As the capital of Vietnam for almost a thousand years, Hanoi is considered one of the main cultural centres of the nation. Despite very few relics survived through war and time, the city still has many interesting cultural and historic monuments for visitors and residents alike. French colonial architecture is also quite dominant, with many examples still remaining until today. Hanoi has rich food traditions, such as the widely known Phở, which has been named one of the Top 5 Street Foods in the world according to Cathy Huyghe of GlobalPost.
Considered as one of Indonesia\'s historical and cultural epicenters, Jogjakarta is the place to be for any would be culture-vulture. The home of the famed Borobudur and Prambanan temples, this city which is steeped in Javanese traditions, is also the home of the Yogyakarta Sultanate. The long stretch of Malioboro street is a shoppers haven, offering everything you want from traditional handcrafted items, beautiful handmade batiks, to memorable trinkets of your trip to an ancient city.