Rusty Compass - an independent travel guide to Australia, Cambodia and Vietnam

Travel guide to
Australia · Cambodia · Laos · Vietnam

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Sydney's new harbour swimming pool - right by The Rocks

Photo feature

Sydney's new harbour swimming pool - right by The Rocks

There is probably no major city in the world that’s better set up for swimmers than Sydney. We're... enlarge

FEATURES

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

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 victor’s version of America’s long disastrous... more

Vietnam loses a storyteller - RIP Nguyen Qui Duc

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

30 years exploring Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City Blog

30 years exploring Vietnam

2023 marks 30 years since I led my first tour through Vietnam. It was August 1993. After decades of war and economic hardship, a... more

The bus to Bondi is broken - Sydney's public transport is a shambles

Sydney Blog

The bus to Bondi is broken - Sydney's public transport is a shambles

The 333 service to Bondi Beach is Sydney's busiest bus route. It's especially popular with international tourists. It’s in dismal shape -... more

What's new in Sydney - a cultural travel guide

Sydney see and do

What's new in Sydney - a cultural travel guide

Sydney is changing fast. There are loads of new things for travellers to see and experience in the city from museums and galleries to new... more

Sydney has a new King - a visit to historic Government House

Sydney Blog

Sydney has a new King - a visit to historic Government House

One of the peculiar things you’ll discover as a visitor to Australia in 2023 is that our head of state isn’t Australian and doesn’t live... more

Travel has changed forever II - the big players

Sydney Blog

Travel has changed forever II - the big players

The small businesses of the international travel industry are its heroes. Across the world, most of the businesses that survive in tourism... more

RECENT REVIEWS

Hue - the alternative tour

Hue see and do

Hue - the alternative tour

Hue is central to everything in Vietnam's modern history - dynastic history, Buddhism, Catholicism, the coup of 1963 and the bloodiest battle of the... more

Hue

Hue Introduction

Hue

Hue is my favourite Vietnam city these days. Few travellers come away with the same view. It takes some time to settle in to Hue. Like all good... more

War Remnants Museum

Ho Chi Minh City see and do

War Remnants Museum

The War Remnants Museum is Saigon's most visited museum. On our recent visits (March 2024) it's been the most crowded we've ever seen it. It's... more

Hanoi

Hanoi Introduction

Hanoi

Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital, can make a strong claim to being one of Asia’s most compelling and beguiling cities. The tangled streets of the old... more

Nguyen Hue Walking Street, Saigon

Ho Chi Minh City see and do

Nguyen Hue Walking Street, Saigon

In 2015, Nguyen Hue St, one of Saigon’s main streets, became a “walking street” - a rare concession by city leaders to the idea that public spaces... more

Reunification Palace - Saigon

Ho Chi Minh City see and do

Reunification Palace - Saigon

The former Presidential Palace of the US-backed South Vietnamese government, this downtown architectural landmark is now known as the Reunification... more