Rusty Compass

Rusty Compass Introducing Australia to Rusty Compass and our existing independent travel ideas to Vietnam and Cambodia No paid placements.

Independent travel guide to Australia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. All original words, images and videos.

Met this lovely Chinese family in Bendigo today. They told me they love the place - the gardens, the architecture, the m...
13/08/2026

Met this lovely Chinese family in Bendigo today. They told me they love the place - the gardens, the architecture, the mellow vibe and the locals. They were from Nanjing - a former capital of China - and they were a little shocked when I told them I'd been there and visited Sun Yat Sen's tomb a couple of decades ago. Interestingly, Sun is also remembered fondly in the Chinese Museum in Bendigo. Fascinating dude - revered by China AND Taiwan. His experiences with Western governments were shocking - and contributed to China's calamitous descent into civil war...... The fact that Victoria (aka the O***m Queen) watched over us added another level of crazy to the encounter.

***m

No swim today... Love this spectacle tho.
10/07/2026

No swim today... Love this spectacle tho.

17/06/2026

Ho Chi Minh easily ranks as one of the most important and most fascinating figures in twentieth century history. His companion, in a fight that would run across four decades against 3 superpowers, was General Vo Nguyen Giap - another giant of his times - a teacher and intellectual. Their partnership was forged alongside US allies in WWII in the fight against the Japanese. This short video looks at Ho Chi Minh's decades abroad before WWII and his efforts to build relations with the US.

Our video series is for travellers who love putting history at the centre of travel.

Check the comment for the link to the full video.

26/04/2026

In 1963, America's eight years of support for the government of South Vietnam's inaugural president, Ngo Dinh Diem, became untenable. Diem's powerful siblings were important players in the unravelling of his relationships in Washington.

For the full video - The Buddhist Crisis - a travel guide to America in Vietnam Part III, check the link in the comments.

#1963

15/04/2026

On the evening of November 1, 1963, President Ngo Dinh Diem left Gia Long Palace (now Ho Chi Minh City Museum), in the heart of Saigon for the last time. He could not repel the coup against his rule. Diem headed for refuge in Cho Lon. He ended up in a small church where he prayed. The coup had the approval of the Kennedy administration and would become a turning point in the war.

For the full video, and the series, America in Vietnam, a travel guide, head over to Rusty Compass (see link in comments) below.

07/04/2026

Thinking about the origins of the war in Iran takes us back to the US and UK sponsored overthrow of the democratically elected government of Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953. Amazing that we - and especially the Iranian people - are still living with consequences of events more than seven decades ago.

Soon after the Iran coup, the US would aid the cancellation of an election in Vietnam.

What followed was a war that killed millions.

See the link to the full video and blog in the comments!

There's an incredible new sculpture outside the MCA overlooking Sydney Harbour. Check it out in the Rusty Compass blog -...
26/02/2026

There's an incredible new sculpture outside the MCA overlooking Sydney Harbour. Check it out in the Rusty Compass blog - link in comments.

Christmas sunset from Canberra! Peace and love to all in complicated times...♥️
24/12/2025

Christmas sunset from Canberra! Peace and love to all in complicated times...♥️

Hanoi - Xmas 2017...Hanoi
20/12/2025

Hanoi - Xmas 2017...

Hanoi

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Ho Chi Minh City

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