Blog

Travel has changed forever II - the big players

The small businesses of the international travel industry are its heroes. Across the world, most...
Introduction

Tasmania

It took me more than 50 years to visit Tasmania. That was a big mistake. Make sure you don't leave...
Blog

Cemeteries and tombs - a travel guide

Cemeteries and tombs have been a big part of my travelling life. From my first international...
see and do

The Rocks, Sydney

The Rocks was the first British convict settlement in Australia and the place where the long...
see and do

Cycling the Angkor Temples

If you like cycling, exploring the temples of Angkor by bicycle is a delight. In fact, we reckon...

Photo feature

The Australian who befriended Ho Chi Minh

Journalist Wilfred Burchett is the only Australian to rate a mention in the small museum around Ho... enlarge

FEATURES

Hue Blog

Nostalgia and Vietnam's travel superpower - VIDEO

There’s been a big dose of nostalgia running through my recent videos on Rusty Compass. I’ve loved thinking about Vietnam back in the 90s and its transition to the present. Few... more

Sydney Blog

New things in Sydney - travel notes

New openings, improved cycling and walking and ways to get around - there have been many positive developments in Sydney in recent years.... more

Ho Chi Minh City Blog

Lessons from decades exploring Vietnam

In our latest video (below), I have a think about 30 years of change in Vietnam and some of the travel lessons and wider lessons from my... more

Ho Chi Minh City Blog

A traveller's guide to Vietnam's Buddhist Crisis of 1963

It's more than 60 years since South Vietnam was engulfed in what became known as the Buddhist crisis. It proved a critical point in the... more

Ho Chi Minh City Blog

Visiting Saigon's historic rooftop - symbol of the end of the Vietnam War

It may be the most iconic image of the end of the Vietnam War. It was taken on 29 April 1975 by photojournalist Hugh van Es, as US... more

Ho Chi Minh City Blog

In Vietnam, tourists are still learning the lessons of the American War

For three decades, Saigon’s War Remnants Museum has been the essential museum in the city - the one few visitors miss. It tells the... more

Hanoi Blog

Vietnam loses a storyteller - RIP Nguyen Qui Duc

Vietnam has lost a storyteller and creative force. Nguyen Qui Duc died in Hanoi on November 22 2023. Monumental upheaval has been such... more

RECENT REVIEWS

Siem Reap see and do

This handpicked list of the best experiences the temples of Angkor and Siem Reap, was updated in April 2024The incredible temples of Angkor will... more

Ho Chi Minh City see and do

Our handpicked list of things to see and do in Ho Chi Minh City from museums, historic sites, to walks, and cool tours, will be your entree to... more

Sydney see and do

Welcome to the Rusty Compass independent guide to the best things to see and do during a stay in Sydney. Our guide to Sydney is skewed towards... more

Sydney see and do

Travel has changed forever II - the big players

Tasmania

Cemeteries and tombs - a travel guide

The Rocks, Sydney

Cycling the Angkor Temples

Photo feature

The Australian who befriended Ho Chi Minh

FEATURES

Nostalgia and Vietnam's travel superpower - VIDEO

New things in Sydney - travel notes

Lessons from decades exploring Vietnam

A traveller's guide to Vietnam's Buddhist Crisis of 1963

Visiting Saigon's historic rooftop - symbol of the end of the Vietnam War

In Vietnam, tourists are still learning the lessons of the American War

Vietnam loses a storyteller - RIP Nguyen Qui Duc

RECENT REVIEWS

Siem Reap see and do

Ho Chi Minh City see and do

Sydney see and do

Museums of Sydney

Ho Chi Minh City

Coffee - the best of Saigon's cafes