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America's 250th, Attractions, Cultural travel, Historic Places, Monuments, Museums and Exhibits, National Parks, New York City travel, New York State travel, Places of History, See America

New York State Celebrates America’s 250th

January 29, 2026 krubin723 Leave a comment

Painting on display at Fort Stanwix visitor center showing the October 17, 1777 surrender of General Burgoyn’s army to the Patriots after the Battles of Saratoga removed the threat of British invasion in northern New York © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com.

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

Most Americans might not think of New York State first in context of the American Revolution and independence – Boston, Philadelphia are more top of mind. But it will surprise virtually everyone to know that more battles – and pivotal ones – of the Revolution were fought in New York than any other. In fact one-third of the battles and incursions were fought in New York, which the British considered vital to their conquest of the continent. Here are some of the places and events commemorating America’s 250th in New York State:

Fort Ticonderoga

At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold realized that the British Fort Ticonderoga made an easy target for the American rebels. They captured the fort in 1775 with a band of Green Mountain Boys only weeks after Lexington and Concord, making it America`s first victory in the Revolution. Visitors can tour the restored fort, research library, museum galleries, and acres of beautiful land overlooking Lake Champlain and see artillery demonstrations and frequent reenactments. Fort Ticonderoga Real Time Revolution™ Event Series (Adirondacks): The iconic historic site continues honoring its role in America’s origin story with the Real Time Revolution™ event series, designed to bring the Revolutionary War to life on the very grounds it took place through reenactments of key events. One of the highlights takes place during Independence Day Weekend, with a signature reenactment, “Return of an Army,” depicting the Northern Continental Army’s retreat to Ticonderoga during the same period that the Declaration of Independence was being signed in Philadelphia (102 Fort Ti Road, Ticonderoga, NY 12883, 518-585-2821).

Saratoga National Historical Park (Saratoga Battlefield)

Two hotly contested Revolutionary War battles here ended in an American victory which some proclaim as one of the most important in world history. Visit the Saratoga National Historical Park (Saratoga Battlefield) visitor center with film, light map, museum exhibits; tour the scenic 10-mile auto and bike road and hike historic paths. The park also has four other sites located nine miles north of the battlefield around the villages of Victory and Schuylerville: Victory Woods where British General Burgoyne’s forces made their last stand, the 155′ Saratoga Monument with panoramic views of the Hudson Valley, General Philip Schuyler’s 1777 home and estate, and the Saratoga Surrender Site (648 Rte 32, Stillwater, NY 12170, 518-664-9821, x 2980, www.nps.gov/sara to plan your visit).

Fort Stanwix National Monument

Fort Stanwix National Monument offers a full-scale reconstruction of the original fort built in 1758 by the British during the French and Indian War (re-created from the original British plans) and occupied by Americans during the Revolutionary War, where you can engage with costumed interpreters and really appreciate the complex dynamics surrounding the War for Independence.

In August 1777, Fort Stanwix, under the command of Col. Peter Gansevoort, successfully repelled a prolonged siege by British, German, Loyalist, Canadian and American Indian troops and warriors commanded by British Gen. Barry St. Leger – becoming the only American post never to surrender to the enemy throughout the entire War of Independence. Significantly, the failed siege, combined with the battles at Oriskany, Bennington, and Saratoga thwarted a coordinated effort by the British in 1777, under the leadership of Gen. John Burgoyne, to take the northern colonies. The Americans’ success (after so many defeats) led to American alliances with France and the Netherlands. Troops from Fort Stanwix also participated in the 1779 Clinton-Sullivan Campaign and protected America’s northwest frontier from British campaigns until finally being abandoned in 1781.

At the Marinus Willett Center, explore centuries of history through interpretive exhibits and cases of artifacts unearthed on the site that put into context the colonials and the indigenous people who lived here (that will surprise you), and why New York State was so crucial to the Revolution – not just logistically, but as a critical source of food supplies for the troops. The park also collaboratively manages both the Oriskany Battlefield State Historic Site and the Steuben Memorial State Historic Site, all three locations inexorably connected from the time of the American Revolution. (100 N James St, Rome, NY 13440, (315) 338-7730, https://www.nps.gov/fost/learn/historyculture/index.htm)

New York City Hosts ‘Sail 4^th’ Spectacular

New York City which celebrated its 400th anniversary throughout 2025, is where America’s entire history is on display – the indigenous people who lived here before the Europeans, the Dutch founding in 1625 with the establishment of Fort Amsterdam and how diverse cultures built the city and continue to be the hallmark – at the Museum of the City of New York (a superb film unrolls 400 years in 30 minutes) (1220 5th Ave, www.mcny.org). One of the more unexpected places to explore America’s Native American history is at National Museum of the American Indian, a Smithsonian Institution, housed at Alexander Hamilton’s Custom House on Bowling Green (right around where King George III’s statue would have been ripped down by patriots) (https://americanindian.si.edu/visit/ny).

The U.S. Navy Blue Angels will be featured in the International Aerial Review as part of NYC’s spectacular July4th celebration, before headlining the Jones Beach Air Show July 5-6 © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

New York City will have its share of blockbuster events celebrating America’s 250^th. One of the most sensational is “Sail 4^th 250”, taking place July 3-9, 2026, with 30 Tall ships and 30 Grey Hull ships from 32 nations bringing 10,000 officers, cadets, crew and diplomats to parade down the East River on July 3rd up the Hudson River on July 4. Open to free public visits through July 9 (www.sail4th.org).

Macy’s 50^th anniversary fireworks on July 4^th will be especially spectacular with an International Aerial Review, headlined by the U.S. Navy Blue Angels.

The Blue Angels will then headline the FourLeaf Air Show at Jones Bach State Park (date change from Memorial Day Weekend to July 5 – 6) to celebrate America’s 250th.

The New York Historical is opening its new Tang Wing for American Democracy on June 18, 2026, greatly expanding both the landmark building and The Historical’s wide-ranging schedule of exhibitions, educational initiatives, and public programs. Dedicated to the history and future of the nation’s founding principles, the 71,000-square-foot Tang Wing will open as the United States launches the celebration of its 250th anniversary. On view now: Declaring the Revolution: America’s Printed Path to Independence which features the documents that provided the ideological and philosophical underpinnings for the Revolution and the founding of a new kind of government (by the people) and that raised the rabble, forged a collective consciousness and identity, and inculcated the outrageous idea that a ragtag collection of colonial people of diverse race, ethnicity, religion and national origin could and should take on the most powerful empire on the globe (on view through April 12); also, Stirring the Melting Pot: Photographs from The New York Historical Collections. The New York Historical will present a slate of special exhibitions throughout the anniversary year. New York’s first museum, The New York Historical is a leading cultural institution covering over 400 years of American history. (New York Historical, 170 Central Park West, New York NY 10024, 212-873-3400, nyhistory.org)

Follow Washington’s Culper Spy Ring Trail on Long Island:

A Christmas gathering in colonial-era Schenck House at Old Bethpage Village. Though Long Island was occupied by the British during the American Revolution, there were patriots who helped George Washington, even serving as spies © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The Culper Spy Ring was an intelligence network that George Washington himself credited as crucial to the American victory over the British Empire. Largely following Route 25A (Long Island Heritage Trail), President George Washington traveled this route in 1790 by horse-drawn carriage on a mission to thank his Long Island supporters and the ‘Culper Spy Ring’ for their help in winning the American Revolution (hence the many places that boast “George Washington slept here”).

Indeed, Long Island in 1778 was largely occupied by the British (as was New York City) but there were Patriots who risked their lives to get intelligence to General George Washington. You can visit the houses where secret messages were written in invisible ink and follow the Washington spy trail map. (The AMC series TURN: Washington’s Spies, now airing on PBS was based on actual events involving the Culper Spy Ring on Long Island, focusing on farmer Abe Woodhull and his childhood friends gathering vital intelligence for the Continental Army.)

Roslyn, Long Island, on the Culper Spy Trail, where a colonial-era Grist Mill is being restored, is one of the places boasting “George Washington slept here.” © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Among the Revolutionary War sites: Raynham Hall in Oyster Bay, where Robert Townsend became a part of the spy ring; the Arsenal in Huntington; the Conklin House’ Joseph Lloyd Manor, the Brewster House in Stony Brook where American patriot Caleb Brewster spied on British soldiers; and Sherwood-Jayne Farm, home of Loyalist William Jayne aka “Big Bill the Tory”. See where the Battle of Setauket was fought near the Setauket Presbyterian Church on Caroline Ave.; Strongs Neck Road, where Anna Smith Strong and Abraham Woodhull lived, a key location for the spies; Thompson House where spies’ names are in the doctor’s book. On the South Shore, Sagtikos Manor in Bay Shore is where President George Washington stayed here during his Long Island tour in 1790. See: https://www.discoverlongisland.com/plan-your-trip/famous-long-island/george-washingtons-spy-trail/; find more Long Island 250 events: https://www.discoverlongisland.com/longisland250/.

Westchester’s American Revolutionary Trail

Once the volatile “Neutral Ground” between British and Patriot forces, Westchester County was where generals strategized, spies swapped secrets and ordinary people found themselves at the crossroads of independence. Follow the American Revolutionary Trail to discover Westchester’s most compelling historic sites, among them:

Jacob Purdy House (White Plains): Washington’s wartime headquarters during key moments of the Revolution.

John Jay Homestead (Katonah): Home of a Founding Father, tracing early American politics, antislavery roots and family life.

*Philipsburg Manor in Sleepy Hollow, one of Historic Hudson Valley properties, is decked out for Halloween © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Philipsburg Manor (Sleepy Hollow): A powerful look at slavery in the Colonial North, complete with hands-on demonstrations, one of the Historic Hudson Valley properties.

St. Paul’s Church (Mt. Vernon): A 1704 parish turned field hospital after the Battle of Pell’s Point.

Square House Museum (Rye): A historic tavern where John Adams, Samuel Adams and George Washington once stayed.

Thomas Paine Cottage (New Rochelle): Last home of the legendary pamphleteer, filled with rare artifacts.

*Van Cortlandt Manor, a patriot family’s post war home, is the setting for historic Hudson Valley’s annual “Blaze” Halloween event © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Van Cortlandt Manor (Croton-on-Hudson): A patriot family’s post-war home revealing the challenges of building a new nation.

Visit https://www.visitwestchesterny.com/things-to-do/history/american-revolutionary-trail/

Some of New York’s other America 250events:

Genesee Country Village & Museum (Finger Lakes) explores early American life through costumed interpretation, working trades and educational programs that illuminate the nation’s evolving identity. The museum, now in its 50^th year, spotlights its “Seeking Freedom” initiative, highlighting stories of enslavement, freedom-seekers and abolitionists while hosting special cross-century exhibits and events tied to the national 250-year commemoration.

Commander in Cheers Augmented Reality Experience (Hudson Valley):Running through 2026, restaurants, pubs and other locations in the region offer an augmented reality experience that brings a pint-sized George Washington to life, sharing stories of Dutchess County’s Revolutionary past, by scanning a specialty coaster. Participating locations include Mill House Brewing Company in Poughkeepsie, The Tavern at Beekman Arms in Rhinebeck, Tenmile Distillery in Wassaic and Treasury Cider at Fishkill Farms. More information will be announced soon on additional programs as part of Dutchess County’s Commander in Cheers celebration.

Orangetown and the Bicentennial 1776-1976: From Democracy to Disco (Hudson Valley): On view through 2026 at the Orangetown Historical Museum’s DePew House, this exhibition highlights Rockland County’s crucial contributions during the Revolutionary War and showcases the historical and cultural impact of the 1976 Bicentennial. This spring, the Spirits of ’76 Wine Tasting companion event will feature historically inspired wines curated by Grape d’Vine, honoring Orangeburg and Tappan’s Revolutionary War legacy.

RevCon 2026 (Hudson Valley): Dutchess County hosts RevCon on June 13 at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park. The Revolutionary War reenactment and history fair brings the era to life with weapons demonstrations, military drills, camp displays and Q&A sessions with reenactors.

(See a full calendar of New York State’s America 250 events: https://www.iloveny.com/things-to-do/path-through-history/america-250/)

Revolutions Beyond Independence

America’s Revolution did not end with the War for Independence. New York State has made it a mission for its America 250 commemoration to review America’s many revolutions in striving to realize the “more perfect union” the Founders could barely imagine.

“One of directives in New York State’s America 250^th is to make it broad and diverse and think of the American Revolution as incomplete because it didn’t include all residents,” said Devin Lander, NYS State Historian.

Many of these revolutions were sparked or furthered in New York State, and as you travel across the state, you can see them unfold: women’s suffrage, abolition, civil rights, voting rights, environmental protection.

To see how America came to be, join Parks & Trails NY’s annual eight-day Cycle the Erie trip that takes place each July, and travel 400 miles and 400 years of history from Buffalo to Albany- 356-miles of them along the Erie Canalway. (In addition to Parks & Trails NY, bike tour operators offer guided and self-guided trips.)

*Camping out on the grounds of Fort Stanwix during the Parks & Trails NY Cycle the Erie eight-day, 400-mile tour through 400 years of American history © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

You see how the Industrial Revolution unfolded, how the Canal was the ‘Mother of Cities” like Rochester and Syracuse, and birthed canal towns, united the American continent, and turned New York City into a financial capital of the world; at the Canal Museum in Syracuse, you see how immigrants used the canal to settle the West, turn the Midwest into America’s breadbasket, and unite the nation, and how the canal spurred the innovation and entrepreneurism that made the Industrial Revolution possible; how Native Americans and colonists lived side by side at Fort Stanwix and the Indian trading post at Schoharie established 400 years ago and how knowing the Oneida women influenced Melinda Gage’s zeal for women’s equal rights. You see the context for the Women’s Rights movement at Seneca Falls. (https://www.ptny.org/cycle-the-erie-canal-bike-tour/).

*Biking to the Canal Museum in Syracuse, one of New York State’s cities birthed by the Erie Canal, on the Parks and Trails NY Cycle the Erie tour © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The 356-mile Erie Canalway is part of New York State’s 750-mile Empire State Trail network, from Buffalo to Albany and the tip of Manhattan at Battery Park to the Canadian border. It will ultimately be expanded and connected to a Long Island Greenway Trail Expansion – 200 miles of new greenspace from Montauk to Manhattan. With construction expected to begin this winter, the Long Island Greenway will connect 27 communities and 26 existing park – a route that is also rich in America’s history, from indigenous times (so many of the towns still have their names), through the American Revolution (George Washington’s Spy Trail), to the Shinnecock Indian Nation, in Southhampton.

New York State will be paying homage to its many revolutions in which the state played such a pivotal part, including linking “Freedom” to the theme of “Independence.”

Cayuga County, in the heart of New York’s Finger Lakes, is Harriet Tubman’s chosen home. Auburn is where Tubman lived for more than 50 years, continued her activism, and established the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged. Today, visitors can explore this powerful legacy through nationally significant historic sites, museums, and landscapes that speak to freedom, abolition, and the ongoing pursuit of equality. This makes Cayuga County a particularly meaningful place to reflect on America’s 250th anniversary.

Cayuga County will be hosting several commemorative events and experiences in recognition of America 250, with more details continuing to take shape. Among those that have been scheduled:

The Harriet Tubman National Historical Park is planning programming under the banner “Freedom 2026,” which will serve as a lead-in to “Freedom 2027,” marking the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in New York State.
Cayuga County is also looking to the anticipated opening of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad New York Scenic Byway and its first leg, which will connect Buffalo with Tubman’s chosen hometown of Auburn.
In 2026, the Finger Lakes Sweet Treat Trail will feature an America 250 theme, with several sweetly patriotic offerings highlighted along the itinerary.
Each year, the Town of Ledyard hosts a well-attended reenactment and ceremony that includes replica parchment printings of the Declaration of Independence, a full-costume public reading, and a horseback rider arrival with classic “Hear ye, hear ye” flair.
July 4th fireworks on Little Sodus Bay in Fair Haven and at Emerson Park in Auburn are always community highlights, and is expected that 2026 to be especially memorable in honor of the 250th anniversary.

In the next few weeks, a full America 250 schedule from several of Cayuga’s historic and cultural partners, including the Seward House Museum, Schweinfurth Art Center, Cayuga Museum of History and Art, Auburn Public Theater, Harriet Tubman National Historical Park, Willard Memorial Chapel, Frontenac Museum, and the Equal Rights Heritage Center, will be available. See more at www.tourcayuga.com.

Urban Civil Rights Museum (New York City):Located within the National Urban League’s new Harlem headquarters, the Urban League Empowerment Center, the museum will be the first institution solely dedicated to the American Civil Rights Movement, when it opens later in the year. (https://urbancivilrightsmuseum.org/)

Underground Railroad & Abolitionist Movement: Saratoga in 2027 will mark the 200^th anniversary of abolition of slavery in New York State; there will be exhibits at the State Museum in Albany, and state parks.

Women’s Rights National Historical Park, Seneca Falls: New York’s America 250 commemoration includes acknowledging the ongoing revolutions, such as for women’s right. © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Women’s Suffrage: visit Seneca Falls, dubbed the “Birthplace of Women’s Rights” where you can visit the National Women’s Hall of Fame in addition to the Women’s Rights National Historical Park, Elizabeth Cady Stanton Home, plus :”It’s a Wonderful Life” Museum.

A former knitting mill in Seneca Falls now houses the National Women’s Hall of Fame. Women were not included among those winning “inalienable rights”in the American Revolution © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

New York’s role in the Environmental Movement is on display at Tanglewood Nature Center Canopy Treetop Walkway opening in the Finger Lakes in late spring/early summer. This ADA-accessible forest canopy path climbs 70 feet high, offering sweeping views. Designed in collaboration with world-renowned scientist “Canopy Meg” Lowman, this treetop walkway is only the second of its kind in New York State (the first is the Wild Walk at The Wild Center). Also, travel to the Adirondacks State Preserve (at 5 million acres, the largest tract of publicly protected land in the Lower 48) and enjoy the newly opened Adirondack Rail Trail (34 miles from Lake Placid to Tupper Lake).

“As we commemorate America’s 250th anniversary and welcome the world for the FIFA World Cup, there’s no better time to explore New York State – where every corner tells a story. From the historic grounds of Fort Ticonderoga and the National Baseball Hall of Fame, to the Statue of Liberty and the thundering power of Niagara Falls, visitors will discover experiences as iconic and unforgettable as the milestones we’re honoring throughout 2026,” I LOVE NY Executive Director of Tourism Ross D. Levisaid.

See a full calendar of New York State’s America 250 events: https://www.iloveny.com/things-to-do/path-through-history/america-250/)

See also: 11 Ways to Experience America 250 in New York State, https://www.iloveny.com/blog/post/ways-to-experience-america-250-in-new-york-state/

An excellent source of all things historic in New York State is the Passport to History site, which can steer you to 700 destinations across the state. You can choose from themes to create your own Path Through History: https://www.iloveny.com/things-to-do/path-through-history/

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Arts, Arts & Entertainment, Cultural travel, Museums and Exhibits, See America

Nashville: Beyond the Honky-Tonks

January 18, 2026 krubin723

*“Honky Tonk Highway” is alive with neon lights and live bands. @Geri Bain*

by Geri Bain for Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

You don’t have to be a country music fan to tap your feet to the rich music scene here. The creativity spills over into its art, cuisine, and decor. And of course, there’s that famous “hot chicken” and barbecue and a surprising number of authentic ethnic eateries. No wonder so many reunions, conventions and bachelor and bachelorette parties happen here.

To get in the mood for my trip, I watch “It All Begins with a Song,” a documentary that features songwriters performing and talking about their music, the creative process, and the unique role Nashville has had in their lives.

The film leads me to expect live music everywhere 24/7, and sure enough, there’s a band setting up at the airport when I land at noon, and there’s live music at shopping malls and clubs all around the city. The iconic experience is bar- and band-hopping along Lower Broadway, a.k.a. Honky Tonk Highway. Here, dozens of bars serve up live music, often on multiple floors, from 10 a.m. until the wee hours of the morning. Most do not have a cover charge or minimum.

*Live music is easy to find along Lower Broadway. @Geri Bain*

One of my favorite Honky Tonk Highway spots is the Ernest Tubb Record Shop. Opened by the charismatic Tubb (a.k.a. the Texas Troubadour) in 1947 before country records were widely sold, his shop quickly expanded to become a leading retail and mail-order country music record outlet and a low-key performance venue/bar with its own (still-operating) live radio show. Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley were among those who would stop by and perform after their Grand Ole Opry appearances.

A band is playing amped up music with a captivating beat as I enter Ernest Tubb’s Record Shop and a duo is performing on acoustic guitars in the back room. I listen for a bit, use the QR code to send a tip, and then head up to the fifth floor, where the roof bar affords a birds-eye view of the neon-lit street. It’s December and nippy though, so the outside bar is closed. Back inside, the bar/record shop feels like a mini-museum with vintage vinyl records for sale and displays of an Ernest Tubb Nudie suit (named for its designer Nudie Cohn, not for the amount of skin shown), a guitar with his name inset in pearl, a note from Johnny Cash, photos, and other memorabilia. (We learned after our visit that the Ernest Tubb Record Shop closed temporarily.)

*Fairlane Hotel features mid-century modern decor and works by local artists. @Geri Bain*

After bar-hopping, it’s an easy walk back to my Nashville home, the boutique 79-room Fairlane Hotel. While it’s smack in the center of town and a short walk to most of the city’s attractions, when I tuck in to sleep that night there is zero noise. Plus I love my room’s floor-to-ceiling window walls, colorful mid-century modern decor, and the works of local artists (subtly for sale) throughout the public spaces, part of the hotel’s mission to connect with local culture.

*Nashville’s Pathway of History is literally a walk through time. @Geri Bain*

The next day, I set out to ground myself in some local history (Nashville is more than music). I walk up to the hilltop Tennessee Statehouse and then stroll into Bicentennial Mall State Park, created in 1996 to celebrate 200 years of statehood. I follow a self-guided map to the 200-foot granite map of the state. Then I find my way to the Pathway of History where pillars mark key dates on one side of a 1,400 foot long walkway and a timeline of events, quotes and commentary are engraved run in parallel a three-foot-tall granite wall on the other. Among the interesting factoids I pick up is that the word “Tennessee” is thought to come from a Native American name meaning place where water meets—describing its strategic location at the confluence of rivers.

At the edge of the park, the Tennessee State Museum presents an easy-to-follow narrative of the state’s history with eye-catching artifacts like a full-size cutaway log cabin, a model of a Conestoga Wagon, and the hat Tennessean Andrew Jackson wore at his 1829 presidential inauguration.

*Liquor Lab offers mixology classes. @Geri Bain*

That evening at a Liquor Lab mixology class, I learn the most effective and theatrical techniques for shaking cocktail ingredients including, importantly, how to give a strong twist to seal the shaker tightly. We mix three concoctions; my favorite is a spiked hot chocolate topped with crushed peppermint and whipped cream. Dinner is not part of most classes but happily mine is catered by the award-winning Peg-Leg Porker, a family-run restaurant/caterer, and I get my first scrumptious taste of classic Nashville barbecue.

*The Country Music Hall of Fame offers classes for kids and adults. @Geri Bain*

A highlight of my trip is a visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum. Dolly Parton is one of my heroes, and there’s a major exhibit devoted to her (running through September 2026). Watching a video interview, I learn that the song “Coat of Many Colors” refers to a true time when classmates made fun of her patchwork coat. Displays of her exuberant outfits, her guitars, the books she wrote and videos of performances and interviews convey a well-rounded picture of her work as a singer, song writer, businesswoman and philanthropist.

The permanent collection is equally lively, intimate and insightful. It is laid out chronologically with listening stations and displays illustrating the evolution of country music along with costumes, instruments and memorabilia of individual artists from the Carter Family to Elvis and Jelly Roll. Especially touching is a display of Roseanne Cash’s childhood drawings and writings, outfits and a video of her performing.

I’m drawn to the Taylor Swift Education Center, a two-story, 7,500-square-foot learning space within the museum which was opened in October 2013 with a $4 million gift from Taylor Swift to fund educational programs. I gravitate to a “Songwriting Station” which invites young visitors to create their own lyrics and providing markers and coloring sheets about musical instruments. A songwriting camp, craft classes and musical performances and talks are offered, but not during my visit. Next time I’ll plan ahead!

For lunch, I make my way to the nearby Assembly Food Hall which features everything from Vietnamese pho to Hawaiian poke. I’m excited to try the renowned Prince’s Hot Chicken but, coward that I am, I order the medium spice level because I’ve been warned the three hotter levels will burn through your entire digestive system. My chicken is delicious, tongue-tingling and sinus-clearing but not painful.

*You can make your own playlists at the National Museum of African American Music. @ Geri Bain*

My next stop is the National Museum of African Music, which had its ceremonial opening on January 18, 2021, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, with the museum opening to the public on January 30, 2021. It may well be the only museum dedicated to preserving and celebrating the history and impact of African American music genres.

At the ticket desk, I receive an RFID wristband; this allows me to download playlists I create throughout the museum which are emailed to me. Exhibits trace the history of African-American music from spirituals and gospel and their roots in indigenous African music to jazz, R&B and hiphop. I find it hard to move on from the interactive stations, especially the jazz table, where I play with layering on instruments and styles in the way a jazz musician might.

A short walk from here is the Ryman Auditorium, the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974. Outside the Ryman are bronze statues of stars including Loretta Lynn and Charley Pride. On a guided tour, I learn that the pew-like seats and stained glass windows come by their church feeling honestly. The building started its life as the Union Gospel Tabernacle in 1892. It was built by Thomas Ryman, a onetime hard-partying riverboat captain who “saw the light” and was inspired to build this grand center for religious revivalist meetings.

Taking the stage during a tour of the historic Ryman Auditorium. The Ryman is affectionately known as the “Mother Church of Country Music,” because it began as a church. © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Over time, it hosted more concerts than church meetings and became known as The Ryman Auditorium, thanks to Lula C. Naff, the gutsy general manager from 1920 to 1955. She saved the building from the wrecking ball by booking A-list entertainers and lecturers and eventually arranged for the Grand Ole Opry radio show to broadcast live from here.

In the early days of radio, this show was the only one broadcasting country music around the country. (The original Grand Ole Opry radio show began in 1925, broadcast from a WSM studio in Nashville’s National Life & Accident Insurance building.) The show drew top talent to Nashville and effectively kicked off the city’s growth into the musical center (“Music City”!) it is today. The exhibits, such as Johnny Cash’s and June Carter’s outfits, are cool, but the most fun is the chance to ham it up for a souvenir photo, included in the tour price, on the very stage where Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, and more recently, Bruce Springsteen, Lizzo and Taylor Swift have performed.

*The Neoclassical Schermerhorn Symphony Center is beautiful, inside and out. @Geri Bain*

Nashville isn’t only about Country Music. In the evening, I attend a performance by Trisha Yearwood at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. She is accompanied by the Nashville Symphony, which prides itself on its mastery of diverse musical genres. The acoustics here are so good that without amplification voices can be heard in all parts of the nearly 2,000 seat hall.

On my last evening, I experience a show at the modern “new” home of the Grand Ole Opry, featuring Ashley McBryde, Riders in the Sky and five other acts. This venue is more than twice the size of the Ryman, with more than 4,000 seats. Interestingly, when people talk about the Grand Ole Opry, they aren’t talking about a place; they’re talking about the musical variety radio show which is still broadcast with live audiences in attendance, so we get to see how this radio show is produced. Commercials between acts, read by the announcer, and the “On Air” signs are reminders that this still is a live radio show.

*The Grand Ole Opry is a live radio show. @Geri Bain*

More than twice the size of the Ryman, the Grand Ole Opry House has more than 4,000 seats. Commercials between acts, read by the announcer, and the “On Air” signs are reminders that this still is a live radio show.

The highlight of the evening for me is the pre-show backstage tour; I get a kick out of seeing the dressing rooms and mailboxes of Carrie Underwood, Garth Brooks and other country music icons. My tour even gets glimpses of the Gatlin Brothers and Ashley McBryde strolling through the halls before their performances.

*At Poppy & Peep, chocolate creation is a high art @Geri Bain*

Nashville, of course, is about more than making music. All that inventiveness extends naturally into the food, cocktail and cultural scenes. Chocolate can be high art as I learn at a chocolate-making session at Poppy & Peep, a father-daughter owned company that makes handcrafted small-batch bonbons and confections that are both playful and flavorful. The workshop steps through process of turning cocoa beans into chocolate and then places us in workstations with food coloring and paint brushes to create our own bonbon designs.

*8th & Roast offers seed-to-cup coffee classes. @Geri Bain*

This city also takes its coffee and cafes seriously. Among the acclaimed small batch brewers is 8th & Roast. I attend their “seed-to-cup” class, where I learn about their alliances with family farms that grow their beans and the various types of roasts, and participate in a traditional “coffee cupping” where we “slurp” and taste ten brews.

Nashville’s foods range from Michelin starred restaurants to casual barbecue joints. The city is also home to the largest Kurdish community in the U.S. along with many other immigrant groups, and this makes for some wonderfully authentic ethnic eateries. I head out of downtown into the neighborhoods to dine at Alebrije, a Mexican restaurant, where the mole sauce takes me back to Oaxaca, Mexico and taste my first Uzbek cooking at Uzbegim, a Michelin recommended restaurant, where I enjoy Tandir samosa, a savory pastry with spiced minced meat and veggies.

Among my favorites is Edessa Restaurant in “Little Kurdistan.” When I walk in, practically every table is taken, and several large groups have tantalizing spreads of kebobs, lamb shank, and sauces laid out. The food is done to perfection and the decor is authentic; a large painting on the wall is of the co-owner’s hometown in Turkey.

As I reflect on my Nashville getaway, what most impresses me is that the openness and collaboration that leads to great music seems to bubble over into the entire culture. Perhaps that explains the friendly, welcoming vibe that makes the city such a joy to visit.

Travel Tips:

Carry your id with you if you’re heading out to the bars—most are strict about requiring ID, even if you are obviously well over 21.

Plan to tip musicians you enjoy; that’s often their only compensation.

Plan ahead. Buy tickets for popular events and concert venues in advance, especially if you want to catch a top-name artist or attend one of the popular writer’s rounds.

For more information, go to www.visitmusiccity.com.

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© 2026 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com, longislandpress.com/category/vacation-travel and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to FamTravLtr@aol.com. Bluesky: @newsphotosfeatures.bsky.social X: @TravelFeatures Threads: @news_and_photo_features ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Attractions, Christmas holiday travel, Cultural travel, Festivals and Events, Holiday Travel, Holidays in New York, Museums and Exhibits, New York City travel

Holiday Celebrations, Cultural Attractions Turn NYC Into Winter Wonderland

November 25, 2025 krubin723

*Winding up Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Santa officially ushers in the holiday season in New York City © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Compiled by Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

New York City’s holiday season festivities officially kick off with the 99th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, heralding in a cornucopia of festive performances, winter exhibits, holiday light displays and general good cheer. Join the anticipated 8 million local and global visitors engaging in the city’s Winter Wonderland.

“New York City comes alive during the holidays like nowhere else in the world, and this year the excitement is even greater as we celebrate the city’s 400th anniversary,” said New York City Tourism + Conventions’ President and CEO, Julie Coker.

Here are some of the festive performances, winter exhibits, holiday light displays to celebrate the holiday season in New York City:

Holiday Enchantments

*The 99^th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade officially ushers in the holiday season in New York City © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Nov. 27: The annual New York City celebration is returning for its 99th edition, featuring impressive helium balloons, creative floats, clowns, mesmerizing performance groups, popular Broadway musicals, celebrity appearances and much more. The parade begins at its traditional starting point on West 77th Street and Central Park West, ending in front of Macy’s Herald Square flagship store.

*The night before the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade thousands line up for an opportunity to see the Great Balloon Inflation © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

But the enchantment begins the night before the big event with the Great Balloon Inflation: queue up with thousands of others on 79^th and Columbus Avenue to see your favorite characters.

*Puppeteers with illuminated animals bring special delight to the Bronx Zoo’s Holiday Lights © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Bronx Zoo Holiday Lights, Select Nights, select evenings (Nov. 21-23, 28-30, Dec. 4-7, 11-14, 18-23, 26-31, Jan. 2-4). Holiday Lights is a walk-through event where you journey through six immersive wildlife lantern trails featuring geographic-themed regions and the magical Forest of Color. More than 400 lanterns representing 100 animal and plant species connect visitors to the real wildlife and wild places that the Wildlife Conservation Society works to protect. Enhanced this year with Freeze Zone, featuring massive snow tube slides, talking snowmen, and a snowball wall, and more interactive elements, puppetry in The Enchanted Sea. There are also music and light performances, nightly ice-carving demonstrations, Wildlife Theater puppet adventures, festive treats including s’mores roasting and holiday drinks, bug carousel and holiday train,. Tickets are required for entry and must be reserved in advance. Ticket sales for Holiday Lights start at 3pm. Lights go on and lantern trails open at 4:30pm. Tickets available online at BronxZoo.com/Holiday-Lights, information at bronxzoo.com/holiday-lights. (See: Wander the World With Wonder and Joy at Bronx Zoo’s Holiday Lights)

Lightscape at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Nov. 21–Jan. 4, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn:Lightscape at Brooklyn Botanic Garden returns this holiday season, transforming the Garden into a glittering winter trail and an enchanted forest in the heart of Brooklyn. Now in its fifth year, the event features dazzling light installations, reimagined art, music and special attractions, highlighting the Garden’s winter beauty.

Holiday Train Show, Nov. 15-Jan. 11, Bedford Park, The Bronx:Now in its 34th year, the New York Botanical Garden’s Holiday Train Show fills the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory with 200 twinkling landmark replicas made from natural materials, as model trains weave through iconic New York City scenes and over bridges. Visitors can also enjoy an illuminated outdoor mountainscape. Special Holiday Train Nights are a magical after-dark experience.

*Holidays at Rockefeller Center © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Holidays at Rockefeller Center, December: From seeing the iconic Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree; ice skating at The Rink at Rockefeller Center Presented by Chase Freedom; enjoying a sweet treat at Glace or Ralph’s Coffee; or finding a gift at retail destinations including Catbird, McNally Jackson and FAO Schwarz, Rockefeller Center is a holiday destination. Visit the Top of the Rock observation deck for 360-degree views and photo opportunities with Santa.

Holiday Performances

*Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular turns 100 this year © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes, Nov. 6–Jan. 4:The beloved holiday tradition returns to the iconic stage of Radio City Music Hall for its 100-year anniversary. One million people come each holiday season to experience its stunning costumes, joyful music, precise choreography and innovative performances. Multiple shows daily.

ROB LAKE MAGIC with Special Guests The Muppets, Nov. 6–Jan. 18:Renowned illusionist Rob Lake brings his jaw-dropping magic to Broadway this holiday season, joined by Kermit the Frog and friends, who add their signature humor and charm to the spectacle. Together, they promise a one-of-a-kind holiday performance blending astonishing illusions with beloved Muppet magic.

A Christmas Carol at PAC NYC: Nov. 23–Dec. 28:PAC NYC presents an immersive, intimate staging of A Christmas Carol, crafted by Tony Award-winning artists playwright Jack Thorne and director Matthew Warchus. This magical retelling wraps the audience around the action as Ebenezer Scrooge journeys through past, present, and future, brought to life with dazzling staging, moving storytelling and beloved Christmas carols.

George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker at the New York City Ballet, Nov. 28–Jan. 4:Experience the classic George Balanchine The Nutcracker, from the glowing Christmas tree to swirling snow and enchanting characters set to Tschaikovsky’s iconic score. The season concludes on Jan. 4 with a special sensory-friendly performance featuring adjusted lighting and sound designed for audiences with sensory processing challenges such as autism.

Spotlight: The New York Nutcracker, Dec. 18 & 19: Lincoln Center’s holiday lineup features Spotlight: A Night at the Atrium, a playful twist on The Nutcracker blending burlesque, puppetry, comedy and dance for a dazzling offbeat celebration of the season.

Holidays with the New York Philharmonic, Dec. 10–Dec. 20:Conductor Jane Glover leads the chorus of Music of the Baroque and a stellar cast of soloists in Handel’s Messiah. Families enjoy the holiday favorite Home Alone on the big screen as John Williams’sscore is performed live. Plus, the Philharmonic’s beloved Sounds of the Season matinees return, offering a family-friendly sampler of festive music.

The Magic Flute, Dec. 11–Jan. 3:A holiday tradition, Mozart’s enchanting fairy tale returns in the Met’s abridged, English-language production by Tony Award-winning director Julie Taymor. With some of opera’s most beloved melodies, colorful sets and costumes and dazzling puppetry, this family-friendly staging offers a magical experience for audiences of all ages. On Dec. 14 ticketholders are also invited to a free Holiday Open House before the performance, featuring special activities for families.

Festive Concerts at Carnegie Hall, December:Highlights include the Orchestra of St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble performing Corelli and Vivaldi, the Princeton Nassoons’ seasonal program, the Oratorio Society of New York’s 151st consecutive Messiah, the Christmas Night Opera Gala with stars like Sondra Radvanovsky and Thomas Hampson and Concert of the Future: A Christmas Dream, a candlelit immersive blend of classical music and meditative sounds.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at New York City Center, Dec. 3–Jan. 4:Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater under the leadership of new Artistic Director Alicia Graf Mack. Audiences is presenting classic works from the Ailey repertory including the touchstone of inspiration Revelations, an anthem to resilience and joy.

The Brooklyn Nutcracker Presented by the Brooklyn Ballet at The Theater at City Tech, Dec. 6–7 and 13–14:The Brooklyn Nutcracker reimagines the classic ballet through the lens of Brooklyn’s diverse cultural tapestry, blending iconic characters with hip hop, pop and lock and bohemian flair. This vibrant journey travels from Victorian Flatbush to modern-day Brooklyn, with stops at landmarks like the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and a Flatbush Avenue subway platform.

Holiday Festivities at The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, Dec. 13–Dec. 31, Morningside Heights:St. John the Divine presents a rich lineup of concerts, including the Joy of Christmas concert featuring Bach’s Magnificat and beloved carols and its traditional New Year’s Eve Concert for Peace, this year featuring Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Additional musical highlights include organ recitals, special evensong performances and seasonal programs that blend world-class artistry with the Cathedral’s cherished holiday traditions.

Winter Exhibitions, Cultural Happenings

Holiday Celebrations in Historic Richmond Town, throughout December, Staten Island: Historic Richmond Town’s holiday season kicks off with a free tree lighting celebration on Dec. 5, followed by “Christmas in Historic Richmond Town” Dec. 6–7, with festive shopping, live history demonstrations and seasonal treats; Candlelight Tours on Dec. 12–13, showcasing centuries of yuletide traditions; and a Holiday House tours on select dates throughout Dec..

*Holiday Express: Toys and Trains from the Jerni Collection on view at The New York Historical © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Holiday Express: Toys and Trains from the Jerni Collection, through Feb. 8: The New York Historical displays its traditional model trains, toy stations, and miniatures are illustrating the design evolution from the early 20th century to the era of World War II. Families can explore the objects with a special scavenger hunt, and train-themed storytimes take place on select dates.

The Origami Holiday Tree, Nov. 24 throughout the holiday season: An annual New York City tradition for decades, the American Museum of Natural History’s Origami Holiday Tree showcases 1,000 hand-crafted origami models created by local, national and international artists.

*The Christmas Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Creche on view at The metropolitan Museum of Art © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Christmas Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Crèche, Nov. 25–Jan. 6: A New York City tradition, The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Christmas Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Crèche display showcases a beautifully adorned tree with a nativity scene at its base. The display features 18th-century Neapolitan figures, generously donated in 1964 by American artist and collector Loretta Hines Howard.

A Christmas Carol: The Manuscript, Nov. 25–Jan. 11:Every holiday season The Morgan showcases Charles Dickens’s original manuscript of A Christmas Carol in J. Pierpont Morgan’s Library. Bound in red goatskin leather, the manuscript was originally given to Dickens’s solicitor, Thomas Mitton, before being acquired by Pierpont Morgan in the 1890s.

Holiday Lights, Markets, Ice Skating, Activities

Holiday Under the Stars and Broadway Under the Stars at The Shops at Columbus Circle, throughout the holiday season:The Shops at Columbus Circle sparkle with “Holiday Under the Stars,” a breathtaking display of 300,000 lights and 44 glowing stars. Guests can also enjoy “Broadway Under the Stars,” a series of free performances from some of Broadway’s most celebrated shows, complete with intimate cast Q&As.

Hudson Yards presents its 6th annual spectacular lighting display, “Shine Bright at Hudson Yards Presented by Wells Fargo” featuring 2 million twinkling lights, with 115 miles of string lights, 725 evergreen trees, and the iconic 32-foot hot air balloon centerpiece suspended in the Great Room of The Shops and Restaurants at Hudson Yards. NEW: ten 11-foot-tall Toy Soldier statues lining The Shops on Level 1 and six free, pop-up performances. Nov. 28 – Dec. 23: Take photos with Santa.Dec. 1- 11:Festive Holiday performances by the Youth Orchestra of St. Lukes.

Chelsea Market and Pier 57 are decked out in holiday décor, offering festive photo ops, holiday gift wrapping, and gifts from diverse vendors such as Chelsea Market Baskets, featuring gourmet gift sets; Posman Books, perfect for literary gifts and unique stationery; and Pearl River Mart, with an array of eclectic home goods, cultural items, and one-of-a-kind treasures. . Platform by the James Beard Foundation (Platform by JBF), a state-of-the-art show kitchen, event space, and educational hub for outstanding culinary arts programming, will host a series of festive dinners including Dinner: Feast of the Seven Fishes with James Beard Award Winner® David Standridge (12/10), Oh, Hanukkah! Eden Grinshpan’s Celebration of the Festival of Lights (12/11), Collab Dinner: A Winter Solstice Celebration Featuring Chef Nasim Alikhani with Nilou Motamed (12/17), and Collab Dinner: Navidad Boricua: The Puerto Rican Holiday Table (12/18).

*Festive shopping at new York City’s Holiday markets like the Winter Village at Bryant Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Festive shopping at New York City’s Holiday Markets, Throughout the holiday season, Manhattan & Brooklyn: Sip hot cocoa and shop for holiday gifts at the city’s signature outdoor markets: Union Square Holiday Market, the Holiday Shops at Winter Village at Bryant Park and the Columbus Circle Holiday Market. Opt for indoor browsing at the Grand Central Holiday Fair, Brooklyn Flea and Chelsea Flea. On the Upper West Side the Grand Holiday Bazaar offers indoor and outdoor shopping, while the Brooklyn Borough Hall Holiday Market in Downtown Brooklyn features 100 vendors showcasing locally made goods.

Wollman Rink, through March, Central Park: Wollman Rink celebrates a landmark 75 years with special programming, family-friendly activities and celebratory events.

*The rink at Bryant Park is New York City’s largest free-admission rink © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The Rink at Bryant Park, through early March:Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park is New York City’s largest free-admission ice-skating rink, where you also enjoy a vibrant holiday market with 180 shops, cozy rinkside bar and food hall at The Lodge, holiday tree.

The Rink at Rockefeller Center, Rockefeller Center b/w 48th and 51st St. the iconic rink beneath the city’s most famous Christmas Tree.

Winterland Rink at The Rooftop at Pier 17, 89 South St. is New York City’s only outdoor rooftop ice rink. The day-to-night venue offers panoramic views of the Brooklyn Bridge, Empire State Building, and East River.

New Year’s Festivities

*Seeing the iconic Ball Drop in Times Square on New Year’s Eve is something that everyone should do once © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

New Year’s Eve Times Square Ball Drop: The Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball Drop is an iconic New York City experience – watching its descent in person on New Year’s Eve is a spectacular, once-in-a-lifetime way to ring in the New Year.

New Years Eve concert at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine *© Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, Morningside Heights presentsits traditional New Year’s Eve Concert for Peace, this year featuring Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

New York Road Runners Clubs New Years Eve party at the bandshell in Central Park features a Midnight Run with fireworks *© Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

NYRR Midnight Run in Central Park: Kick off 2026 with the NYRR Midnight Run, welcoming the new year with energy and excitement. As 2025 draws to a close, the countdown starts at 11:59 pm, and a spectacular fireworks display at midnight signals the start of the four-mile race.

Coney Island Polar Plunge, Coney Island, Brooklyn:Every New Year’s Day, the Polar Bear Club and daring participants dive into the icy waters at Coney Island. Spectators are welcome to watch as hundreds of thrill-seekers plunge into the freezing Atlantic Ocean. The event is free to attend, though participants are encouraged to make donations to support local community organizations in place of an entry fee.

Seasonal Tours

The NYC Christmas Holiday Tour with Free Dessert, created by Empire Tours & Productions, is a two-hour guided walk that begins at 764 Doris C Freedman Pl, under the General William Tecumseh Sherman Monument, and ends at Bryant Park Winter Village (42nd St & 6th Ave), winding through Fifth Avenue’s luxury storefronts, Rockefeller Center’s iconic Christmas Tree, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Radio City Music Hall. Along the way, hear captivating stories from expert local guides and emkpu a complimentary festive dessert from Myzel Chocolates. The tour captures the warmth and wonder of New York at Christmas, blending sparkling lights, historic tales, and film-famous stops like the Home Alone 2 locations at the Plaza Hotel and Gapstow Bridge. Tours daily, Nov. 24-Jan. 4, at 10:30 am and 4:30 pm. Prices start at $35 for adults (13–64), $34 for seniors and military, $29 for youth (7–12), and children under 6 join free. (https://tourofnyc.com/christmas-holiday-walking-tour/)

Holiday Lights & Movie Sites Tour with On Location Tours, Nov. 28–Dec. 31: Discover iconic landmarks and hidden spots seen in beloved holiday films such as Elf, Home Alone 2 and Scrooged with On Location Tours. Departing from Columbus Circle, the tour features festive stops at Bloomingdale’s, Rockefeller Center and the famous ice-skating rink at Bryant Park.

Christmas in New York with Romancing Manhattan Tours, November–December: This custom tour features a private guide on Fifth Avenue, a two-hour Rockefeller Center visit, and a sunset trip to the Top of the Rock. Optional add-ons include ice-skating with an instructor, a backstage tour of Radio City Music Hall, premium Rockettes tickets and a luxury dinner, curated by a concierge.

For all there is to do and see in New York City, visit nyctourism.com.

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© 2025 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to FamTravLtr@aol.com. Bluesky: @newsphotosfeatures.bsky.social X: @TravelFeatures Threads: @news_and_photo_features ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Biking Tours, Cultural travel, Historic Places, International Travel, Museums and Exhibits, Places of History

A Rendezvous with Progress of the Present, Horrors of the Past in Ho Chi Minh City

November 6, 2025 krubin723

A symbol of Vietnam’s past and present: Ho Chi Minh City Hall (also known as the People’s Committee Building), is a magnificent example of French colonial architecture in the city © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

The War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) evokes profound shame of the horrors inflicted in our name during the Vietnam War.

The museum is housed in what used to be the US military’s intelligence headquarters during the Vietnam War and was originally known as the “Museum of Chinese and American War Crimes”.

*Visiting the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City is a humbling and profound experience © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Now one of the most visited museums in Vietnam, the War Remnants Museum attracts 500,000 visitors every year, of whom two-thirds are foreigners. That is apparent during our visit, as well.

Exhibits relate the history of American involvement in the Second Indochina War, which began when France returned to re-colonialize Vietnam in 1946. I still do not understand how or why the US took over France’s fight (the US started direct involvement in 1950), but the displays discuss America’s anti-Communist obsession with the Domino Theory (that Indochina would come under control of Communist China and/or Russia). But I also learn something new: a display quotes Lyndon B. Johnson saying that America needs access to Vietnam’s “tin and tungsten” (echoing Trump’s insistence on the necessity of taking Greenland’s rare earth metals).

*Display of war correspondents killed covering Vietnam War, at War Remnants Museum, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The exhibits are detailed, emotional and intense – the most stirring being the photos by photojournalists for magazines and newspapers including Life Magazine. Most affecting is a kind of shrine dozens of journalists and photographers who were killed on the field of battle in their effort to bring news of what was happening there to the world.

The photos are presented in an extraordinary way: showing the photo, then providing notes about the background, the context of the image, and the photographer. Among them is the famous Pulitzer-prize winning photo of “Napalm Girl,” a naked child whose clothes have been burned off her body by napalm, which had profound impact on influencing public opinion (this was the first war that came into family’s living rooms each night). The photos then and now are chilling, but today, they properly evoke shame and wonder why there has never been accountability for war crimes.

The iconic image of a Vietnamese child, Kim Phuc, running down a road after a napalm attack is known as the “Napalm Girl” was taken by Associated Press photographer Nick Ut on June 8, 1972, and is widely considered one of the most powerful and enduring images of the Vietnam War. The photograph depicts Kim Phuc, then 9 years old, running naked after ripping off her burning clothes, on display at the War Remnants Museum where it continues to evoke horror © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

A moving display addresses American war crimes (dumping Agent Orange, napalm and phosphorous, bombing villages). This includes great detail – even the stone well – of the war crimes committed and later admitted to by Bob Kerrey, a Navy Seal who became a U.S. Senator (not to be confused with John Kerry who gave Senate testimony in 1971 decrying the war). There is a display that shows the impact, even generations later, of these chemical weapons on the Vietnamese, and even progeny of American soldiers. (Along Vietnam’s modern highways, we have visited stunning craft enters – subsidized for-profit enterprises – that employ disabled who embroider, paint, carve.)

Another exhibit pays homage to the peace movements that were underway.

What I don’t see in the museum is any mention of Nixon sabotaging LBJ’s peace deal in 1968 to win election. (At the LBJ Library in Austin, you can hear LBJ’s phone call to Senator Dirkson saying Nixon’s back-channel promises to South Vietnam President Nguyen Van Thieu of a better deal when he became president, was treasonous, but Johnson couldn’t publicize it because it would have revealed US spying). Think of it: the Vietnam War could have ended in 1968, the most deadly year of the entire war. Fighting between 1968 and 1975 when the war finally ended (the 50^th anniversary commemorated throughout Vietnam this year) meant 40,000 more American soldiers were killed (a total of 58,000 Americans died in Vietnam and countless thousands injured); for the Vietnamese, it meant 1.5 million more deaths (3 million Vietnamese died, of whom 2 million were civilians, plus 2 million injured and 300,000 listed as missing).

*An exhibit at the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City focuses on the anti-war movements that were underway © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

I ask our Discovery Bicycle Tours guide Phong, whose father fought for the North Vietnamese on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, if he knew about the possible peace deal, and he said no, but our local Saigon guide, Li, whose father fought for the South, was aware (I guess informed by an American veteran or tourist he guided). The most despicable realization about the Vietnam tragedy is that it was all political, having little or nothing to do with the claimed “national security.”

It doesn’t feel like propaganda because what we see rings true to what I remember, only here the evidence is concentrated in one place, a damning indictment. (See: On 50th Anniversary of Fall of Saigon, the Lessons from Vietnam Unlearned).

I visited this museum five years ago, when I was similarly overcome. But now that I have seen countryside and people, I see these photos differently, more in context. The faces in the photos were real people who you see in the faces of the people today.

And what has been most revelatory during our time here in Vietnam, is that Americans are well received, welcomed. As our guide Phong has said, “We are a Buddhist country. We do not look to the past; we look to the future.”

This is what travel is about: see for yourself, engage with people, and bring those revelations, insights, lessons and first-hand experiences home.

We actually weren’t supposed to visit the War Remnants Museum. Our Day 10 Discovery Bicycle Tours itinerary would have us visit the Reunification Palace – the former Presidential Palace, renamed to commemorate the April 30, 1975 victory of President Ho Chi Minh’s forces. But by the time we finish lunch (after having flown from Hoi An), there is not enough time to visit the Palace, so instead, we visit the War Remnants Museum. But this is such an important museum that should not be missed, I would have visited on my own on my last day.

Leaving the museum, our sightseeing continues.

The first thing you notice about Ho Chi Minh City is the traffic. If we thought the traffic in Hanoi was intense, the traffic in Ho Chi Minh City is multiples of that – it is an act of courage (almost an adventure or sport) just to cross the street.

*Traffic in Ho Chi Minh City is actually an attraction © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

*Just trying to cross the street in Ho Chi Minh City is an adventure © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

You just cannot fathom the amount of traffic, with scooters zipping by every which way (there are buses and cars, too, but not nearly as many), and somehow they manage this complex choreography. But to the extent there are traffic signals, they are extremely sophisticated, with seconds counting down and turning arrows. Trouble is, they mainly control motorized traffic and there aren’t enough of them. Pedestrians have to just assert themselves. (Mercifully, Discovery Bicycle Tours has no plan for us to bike within Saigon; we will be taken out to the countryside.)

*We make a game of finding four and five people on a motor scooter © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The traffic is actually an attraction. Looking through the window from the safe perch of our bus, we enjoy trying to spot families of three, four, even five on a motor bike, or some interesting thing that is being transported like 12-foot long piping or wide/high stacks, and looking for creative expressions of individuality in helmets. There are even bike helmets for the cellphones but rarely for children, our local guide, Li, tells us (and he isn’t just joking).

*Taking amusement in our amusement, flashing the V sign © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

People on their scooters, smile, wave and flash V signs to us when they notice us watching with fascination and admiration.

Also interesting is the equivalent of an Uber service via motor scooter.

Our local guide, Li, tells us the city’s first subway opened just 2 months earlier – another sign of Vietnam’s peace and prosperity (I make a plan to see it). It extends 25 km east of city and there are plans to build a second line to go 25 km to the west. There is also some thought to a bullet train to replace the “express train” to Hanoi that takes 32 hours.

Another indication of the economic development of Vietnam is that they are building a new international airport 40 km away – the present one will used for the military.

There is lots of Western influence here – Ho Chi Minh City is Vietnam’s largest city and its commercial capital, and had been under French and Western control for more than a century. It seems very much an international city.

The Central Post Office, built between 1886-1891 with Gothic, Renaissance and French influences, is one of the main landmarks and attractions in Ho Chi Minh City © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We next visit the famous Ho Chi Minh City Central Post Office, unchanged since it was built in the French style in the 1880s. I had bought some really decorative cards in the night market in Hue and delight in sending them off with special stamps and post mark, racing to complete the task as the rest of the group waits. (I have a tradition of mailing cards home from where I travel.)

*We get to experience Saigon’s famous street food at Ho Thi Ky Flowers and Foods Street © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

For dinner, we get to experience Saigon’s famous street food – we are taken by bus to Ho Thi Ky Flowers and Foods Street, a popular district for street food, and Li leads us from one stall to another. We sit at the child-sized plastic tables and chairs and sample all these delights.

The food is marvelous – in fact, we’ve enjoyed excellent meals at all the restaurants we have visited but this experience adds extra zest of the ambiance. We get to try some unusual, local foods, too.

Li dares us to try the “stinky Vietnamese fruit,” Durian, a spiky, custard-like fruit known for its pungent, almost overpowering odor (a fruit equivalent to Limburger cheese), yet considered a delicacy in Southeast Asia and stuffed snails. (It’s horrible.)

*It’s like a big block party at Ho Thi Ky Flowers and Foods Street © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

It’s like a giant block party as we make our way through the narrow streets.

When we return to the Majestic Hotel, several of us go up to its gorgeous rooftop bar with stunning views of the river and the street activity.

*The view from the rooftop bar at the Majestic Hotel, Ho Chi Minh City© Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

*The Majestic is an elegant French-style hotel which first opened in 1925 and in 2007 became the first Vietnamese-managed hotel to earn five-star status © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The Majestic is an elegant five-star, French-style hotel which first opened in 1925, built by the richest Chinese businessman in Saigon at the time, Bui Hon Hoa. Over the past century, it has been expanded and renovated and in 2007 became the first Vietnamese-managed hotel to earn five-star status. It has a stunning outdoor pool, a gorgeous restaurant where we enjoy breakfast, a beautiful lobby lounge.

*Ho Chi Minh stands in front of City Hall © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

*Street entertainers perform on the promenade © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

I head out to (carefully) cross the street to a long park which lets you promenade up to the City Hall, a stunning building from the Colonial French era, enjoying the activity of families out and about enjoying the evening and some street entertainers.

Biking, Cruising in the Mekong Delta

The Mekong Delta is Vietnam’s bread basket. *Agricultural productivity has turned Vietnam from deprivation to becoming one of the biggest rice exporters in the world*. © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Our last full day in Vietnam is spent biking but mercifully, not in the city. Instead, we are bused 2 ½ hours to the Mekong Delta countryside. Our 20-mile bike route takes us through villages, rice paddies, orchards.

*Biking country roads through small villages in the Mekong Delta © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We stop into a place that collects coconuts for distribution and we get to drink the coconut juice, while our rest stop affords a few of us to hang out in hammocks.

*Our Discovery Bicycle Tours group samples coconut juice © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

*Hanging out in hammocks at our rest stop © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We come to Mr. Kiet’s Ancient House, a faithfully restored upper-class 1838 home with intricately carved wooden archways and doors and antique furnishings, many with luminescent inlaid nacre. Recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage site, the home is still occupied by Mr. Kiet’s widow who operates a small restaurant in the orchard garden, where we have a most delightful lunch.

*Mr. Kiet’s Ancient House is a faithfully restored upper-class 1838 home recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage site © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

*Our Discovery Bicycle Tours group enjoys lunch at Mr. Kiet’s Ancient House © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Finishing our bike ride, we board a boat for a short cruise along the Mekong River, stop into a factory that makes candy from rice (like popcorn!), and have another ride in a traditional boat.

*A factory that makes rice into products like candy © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

*Watching how rice is popped at a factory that makes rice into products like candy © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

*The scene along the Mekong River © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

*Our Discovery Bicycle Tours group is rowed in traditional boats © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

I frankly would have preferred this last day be spent biking and visiting the Cu Chi Tunnels, which would add to understanding the Vietnam War. I had visited five years ago when I was last in Saigon (on a Global Scavenger Hunt), and found it extremely moving and frankly a unique experience.

*The Củ Chi Tunnels was the Viet Cong’s base for the Tet Offensive in 1968*.© Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The Củ Chi Tunnels was the Viet Cong’s base for the Tet Offensive in 1968. The site has 120 km of underground tunnels with trapdoors, living areas, storage facilities, armory, hospitals, and command centers, and were used going back to 1948 against the French, and later against the Americans.

At the Củ Chi Tunnels you get to go into the tunnels. Here, *a girl gets to feel what it is like to hide underground*. *© Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

You actually climb into the tunnels (there are different length routes you can take, especially if you are claustrophobic) and guides re-create how the Viet Cong lived there. In the visitor center, you can archival film of battles and bombings in the place where it happened. (See: HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM: TRADITIONS SURVIVE IN MODERN CITY, AS DOES RECKONING WITH PAST)

(Some of our group have a late-enough flight the next day that they have organized a private tour. I would recommend you extend your stay to have this experience if it is not included in the itinerary. You can arrange one of the many sightseeing trips available through the Majestic Hotel’s concierge).

A Day to Leisurely Explore

Discovery Bicycle Tours has arranged a late check out at the Majestic Hotel to accommodate our late-afternoon and early evening flights.

*The lovely pool at the Majestic Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

I luxuriate with a leisurely breakfast in the Majestic’s lovely rooftop restaurant, go for a swim in the hotel’s gorgeous pool, then go out to explore. (Had we not already visited the War Remnants Museum, this is when I would have.)

I head out to walk to the famous historic Ben Thanh Market, considered a “must-see.”

*The famous historic Ben Thanh Market in Ho Chi Minh City* *© Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Ho Chi Minh City just opened its first subway, so when I come upon a station, I go down to explore–I find it unadorned, totally functional.

I had hoped to visit the synagogue that I had visited five years ago, but am unable to find it (it apparently is now a Chabad; there are three other synagogues in Vietnam: in Hanoi, Hoi An and Sapa).

Instead, I stop in to the Rehahn Gallery. It is very different from the Precious Museum & Gallery in his hometown of Hoi An but another chance to admire these spectacular photographs. There is a marvelous video which describes a bit of his process. It is just a couple of blocks from the Majestic Hotel, and close to the Opera and the Post Office.

Get the required visa at Vietnam’s website (evisa.gov.vn), where the fee is $25 (if you use a visa service it costs something like $197), but give yourself enough time to get the confirmation.

It is recommended you purchase travel insurance – especially for the medical and evacuation coverage. You can check a site like travelinsurance.com to get recommendations.

To see more about the Vietnam Adventure Cultural Bike Tour Experience visit: https://discoverybicycletours.com/12-day-vietnam-adventure-cultural-bike-tour-experience/.

Discovery Bicycle Tours – which has joined Austin Adventures, a Montana-based North America National Parks small group tour company under the umbrella ownership of Active Adventures, a New Zealand-based small group adventure travel company – is adding 10 new tours for 2026 to its collection of 58 tours across 15 countries (repeat guests discount of 5%). Among the new tours: Vermont Rail Trails Bike Tour; Prince Edward Island Bike Tour; Amsterdam to Bruges Bike & Barge; and San Juan Islands & Olympic National Park Bike Tour

Discovery Bicycle Tours, 2520 W. Woodstock Rd., Woodstock, VT 05091, 800-257-2226, 802- 457-3553, info@discoverybicycletours.com, www.discoverybicycletours.com

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS VIETNAM TRIP: HO CHI MINH MAUSOLEUM BRINGS NEW CLARITY TO A CLOUDY PAST

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS’ VIETNAM: A BOAT RIDE THROUGH CAVES, BIKE RIDE TO TEMPLES IN NINH BINH

CRUISING BAI TU LONG BAY ON THE DRAGON LEGEND

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS’ VIETNAM: HUE’S CITADEL, “CITY OF GHOSTS” & THE CHALLENGE OF BIKING THE HAI VAN PASS

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS’ VIETNAM: HOI AN’S DAZZLING LIGHTS, TRANQUIL COUNTRYSIDE

A RENDEZVOUS WITH PROGRESS OF THE PRESENT, HORRORS OF THE PAST IN HO CHI MINH CITY

__________________

Biking Tours, Cultural travel, Historic Places, Museums and Exhibits, Responsible Travel, Sustainable Travel

Discovery Bicycle Tours’ Vietnam: Hoi An’s Dazzling Lights, Tranquil Countryside

October 29, 2025 krubin723

*The dazzling night scene in Hoi An takes my breath away © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

When I think of Hoi An, Vietnam, I think of “dazzling” and I think of Venice. That first glimpse in the night as we walk over the Hội An bridge into Old Town and suddenly see the colored lights and lanterns popping out of the darkness, the silhouette of the sampan boats rowing on the river evoking Venetian gondoliers, the reflections on the dappled surface of the water, takes my breath away. Add to this the crush of people crossing the bridge, reminiscent of the Ponte di Rialto (but with the added hubbub of motorbikes winding their way through the crowd). And then there is the Japanese Covered Bridge that reminds you of Venice’s Bridge of Sighs.

*Hoi An, one of the most prosperous international trading ports in Southeast Asia in the 17^th and 18^th centuries, still manifests cultural diversity* *© Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

In the 17th and 18^th centuries, Hoi An was one of the most prosperous international trading ports in Southeast Asia – the center of commerce for merchant vessels from Japan, China, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands and India – cultures that left their mark in architecture, customs, art and festivals. Preserved intact and considered a living museum, the Old Town was recognized as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site in 1999, and in 2023, was listed as one of the UNESCO creative cities for handicraft and folk arts – which we enjoy discovering in the many shops and market stalls.

Experiencing Vietnam’s Rural Life by Bike

Today’s ride – 20 miles through Hoi An’s countryside – on Day 8 of Discovery Bicycle Tours’ 12-day Vietnam cultural tour, proves my favorite – especially compared to yesterday’s challenging seven-mile ride up to the Hai Van Pass and six miles down the other side. Today’s ride is not just relaxing but really interesting, manifesting the best feature of a bike tour: bringing you into daily life. We ride through villages which represent the “five pillars” of Vietnamese daily life – a carpentry village, fishing village, vegetable village, pottery village.

After breakfast, we pedal right from the five-star European-styled Royal Hotel Hoi An to the hamlet of Thanh Ha, a modest village specializing in making small pottery objects and utensils. We learn that the clay is collected from rice paddies. Several of us get to try the traditional method, and as we leave, we are presented with a gift of a clay animal-shaped whistle.

*We get to try the traditional pottery technique in the Pottery Village © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

*Biking in the tranquil countryside outside of Hoi An © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We continue cycling through the countryside to a small village located on the banks of the Tra Que Lagoon, 2 miles northeast of the Old Town. We meet local residents and enjoy a demonstration of making rice paper, ban xeo and the tam huu local spring roll. We get to try to make it ourselves, as we are treated to tea and rice cake. Every part of the rice plant is used, including the husk which is fuel.

*A demonstration in making rice paper © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

After lunch, we bike to Cam Thanh water coconut village to learn about the daily life of families who fish on the local river, and are paddled around in a “unique” (novel) Vietnamese round bamboo basket boat, coming close to a fishing boat to see how the fisherman tosses out an enormous net.

*Visiting a fishing village © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

*A fun ride in a “bubble” boat © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Back in Hoi An after our bike ride, we have the afternoon free and time to explore the delights of Hoi An.

I go off to find The Precious Heritage Museum and Art Gallery, set in a 19^th century French house in Old Town.

*Rehahn’s photographs, costumes and artifacts from his decade-long ethnography project on view in his Precious Heritage Museum and Art Gallery in Hoi An © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

This is so much more than the gallery of world-renowned photographer, Rehahn – it is an ethnography exhibit of his decade long project to photograph all 54 ethnic groups of Vietnam. Magnificent portraits are displayed along with that village’s traditional dress and other artifacts (several of these also decorate the hotel). Magnificent portraits are displayed along with that village’s traditional dress and other artifacts. I love his notes telling the story behind the photograph of the people and the experience. You can also watch outstanding videos. The photos are published in his book, “Vietnam.”

The five rooms spanning 500 sq meters contain hundreds of portraits, 60 costumes and tribal songs. You are immersed in his striking portraits, stories, and heirlooms that equal the best exhibitions in the finest museums in the world and stand as a celebration of heritage and a call for conservation. (Free admission, open daily 8 am-8 pm, 26 Phan Boi Chau – Hoi An 84 94 982 06 98, https://www.Rehahnphotographer.com/)

*A line of rickshaws come through the Old Town market © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

To get there (a 20 minute walk, or about a mile from the Royal Hotel Hoi An), I walk along the river, through the markets, first geared to tourists, then local markets. But I see why the city bans buses and trucks to enter the city after 4 pm, because as I walk, literally 100 stalls are being moved into position, like a long train, as the night market takes over the street. A long line of rickshaws transporting tourists flow down, and pedestrians take over whatever space is left.

*Enjoying dinner at one of Vy’s restaurants in Hoi An © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Our group meets for dinner at the Morning Glory Restaurant, which I learn has basically re-invented Vietnamese cuisine after decades of deprivation:

“We had lost a whole generation of chefs and recipes. When you’re living on the most basic rations, taste is not your priority – you just need something to fill your belly and give you energy,” Ms. Vy, founder and owner of The Taste Vietnam Group writes.

“Nowadays, having been a chef for some 40 years, I can look back at our history and understand why Vietnamese cuisine doesn’t yet occupy the position it deserves on the world stage. And this is why I, and many of my colleagues, have tasked ourselves with exposing our amazing gastronomy to the world. We hope to highlight its techniques, the philosophy at its roots, and its historical origins, while at the same time promoting its health and nutritional benefits. We have dedicated our careers to this for our community and our nation.”

These remarks crystallize for me what our Discovery Bicycle Tours guides – Phong, Vinh and Li – have related to us in their personal stories. I was reminded of Phong, standing by a rice paddy, speaking of his holiday gift wish when he was a boy not be hungry, and how so much has changed for his people over the last 40 years.

*Vy’s Morning Glory Restaurant in Hoi An. A placard notes how Vietnamese cuisine had to be reinvented after decades of deprivation © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Indeed, the meal we enjoy at Morning Glory is excellent, imaginative, exquisitely presented as we are entertained by two guitarists.

The restaurant is very clever, offering an entire store, Vy’s Market, filled with household and culinary items (“Herbal Wine for Joints”), as well as a cooking school.

(The next evening, when dinner is on our own, we happen into another of Vy’s restaurants on the other side of the river in the Old Town, with a fantastic saxophonist to entertain, stunning ambiance and delightful menu.)

After dinner, we stroll around on our own – we head toward the Old Town across the Hoi An bridge, and that’s when we come across the most spectacular sight: the colorful lanterns on sampan boats.

We enjoy looking into the shops and then come upon another scenic highlight of Hoi An: the Japanese Covered Bridge.

*The Japanese Covered Bridge, Hoi An, Vietnam © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The Japanese Covered Bridge was built in the early 17^th century by the Japanese who lived in Hoi An town, to cross the stream to do business with the local people in the residential area. The two entrances are guarded by Monkey Gods at one end and a pair of Dog gods at the other. In later centuries, the Chinese and Vietnamese continued to restore the bridge, and built a small temple dedicated to the God Bac de Tran Vo (Emperor of the North).This religious architectural complex has a distinctive pantiled (yin-yang) T-shaped roof, which is related to the misfortune and happiness of the local people, so they often call it Chua Cau (bridge and temple). Chua Cau is also a symbol of the cultural exchange between the Japanese, Chinese and Vietnamese people in Hoi An. It is thought to have supernatural power and is still a place of worship. Inside, we see the small temple and historic photos of the bridge.

The temple within *the Japanese Covered Bridge, Hoi An, Vietnam © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Bike Ride to My Son Sanctuary

The morning of Day 9, we transfer to Vinh Dien where we cycle 15 miles to the My Son Sanctuary. At this World Heritage Site, see the remains of the remarkable brick towers.

*Biking in the Hoi An countryside © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Visiting My Son Sanctuary is fascinating on multiple levels – it introduces us to a part of Vietnam’s heritage that few would have known – My Son Sanctuary was the spiritual capital of the Cham Kingdom, which dominated Southeast Asia for nearly a thousand years, and is one of the few sites from this era left standing. During the Vietnam (American) War; this area was a stronghold for VietCong fighters and was bombed in 1968 during the Tet Offensive – to the extent that a letter was sent to President Nixon, pleading with him to stop bombing this precious place. Apparently, the bombing was stopped.

*My Son Sanctuary © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We learn that the sanctuary had to be excavated, but the process was impeded by landmines. “In 2000, with the help of the United States, they took out the landmines.” Also, there are snakes (so don’t walk on the grass)

Another interesting thing: they don’t really know how these temples were constructed.

The monuments are considered masterpieces of brick construction of the period, both in terms of the technology of their construction and because of their intricate carved-brick decorations, “unique and without equal in Southeast Asia,” according to UNESCO notes.

The tower temples were constructed over ten centuries in what was the heart of the ancestral homeland of the ruling Dua Clan which unified the Cham clans and established the kingdom of Champapura (Sanskrit for City of the Cham people) in 192 CE. During the 4th to 13th centuries CE this distinctive culture, on the coast of contemporary Vietnam, owed its spiritual origins to the Hinduism of the Indian sub-continent.

We get back to Hoi An with the whole afternoon and evening to ourselves.

The Precious Heritage Museum and Art Gallery is so fascinating that I return with Calista Phillips (our Discovery Bike Tours guide) and Pam and we are so fortunate that Rehahn, the photographer himself!, is at the gallery, signing his newest book.

*We get to meet renowned photographer Rehahn in his Precious Heritage Museum and Art Gallery in Hoi An © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Now we can focus on the markets – when you walk from the Royal Hotel along the riverbank, you see all the tourist-oriented shops and stalls, but walk a bit further and there you have the local markets, and just a bit further than that, is the Gallery.

We stop at a woman who is carving bamboo into the most amazing heads.

*One of the craftspeople in the Hoi An market. Hoi An is listed as one of the UNESCO creative cities for handicraft and folk arts © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The further away from the river front and the further back from the center, the streets empty out, and we just enjoy the atmosphere as we walk back to the Royal Hotel Hoi An.

*The five-star Hotel Royal Hoi An © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

*The outdoor pool at the Hotel Royal Hoi An © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

*The gorgeous back patio of the Hotel Royal Hoi An overlooks the water © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Discovery Bicycle Tours, 2520 W. Woodstock Rd., Woodstock, VT 05091, 800-257-2226, 802- 457-3553, info@discoverybicycletours.com, www.discoverybicycletours.com

Next: Ho Chi Minh City

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS VIETNAM TRIP: HO CHI MINH MAUSOLEUM BRINGS NEW CLARITY TO A CLOUDY PAST

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS’ VIETNAM: A BOAT RIDE THROUGH CAVES, BIKE RIDE TO TEMPLES IN NINH BINH

CRUISING BAI TU LONG BAY ON THE DRAGON LEGEND

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS’ VIETNAM: HUE’S CITADEL, “CITY OF GHOSTS” & THE CHALLENGE OF BIKING THE HAI VAN PASS

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS’ VIETNAM: HOI AN’S DAZZLING LIGHTS, TRANQUIL COUNTRYSIDE

A RENDEZVOUS WITH PROGRESS OF THE PRESENT, HORRORS OF THE PAST IN HO CHI MINH CITY

__________________

© 2025 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to FamTravLtr@aol.com. Bluesky: @newsphotosfeatures.bsky.social X: @TravelFeatures Threads: @news_and_photo_features ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Biking Tours, Cultural travel, Historic Places, International Travel

Discovery Bicycle Tours’ Vietnam: Hue’s Citadel, ‘City of Ghosts’ & the Challenge of Biking the Hai Van Pass

October 22, 2025 krubin723

*Families in traditional dress visit the Citadel of Hue © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

On Day 6 of Discovery Bicycle Tours’ 12-Day Vietnam Tour, we get to ride (22 miles for the day), biking right from the Pilgrimage Village resort in Hue along country lanes. There is only light local traffic (mainly bicycles, motorbikes and buffaloes) to the Royal Tomb of Emperor Gia Long, the first emperor of Vietnam’s Nguyen Dynasty.

*One of the magnificent gates of the Citadel of Hue, Vietnam’s “Forbidden City” © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Built between 1814 and 1820, the mausoleum of Gia Long is a complex of several tombs and temples spread across a tranquil park-like setting of 42 hills and pine forest. What makes this place all the more special is the poignant love story of the Emperor and his first wife, for whom he built the tomb so she could be buried beside him (calling to mind the Taj Mahal).

*A scene of Vietnam’s countryside © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Our bike ride finishes at a pleasant restaurant in an eco-resort where we enjoy a delightful lunch before getting onto a “dragon” boat that cruises along the Perfume River to visit the famous Thien Mu Pagoda. The pagoda, with its moat now filled with lotus flowers, dates from the 1870s and has become the symbol of the city of Hue.

We next board our bus and are taken to the magnificent Citadel of Hue. Set on the northern bank of the Perfume River, the walled fortress served as the capital of the Nguyen Dynasty from 1802 to 1945, the last feudal dynasty in Vietnam. The Citadel was designated a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site in 1993.

This vast complex – 520 hectares – has a moat and ten ornate gates guarding a palace, temples, gardens and tombs.

*The Citadel of Hue houses magnificent architecture © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Our local guide, Vinh, tells us Vietnam was independent from 1802-1883. Then the fourth king passed away and the French moved in, turning Vietnam into its colony, from 1885-1945. “With help of an ally,” the Vietnamese pushed out the French, but that lasted only a year and the French returned in 1946 for nine more years. That triggered the Second Indochina War (what we call the Vietnam War and they call the American War).

This very place where we stand today was the site of a major battle in the Tet Offensive – our guide shows us photos of the Battle of Hue, a siege which lasted from January 31 to March 2, 1968.

As we walk through the expansive grounds, he tells us that the restoration of the palace was only completed last year – but he points to where we can still see bullet holes.

*The palaces and tombs of the Citadel of Hue manifest gorgeous decoration © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The art, the architecture, the decoration – mosaic, enamel, sculpture –are exquisite, reminding me of China’s Forbidden City in Beijing. It turns out this is not coincidence: Emperor Gia Long modeled his palace complex after Beijing’s Forbidden City.

*A woman in traditional dress at the Citadel of Hue transports the visitor in time © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

*A family in traditional dress visits the Citadel of Hue © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

*Women in traditional dress at the Citadel of Hue transports the visitor in time © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The experience is enhanced by all the families who have come in their traditional dress (which seems fascinating to me in a Communist country), to pose for photos as part of their Lunar New Year celebration. But it has the effect of completing the feeling of having been transported back in time. There are also large groups of school kids in their white shirts.

*Groups of school children in white shirts the Citadel of Hue © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We have dinner this evening at the delightful Vy’s Restaurant in Hue and enjoy the bustling, festive downtown activity.

*Hue’s festive, bustling downtown © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

*One of the Hue street merchants selling paper cut-out sculpture cards © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Covered Bridge & Hai Van Pass

Day 7 of the Discovery Bicycle Tours Vietnam tour brings the greatest cycling challenge – the seven mile climb up to the Hai Van Pass – and a visit to the intriguingly named “City of Ghosts.”

*The gorgeous pool and restaurant at Pilgrimage Village, Hue © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

But the day starts off with lulling ease – a delightful breakfast at the Pilgrimage Village resort, and a visit to the Vestige of Thanh Toan Tile-Roofed Bridge, a wooden covered bridge originally constructed in 1776 with seven apartments. It was dedicated to Tran Thi Dao, a child of Thanh Thuy Chanh Village and wife of a high-ranking Mandarin in Thuan Hoa Region who provided the funding. The bridge was recognized as a national heritage site in 1990 for its beautiful architecture.

*The historic Thanh Toan Tile-Roofed Bridge* *© Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We cross the bridge and enter a busy village market, and after, are brought to an agricultural museum where we are treated to a demonstration of the traditional way the villagers processed rice by a docent with a great sense of humor.

*Village Market* *© Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

*Playing the role of an ox at an agricultural museum demonstration © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

From here, we drive to the An Bang Village Cemetery, intriguingly known as “the City of Ghosts,” for its thousands of ornate mausoleums that extend over 8 km.

*Mausoleums at An Bang Village Cemetery, intriguingly known as “the City of Ghosts” © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Many of the tombs we see in this section are relatively new – dating from 1999 up to 2024 – but are fabulous and enormously expensive, costing $60,000-$70,000, and mostly paid for by relatives from the US, UK and Australia.

A plaque at one of the mausoleums explains it is in honor of Nguyen Van Linh, the first ancestor who established the Nguyen Van family in An Bang-An. He was born in Ky Hoi in 1539 and died in 1588.

From here, we have a picnic lunch before “hopping on our bikes to conquer” Hai Van Pass, also known as the “Pass of Ocean Clouds.” An iconic pass known around the world, it is the highest in Vietnam at 500 meters above sea level. Discovery Bicycle Tours notes that “a new tunnel through the mountain means that the 7 miles up the pass is a very quiet section of highway. The gradient is manageable, and the views are breath taking!” Actually, as I discover, the gradient is 4.6% up to 7.5%. (I think our0 Ride with GPS app even shows 12% at some points.)

*Biking to the entrance of the Hai Van Pass © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

*Our Discovery Bicycle Tours group at the start of the seven-mile climb up to Hai Van Pass © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Now, all of our bike rides so far have been easy, with very little elevation. But today’s is an absolute challenge, even more challenging than the ride up Acadia’s Cadillac Mountain on Discovery Bicycle Tours’ Coastal Maine trip. Notably, we are the only ones doing this pass by bike (versus motorscooter or car) and I am one of the few in our group doing it with a regular hybrid bike (not e-bike).

I have my method – it may not look pretty, but it gets me to the summit: I keep looking down at the road immediately ahead of me (if you look up and see non-ending rise, you stop), try to keep my hands light on the handlebars, relax my shoulders, and think thoughts (mostly of how people have had to suffer but got through it). I stop a couple of times on a relatively flat section to refresh and then start again.

Because of this, I cannot vouch for the claim that this is “one of the great scenic drives around the world,” or a “deserted ribbon of perfection” as some have described it. It’s only later that I learn just how significant the it is: the Hai Van Pass dates back to the 1300s when it marked a physical boundary between the Champa and Dai Viet Kingdoms – you can still see an ancient grand gate at the summit which used to be a border crossing between the two kingdoms.

“Today, the road still represents a division between two distinct sides of Vietnam. Many travellers who backpack the length of the country say that the North and South of the country have two very different personalities, as well as notable climatic differences. The north is colder, more industrial and perhaps more serious, while the south is warmer, more tropical and the people are often said to be more laid-back. The Hai Van Pass is the point at which these two worlds meet.” (https://southeastasiabackpacker.com/hai-van-pass-vietnam/)

*The ancient gate at the summit of the Hai Van Pass © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

I make it to the top (I’ve refused invitations to ride up from our bus driver who has been assiduously following those of us at the back). I take a quick look at the fortress at the summit, and the “spectacular view” (the rest of the group have been at the top for about 20 minutes).

Our Discovery Bicycle Tours group makes it up the seven-mile stretch to the summit of Hai Van Pass, around the world as the “Pass of Ocean Clouds,” where an ancient grand gate used to be a border crossing between two kingdoms © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

*The view from the summit of Hai Van Pass, known as the “Pass of Ocean Clouds,” 500 ft. above sealevel and a seven-mile uphill climb by bike © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

From there, we bike down the other side of the Pass. Coming down is no picnic either – controlling the speed on the switchbacks. The best part of the ride is having done it. It has proved to be as tough and arduous as I expected (feared) and as satisfying to have done it as I had hoped.

In the bus on the way into the city of Hoi An, we delight in watching the massive traffic of scooters and play a game to find fours and fives on a scooter (since it seems this is the time that families pick up their kids, it isn’t hard), and interesting, the amusing decorations on helmets that express their individuality.

*A family of four on their motorscooter in Hoi An © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We arrive at the Royal Hotel Hoi An, a gorgeous, five-star luxury European-style hotel and begin our visit to this dazzling city.

Discovery Bicycle Tours, 2520 W. Woodstock Rd., Woodstock, VT 05091, 800-257-2226, 802- 457-3553, info@discoverybicycletours.com, www.discoverybicycletours.com

Next: Hoi An’s Dazzling Lights, Tranquil Countryside

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS VIETNAM TRIP: HO CHI MINH MAUSOLEUM BRINGS NEW CLARITY TO A CLOUDY PAST

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS’ VIETNAM: A BOAT RIDE THROUGH CAVES, BIKE RIDE TO TEMPLES IN NINH BINH

CRUISING BAI TU LONG BAY ON THE DRAGON LEGEND

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS’ VIETNAM: HUE’S CITADEL, “CITY OF GHOSTS” & THE CHALLENGE OF BIKING THE HAI VAN PASS

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS’ VIETNAM: HOI AN’S DAZZLING LIGHTS, TRANQUIL COUNTRYSIDE

A RENDEZVOUS WITH PROGRESS OF THE PRESENT, HORRORS OF THE PAST IN HO CHI MINH CITY

__________________

© 2025 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to FamTravLtr@aol.com. Bluesky: @newsphotosfeatures.bsky.social X: @TravelFeatures Threads: @news_and_photo_features ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Cultural travel, Destinations, International Travel

Cruising Bai Tu Long Bay on the Dragon Legend

October 14, 2025 krubin723

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

Soon after embarking on the Dragon Legend for our overnight cruise of Bai Tu Long Bay, we are captivated by the picturesque karst islands that dot from the water, a dreamy landscape evoking classical paintings.

It is our fourth day on Discovery Bicycle Tours’ Vietnam tour, and we had set out from the magnificent Emeralda Resort in Ninh Binh right after breakfast.

Along the drive, we see massive industrial parks being built on land that had been used to cultivate rice, big enough to have 500,000 workers.

What we don’t see, though, are housing communities and roads that would deliver those workers – so I wonder if that is because workers are housed within the industrial compounds and only see their family four days in the month? I wonder why in this freer, more prosperous, modern Vietnam they do not build industrial parks with adjacent communities with schools, groceries, parks, so that workers can have a family life, while young, single workers can live in worker housing and save money.

*Friends ride along the bus carrying new military recruits to give support © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We see a bus load of young recruits starting their mandatory two-year military service. They are being followed by supportive friends on motorbikes, waving flags, seeing them off.

*As we drive through the countryside, it seems just about every square meter is farmed or built on with houses*. *© Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

As we drive through the countryside, it seems just about every square meter is farmed or built on with houses. The new industrial parks that are being constructed near Hai Phong, Vietnam’s largest port in the north. In1964, Hai Phong, the biggest seaport in Vietnam, was the supply post from Russia and China and was the most heavily bombed.

Today, our bus is traveling on the beautiful and modern 120 km long Hanoi-Hai Phong Highway.

The government is extending the highway to go all the way north-to-south and constructing an express (bullet) train “so you would be able to have breakfast in Hanoi and lunch in Saigon.” The contractors are from Japan and China.

The rest stop on the highway offers a fascinating demonstration in the technique for oyster pearl farming devised here: a method of cutting a membrane, treating the oyster with an anti-bacterial, then implanting a seed into the oyster to stimulate the oyster to produce a pearl. “Like IVF for the oyster.”

*A demonstration of how pearls are cultivated in oysters with a kind of IVF © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Then the treated oyster is placed in a mesh bag (they can stay out of water for five hours), which will be put into the sea where it takes one to five years to cultivate the pearl.

She tells us that 30% of these oysters survive; of these, only 20% produce a pearl of sufficient quality for jewelry (there are grades like for diamonds).

At another station, we get to see the oyster opened to extract a pearl. Believe it or not, the oyster can be eaten after this.

Every part of the oyster has a use. The “irregular” ones with no shine are crushed for cosmetic pearl cream (makes you 10 years younger!); the irregular ones that have good sheen are used for earrings. “Nothing is wasted.” Mother of pearl is used for buttons and lacquerware.

*Extracting the pearl from the oyster © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Some oysters only live 1 to 2 years and are implanted once, but Black and South Sea pearl oysters, which take 2-5 years to produce the pearl, can be implanted once more after extracting the pearl.

We are then invited into a massive showroom where, we are told we can get a 5% discount and use any kind of currency or credit card. Boy, these guys are really good at capitalism!

Indeed, at this popular port of Ha Long City with loads of international chain hotels, we see massive luxury buildings that are standing empty – built during a building boom to attract those who could afford the $1 million price tag.

Cruising on the Dragon Legend

*The Dragon Legend anchors in Bai Tu Long Bay during our overnight cruise © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The Dragon Legend, one of the IndoChina Junk fleet, is a gorgeous ship (my room is massive) We have all the comforts we could possibly want (except WiFi).

*The cabins on the Dragon Legend are spacious © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

After lunch onboard the ship, we tender to Hon Co Island – one of the few (out of 4000 karst islands in the Bay) where people are allowed to hike. We hike up stone stairs into the hidden Thien Canh Son Cave, then down to a beautiful sand beach.

*Kayaking during our Dragon Legend overnight cruise © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The tender next takes us to a floating dock where we get into kayaks and paddle around another small karst island before returning to the ship for the sunset (at 5 pm), cocktails, and dinner.

*A scenic overnight cruise on Bai Tu Long Bay © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Back on board the ship, we are invited to a cooking demonstration while others go for massages.

*The picturesque scene at night aboard the Dragon Legend © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

As night descends, several boats anchor in the same cove – their lights, reflected in the water as the sun sets makes for a stunning scene.

*The picturesque scene of karst islands in the bay aboard the Dragon Legend © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Dinner is marvelous, followed by a few entertainments (the GM does some card tricks). A few of us take up the invitation to try fishing off the boat using nothing but a bamboo pole and lure – a couple of squid are caught triggering squeals of delight.

*Trying our hand at fishing with a bamboo pole © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

A Floating Fishing Village

I get up early for the sunrise Tai Chi (so fun, except it is cloudy). After breakfast, we tender to Vung Vieng, a floating fishing village, which proves a true highlight of the cruise.

Located some 22 km from any town, Vung Vieng has been the floating home to as many as 80 families since the 19th century. The homes still have no electricity (a community center and the dock where we board the rowboats to visit the village, has solar power).

A sign on the dock as we await to board the rowboats relates that the Vung Vieng fishing village began as an anchorage to give boats a place to rest and avoid storms, but over time, some households began to settle here, increasing in number until nearly 80 in 2014.

*Visiting the floating Vung Vieng fishing village © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

“With the help of the people of the United States, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), nongovernmental organizations, and others, dozens of fishing village households have participated in Halong Cat Ba Bay Initiative Alliance with a model of sustainable aquaculture combining responsible tourism on Ha Long Bay, so that Vung Vieng fishing village can be preserved for the future,” the sign notes. The village has been bringing tourists to visit for the past 25 years, an important source of financial support.

Seeing the sign that credits the assistance of USAID, retriggers my fury at the destruction of America’s reputation and role in the world.

We are rowed around the karst island in a traditional wooden rowboat to where the modest homes (not much bigger than a shack) are on wooden floats, sheltered by the rock formations on either side. Those of the village who are not rowing us are likely out fishing, so we see only a few people still at home – there are more dogs than people.

While there is a solar panel in the community building, there is little electricity – no hot water shower, only a wood fire stove for cooking and heat. Barrels collect rainwater from the roofs for drinking. The villagers subsist on fish (halibut, snapper, mackerel, grouper, sea bass, tuna), and scuba divers gather scallops and oysters.

We also see an actual oyster farm and when we return to the floating dock we have another demonstration of the remarkable process of inserting a seed in an oyster to produce a pearl.

Back onboard the Dragon Legend, we have lunch as it cruises back to port. We depart the ship and drive to the airport in Hanoi to continue our Vietnam adventure in Hue, in central Vietnam.

*Riding the bus gives us a wonderful view of farming communities © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

On the bus ride to Hanoi Airport, we see pickleball and gyms, lots of bridal gown shops, a Make Up Academy. Cell phones are ubiquitous, but where are the cell phone stores?

I’m fascinated to see large advertising billboards that remind me of the 1950s. One reads “Better Kitchen. Better Life.”

We fly into Danang Airport – yet another modern, comfortable, well organized international airport just bustling with travelers from all over the world. (Normally, Discovery would fly us directly into Hue but there weren’t enough plane tickets to accommodate the group.)

Danang is a familiar name for Americans – it was a base for Americans during the War. In the last 20 years, like the rest of Vietnam, Danang has seen extraordinary growth, progress and prosperity. In 1975-80, the population was 50,000; today the population is 1.5 million and has become the fourth largest city in Vietnam after Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hai Phong. It is a popular place to live– just 10 minutes to the mountain, 10 minutes to the beach and seaport.

We are headed to Hue, a city of 300,000, where we will spend two nights at the Pilgrimage Village, a gorgeous five-star resort surrounded by lush gardens, 10 minutes from the bustling downtown.

As it is, our truck driver and bike mechanic have been driving for two days to bring our bikes from Hanoi to Hue so we can begin the biking portion of our Vietnam cultural tour.

*The colorful, bustling nightlife of Hue © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We have dinner on our own – and since the downtown is a distance from the hotel, the bus takes us and picks us up (we have a devil of a time finding our way back to where the pick-up is).

I am dazzled by Hue, a bustling, colorful, festive downtown, jam-packed with people crowding the restaurants, the merchants hawking crafts on the streets.

*The lush garden pool at Pilgrimage Village resort in Hue © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

And I really love our stay at the Pilgrimage Village, with its lush garden setting – especially swimming in a picturesque pool as darkness falls and having breakfast in a lodge overlooking the water and gardens.

Discovery Bicycle Tours, 2520 W. Woodstock Rd., Woodstock, VT 05091, 800-257-2226, 802- 457-3553, info@discoverybicycletours.com, www.discoverybicycletours.com

Next: Hue’s Citadel & the Challenge of Biking the Hai Van Pass

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS VIETNAM TRIP: HO CHI MINH MAUSOLEUM BRINGS NEW CLARITY TO A CLOUDY PAST

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS’ VIETNAM: A BOAT RIDE THROUGH CAVES, BIKE RIDE TO TEMPLES IN NINH BINH

CRUISING BAI TU LONG BAY ON THE DRAGON LEGEND

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS’ VIETNAM: HUE’S CITADEL, “CITY OF GHOSTS” & THE CHALLENGE OF BIKING THE HAI VAN PASS

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS’ VIETNAM: HOI AN’S DAZZLING LIGHTS, TRANQUIL COUNTRYSIDE

A RENDEZVOUS WITH PROGRESS OF THE PRESENT, HORRORS OF THE PAST IN HO CHI MINH CITY

_________________

© 2025 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to FamTravLtr@aol.com. Bluesky: @newsphotosfeatures.bsky.social X: @TravelFeatures Threads: @news_and_photo_features ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Biking Tours, Cultural travel, Culture, International Travel, Outdoors Adventures

Discovery Bicycle Tours’ Vietnam: A Boat Ride Through Caves, Bike Ride To Temples in Ninh Binh

October 8, 2025 krubin723

*Our Discovery Bicycle Tours group is rowed in a traditional wooden boat into the Tam Coc (three caves) in Ninh Binh © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

One of the most heavenly experiences in Ninh Binh, Vietnam, is to visit Tam Coc (three caves), a peaceful valley set amid karst hills. Here we are rowed along a gentle river between paddy fields and through the trio of caves on a traditional wooden boat where the oarsperson paddles using her legs and feet. It is inexplicable how the oarsmen (most are women) are able to maneuver.

The endpoint of this thrilling and gorgeously scenic water route is a Tran Dynasty temple where Saint Quy Minh Dai Vuong, an earth and water deity, and his wife are worshipped. It is mind-blowing to realize the temple was first constructed 1000 years ago during the Dinh dynasty.“The Temple contains four stone pillars, each of which is a piece of art that our forefathers left behind for posterity, but which remain a mystery, with clever, artistically carved patterned borders. The spirits were known to the ancients as Long (dragon), Ly (Qilin, a unicorn, part dragon, part horse), Quy (turtle) and Phuong (phoenix) – indeed, the four sacred animals we had seen during the Water Puppet cultural show in Hanoi.

*The 1000-year old Tran Dynasty temple at the Tam Coc (three caves) in Ninh Binh © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

This is our third morning on Discovery Bicycle Tours’ 12-day Vietnam cultural tour, and after a fabulous breakfast at the Emeralda Ninh Binh Resort, we travel by bus through the picturesque countryside. It will also be our first day biking in Vietnam.

*Our Discovery Bicycle Tours group is rowed in a traditional wooden boat into the scenic Tam Coc (three caves) in Ninh Binh © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

After lunch at a local restaurant, we pick up our bikes and set out on our first bike ride.

*Setting out on our first Discovery Bicycle Tours ride in Vietnam, in Ninh Binh © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We turn off local roads to cycle among the rice paddies and our guide, Nguyen Hong Phong, stops to explain the rice culture that has been so fundamental to Vietnam for 4000 years. (I can see how the “water puppets” we saw in Hanoi reflect this wet rice culture.)

Vietnam’s 4000-year old wet rice culture is still very present in modern-day Vietnam, though with new challenges of keeping workers and the rise of industrial complexes © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Before 1986, communal farming prevailed – the property was owned by the government and the farmers earned a share (theoretically equal but apparently not really, Phong suggests). But production wasn’t sufficient and people didn’t get enough rice.

Phong tells us that when he was a boy, his biggest wish at the Lunar New Year was to have enough food and clothes without stitches. When there wasn’t enough rice, they would mix in corn, tapioca, and “privately, secretly” catch snails, snakes, rats from the rice paddies. Even dogs and cats were protein for people.

*Our Discovery Bicycle Tours guide explains Vietnam’s rice agriculture © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

But a new law in 1986 allowed private ownership and open markets. The government divided up the land among the farmers. By 1996, Vietnam produced enough rice not only to feed its own population but to export, becoming one of the biggest rice exporters in the world.

*In 1986, the Vietnamese government allowed farm allotments to be privatized © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

But a new problem has arisen because young people can make more money in factories than on the farm, and farms are being abandoned or farmers have to hire workers.

Phong explains the process: dropping a seed and the sprout grows, within one month to 20 cm high, then the sprout is uprooted and transplanted. They have to build fences to keep out rats, mice, and fill with water to stop snails. After 3 ½ months growing, the rice plants are put into a nursery for one month more. By the time the plant is one meter tall, ripened to yellow, it is cut by hand or machine.

We learn how every part of the rice crop is utilized. But what I don’t understand is why white rice prevails even through the lean years of hunger and deprivation, when brown rice would be more nutritious and less costly to produce.

We stop along our cycling route to visit a community cemetery for war soldiers. Between 1945 and 1975, 3 million died in war, including one million soldiers. “Each community has a memorial, with the remains and the name of the person who died for freedom.” July 27 is the Day of the War Soldier, when families come and burn incense. A white flower on the grave indicates the soldier died without a family, a yellow flower denotes the soldier had family. We see the ages of these fallen soldiers, some as young as 18.

Biking to Hoa Lu, Ancient Capital City

After pedaling through several villages set amid a landscape of magnificent limestone peaks, we reach Hoa Lu. Hoa Lu was the capital of Vietnam from 968 to 1009 during the first two imperial dynasties of Vietnam: the Đinh founded by Đinh Tiên Hoàng, and the Early Lê founded by Lê Đại Hành. When the Lê dynasty ended, in 1010, Lý Công Uẩn, the founder of the Lý dynasty, transferred the capital to Thăng Long (now Hanoi),60 miles away, and Hoa Lư became known as the “ancient capital.”

*Statues memorialize Vietnam’s early kings, Dinh and Le, in the ancient capital city of Hoa Lu © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Here, we visit two temples – one dedicated to Emperor Dinh and the other in memory of Emperor Le – both with exquisite wood carvings and statuary.

At the entrance is the “stone dragon bed,’ where the king would have gotten off his elephant transport and walked the central path through the archway into the temple, while the mandarins entered through the sides.

Phong relates that in a feudal society, when a king passes away, they build several mausoleums so people don’t know where his actual body is buried – those that buried him are killed to keep the secret.

The thought occurs to me: To go from a king who can execute and torture at will to a dictator, even one who imprisons, tortures, and kills dissidents to preserve power but nonetheless is focused on bettering the lives of his people rather than his own aggrandizement, was a step up for the Vietnamese. But for us who are used to “rule of law”, “due process”, “equal rights”, “no man is above the war,” “justice without fear or favor,” and the ability to vote out an elected official, to find ourselves under the thumb of a dictator who politicizes justice, rules by violence, extortion, intimidation and oppression for his own benefit, is horrifying.

Also, what a difference peace makes to progress and quality of life.

We have a brief visit to the Old Palace.

We continue biking and stop at a cemetery– one of many we see in these rice paddies. Phong tells us it is common for the families to build a tomb for their ancestors within their allotment.

*A cemetery within the rice field keeps ancestors close in daily life © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Driving on the highway, we stop at one of several modern rest stops which also house handicraft shops employing people with disabilities. This one employs some 500 people and specializes in really fine embroidery (others specialize in painting, sculpture, lacquerware and other crafts)

The manager who greets us explains that these handicraft shops were opened in 1996.”Before they worked here, they stayed at home and couldn’t work. Now they get trained and can support themselves and their family. They have housing and are bused from home.”

*Skilled embroiderers at a handicrafts shop located in one of the highway rest stops © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We watch how these craftspeople embroider these magnificent scenes that match a photo. The manager says it can take 2 ½ months to make one smaller embroidery, 4 months for medium sized and 8 months for large; 65% of the purchase price goes to the worker.

These folks have really perfected capitalism. The general manager finishes his introduction saying, ‘It’s the new year. We give good price. No tax.” They make it easy to spend US dollars, use credit cards and ship purchases home.

It’s a private company but gets support from government, so I ask Phong, “so this is a private non-profit”? “Nothing is ‘nonprofit’” he replies with a note of cynism. (He made a similar reply when describing how after the Communists took over government, ostensibly to give equal portions, he snidely inserted, “of course, nothing is really equal.”)

Later I ask Phong about taxes people pay and am surprised that they are similar structure to what we pay: under $500 income, no tax, then a progressive rate up to 35% based on income that includes their equivalent of social security, plus 2% for health care. With health care, they also have some covered and some out-of-pocket expense but I can imagine the cost of their health care is a fraction of what we pay in the US.

*The magnificent outdoor pool at the luxury Emeralda Resort © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We stay for a second glorious night at the magnificent Emeralda Resort, sprawling like its own village with a palace-like entrance, outdoor and indoor pools, kids club, restaurants, and rooms the size of apartments. I get in a swim before enjoying a fabulous dinner together at the restaurant.

The next morning, we head to Bai Tu Long Bay for an overnight cruise on the Dragon Legend.

Discovery Bicycle Tours, 2520 W. Woodstock Rd., Woodstock, VT 05091, 800-257-2226, 802- 457-3553, info@discoverybicycletours.com, www.discoverybicycletours.com

Next: Dragon Legend Cruise on Bai Tu Long Bay

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS VIETNAM TRIP: HO CHI MINH MAUSOLEUM BRINGS NEW CLARITY TO A CLOUDY PAST

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS’ VIETNAM: A BOAT RIDE THROUGH CAVES, BIKE RIDE TO TEMPLES IN NINH BINH

CRUISING BAI TU LONG BAY ON THE DRAGON LEGEND

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS’ VIETNAM: HUE’S CITADEL, “CITY OF GHOSTS” & THE CHALLENGE OF BIKING THE HAI VAN PASS

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS’ VIETNAM: HOI AN’S DAZZLING LIGHTS, TRANQUIL COUNTRYSIDE

A RENDEZVOUS WITH PROGRESS OF THE PRESENT, HORRORS OF THE PAST IN HO CHI MINH CITY

_________________

© 2025 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to FamTravLtr@aol.com. Bluesky: @newsphotosfeatures.bsky.social X: @TravelFeatures Threads: @news_and_photo_features ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Attractions, Biking Tours, Cultural travel, Historic Places, International Travel, Monuments, Places of History

Discovery Bicycle Tours Vietnam Trip: Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Brings New Clarity to a Cloudy Past

October 1, 2025 krubin723

*Visiting the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi on Discovery Bicycle Tours’ 12-day Vietnam trip is a profound experience © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

Visiting the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi is a profound experience – revelatory, even. I had not expected to see the great liberator of Vietnam’s actual body, lighted from above. And shortly after, standing outside the Soviet-built mausoleum, I realize as we listen to our guide, Nguyen Hong Phong, that I had no actual understanding of who Ho Chi Minh was. Combing the recesses of my mind, I realize I saw Ho Chi Minh simply as the enemy and likely a brutal dictator (more like China’s Mao Tse-Tung). And even though I had lived through the Vietnam War (known here as the American War), I really hadn’t understood that either.

But here in Hanoi on Discovery Bicycle Tours’ Vietnam tour, I can see how Ho Chi Minh is justifiably venerated as a hero to his people – George Washington, Lincoln and FDR rolled into one. Visiting is like a pilgrimage with rules that accord him maximum respect. We walk up the stairs into the mausoleum, and slowly walk around his actual body, lit from above, as if he is merely sleeping – the still sleeping Liberator.

Ho Chi Minh, Phong tells us, “is the most respected in Vietnam. People changed their name to Ho. He is worshipped like a god in homes. He overcame the French, Japanese, Chinese and Americans for independence and freedom. Now we live in a peaceful country because of Ho Chi Minh.”

*Our Discovery Bicycle Tours group at the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum*

Coming back to the front of his mausoleum (built by the Soviets), Phong relates that Ho Chi Minh was born in 1890 into an educated family – his father was a Mandarin, working for a royal family. In feudal society, only men went to school and women stayed at home. He and his brother went to a French school.

He attended college in Saigon in 1911, studying culinary arts and applied to work as a cook in France. He wound up working on a ship, traveling to America, Britain, France, Russia and in 1928, went to China. Seeing the world in this way is what cultivated his revolutionary ideology and zeal to liberate Vietnam from foreign imperialists. On Feb 3 1930, he gathered party leaders and set up the Communist party.

“What he really learned was the importance of making Vietnam independent. He left Vietnam to learn enough about the French to kick them out,” Phong tells us.

*The Founding Fathers of the Republic of Vietnam © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

He returned to Vietnam in 1941, having been away for 30 years. In 1944, Ho Chi Minh and General Japp (also a national hero) set up the Viet Minh, to resist foreign occupation by theFrench and Japanese during World War II.

When the Japanese and the French (who had occupied Vietnam since 1868, introducing Roman alphabet to replace Chinese characters the people used for 1000 years) left in 1945 at the end of World War II, on Sept 2, 1945, Ho Chi Minh declared the independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam. But after only one year, in 1946, the French attacked, forcing Ho Chi Minh into the mountains and retaking control.

“He wanted peace and agreed to divide the country in two for two years. They agreed to divide along the 17^th parallel. It was supposed to be temporary. Five million people (mostly Catholic), fled south while one million southerners moved north. Then there was supposed to be national elections.”

But the US blocked the election (claiming concern for a “domino effect” of Chinese-led Communism spreading across IndoChina) and set up a puppet government in the south

*Ho Chi Minh is still the most venerated hero to the Vietnamese © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

When the war ended in 1975, Vietnam was united under the Communist regime.

The South Vietnamese who worked for the Americans were terrified of retribution and left (they were the “boat people”)

But Vietnam was still not at peace. China set up a new government in Cambodia that attacked South Vietnam. Fighting continued from 1979-1988.

Vietnam has only had real peace since 1988.

In 1986, the government implemented a “revision policy”: “We close the past, and look to the future,” Phong tells us. “The state still owned industry but allowed people to own their own businesses, allowed private enterprise and open markets. The rice fields were divided so you worked for yourself.”

*Ho Chi Minh shunned the Presidential Palace, built by the French © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

From the mausoleum, we visit the complex where he lived – the Presidential Palace taken over from the French (Ho Chi Minh refused to live in it and only used the palace as an office and to receive dignitaries). Instead, from 1944-48 he insisted on living in a modest one-bedroom house, then moved to a house on stilts (reminiscent of where he lived with a Thai family), which again, was absolutely beautiful, but very modest.

Looking through the window into *Ho Chi Minh’s house on stilts © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

In 1967, Ho Chi Minh became sick with lung cancer and was moved into another house, steps away from his house on stilts. This one looks camouflaged like a bunker, and was connected to underground bunker because by then, the US was bombing Hanoi. When he died in 1969, at the age of 79, the location of his body was kept secret and moved multiple times. His body was kept inside a cave until 1973, when the US left, and then asked Russia to build a complex. Until 1977, they moved his body nightly, keeping the coffin hidden underground. Peering through the windows of his homes provides a window into who Ho Chi Minh was in life.

*A house built like a bunker where Ho Chi Minh lived his last years © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Before we leave the complex, we visit the One Pillar Pagoda, which dates back to 1049. The French destroyed it in 1954, but the Vietnamese rebuilt it in 1955. There is a billboard that lays out the moral “do’s” and ”don’ts” of Buddhist/Confucian/Taoist society.

*The One Pillar Pagoda in Hanoi © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

If I had questioned how Americans would be received in Vietnam, I soon get my answer standing in front of a monument to John McCain at the lake where McCain’s plane was shot down in 1967. McCain began six years as a prisoner in the dreaded Hoa Lo Prison, infamously known as the “Hanoi Hilton” – famously refusing to leave until his comrades were also freed. (We don’t get to visit but today it is a historic museum which has an exhibit devoted to the American prisoners, but is mostly showcasing French colonialism, see “Museum Hopping and Shopping in Hanoi”). The monument dates from 1992, when John McCain became one of the first Americans to come to Vietnam to heal relations; President Bill Clinton established relations in 1993 and helped revive Vietnam’s economy.

*The John McCain Monument in Hanoi © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

In December 1972, American B52s bombed Hanoi, surrounding villages and hospitals. As we look around Hanoi today, there is little evidence of that.

If Vietnamese still resent Americans you do not feel it at all. When I ask our guides about that, I am told “We are a Buddhist country. We do not look to the past; we look to the future.” If anything, though, there is still resentment between North and South Vietnamese, similar to the cultural divisions that remain between north and south since America’s civil war.

“The Vietnamese love Bill Clinton, the first US president to visit after the war, and we love John McCain. The United States is one of seven countries with the best relations,” Phong says – US, France, Australia, and Russia. “We close the past and look to the future.” Interestingly, considering one of the excuses for the US to enter the Vietnam War – the “domino theory” that China would take over IndoChina – is that Vietnam is wary of China, which had dominated Vietnam for 1000 years. “Local people feel cautious about China’s ambition to invade.”

*Our Discovery Bicycle Tours guide Calista Phillips with Mr. Trung, Vietnam’s national champion cyclist, where we get our rental bikes © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

It is our second day on Discovery Bicycle Tours’ 12-day Vietnam tour, and we’ve come to the Mausoleum after stopping first at the bike rental shop owned by Mr. Trung, a 70-year old former national champion and president of the Giant UNCC (he poses with us and shows magazines that feature him), where we are fitted for bikes that we will use in Ninh Binh, Hue and Hoi An.

*Our Discovery Bicycle Tours is rowed into the Thung Nham bird sanctuary © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

From here, we drive a couple of hours to the Thung Nham Ecotourism Zone (I enjoy looking out to the scenery, how soon we find ourselves amid rice paddies and farms). It is sunset when we are taken by traditional boat into a bird sanctuary. Flocks of birds – storks, herons, teals, tropical starlings – take their positions in the tree tops over the Thung Nham wetland. There is a stunning resort set within the preserve, all the more gorgeous as lights and lanterns come on as the sun sets.

It’s another 45 minutes drive to Emeralda Ninh Binh Resort, a fabulous five-star resort where we will stay for two nights.

*The luxurious Emeralda Ninh Binh Resort where our Discovery Bicycle Tours group will stay for two nights. © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Discovery Bicycle Tours, 2520 W. Woodstock Rd., Woodstock, VT 05091, 800-257-2226, 802- 457-3553, info@discoverybicycletours.com, www.discoverybicycletours.com

Next: Ninh Binh: A Boat Ride Through Caves, Bike Ride To Temples

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS VIETNAM TRIP: HO CHI MINH MAUSOLEUM BRINGS NEW CLARITY TO A CLOUDY PAST

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS’ VIETNAM: A BOAT RIDE THROUGH CAVES, BIKE RIDE TO TEMPLES IN NINH BINH

CRUISING BAI TU LONG BAY ON THE DRAGON LEGEND

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS’ VIETNAM: HUE’S CITADEL, “CITY OF GHOSTS” & THE CHALLENGE OF BIKING THE HAI VAN PASS

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS’ VIETNAM: HOI AN’S DAZZLING LIGHTS, TRANQUIL COUNTRYSIDE

A RENDEZVOUS WITH PROGRESS OF THE PRESENT, HORRORS OF THE PAST IN HO CHI MINH CITY

_________________

© 2025 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to FamTravLtr@aol.com. Bluesky: @newsphotosfeatures.bsky.social X: @TravelFeatures Threads: @news_and_photo_features ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Benefits of travel', Biking Tours, Cultural travel, Culture, Destinations, International Travel, Places of History

Unexpected Delights in Hanoi on Discovery Bicycle Tours’ 12-Day Vietnam Trip

September 23, 2025 krubin723

*Train Street is as colorful as it is thrilling an experience in Hanoi © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

Discovery Bicycle Tours’ Biking Vietnam tour is designed along the best principles of travel: to explore, discover, learn, make connections, be present, experiential, meaningful and revelatory, and do it in a way that maximizes the benefits and minimizing the negative impacts of tourism.

*Taking a traditional boat ride into the Thung Nham bird sanctuary © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Of the 12 days we spend in Vietnam, traveling from north, to central, to south (flying between regions), we bike on six of them. That might seem odd for a biking tour, but you don’t travel 30 hours to Vietnam and miss the important highlights, like Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum in Hanoi, taking a traditional row boat through the caves of Ninh Binh; cruising overnight on the Ha Long Bay; discovering the Citadel and Imperial City of Hue; walking the colorful markets and enjoying the nightlife of Hoi An; or touring the War Remnants Museum, the historic Ben Thanh Market, or miss the experience of street food in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) because you are obsessive about biking. We get to do all of these, and also bike through villages, stopping to learn about traditional crafts, and amid the rice paddies to learn about Vietnam’s 4000-year old wet rice culture and ancestor worship.

*Riding the bus between destinations affords an opportunity to see vietnam’s countryside © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Riding in the bus between destinations lets us see the countryside (and I have set myself a challenge to get photos of people working in the fields and four people riding a motor scooter); the way the homes are laid out, the ancestral tombs in the fields, the occasional tractor, the massive, new industrial parks under construction. You see progress unfolding at the speed of the bus, all the more impressive when you realize what a young country Vietnam is, having proclaimed independence in 1945 but only “reunified” in 1975.

*A family poses in traditional dress for formal photograph during the month-long Lunar New Year celebration © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The essence of this tour is about familiarizing us with the Vietnamese people (who, we learn, are a mosaic of 54 different tribes), the rich cultural heritage and today’s achievements in overcoming literally millennia of conflict, war, oppression, colonialism. When we bike, hike or walk, we barely have to think a question, let along ask it, before our guide, Nguyen Hong Phong, stops and answers. “This is normal for me, curious for you,” he tells us at the outset, as we sit for tea in the Apricot Hotel on our first afternoon together in Hanoi. “When you are curious, just ask,” he adds.

*A government building in Hanoi. Political symbols are less prominent than would be expected, while motorscooters and Starbucks and KFCs are ubiquitous © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

2025 marks the 50^th anniversary since the Fall of Saigon that so abruptly ended an interminable war (and reunification as an independent country). You can’t escape the fact of the “American War” (which frankly was the tail end of a decades long war for independence before the United States interceded), but our tour seems to sidestep the past in favor of the present. This is probably a reflection of Discovery Bicycle Tours’ primary focus for its guests: “You’re on vacation!”

(There are several important sites that are not included in this tour that I would recommend setting up pre and post days: the Hoa Lo Prison in Hanoi, infamously known as “Hanoi Hilton” and the Chi Chi Tunnels which is an excursion from Saigon. Even the War Remnants Museum, a must-see in Ho Chi Minh City, was not on the itinerary but we visit when we could not visit the Reunification Palace as planned.)

*Ho Chi Minh’s last residence, where he lived from 1968 to 1969 when he died is camouflaged and connected to escape tunnels © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Still, there is no escaping the past: in Hanoi when we visit Ho Chi Minh’s 1968 residence, built like a camouflaged bunker with escape tunnels and learn they moved his body regularly when he died in 1969; when we visit the John McCain Monument where the American hero’s plane went down and he was captured; when we see the bullet holes in the Citadel in Hue and are shown photos of fighting that took place on the very spot where we stand; and when we visit My Son, a sacred historic site outside of Saigon, and learn that the Vietnamese appealed to President Nixon to stop bombing. I think Americans who visit Vietnam have an obligation to see what was done in our name, especially because it is so important to learn from history so not to make the same mistakes, and not be duped by an administration determined to go to war for its own political agenda.

Our Discovery Bicycle Tours group gets to learn how to make rice paper during our ride in Hoi An. Americans are warmly welcomed in Vietnam and have opportunities to visit people where they live © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

I frankly didn’t know how I would react coming to Vietnam – I am the generation that lived through the Vietnam War (known here as “The American War”), or how Americans would be received. My questions are soon answered – the Vietnamese warmly welcome us Americans (and French and Chinese and a list of nationalities that have oppressed Vietnam). Vietnam is nothing like what I expected – in a good way. It’s in this capacity that one of the important attributes of travel come to fore: we travelers are ambassadors, promoting mutual understanding and connection.

*Celebrating a birthday in Hue, Vietnam. What a difference peace makes © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

In Vietnam today, you can see the impact of peace, free markets, free enterprise have to achieve prosperity – a lesson to all those who are inciting conflict and war. You see the benefits of trade and globalization – a lesson for those who would disrupt and unravel alliances and build barriers instead of bridges.

Old Hanoi

Since our group is first meeting together at 1 pm for a walking tour, I have the morning to myself to explore. I walk across the street from our luxury hotel, The Apricot, to the park that rings the small, picturesque lake.

*A woman poses in traditional dress for formal photograph during the Lunar New Year celebration in Hanoi © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We are here during the month-long Lunar New Year celebration, made even more festive because of the 50^th anniversary of reunification – everywhere that is possible has decorations reminiscent of how we celebrate Christmas. People dress in their formal, traditional costumes and pose for photos taken by professional photographers. People travel on holiday. There is a festive atmosphere everywhere.

There are political symbols, posters, flags and such but no more than the giant advertising billboards and the Starbucks, KFCs, McDonalds, Burger Kings. Also, I am flabbergasted at the proliferation of motorscooters and the paucity of bicycles. Crossing any street takes fortitude and a measure of fatalism, but where there are traffic signals, the systems are sophisticated and effective. Also, cell phones are ubiquitous.

*The proliferation of motorscooters in mind-boggling © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

I head into the Old Quarter where I am intrigued at the “old propaganda posters” shops, the coffee shops (who knew Vietnam was such a major producer and exporter of coffee?), and massage parlors as common as nail salons at home.

The Propaganda Poster Shop seems more to satisfy the American and European tourists who visit (“Make Art Not War”).

But here at the Propaganda Poster Shop I happen to see many postcards for Train Street (reminding me of Lisbon) which suggests it is an important site and inspires me to go in search of this place.

*Old Propaganda Posters shop © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

After getting lost (my WiFi isn’t working and I can’t figure out the map) and stopping numerous people to point me in the right direction, I look up and am drawn to colorful lanterns, walk up a staircase and find myself quite literally on the train tracks. Train Street!

People have set themselves at café tables and chairs and are even hanging out on the tracks taking photos. It is all the more amazing because it turns out it is just 5 minutes before the train is due (and I am so lucky because only a few trains come through a day). With 5 minutes to go, there is even a baby playing on the track!

I am standing alongside the track and a lady yells at me to sit down in one of the plastic chairs, like a kid’s chair. As the train comes tearing through at what seems a very fast speed, it is so close that had I held out my hand, it would have been taken off. I reflexively suck in my breath and try to make myself as small as possible until it passes. Unbelievably thrilling.

I feel proud of myself for being able to find my way back to the hotel by 1 pm in time to meet our Discovery Bicycle group for our first activity together, a walking tour of the Old District. I have already been traveling with 8 of the group for Discovery Bicycle’s four-day Cambodia pre-tour and now we meet the other 10.

Phong leads us to the St. John Cathedral, the oldest church in Hanoi. Built on the site of the biggest, most sacred Buddhist pagodas of the Ly-Tran Dynasties, the cathedral was constructed at the end of the 18^th century of wood, then reconstructed with baked clay in 1884-1888. Phong tells us that Catholics are a minority; the biggest religion in Vietnam, he says, is “triple religion” – a mix of Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism (ancestor worship).We will see evidence of this everywhere we go.

*St. John Cathedral in Hanoi. © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Phong volunteers that the Communist government “allows free religious worship and free press” (though I question what he means by “free press”), then adds that protest against the Communist Party is not allowed; nor is there an opposition candidate in elections. Vietnam has been a one-party government since 1954, but in 1986 introduced new freedom in commerce and open markets.

“We have more freedom than in China. They block media there, here they block the BBC but we can get CNN.” Whatever they block, he says, people get curious and have their ways of accessing.

*Walking through Old Hanoi © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

“Society is improving for ordinary people. Since 1988, we are living in peace. We feel more freedom, a peaceful country. We are now friends with Russia, Ukraine, the European Union. The USA is one of seven strongest friends. Peace is good for people, good for the country. [Tourists want to] come to a peaceful country.”

Phong tells us he learned English (as well as French and Chinese) at university where he studied tourism, but today, children are taught English as early as 3 and 4 years old in school. Public school is free he tells us, even in the mountains where parents are actually given a money incentive to send their kids to school.

*Tin Street in Old Hanoi © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We walk through Hanoi’s Old Quarter where the name of the street may well describe what enterprises take place there, established generations ago by the people who resettled in the city: Tin Street, Silver Street, Basket Street, Copper Street.

We return at 3 pm for tea at the Apricot Hotel – an elaborate affair – that includes an introduction and orientation to our 12-day tour (with biking!) with Phong as our lead guide.. Indeed, we will go first thing the next morning to get sized for our rental bikes which we will use for five of the days (the driver and bike mechanic who travels will us will travel 2 ½ days to Hue, when we fly), and will pick up a different bike in Ho Chi Minh City (way too far to drive and return).

I realize that we have just enough time to see the 5:15 pm traditional Water Puppet Theater cultural show just across the street from the hotel, before we meet again to go to dinner.

I had seen this heritage show when I was in Ho Chi Minh City six years before, so was enthusiastic to see it here, and encourage my traveling companions to come.

*Water Puppets Theater is a delightful cultural show © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Most of our group from the four-day Cambodia pre-tour (we really bonded) are game and we actually purchase the last tickets for this immensely popular program. The show is a cultural treasure that utilizes this traditional art form, with musicians performing with traditional musical instruments and song, fables and folk stories enacted by these marvelous puppeteers (yes, the puppets are in a pool of water!).

Captions and notes about the theater and the scenes are flashed on the walls beside the stage. Vietnam water puppetry, I learn, was born from the rice civilization in the Red River Delta, so agriculture is vividly depicted by the puppets, with farmers and familiar images such as riding buffalo, plowing, harrowing, transplanting rice, slapping water, harvesting. (Later, when we bike among the rice paddies, we will see how this tradition originated.)

*Water Puppets Theater has its origins in rural rice production © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

One of the scenes enacts “The Legend of Returning the Sword by King Le Loi” where LeLoi caught a holy sword by chance as he led the resistance war. After defeating the invaders, he proclaimed himself king. King Le Li goes out boating on the Green Water Lake, when suddenly a large turtle surfaced, took the sword from King Le Loi’s belt, and dived back into the depths, carrying the glowing sword in his mouth. (This is all enacted with puppets in the water).

The humor that is integral to the culture is displayed where the puppets enact an old farmer “Chasing fox away from the flock of ducks”. “It creates Vietnamese optimistic farmers,” the notes say.

The notes for “The Spirit Mediums Spiritual Dance,” say that “Vietnam’s Mother Goddess worship has been honored by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity. In today’s life, Mother Goddess worship is mainly known to the community through the concept of ‘The Spirit Mediums’. Traditional cultural elements such as costumes, music, dance and folk performances imbued with Vietnamese cultural identity are created, developed and passed on from generation to generation.”

The ”Four Sacred Animals Dance” brings together Long, Ly, Quy and Phuong (Dragon, Unicorn, Tortoise, Phoenix) “praising the nature of heaven and earth, hoping for a peaceful state and a peaceful and happy life.”

*Water Puppets Theater puppeteers come out for their curtain call © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

There are fire effects and of course water effects and amazing choreography – you actually cannot figure out how the puppeteers coordinate so well (and underwater!) – and then the puppeteers appear for their curtain call, up to their waist in water.

The show finishes just in time for us to walk together to dinner in a charming restaurant in the Old District.

*A delightful restaurant in Hanoi’s old district © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

A note on the table about the apple cider makes us giggle: “Cider drinkers get more refreshment and excitement while still keeping their sanity. Especially suitable for women.”

Our lunches and dinners at restaurants are typically pre-ordered and served family style, with multiple courses so that we typically have chicken, beef, seafood, vegetable, rice, soup dishes – always with more than enough to satisfy even American appetites, and to get a really excellent idea of the cuisine.

*Our Discovery Bicycle Tours guide Calista Phillips and Jake can’t resist purchasing these hats at the night market © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We walk back to the Apricot Hotel through the bustling night markets that take over the streets, brightly and colorfully lit.

*The Apricot Hotel is a five-star luxury hotel set just across from the picturesque park and lake © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Exploring the Apricot Hotel (we will be leaving early in the morning after breakfast), we discover an exquisite rooftop indoor pool and bar with a giant video screen. The artwork around the hotel, the elegant (French-inspired) furnishings are gorgeous.

Discovery Bicycle Tours, 2520 W. Woodstock Rd., Woodstock, VT 05091, 800-257-2226, 802- 457-3553, info@discoverybicycletours.com, www.discoverybicycletours.com.

Next: Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Ninh Binh Bird Sanctuary

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS VIETNAM TRIP: HO CHI MINH MAUSOLEUM BRINGS NEW CLARITY TO A CLOUDY PAST

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS’ VIETNAM: A BOAT RIDE THROUGH CAVES, BIKE RIDE TO TEMPLES IN NINH BINH

CRUISING BAI TU LONG BAY ON THE DRAGON LEGEND

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS’ VIETNAM: HUE’S CITADEL, “CITY OF GHOSTS” & THE CHALLENGE OF BIKING THE HAI VAN PASS

DISCOVERY BICYCLE TOURS’ VIETNAM: HOI AN’S DAZZLING LIGHTS, TRANQUIL COUNTRYSIDE

A RENDEZVOUS WITH PROGRESS OF THE PRESENT, HORRORS OF THE PAST IN HO CHI MINH CITY

__________________

© 2025 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to FamTravLtr@aol.com. Bluesky: @newsphotosfeatures.bsky.social X: @TravelFeatures Threads: @news_and_photo_features ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

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