in Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam [1] (Vi?t Nam) is a country in Southeast Asia. Its neighboring countries are China to the north, Laos and Cambodia to the west.

Regions

The North, around Hanoi (H? N?i): from the Red River Delta to high mountains near China, to the World Heritage site Ha Long Bay, the North harbors some of the most magnificent views of Vietnam in an exotic context.
The Central Coast, around the ancient city of Hue (Hu?), is the home of the still recent Vietnamese kings, and features one of the nicest old seacoast towns in Vietnam: Hoi An (H?i An), A World Heritage Site.
The Central Highlands, are hilly and covered with lush forest, features tribes and the occasional elephant, but is still accessible to the more adventurous. Dalat, the former retreat of the French is the largest city in the Central Highlands with a great golf course and the tallest mountain nearby.
The South, is the economic engine of Vietnam, built around Ho Chi Minh City (Th?nh Ph? H? Ch? Minh, former Saigon) but also covering the lush and little-visited Mekong Delta, the rice basket of Vietnam.

Cities
Hanoi (H? N?i) - the capital
Haiphong (H?i Ph?ng)
Can Tho (C?n Th?)
Dalat (?? L?t) - the largest city in the highlands
Da Nang (?? N?ng) - major port in central Vietnam.
Ho Chi Minh City (Th?nh ph? H? Ch? Minh) - Vietnam's largest city and the economic engine of the south, formerly Saigon (S?i G?n)
Hoi An - delightfully well-preserved ancient port, near the ruins of M? S?n
Hue (Hu?) - former home of Vietnam's emperors
Nha Trang - burgeoning beach resort

Other destinations
Con Dao island
Cu Chi, site of the Cu Chi Tunnels
The DMZ
Ha Long Bay (V?nh H? Long) - famous for its unearthly scenery
Kontum - A relaxed little town providing access to a number of minority villages.
Mui Ne (M?i N?) - beach resorts
Phu Quoc (Ph? Qu?c) - an island adjacent to the border with Cambodia
Tay Ninh (T?y Ninh) - main temple of the Cao ??i
Tam Coc - Near Ninh Binh south to Hanoi with Ha Long-bay-like sceneries on rice paddies

Economy

Bustling central HanoiEconomic reconstruction of the reunited country has proven difficult. After the failures of the state-run economy started to become apparent, the country launched a program of d?i m?i (renovation), introducing elements of capitalism. The policy has proved highly successful, with Vietnam recording near-10% growth yearly (except for a brief interruption during the Asian economic crisis of 1997), but after several decades,the country is doing much better. The economy is much better than Cambodia, Laos, and other neighboring third world countries. Like most Communist countries around the world, there is a fine balance between allowing foreign investors and opening up the market; and being found to be against the political line. From the government's perspective they need to follow the Chinese model: moderate liberalization in the economy, yet little in politics.

Climate
Vietnam is large enough to have several distinct climate zones.

The South is hot, humid and tropical, with temperatures hovering in the 25-30?C all year round, but it rains the most from May to November.
The North has four distinct seasons, with a comparatively chilly winter (temperatures can dip below 15?C in Hanoi), a hot and dry summer and pleasant spring (March-April) and autumn (October-December) seasons. However, in the Highlands both extremes are amplified, with occasional snow in the winter and temperatures hitting 40?C in the summer.
In the Central regions the weather is somewhere in between, only just to confuse things here the rainy season is in the summer, not the winter.

Holidays
By far the largest holiday of the year is T?t, also known as Vietnamese New Year, which takes place between late January and March following the unisolar Chinese calendar. During the three days of Tet shops close up and everybody heads home to their family, making this a somewhat difficult time to travel in Vietnam. However, hotels do stay open and the foreigner-aimed travel industry of backpacker buses and such chugs on as normal, and penny-pinchers will be glad to know that no admission is charged to those museums and historical sites that stay open. Visitors also stand a good chance of being invited to join the festivities, often involving large quantities of food and candy (for women and kids) and alcohol, karaoke, and gambling (for the men).