Moon Travel Guides: Your World, Your Way With its mix of modern architecture, deep history, and dynamic culture, Ho Chi Minh City is the future of Vietnam. Inside Moon Ho Chi Minh City you'll find: Strategic itineraries for seeing the best of the city, plus worthwhile excursions to Pho Quoc Island, the Con Dao Islands, and the Cu Chi Tunnels Detailed maps and full-color photos throughout Activities and ideas for every traveler: Absorb history at the War Remnants Museum or the Reunification Palace, or explore the posh District 1 for some beautiful (and affordable!) retail therapy. Savor the fragrant incense at the Thien Hau Pagoda, or sample the best of the city's innovative cuisine, including street food vendors like the famed Lunch Lady. Experience the best of HCMC after dark with craft beer and live music at nightclubs or backpacker bars. Hop over to Pho Quoc Island for a relaxing beach day and a seafood dinner, where your meal goes from a tank to a grill to your plate Expert insight from journalist and expat Dana Filek-Gibson on her adopted home Useful tips on health and safety, sustainable travel, traveling solo as a woman, and scheduling group tours Honest advice on when to go, how to get around, and where to stay, plus a handy Vietnamese phrasebook Thorough information on the landscape, history, and local culture, all packaged in a book light enough to fit in your carry-on With Moon Ho Chi Minh City's expert advice, myriad activities, and local know-how, you can plan your trip your way. Seeing more than just the city? Check out Moon Vietnam. Expanding your trip? Try Moon Phuket & Ko Samui, or Moon Angkor Wat.

Trek through lush rainforest, explore lively cities, and fall under the spell of a country on the rise with Moon Vietnam. Inside you'll find: Strategic itineraries ranging from two days each in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to a journey down the Dragon's Spine The top sights and unique experiences: Cruise the Mekong Delta and its colorful floating markets and visit beaches in resort towns like Nha Trang. Sip local bia hoi beer streetside in Hanoi or motorbike through the countryside. Sample bite-sized dumplings, rice cakes, and other delicacies at a street cart or indulge in fragrant pho. Hike to remote northern H'mong and Dao villages in Sapa, explore the limestone karsts and caves of Ha Long Bay, or take an excursion to Angkor Wat, the largest religious site in the world Honest advice on when to go, how to get around, and where to stay from journalist and expat Dana Filek-Gibson Background information on health and safety, as well as the landscape, history, wildlife, and culture of Vietnam Detailed maps and full-color photos throughout Full coverage of Hanoi, Ha Long Bay and the Northern Coast, The Central Provinces, The South-Central Coast, Ho Chi Minh City, and the Mekong Delta With Moon Vietnam's expert advice and local insight, you can plan your trip your way. Focusing on cities? Check out Moon Hanoi or Moon Ho Chi Minh City. Expanding your trip? Try Moon Phuket & Ko Samui, or Moon Angkor Wat.

Offering a concise overview of Ho Chi Minh City’s history and development, the ‘Historical Dictionary of Ho Chi Minh City’ presents a comprehensive historical survey of the city in the form of an alphabetical list of keywords and names, with accompanying definitions. Both well-researched and authoritative, the volume draws upon a wide range of modern sources, and contains an introductory essay about the city, a chronology, a list of acronyms and abbreviations, photographs and appendixes of supplemental information.

Songs for the Spirits examines the Vietnamese practice of communing with spirits through music and performance. During rituals dedicated to a pantheon of indigenous spirits, musicians perform an elaborate sequence of songs--a "songscape"--for possessed mediums who carry out ritual actions, distribute blessed gifts to disciples, and dance to the music's infectious rhythms. Condemned by French authorities in the colonial period and prohibited by the Vietnamese Communist Party in the late 1950s, mediumship practices have undergone a strong resurgence since the early 1990s, and they are now being drawn upon to promote national identity and cultural heritage through folklorized performances of rituals on the national and international stage. By tracing the historical trajectory of traditional music and religion since the early twentieth century, this groundbreaking study offers an intriguing account of the political transformation and modernization of cultural practices over a period of dramatic and often turbulent transition. An accompanying DVD contains numerous video and music extracts that illustrate the fascinating ways in which music evokes the embodied presence of spirits and their gender and ethnic identities.

Exploring the places where the rural and urban intersect, where many of the world’s people live.

Whether you want to cruise through Halong Bay, eat street food in Hanoi, or trek to rice terraces in Sapa, the local Fodor’s travel experts in Vietnam are here to help! Fodor’s Essential Vietnam guidebook is packed with maps, carefully curated recommendations, and everything else you need to simplify your trip-planning process and make the most of your time. This new edition has been fully-redesigned with an easy-to-read layout, fresh information, and beautiful color photos. Fodor’s “Essential” guides have been named by Booklist as the Best Travel Guide Series of 2020! Fodor’s Essential Vietnam travel guide includes: AN ILLUSTRATED ULTIMATE EXPERIENCES GUIDE to the top things to see and do MULTIPLE ITINERARIES to effectively organize your days and maximize your time MORE THAN 25 DETAILED MAPS to help you navigate confidently COLOR PHOTOS throughout to spark your wanderlust! HONEST RECOMMENDATIONS FROM LOCALS on the best sights, restaurants, hotels, nightlife, shopping, activities, side-trips, and more PHOTO-FILLED “BEST OF” FEATURES on “Vietnam’s Natural Wonders,” “Vietnam’s Pagodas” and more TRIP-PLANNING TOOLS AND PRACTICAL TIPS including when to go, getting around, beating the crowds, and saving time and money HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL INSIGHTS providing rich context on the local people, politics, cuisine, geography and more SPECIAL FEATURES on “What to Watch and Read Before You Visit,” and “What to Eat and Drink” LOCAL WRITERS to help you find the under-the-radar gems Vietnamese LANGUAGE PRIMER with useful words and essential phrases UP-TO-DATE COVERAGE ON: Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong Delta, Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hue, Sapa, Danag, Hoi An, Phu Quoc, Dalat, Nha Trang, Haiphong, and more. Planning on visiting Southeast Asia? Check out Fodor’s Thailand and Fodor’s In Focus Singapore. *Important note for digital editions: The digital edition of this guide does not contain all the images or text included in the physical edition. ABOUT FODOR'S AUTHORS : Each Fodor's Travel Guide is researched and written by local experts. Fodor’s has been offering expert advice for all tastes and budgets for over 80 years. For more travel inspiration, you can sign up for our travel newsletter at fodors.com/newsletter/signup, or follow us @FodorsTravel on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. We invite you to join our friendly community of travel experts at fodors.com/community to ask any other questions and share your experience with us!

Twenty years of PTSD have passed and Bryan is still unable to put the pieces of his past together, unaware that a portion of his life has been blotted out. Joining the navy, serving in Vietnam and being pulled by the undercurrent of life would shatter all his beliefs; lead him to a threshold of truth and transform him into being a stronger person than he could ever have realized. It is only now that he can begin to relive the ordeal in order to dispel the ghosts and horrors of the past. Love, War, Death..., some memories never fade- they just need to resurface. Will the unexpected visit from an old navy shipmate and his inquiry unlock answers from the past? Or is everything as hidden as the invisible moon?