At Dong Ba Market, a vendor raises a conical hat toward the doorway and tilts it in the morning light. Between the layers of palm leaf, a shape becomes visible: a line of verse and a bundle of bamboo, something that was not visible a moment before. This is the non bai tho, the poem hat, and Hue regards it as its own. The trick lasts about three seconds and captures the city well. Nearly
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In the Gulf of Tonkin off Vietnam’s northeastern coast, more than 1,600 limestone islands rise straight from the water. This is Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Southeast Asia’s most visually arresting landscapes.
The name translates to “Descending Dragon,” drawn from legend: a celestial dragon, sent to defend Vietnam from invaders, entered the sea and left its body behind as the karst islands scattered across the bay. Whether myth or …