Vietnam Travel Guide

Vietnam — Country and Tourist Information

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Country Facts

Location: South-East Asia.
Language: Vietnamese is the official language. English, French, Chinese and occasionally Russian and German are spoken.
Area: 331,689 sq km (128,066 sq miles).
Time Zone: GMT + 7.
Electricity: 220/110 volts AC, 50Hz; flat two-pin plugs are in use. Occasionally round two-pin plug sockets can be found, so it is worth having adaptors for both.
Population: 86.9 million (2009).
Population Density: 261.9 per sq km.
Capital City: Hanoi. Population: 6.2 million (2007).
Government: Socialist republic since 1980. Gained independence from France in 1954.
Head of Government: Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung since 2006.
Head of State: President Nguyen Minh Triet since 2006.
Religion: Buddhist majority. There are also Taoist, Confucian, Hoa Hao, Caodaist and Christian (predominantly Roman Catholic) minorities.

Recent History

Since the doi moi reforms by the socialist state in 1986, which opened the country up to investment and a liberal economic approach, Vietnam has been modernizing its agricultural and mining industries. It still, however, remains a one-party communist state. The country is ruled by a triumvirate of a president, prime minister and the secretary general of the Communist Party - the latter being the most powerful man in the country. The current president and prime minister are both seen as economic reformers and both hail from southern Vietnam. In order to achieve continuing economic progress they will have to propose more privatization and deregulation and will have to fight Communist Party diehards in the process. Small scale protests against the government, particularly to do with land reforms, appear occasionally. The human rights record was described as ‘poor' in a 2004 US state department report, for restricting freedom of speech, religion and of the press.

Communications

Telephone

Country Code: +84. It is expensive to call home from hotels but international calls from post offices are much better value.

Mobile Telephone

Roaming agreements exist with some international mobile phone companies. Coverage is available throughout large parts of the country. It is possible to buy competitively priced sim cards for use in the country.

Internet

Internet cafés are widely available throughout the country and they are good value. High-speed connections are only available in major towns and cities.

Media

The media is controlled by the Communist Party. Newspapers straying beyond restrictive government reporting guidelines are shut down and journalists fined. Internet access is tightly controlled. Web content is subject to government approval and sites deemed unacceptable are blocked.

The main daily English-language paper is the state-run Vietnam News. Vietnam Television is also state-run and VTV broadcasts from Hanoi. Some weekly versions of British newspapers are available.

Post

The Vietnamese postal service isn't the most efficient so allow around 7-14 days for post to arrive in the UK and US. Send mail from the post office in main towns and cities. Postal services can be slow. Airmail to Europe can take up to three weeks.Post office hours and days vary from town to town but many can be open from early morning until late evening.

Press

Daily and weekly newspapers in Vietnam include Lao Dong, Nhan Dan (The People) and Quan Doi Nhan Dan. The Vietnam Economic Times, Vietnam Investment Review, Saigon Times and Vietnam News are published in English. Le Courrier du Vietnam is published in French.

Radio

Voice of Vietnam (VoV)is state operated. VoV 5 broadcasts programs in English, French and Russian.

Public Holidays

Below are listed Public Holidays for the January 2011-December 2012 period.
2011
30 Apr Liberation of Saigon
1 May May Day
2 Sep National Day

2012
1 Jan New Year’s Day
23 Jan - 27 Jan *Têt, Lunar New Year
12 Apr *Gio to Hung Vuong Day
30 Apr Liberation of Saigon
1 May May Day
2 Sep National Day
*Check with the embassy for the exact date. Visitors may experience difficulties during this period as shops, restaurants and public services close and prices tend to go up in the few shops that remain open.