u/AltogetherAnthony

This is a tour guide that I met in Hanoi at the Ho Chi Minh Museum at Ba Dinh Square. His company, Hanoi Free Private Tour Guide, gives out free Hanoi tours in exchange for practicing English. There were several guides here, all of them very nice and friendly.

Great group of people. Highly recommend checking this company out in Hanoi if you're looking for a tour.

I saw this world-record-sized lacquer painting outside the Ho Chi Minh Museum in Hanoi. The HCM Museum is inside Ba Dinh Square, which itself is free to visit. The HCM Museum requires a separate entrance ticket. I definitely recommend visiting Ba Ding Square, though, as it's also home to Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum.

I'm a big fan of Eddie's Diner. There are 3 locations: one on Pasteur Street in D1, one in Thao Dien, and another in Phu My Hung (D7). I eat at all three locations. Great and filling Western food. Huge portion sizes.

The one in D1 is a great location, right next to Liberty Central Saigon Citypoint hotel.

Has anyone eaten at Eddie's?

I recently visited My Son Sanctuary again, and wrote this mini-guide for first-time visitors. The sanctuary is one of nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Vietnam. So if you're already planning to visit Da Nang or Hoi An, I recommend setting aside half a day to visit the sanctuary.

It's about 1 hour from Da Nang or Hoi An. You can easily get there using the Grab app. Then once you're done, order another Grab app back. If you have a scooter, there's a parking lot outside the entrance for 5.000 VND. As a third option, you can join a tour or take a private tour, most of which offer hotel pick-up and drop-off in Da Nang or Hoi An.

If you have any questions about visiting My Son Sanctuary, feel free to ask in the comments!

I'm on Bach Dang Street, checking out the 4-star HAIAN Riverfront Hotel in Da Nang. The Han River is DIRECTLY across the street. There's lots of activity here: food, coffee places, the Han Market is just up the street. This is a great place to stay in Da Nang if you want to be right in the city!

I've lived here over 8 years. Feel free to ask any other questions about visiting Da Nang.

This is the 4-star Hanoi Calista Hotel. It's west of Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi. It's actually down a smaller side street, which is off a main street, so you can pop out and be right in the action. It's a pinch quieter over here. Here's a helpful guide to the best places to stay in Hanoi.

Staying on the west side of Hoan Kiem Lake puts you near St Joseph's Cathedral and Hanoi Train Street, plus easier walking distance to the Temple of Literature and Ba Dinh Square, where HCM's Mausoleum is, both of which are west of here. This is a great location for a first visit to Hanoi.

I ate at Confetti Coffee in Hoi An many times recently...the food is good, and the staff are all friendly. Good portions and fair prices. No air conditioning inside, but plenty of fans. Has anyone eaten here or have other nearby restaurant recommendations in Hoi An? This restaurant is north of Old Town.

The two popular boat tours in Ninh Binh are the Tam Coc and the Trang An boat tours. A third and lesser-known boat tour is at Van Long Nature Reserve. It's about 30-40 minutes away from the Tam Coc area. I rode my scooter out to the Van Long Nature Reserve. It was pretty quiet, and I saw only a couple of other tourists out here.

This Ninh Binh boat tour is far less commercialized and cheaper. A lot more open and in the sun. But a great and less touristy experience outside the Tam Coc or Trang An areas! Either way, doing one of the three boat tours is one of the best things to do in Ninh Binh. Recommend it if you've traveled a long way to visit Ninh Binh!

This was a surprisingly great thing to do in Nha Trang. The cable car ticket can be purchased separately to get from the mainland to Hon Tre Island, where VinWonders is. You don't need to enter VinWonders. Cable car tickets can be purchased for 200K each. Great experience on a sunny day.

Heading out toward Lady Buddha in Da Nang. Stopped along the path for this shot, looking back at Da Nang and My Khe Beach. This is the full photo of what's inside the new Reddit banner image.