Hanoi. Once a war torn city that was subject to the fire and flames of war, now it is a commerce center for eastern Far East. This city is a thriving center for the country of Vietnam, full of surprises, cultural heritage, and exotic landscapes. It is astounding the resiliency of humanity shows itself. Often bombed during the Vietnam war, the infrastructure of Hanoi was completely destroyed. But this city has survived worse.

Hanoi has the imprints of a city that has been ruled by many, and each ruler has left a foot print on the town. Beginning with Ly Thai To, the 1st Ruler of the Ly Dynasty, Hanoi has been renamed and rebuilt many times. In 1408, the Chinese from the Ming Dynasty attacked, and brought with them plenty of the advances that the Chinese had, as well as some of the culture that the Chinese have been seen for. Following the Chinese example, other Dynasties invaded and slipped, the Jap attacked, the French occupied the city, and finally the United States tried to destroy it. Each of these foreign powers left its mark on this remarkable city. Some left Pagodas. Some left Statues. Some left architectural styles. All of them give a unique flavour to the city of Hanoi.

Vietnam travel is a rising industry in the country. Tourism is rising because people are beginning to notice the fantastic thing about a nation that has lain unexplored for so long. One of the most stunning of these locations, Ha Long Bay, is a wonderous sight of limestone marvel. Towers of rock stand as many sentinels for a bay of human inhabitants. The water within the bay is phenomenally calm, the unsettled sea buffered by the towers of limestone that stand tall in the ocean. The formation of this geographical marvel is a fascinating one. The towers are made of limestone, a rock that is easily eroded by water. Vietnam is a particularly wet area, during monsoon season, with peak precipitation reaching thirteen inches in the month of July. This gigantic quantity of rain causes fast run off and absorption into the ground. The water filters through the ground into underground aquifers that run through much of Vietnam's underground, and is carried by the aquifers out to the ocean. What's interesting though is that the run off in the underground caverns takes some of the walls with it. This erosion process slowly whittles down the support for the roofs of these aquifers, and eventually the ground above the underground rivers collapses into sink holes. When many of these sink holes are created near one another, they can become crammed with water and become lakes. These lakes can at last connect to the ocean, and when this happens you get unusual rock formations, with big towers surrounding lakes that were once sink holes.

Vietnam travel can be phenomenally rewarding for those that take the effort to do their research. You get in what you get out, or so the saying goes. Those that put in the time to get a great Vietnam travel trip will not be disappointed. Vietnam is a beautiful, maybe quixotic landscape, with a folks who know the importance of treating travellers well. After being under an embargo from the US and much of Europe for many years, Vietnam knows what its like to be isolated. To travel there now and see what takes place when capitalism is let in and then left alone, it's really an incredible experience. This once backward country is now on the upwards move, with producing and trade up more now than ever. Vietnam travel is a fantastic education experience. I wouldn't miss it.

More info - Vietnam Travel & Culture http://www.ruba.com/vietnam_travel.

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