With its old mustard coloured buildings, multitudes of lanterns, bicycles and happy looking dogs, Hoi An is definitely our cutest stop yet.

As flames started to lick the front deck of the burning cruise ship New Zealand woman Cathy Kewish knew there was no other choice but to jump for her life into the water.

The Aphrodite Cruise ship, carrying 37 tourists from at least seven different countries, including New Zealand, caught fire while docked in Ha Long Bay.

Eli Orzessek reports from Contiki's Vietnam Highlights tour.

A passenger from Vietnam arrived in NZ with live Siamese fighting fish in plastic bags, declaring them as "wet fish" on his arrival forms.

I'd been warned about the intense traffic in Vietnam when I had trouble crossing the streets in Taiwan.

Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao made her first million at 21, trading fax machines and latex rubber.

The plane crawls high above the Mekong delta - flooded paddy, intestinal loops of river, roads crammed with Honda 50s and lined with shops selling rice and Marlboros.

Hanoi's old quarter is brimming with life. A steady stream of motorcycles whizz by as we weave through the dense crowd of shoppers along Hang Dao.

A note on the actual seat: Vietnamese silk cushions were a lovely touch.

Our day-trip dollars become micro-loans to empower rural women, writes Naomi Estall.

A son of Vietnamese "boat people" to New Zealand is running three half marathons to fundraise and highlight the plight of refugees.

John Key's programme in Hanoi yesterday reflects the complexity of the country. In the morning it was a visit to the Vin empire of Vietnam's first and only billionaire, Pham Nhat Vuong, and in the afternoon he was off to meet the communists.

John Key is in Vietnam meeting with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, launching what he calls "a new era in bilateral relations".

Airline will be flying three times a week to Ho Chi Minh City.

Country is growing in popularity for Kiwi travellers.

Halong Bay's famed islands are well explored from a kayak, writes Neda Vanovac.

Ho Chi Minh City has a great craft ale scene, says Vietnam beer vet Brett Atkinson.

Australia's live animal export trade is once again under a harsh spotlight amid claims that cattle are being bludgeoned to death with sledgehammers in Vietnam.

New Zealand and Vietnam aim to double trade to around $2.2 billion by 2020. The target announced yesterday was part of an accord between the two countries.

It's been 40 years since the end of the Vietnam War and this vibrant country has never stood taller, writes Nel Staveley.

In a style that acknowledges the extravagant comforts of early 20th-century travel, Sarah Marshall sips prosecco on a train trip from Bangkok to Vientiane.

Vo Van Duong's bamboo and coconut leaf house looks much like others deep in Vietnam's Mekong Delta.

Go underground in the steps of Joan Baez.

At a time when commodity producers are enduring a slump in prices for everything, Vietnam's pepper farmers are prospering.

A Kiwi air traveller wrestled with a crazed passenger who tried to force open an emergency aircraft door mid-flight between Vietnam and Australia.

Somerset Maugham and Graham Greene penned works here, writes Wynne Gray.

Between 1963 and 1975 some 3500 Kiwis served in the Vietnam War. This edited extract from a new book, No Front Line, tells the grim reality of jungle warfare.

Bich Ngoc, who earns less than $60 a week, cobbled together four months of savings to buy the latest iPhone so she could impress her colleagues.

Travelling from Chau Doc to Ho Chi Minh City, Nick Redmayne encounters an optimistic country.