Rusty Compass - an independent travel guide to 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

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 are small - eateries, cafes,... more

Travel has changed forever I - risk and reward

Sydney Blog

Travel has changed forever I - risk and reward

When borders began to reopen in Australia and South East Asia at the end of February 2022, I found myself very quickly back out on the... more

Hoi An Postcard 2022 - Vietnam is open

Hoi An Blog

Hoi An Postcard 2022 - Vietnam is open

How is Hoi An, Vietnam's most loved World Heritage travel destination, faring after the reopening of borders in March 2022? Check out the... more

Hoi An Postcard 2022

Hoi An Video

Hoi An Postcard 2022

I've recently visited World Heritage listed Hoi in central Vietnam. It was my first visit back to one of Vietnam's most popular travel... more

Postcard from Hanoi - Vietnam is open

Hanoi Blog

Postcard from Hanoi - Vietnam is open

Finally I was walking the streets of Hanoi again. There were times during the two years of border closures when I wondered whether I'd... more

Temples of Angkor Cambodia - first international travels since the pandemic

Siem Reap Blog

Temples of Angkor Cambodia - first international travels since the pandemic

My first International travels after the pandemic took me to Cambodia and the temples of Angkor. After two years grounded in Australia, I... more

Travel lessons from two pandemic years in Sydney

Sydney Blog

Travel lessons from two pandemic years in Sydney

Two pandemic years have wiped out international travel for much of the world. Those of us who have lived a life of travel for decades have... more

RECENT REVIEWS

Coffee Culture Hue - Hue's best cafes

Hue eating

Coffee Culture Hue - Hue's best cafes

This Hue coffee foray will take you into wonderful spaces in different parts of the city. Coffee ain't bad - but these are uniquely Hue cafes. Our... more

Vietnam

Vietnam Introduction

Vietnam

I've had the privilege of exploring Vietnam for thirty years. I've lived many of those years in the country too - I have to pinch myself when I... more

Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City Introduction

Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City - still known to locals as Saigon - is Vietnam’s largest city and its economic powerhouse. The population has shot passed 10... more

Hue

Hue Introduction

Hue

Hue is probably my favourite Vietnam city these days. But few travellers come away with the same view. It takes some time to settle in to Hue. And... more

Beaches of Sydney

Sydney see and do

Beaches of Sydney

Sydney's beaches are legendary - they're a big feature of the city's summer lifestyle and a magnet for global travellers. Even if you're not a... more

Sydney Modern Art Gallery

Sydney see and do

Sydney Modern Art Gallery

Sydney Modern, Sydney's newest art space, opened to much fanfare in late 2022. More than $300 million was spent on a major expansion of Sydney’s... more