Vietnam Overview

Vietnamese Beaches, the best time to go there:

The country has a long coastline, varied, complex climatic zones and generally a fair amount of rain.
The best beaches are mostly in the southern half, and that’s best Dec- May. However, in that area it doesn’t usually rain for long periods at any time, only showers, unless an infrequent typhoon hits the coast, so the beaches are basically OK all year round.
The worst season is probably July -Oct (humidity, occasional rains, typhoons, and of course July-Aug is always a busy holiday period)
Oct – Dec has the best weather over the whole country for sightseeing, with clear skies and temperatures in the mid 20Cs.
Plan ahead if you wish to travel during the Tet New Year festival – it can be a problem getting accommodation and transport.

China Beach, between Da Nang and Hoi An Best May-Oct
The most unspoilt Vietnam beach is the endless white sand of China Beach, where US troops landed during the 70’s unpleasantness.
The main beach is officially around the Non Nuoc Resort hotel but some locals argue that the real China Beach is at My Khe Beach about 5 km north of the hotel [both are near the tourist attraction of Marble Mountains]. Development is in on the way!

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Vietnam is a multi-nations country, which is home to the people of about different 54 nations. However, about 90% of the population is Vietnamese but there are a large number of ethnic minorities. The remaining 10% of the Vietnam Population constitutes of the various ethnic groups that include approximately 1.2 million Chinese.

Spread over an area of about 331,690 sq.kms Vietnam has a population of more than 83, 535, 576 people. Vietnam has a rapid population growth, the average growth rate of Vietnam’s population id 2.23 %. Owing to its rapid population growth many fear that it has started becoming an obstacle in the development of the country. In order to reduce the risk of population growth overcoming the food production, the Vietnamese government has launched a 20-year crash plan of reducing fertility rate from the present 3.7 children per woman to a level of 2 per woman.

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A vacation is never complete unless you take gifts and souvenirs for your family and friends back home. Since the streets of Vietnam are lined with various shops and markets, especially in the tourist areas, shopping in Vietnam is not at all a problem.

Tourists traveling to Vietnam generally look for souvenirs and traditional handicrafts and there are lots of shops in Vietnam that offer these. The best gift items include articles made of lacquer, especially paintings, then there are wooden screens, reed mats, earthenware, (check out the elephants). Things with lovely embroideries like wall hangings, draperies, robes are quite sought after. Oil paintings, Silk paintings, Carpets, jewelry and leather goods are also quite popular. You can also purchase antiques to decorate your home. However be careful while buying antiques because in Vietnam there are strict laws for buying antiques. Some of the souvenir shops in Vietnam are: (more…)

Vietnam is one of the oldest Southeast Asian countries. Vietnam’s prolonged fight for freedom has instilled a strong sense of self respect in its people. In fact the Vietnamese are extremely simple and down to earth people who know how to respect other individuals and expect the same from them. Vietnam is a country, rich in culture and traditions and is very particular about their codes of social interaction. Needless to say that Vietnamese etiquette is actually a reflection of the culture of Vietnam and the lifestyle of the Vietnamese as a whole.

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Almost every nation has its own language that speaks of its culture and heritage, so does Vietnam. ‘Vietnamese’ is the official language of Vietnam. Having a similarity with Cambodia’s official language ‘Khmer’, Vietnamese is a bit difficult language especially for the foreigners. Other than Vietnamese, Chinese, Khmer, Cham and other tribal languages are also spoken in Vietnam.

Each syllable of Vietnamese can be spoken in six different tones, which makes it confusing and difficult sometimes. Much of the vocabulary of Vietnamese has been borrowed from Chinese. For writing Vietnamese, Roman alphabets and accent marks are used to represent tones. So in a way we can say, vocal Vietnamese is difficult than the written one.

Spoken by about 68 million people in Vietnam, Vietnamese is an Austroasiatic language. Apart from Vietnam, Vietnamese is also spoken in countries like Australia, Cambodia, Finland, France, Laos, Germany, Netherlands, Senegal, UK, USA, China, Canada, Norway and Philippines.

Originally Vietnamese was written with a Siniform script, which was essentially Chinese in structure, but later Vietnamese literature developed a more Vietnamese style. Kim Van Kieu, the ‘Tale of Kieu’, a romantic novel written by Nguyen Du is one of the greatest literary work in Vietnamese. It was in the 17th century, when the Roman Catholic missionaries introduced a system of writing Vietnamese in the Latin alphabets

Vietnam, situated in Southeast Asia, is blessed with all kinds of climatic conditions, in various regions of the country. Climatic conditions in Vietnam tend to vary considerably from place to place due to the differences in latitude and longitude and variations in terrains from low lying coastal plains to 4000 meters high mountain peaks. In general however Vietnam climate is a kind of tropical monsoon climate with average humidity of 84% throughout the year.

Vietnam falls in both tropical as well as temperate climatic zones, hence climate in Vietnam also varies accordingly. While the north part of the country falls in the temperate climate zone, the Southern part has a tropical climate.

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Politics in Vietnam

Vietnam is a communist state, with the Communist Party of Vietnam playing the central role in the politics of the country. Article 4 of the new Constitution, approved in April 1992, reaffirms the leading role of the Communist Party of Vietnam. There are no legal opposition parties in Vietnam, although several opposition groups do operate from overseas, supporting demonstrations and civil disobedience against the government. The Communist Party of Vietnam convenes a National Congress every 5 years to formulate policies and decide the future course of the country. The National Congress elects the Central Committee, which in turn elects the Politburo. Politburo appoints the General Secretary, highest position in the Party.

The National Assembly, a 498-member unicameral body, is elected through an universal suffrage for a five-year term. According to the Constitution, the National Assembly is the supreme organ of state and the only body with constitutional and legislative power. The National Assembly decides the country’s domestic and foreign policies, the socio-economic challenges, and policies on defence and security of the nation. It also appoints the President of the State, the Prime Minister and the chief procurators of the Supreme People’s Court of Vietnam.

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Currently, many people, both foreign visitors and the Vietnamese oversea, wish to see Vietnam and learn more about the country and people. Places and geographical regions are located on the map showing where it is all about. We would like to mention the map of Vietnam in order to help tourists learn better of places in Vietnam.

Vietnam Map

Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east. With a population of over 86 million, Vietnam is the 13th most populous country in the world. (more…)

Vietnam Fast Facts

Location: South East Asia
Full country name: Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Area: 329,566 sq. km (128, 527 square miles).
Population: Over 83 million (Growth Rate 1.2%).
Capital city: Hanoi (population 4 million).

People: 85% ethnic Vietnamese, 3% ethnic Chinese, also Khmer, Cham (a remnant of the once great Indianised Champa Kingdom) and members of some 55 ethno-linguistic groups.

Languages: Vietnamese, French, Chinese, English and a variety of Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian local dialects. (more…)