Basic HTML Version
timeout
16
Hanoi - Autumn at every turn
Hanoi is at its most beautiful in autumn. One way to know
autumn has arrived is to drop by a roadside restaurant and if
sweet cassava soup is on the menu then, for a Hanoian, au-
tumn is here. This aromatic soup with the hot spice of ginger,
the sweetness of honey and the young coconut meat, embod-
ies the season. Along with the soup, Hanoi is romantic with
falling leaves carpeting the streets and the fragrance of milk
flowers spreading on cool winds. When the lotus flowers have
faded away, the harvest season comes with the songs of spar-
rows. This is a time when we can smell the scent of green rice
wrapped in the lotus leaves on every street. Wander around
the ancient capital, visit the Old Quarter, old pagodas or tem-
ples, and wander the yellow flowered streets of Hoang Dieu
or Phan Dinh Phung.
Sapa’s golden season
Sapa, in the north west of Vietnam, is famous for its pris-
tine beauty. Most travel-lovers wish to see the terraced rice
fields here during harvest season because at that time, thou-
sands of steep yellow steps render the area’s fabled views their
most awe inspiring. In autumn, the foot of Fansipan Mountain
is remarkable, with its yellow carpeted slopes spreading to the
horizon. Local Thai, H’Mong and Dao ethnic minorities dot the
scene in colourful dress as they excitedly prepare for the har-
vest. Unlike lowlanders who often wear neat, simple and dark
clothes, H’Mong and Dao ethnic people consider the harvest a
big festival and put their most attractive costumes. Sapa was
voted as one of seven most magnificent terraced field area in the
world by the travel magazine, Travel and Leisure and it is now
one of the top tourism destinations in Vietnam.
TOURISM
Vietnam’s autumn is a time of glorious sunshine and fresh, cool air.
Nhung Nguyen
suggests five places that are at the peak of their pow-
ers during these magical few months.
Autumn
getaways