AN INTRIGUING COUNTRY DOTTED WITH ANCIENT TEMPLES, CONTRASTS WITH A BACKDROP OF GLASSY SKYCRAPERS.

VIETNAM EVOKES IMAGES OF CONICAL -HATTED STREET VENDORS, WATER BUFFALOS ON EMERALD RICE PADDIES, FLOATING MARKETS ON THE MEKONG RIVER AND MOPEDS BUZZING THROUGH CITIES.

HOME TO COUNTLESS DESTINATION BECAUSE OF ITS BEAUTIFUL BEACHES AND ITS CULTURE. AT TIMES, IT IS AN ASSAULT TO THE SENSES. WITNESS A CONSTANT STREAM OF MOTORBIKES AND SCOOTERS. LIFE IS CONDUCTED MAINLY ON THE STREETS WHERE AMAZING STREET FOOD SIZZLES ON ROADSIDE STALLS.

THE COUNTRY’S TWO MAIN CITIES, HANOI IN THE NORTH AND HO CHI MINH CITY IN THE SOUTH ARE DIFFERENT IN MANY WAYS BUT THEY SHARE AN INTOXICATING ENERGY.

**The Hmong people were farmers in Laos and Vietnam during the Vietnam War.**

IT IS A MULTI-ETHNIC COUNTRY WITH 54 ETHNIC GROUPS RECOGNIZED BY THE GOVERNMENT. EACH ETHNIC GROUP HAS ITS OWN LANGUAGE AND CULTURE. THE VIETNAMESE PEOPLE ACCOUNT FOR ROUGHLY 86 % OF THE COUNTRY’S POPULATION AND MAINLY RESIDE IN DELTAS AND COASTAL PROVINCE.

**Once known as the Museum of Chinese and American War Crimes, the War Remnants Museum is consistently the most popular museum in HCMC with Western tourists.**

VIETNAM, ON THE EASTERN EDGE OF THE INDOCHINESE PENINSULA, HAD BEEN UNDER FRENCH COLONIAL RULE SINCE THE 19TH CENTURY.

**French colonial guillotine at the Vietnam War Remnants Museum, Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City is a popular tourist attraction.**

DURING WORLD WAR II, JAPANESE FORCES INVADED VIETNAM. TO FIGHT OFF BOTH JAPANESE OCCUPIERS AND THE FRENCH COLONIAL ADMINISTRATION, POLITICAL LEADER, HO CHI MINH- INSPIRED BY CHINESE AND SOVIET COMMUNISM, FORMED THE VIET MINH, OR THE LEAGUE OR THE INDEPENDENCE OF VIETNAM.

FOLLOWING ITS 1945 DEFEAT IN WORLD WAR II, JAPAN WITHDREW ITS FORCES FROM VIETNAM, LEAVING THE FRENCH-EDUCATED BAO DAI IN CONTROL. SEEING AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEIZE CONTROL, HO’S VIET MINH FORCES IMMEDIATELY ROSE UP, TAKING OVER THE NORTHERN CITY OF HANOI AND DECLARING DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM (DVR) WITH HO AS PRESIDENT.

SEEKING TO REGAIN CONTROL OF THE REGION, FRANCE BACKED EMPEROR BAO AND SET UP THE STATE OF VIETNAM IN JULY 1949, WITH THE CITY OF SAIGON AS ITS CAPITAL.

**Inside the War Remnants Museum is a war museum at 28 Vo Van Tan, in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It contains exhibits relating to the First Indochina War and the Vietnam War.**

BOTH SIDES WANTED THE SAME THING, A UNIFIED VIETNAM. BUT WHILE HO AND HIS SUPPORTERS WANTED A NATION MODELED AFTER OTHER COMMUNIST COUNTRIES, BAO AND MANY OTHERS WANTED A VIETNAM WITH CLOSE ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL TIES TO THE WEST.

2023 MARKS THE 55TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE TET OFFENSIVE, A FEROCIOUS ONSLAUGHT BY THE NORTH VIETNAMESE ARMY THAT WOULD UNDERMINE AMERICAN CONFIDENCE IN THE VIETNAM WAR.

THE VIETNAMESE PERSPECTIVE ON THE VIETNAM WAR IS VIVIDLY PORTRAYED AT BOTH THE INDEPENDENCE PALACE AND THE WAR REMNANTS MUSEUM IN HO CHI MINH CITY.

ONCE ONE OF THE WORLD’S POOREST AND MOST ISOLATED COUNTRIES, VIETNAM IS NOW A MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRY WITH A DYNAMIC, YOUNG POULATION AND A PROMISING FUTURE.

FAST FACTS

CURRENCY - Dong.

CAPITAL - Hanoi.

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE - Vietnamese

POPULATION - The current population of Vietnam in 2023 is 98,858,950, a 0.68% increase from 2022.

OFFICIAL NAME: Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Socialist republic.

AREA: 127,123 square miles (329,247 square kilometers)

MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGE: Annam Cordiller.

CLIMATE

Vietnam has both a tropical climate zone and a temperate climate zone, with all of the country experiencing the effects of the annual monsoon. Rainy seasons correspond to monsoon circulations, which bring heavy rainfall in the north and south from May to October, and in the central regions from September to January.

**Cycling in Vietnam is an ideal activity for tourists to discover every corner here. Everywhere in the country, you can hire a bike and just explore.**

TRANSPORTATION

TRAIN TRAVEL - can be used between major points such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang as well as smaller tourist cities such as Phan Thiet and Ninh Binh. Train travel is a cheap and viable option for covering large distances in Vietnam.

BY BUS - If your trip in Vietnam lasts for long days and you do not mind about comfort, getting around Vietnam by bus is the right choice, especially for independent travelers. Nearly every city of Vietnam can be reached by bus, but be warned that some rickety roads in Vietnam may not be for you

HALONG BAY - The cruise port that serves Hanoi Vietnam is located at Halong Bay (Bai Chay), approximately 170 kilometers (105 miles) east of the capital.

**Junk boat tours and sea kayak expeditions take travelers to visit Halong Bay for an up-close look at its amazing limestone islands, rock formations and caves.**

PHU MY - Meanwhile, the river right by Phu My Port is called Thi Vai River, which flows to the giant South China Sea (locally known as East Sea). Phu My Port is 65 km (40 miles) from Ho Chi Minh City, the busiest, most developed city which often tops the favorite destinations charts in Vietnam.

**Vietnam is home to roughly 50 million motorbikes, according to the National Traffic Safety Committee -- five times as many as in Japan.**

The public transport system in Ho Chi Minh City centres around the city's extensive bus network. While buses are cheap, most visitors prefer using motorbike taxis or private taxis. These prove to be the most efficient way to travel around Ho Chi Minh City. You need to negotiate the fee with the taxi drivers.

Vietnam is a great country for biking. In fact, here almost everyone has a bike. Students bike to school in groups; even adults and women use their bikes for transporting edibles to and from the market.

CAU DA PORT - The port where your Nha Trang cruise will dock is called Cau Da Port. There's usually a complimentary shuttle ready to take cruise passengers from the port into the city of Nha Trang. You also have the option of hailing a taxi just outside of the port or riding in a trishaw to the center of town.

**Tour Guide will welcome with signboard name at the port gate.**

TIEN SA PORT - DA NANG CRUISE TERMINAL- Most cruise ships in Da Nang dock at Tien Sa port. Bus travel from the port to Danang City is around 30 min. At the port's entrance (approx 500 m / 1650 ft from the cruise pier) there is a taxi rank. Smaller cruise ships often dock at the city's Han River Port (on the river's western bank).