regime.
The Khmer Rouge were driven out of Phnom Penh by the Vietnamese in 1979 and people began to return to the city. Vietnam is historically a state with which Cambodia has had many conflicts, therefore this liberation was and is viewed with mixed emotions by the Cambodians. A period of reconstruction began, spurred by continuing stability of government, attracting new foreign investment and aid by countries including France, Australia, and Japan. Loans were made from the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank to reinstate a clean water supply, roads and other infrastructure. The 1998 Census put Phnom Penh's population at 862,000; by the next census in 2008, it was 1.3 million.
Saigon
Under the name Saigon it was the capital of the French colony of Cochinchina and later of the independent state of South Vietnam from 1954 to 1975. In 1976, Saigon merged with the surrounding province of Gia Dịnh and was officially renamed Ho Chi Minh City after the Vietnam War.
Former Emperor Bao Dại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Viet Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as “South Vietnam”. The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bao Dại was deposed in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Do Thanh Sai Gon ("Capital City Saigon").
Post-Vietnam War and today
At the conclusion of the Vietnam War, on April 30, 1975, the city came under the control of the Vietnamese People's Army. The U.S. called it the “Fall of Saigon,” while not unnaturally, the communist Socialist Republic of Vietnam calls it the “Liberation of Saigon.”
In 1976, upon the establishment of the unified communist Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the city of Saigon (including Cholon), the province of Gia Dịnh and two suburban districts of two other nearby provinces were combined to create Ho Chi Minh City in honour of the late communist leader Ho Chi Minh. The former name Saigon is still widely used by many Vietnamese, especially in informal contexts. Generally, the term Saigon refers only to the urban districts of Ho Chi Minh City. The word "Saigon" can also be found on shop signs all over the country, even in Hanoi.
Da Lat
During the 1890s, explorers in the area which was then part of the French territory of Cochinchina, asked the French governor-general, Paul Doumer, to create a resort centre in the highlands. The governor agreed. The original intended site for the hill station was Dankia, but Etienne Tardif, a member of the road-building expedition of 1898-99, proposed the current site instead. In 1907, the first hotel was built.
Hebrard, the French architect, endowed the city with villas and boulevards and much of this charm remains today. Hebrard included a health complex, a golf course, parks, schools, and homes but no industry. A legacy of boarding schools where children from the whole of Indochina were taught by French priests, nuns, and expatriates lasted until the end of French rule. There were seminaries of Jesuits (such as Pius X Pontifical College) and other orders. The elite Vietnamese National Military Academy graduated its first class of future leaders in 1950. There was even an aviation school at Cam Ly Airport.
During World War II, Da Lạt was the capital of the Federation of Indochina, from 1939 to 1945 and later the only major involvement Da Lat had in the Vietnam War was during the 1968 Tet Offensive.
Da Lat is home to the manmade, 5 km² Xuan Huong Lake. The average temperature is 17°C, and does not exceed 25°C in the hottest season. Its climate is ideal for agricultural production and is renowned for its orchids, roses, vegetables, and fruits. There is a nascent wine-making and flower-growing industry in the region.
Tuy Hoa
Tuy Hoa was one of several air bases in the former South Vietnam built by United States Air Force RED HORSE civil engineering squadrons in 1966. An advance construction party of the 820th Civil Engineering Squadron (Heavy repair) arrived in June. Within six months, with the completion of interim airfield facilities, the base was in operation. This unit completed nearly 50 percent of all construction completed at Tuy Hoa, including: 170 aircraft protective revetments, 120,000 square feet (11,000 m2) of wooden buildings, and 175,000 square yards of AM-2 matting. In addition, the 820th CES operated a rock crusher 9.5 miles from the base and hauled aggregate through enemy-held territory to the base.
Tuy Hoa was originally envisioned as a Strategic Air Command B-52 base. However, security concerns of basing SAC's bombers directly in South Vietnam resulted in the assignment of B-52s to U-Tapao Air Base in neighbouring Thailand. Tuy Hoa was given a tactical air support mission instead.
Cen Deluxe Hotel Tuy Hoa is situated in the midst of the Business and Entertainment district of Tuy Hoa City which offer a vast variety of restaurants and entertainment establishments.
As they say “Being the first 5 Star Hotel in the province of Phu Yen of course comes with a great responsibility to our demanding guests’ selective taste; rest assured it is the ultimate Guest Satisfaction that we live for and that is what we do best!”
Hue
Hue is in the central region of Vietnam and is the former imperial capital. Hue is intimately connected to the imperial Nguyen Dynasty, based in Hue, who ruled from 1802 to 1945, when the Emperor Bao Dai abdicated in favour of Ho Chi Minh's revolutionary government. The city went through tough times during the Vietnam War, when it was conquered by the Viet Cong and held for 24 days, during which the VC killed around 1,000 people suspected of sympathising with the South, and then subject to an American bombing campaign to retake the city.
The former imperial seat of government and Hue's prime attraction, this is a great sprawling complex of temples, pavilions, moats, walls, gates, shops, museums and galleries, featuring art and costumes from various periods of Vietnamese history. Thanks to its size, it is also delightfully peaceful - a rare commodity in Vietnam.
The citadel was badly knocked about during fighting between the French and the Viet Minh in 1947, and again in 1968 during the Tet Offensive, when it was shelled by the Viet Cong and then bombed by the Americans. As a result, some areas are now only empty fields, bits of walls, and an explanatory plaque. Other buildings are intact, though, and a few are in sparkling condition. For the rest, while restoration has been going on for 20 years, there is still quite a long way to go.
The other great attractions in Hue are the Tombs of the Emperors, which are located along the Perfume River south of the city. They are accessible by taxi or bike from the city, but the best way to see them is to hire a river boat and go for a cruise
Vinh
Founded in 1802, it was more or less destroyed during the French-Vietnamese War. After rebuilding and reaching city status in 1962, it was again flattened during the American War. This time it was rebuilt with assistance from the now-defunct German Democratic Republic.
To say it lacks charm is an understatement. If you're a fan of East German ‘social realist’ architecture, you'd probably be impressed, but for anyone else, it’s an undistinguished straggle of buildings surrounded by rice paddies, and not much more.
The only point of interest is Kim Lien, a small village 14km west of Vinh, where Nguyen Sinh Cung was born in 1890. His father, a minor mandarin expelled from the Imperial Court for his anti-colonialist sympathies, could hardly suspect his son would become Vietnam’s saviour and one of the greatest leaders of the twentieth century as Ho Chi Minh.
Vientianne
The name of the city is derived from Pali, the liturgical language of Theravada Buddhism. Its original meaning is "royal sandalwood grove" or "city of sandalwood", this tree being highly valued in classical India for its fragrance.
Most historians believe Vientiane was an early Khmer settlement centred around a Hindu temple, which the Pha That Luang would later replace. In the 11th and 12th centuries, the time when the Lao and Thai people are believed to have entered Southeast Asia from Southern China, the few remaining Khmers in the area were either killed, removed, or assimilated into the Lao civilization, which would soon overtake the area.
In 1354, when Fa Ngum founded the kingdom of Lan Xang, Vientiane became an important administrative city, even though it was not made the capital. King Setthathirath officially established it as the capital of Lan Xang in 1560. When Lan Xang fell apart in 1707, it became an independent kingdom. In 1779, it was conquered by the Siamese general Phraya Chakri and made a vassal of Siam.
When King Anouvong raised an unsuccessful rebellion, it was obliterated by Siamese armies in 1827. The city was burned to the ground and was looted of nearly all Laotian artefacts including Buddha statues. A much reduced Vientiane became the capital of the French protectorate of Laos in 1899. The French rebuilt the city and rebuilt or repaired Buddhist temples such as Pha That Luang, Haw Phra Kaew, and left many colonial buildings behind.
Luang Prabang
The city was formerly the capital of a kingdom of the same name. Until the communist takeover in 1975, it was the royal capital and seat of government of the Kingdom of Laos. The city is also notable as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Luang Prabang has both natural and historical sites. Among the natural tourism sites, there are the Kuang Si Falls and Pak Ou Caves. At the end of the main street of Luang Prabang is a night market where stalls sell shirts, bracelets, tea, to locals and visitors. The Haw Kham Royal Palace Museum and the Wat Xieng Thong temple are among the most well known historical sites. Along with the magnificent wats a significant part of the old town's appeal are the many French provincial style houses.
Phonsavan
The Plain of Jars is a megalithic archaeological landscape in Laos. Scattered in the landscape of the Xieng Khouang plateau are thousands of stone jars. These jars appear in clusters, ranging from a single or a few to several hundred at lower foothills surrounding the central plain and upland valleys. Initial research of the Plain of Jars in the early 1930's suggested that the stone jars are associated with prehistoric burial practices. Excavation by Lao and Japanese archaeologists in the intervening years has supported this interpretation with the discovery of human remains, burial goods and ceramics around the stone jars. The Plain of Jars is dated to the Iron Age (500 BCE to 500 CE) and is one of the most fascinating and important sites for studying Southeast Asian prehistory.
More than 90 sites are known within the province of Xieng Khouang. Each site ranges from 1 up to 400 stone jars. The jars vary in height and diameter between 1 and 3 metres and are all hewn out of rock.
From the fact that most of the jars have lip rims, it is presumed that all stone jars supported lids, although few stone lids have been recorded; this may suggest that the bulk of lids have been fashioned from perishable materials. Stone lids with animal representations have been noticed at few sites such as Ban Phakeo (Site 52). The bas-relief animals are thought to be monkeys, tigers and frogs.
Than Hoa
Thanh Hoa city is located south of the Red River delta region, about 137 km south of Hanoi, on a small tributary of the Ma River. It is linked with Hanoi by road and railway and considered to be a growing trade and industrial centre. Agriculture, forestry and fishery are being developed here.
During the Vietnam War, US strategic bombing destroyed much of the buildings and infrastructure, the whole city has been totally rebuilt since then.
Than Hoa has the Hoang Long Antique Museum, and the large Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception which holds services each Sunday.
Halong Bay
The bay consists of a dense cluster of over 3,000 limestone monolithic islands (although locals claim there are only 1,969 as this is the year of Ho Chi Minh's death), each topped with thick jungle vegetation, rising spectacularly from the ocean. Several of the islands are hollow, with enormous caves. Hang Dau Go (Wooden stakes cave) is the largest grotto in the Halong area. French tourists visited in the late 19th century, and named the cave Grotte des Merveilles. Its three large chambers contain large numerous stalactites and stalagmites (as well as 19th century French graffiti). There are two bigger islands, Tuan Chau and Cat Ba, that have permanent inhabitants. Both of them have tourist facilities including hotels and beaches. There are a number of beautiful beaches on the smaller islands.
Some of the islands support floating villages of fishermen, who ply the shallow waters for 200 species of fish and 450 different types of mollusc. Many of the islands have acquired their names as a result of interpretation of their unusual shapes. Such names include Voi Islet (elephant), Ga Choi Islet (fighting cock), and Mai Nha Islet (roof). Another interesting feature of Halong Bay is the abundance of lakes inside the limestone islands. For example, Dau Be island has six enclosed lakes.
It is a place of immense beauty and is not to be missed.
HANOI
As the capital of Vietnam for almost a thousand years, Hanoi is considered to be one of cultural centres of Vietnam, where most of Vietnamese dynasties had left behind their imprint. Even though some relics have not survived through wars and time, the city still has many interesting cultural and historic monuments for visitors and residents alike. Even when the nation's capital moved to Hue under the Nguyen Dynasty in 1802, the city of Hanoi continued to flourish, especially after the French took control in 1888 and modelled the city's architecture to their tastes, lending an important aesthetic to the city's rich stylistic heritage. The city boasts more than 1,000 years of history, and that of the past few hundred years has been well preserved.
The city was occupied by the Japanese in 1940, and liberated in 1945, when it briefly became the seat of the Viet Minh government after Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the independence of Vietnam. But the French came back and reoccupied the city in 1946. After nine years of fighting between the French and Viet Minh forces, Hanoi became the capital of an independent North Vietnam in 1954.
During the Vietnam War Hanoi's transportation facilities were disrupted by the bombing of bridges and railways, which were, however, promptly repaired. Following the end of the war, Hanoi became the capital of Vietnam when North and South Vietnam were reunited on July 2, 1976.
The Old Quarter, near Hoan Kiem lake, has the original street layout and architecture of old Hanoi. At the beginning of the 20th century the city consisted of only about 36 streets, most of which are now part of the old quarter. Each street then had merchants and households specialized in a particular trade, such as silk traders, jewellery, etc. The street names nowadays still reflect these specializations, although few of them remain exclusively in their original commerce. The area is famous for its small artisans and merchants, including many silk shops. Local cuisine specialties as well as several clubs and bars can be found here also. A night market (near Dong Xuan market) in the heart of the district opens for business every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evening with a variety of clothing, souvenirs and food.
