Vietnamese authorities have committed to economic liberalization and enacted structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries.

The country continues to experience protests from the Montagnard ethnic minority population of the Central Highlands over loss of land to Vietnamese settlers and religious persecution

Almost every city has a museum dedicated to the Vietnamese Revolution, and contain dioramas, exhibits, and photographs detailing how their inhabitants contributed to the war effort, and which important events took place in their city.

The largest of these museums are in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The Ho Chi Minh Museum in Hanoi, is an important place to visit and understand more about Vietnam’s great leader, Ho Chi Minh.

THE NORTH

Most of the historical remnants of the wars relates to the French conflict, because the American ground war was centered in the south and the center (extensive bombing was experienced in the north).

Dien Bien Phu : The Dien Bien Phu valley is where the French were defeated in 1954, ending their colonial rule over Indochina. Best reached by plane, you can also hire a 4-wheel drive vehicle and tour the far northwest, to Son La and Lao Cai.

Son La : A site of a Former French Prison, many visitors come here to see the museum commemorating the fiercely anti colonial fighters who were based in the region.

Hanoi : Hoa Lo Prison: Razed to make way for a towering office block, the prison is remembered by a museum that focuses on the activities there before 1954, when it was used as a detention center for anti French colonialists.

Ho Chi Ming Museum: More than a museum dedicated to the man who reunified his country, the Ho Chi Minh museum chronicles the Vietnamese revolution of the 20th century, and in an interesting stop for those interested in this phase of Vietnamese history.

Christmas Bombing in 1972: In December 1972, US President Nixon ordered the bombing of Hai Phong and Hanoi, which targeted power stations and other installations; some residential quarters were hit too. In Hanoi alone, more than 1,300 people were killed. Today, the area south of the Hanoi train station is where much of the destruction took place, and Kham Thien was the epicenter.

THE CENTER

Central Vietnam was the scene of much fighting during the American war, and much of the vestiges here are related to that conflict, though a few places, like the Hai Van Pass, contain some remains of the French conflict.

DMZ and Dong Ha : The bridge at the DMZ over the Ben Hai river can be crossed on foot, and the Vinh Moc tunnels (like those built at Cu Chi) can be visited nearby. Tours can be arranged from Hue, or Dong Ha. The road north of Hue was dubbed, ‘La Rue Sans Jolie,’ or ‘The Road Without Joy’ by the French troops; who fought fierce battles with Vietnamese forces here.

Truong Son Trail / Ho Chi Minh Trail : As the major supply chain between troops in South Vietnam, the Truong Son Trail (or Ho Chi Minh Trail as it’s known in the west), named after the mountains of central Vietnam, was heavily bombed and strafed by American aircraft, trying to sever the artery that supplied men, weapons, and other supplies to the soldiers in the south. It is currently being developed into a tourist attraction by recreating the structures it contained and the methods used to carry weapons to the south, to aid in the war effort. A small section of the Ho Chi Minh trail can be seen after crossing the Dakrong bridge.

Khe Sanh / Con Thien Fire Base; Camp Carroll : Several former American army bases can be visited along Highway 9, between the Dong Ha and the Laotian border. Sites include Camp Carroll, Con Thien Firebase, The Rockpile, and Khe Sanh, where a fierce battle took place in 1968.

Hai Van Pass : Long used as a lookout for enemy troops, Hai Van Pass is littered with pillboxes and installations used to protect this vital link between north and south. Its about 350 meters high, and often is shrouded in mist. On a clear day, however, you can see northwards, to the Lang Co peninsula; and south, to the city of Da Nang.

Da Nang and China Beach : Often mistaken as the site where American Marines first came ashore in 1963, the event actually took place around the bay at Red Beach. China Beach was the site of a major Army base that came under attack by Vietnamese forces based around the Marble Mountains.

THE SOUTH

The South was the command center of the US forces stationed in Vietnam (Followed by Da Nang) though it still has a lot of history related to the French war. Not a whole lot of vestiges remain of the war, though there are some informative museums in Ho Chi Minh City and the Cu Chi tunnels shows the struggle the Vietnamese people endured during the war.

Cu Chi Tunnels : The Cu Chi tunnel system was built by Vietnamese forces who boldly tunneled beneath a major American Army Base. The tunnels can be visited today, often combined with a day tour.

Government : The present constitution, promulgated in 1992, asserts the political supremacy of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The 496-member National Assembly is responsible for legislation. The Assembly is elected every five years from candidates proposed by the CPV. Executive power is exercised by the Council of Ministers. The Assembly elects a president, who acts as head of state and also appoints a prime minister from among the members of the Assembly. The prime minister leads the Council of Ministers, the members of which hold executive power.

The politics of Vietnam: Takes place in a framework of a single-party socialist republic. The central role of the Communist Party of Vietnam is reaffirmed in the current constitution, adopted in April 1992. Though Vietnam remains a single-party state, adherence to ideological orthodoxy has become less important than economic development as a national priority.

Economy : The economy of Vietnam was devastated by 30 years of war up to 1975, after which policy errors and a USA-enforced trade boycott combined to stifle development. Since the end of the boycott in 1994, and the introduction of liberalizing and deregulating measures by the government, the Vietnamese economy has undergone significant growth of around 8 to 9% annually.

The Communist Party of Vietnam (Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam) is the currently ruling, as well as the only legal political party in Vietnam. It is a Marxist-Leninist Communist Party supported by (and a part of) the Vietnamese Fatherland Front. In most of the cases, the Vietnamese press and people refer to the Communist Party of Vietnam as “Đảng” (Party) or “Đảng ta” (our Party).

The Party was founded by Hồ Chí Minh and other exiles living in China as the Vietnamese Communist Party (Việt Nam cộng sản Đảng) at a conference in Hong Kong February 1930.[1] At the Hong Kong conference two competing communist factions, Indochinese Communist Party (Đông Dương cộng sản đảng) and the Communist Party of Annam (An Nam cộng sản Đảng), merged. Although the third Vietnamese communist group, the Indochinese Communist League (Đông Dương cộng sản liên đoàn), had not been invited to the Hong Kong conference its members were allowed to become members of the new united party.

The Hong Kong conference (held in Kowloon City) elected a nine-member Provisional Central Committee, consisting of 3 members from Tonkin, 2 from Annam, 2 from Cochinchina, and 2 from the overseas Chinese community.[2] The latter group had previously been organized within the South Seas Communist Party.

Soon thereafter, at its first plenum the party changed its name to the Indochinese Communist Party (Đảng cộng sản Đông Dương), on directions from Comintern.[2]

The First National Party Congress was held in secret in Macau in 1935. At the same time, a Comintern congress in Moscow adopted a policy towards a popular front against fascism and directed Communist movements around the world to collaborate with anti-fascist forces regardless of their orientation towards socialism. This required the ICP to regard all nationalist parties in Indochina as potential allies.

The party was formally dissolved in 1945 in order to hide its Communist affiliation and its activities were folded into the Marxism Research Association and the Viet Minh, which had been founded four years earlier as a common front for national liberation. The Party was refounded as the Vietnam Workers’ Party (Đảng lao động Việt Nam) at the Second National Party Congress in Tuyen Quang in 1951.

The Congress was held in territory in north Vietnam controlled by the Viet Minh during the First Indochina War. The Third National Congress, held in Hanoi in 1960 formalized the tasks of constructing socialism in what was by then North Vietnam, or the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) and committed the party to carrying out the revolution of liberation in the South. At the Fourth National Party Congress held in 1976 after the end of Vietnam War with the reunification of Vietnam, the Party’s name was changed to the Communist Party of Vietnam.

Vietnam Awesome Travel

]]> http://vntourist.chotop.com/vietnam-culture/land-people/communist-party-war-history-conflict-timelines.htm/feed 3 http://vntourist.chotop.com/vietnam-culture/land-people/living-standard-currency-economy-education-in-vietnam.htm http://vntourist.chotop.com/vietnam-culture/land-people/living-standard-currency-economy-education-in-vietnam.htm#comments Sat, 26 Dec 2009 12:06:36 +0000 admin http://vntravelculture.com/?p=432 Vietnam is a densely-populated, developing country that in the last 30 years has had to recover from the ravages of war, the loss of financial support from the old Soviet Bloc, and the rigidities of a centrally-planned economy. Growth averaged around 9% per year from 1993 to 1997. The 1997 Asian financial crisis temporarily allowed opponents of reform to slow progress toward a market-oriented economy. GDP growth averaged 6.8% per year from 1997 to 2004 even against the background of the Asian financial crisis and a global recession, and growth hit 8% in 2005 and 7.8% in 2006.

Industry: food processing, garments, shoes, machine-building.
Agriculture: paddy rice, corn, potatoes, rubber; poultry; fish.
Exports: crude oil, marine products, rice, coffee, rubber.

Currency

Currency Exchange

Credit/Debit Cards and ATMs

Traveller’s Cheques

Currency Restrictions: Restrictions apply.

Banking Hours; Mon-Fri 0730/0800-1130 and 1300-1600.

Exchange Rate Indicators

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This is how you eat such a platter: pour the nuoc cham over the plate, except for the vegetables. Then grab one of the Thai bird chilies that’s in a bowl near the forks and spoons (no chopsticks for com tam). Eat some of the garnish with some of the rice, then take a bite — a VERY VERY SMALL bite — of the chili. It is mind-numbingly hot. Swallow. Have a bit of the soup — even though it’s still steaming, it will cool off your mouth. Repeat, alternating with bits of cucumber, which cut through the entire flavor party like a dip in a cold pool.

The perfect accompaniment is Com Tam’s toothachingly sweet limeade.

Vietnamese people everywhere are friendly and kind, expressing few anti American sentiments.  On the contrary, the Vietnamese are interested in living life in the present. It is a young population, thirty per cent under the age of 30. They are entrepreneurial and hard working. They seem very happy in general and glad to be part of a vibrant emerging economy. Though poverty indeed exists, there is hope and evidence that things are changing for the better.

Amiable &  Ethnic Groups

Vietnam is a multi-nationality country with 54 ethnic groups. The Viet (Kinh) people account for 87% of the country’s population and mainly inhabit the Red River delta, the central coastal delta, the Mekong delta and major cities. The other 53 ethnic minority groups, totaling over 8 million people, are scattered over mountain areas (covering two-thirds of the country’s territory) spreading from the North to the South.

Among ethnic minorities, the most populated are Tay, Thai, Muong, Hoa, Khmer, Nung… with a population of around 1 million each, while the least populated are Brau, Roman, Odu with several hundred people each. The Viet people succeeded in establishing a centralized monarchy right in the 10th century. The Cham people once boasted a flourishing culture early in the history. The Tay, Nung, and Khmer peoples had reached high levels of development with the presence of various social strata. The Muong, H’mong, Dao, Thai peoples… gathered under the rule of local tribal heads. Many ethnic groups divided their population into social echelons, especially those who lived in mountainous areas.

A number of ethnic minorities had mastered some farming techniques. They grew rice plants in swamped paddy fields and carried out irrigation. Others went hunting, fishing, collecting and lived a semi-nomadic life. Each group has its own culture, diverse and special. Beliefs and religions of the Vietnamese ethnic minority groups were also disparate from each other.

However, a fundamental solidarity among ethnic groups has been established on top of this difference as a result of a centuries long cooperation on the soil of Vietnam. Right in the first century of the history, a mutual supplement in economic relationship between lowland people and mountainous people was formed. This solidarity had been unceasingly strengthened during wars of resistance for defending the country. Through the shared struggle for defending and building of the country and the mutual assistance for co-existence and development, a common community between the Viet people and other ethnic minority peoples had been established and continuously consolidated and developed.

Nonetheless, an evident gap in the material and moral life has indeed still existed between peoples living in the deltas and those living in mountain areas as well as among ethnic minorities themselves. The Vietnamese government has worked out specific policies and special treatments in order to help mountainous people catching up with lowland people, and made great efforts to develop and preserve traditional cultural identities of each ethnic minority group.

At present, the programs of providing iodized salt for remote villages, equipping village’s health care and hygienic station, fighting malaria, building free schools for ethnic minority children, settled agriculture and fixed residence, and projects of creating new writing scripts for minority peoples and studying and developing traditional culture of each ethnic minority group… have obtained satisfactory results.

Vietnam Awesome Travel

It’s that time of the year again.

And as usual, many hotels and restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City are gearing up for the Christmas and New Year season with special deals and packages designed to lure customers in a very competitive market.

Some of the more attractive ones this year are at the Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon in District 1 – a favored place for year-end parties.

Many companies and families choose the restaurant in the hotel for parties of around 30 persons. At US$29 net per person, a yearend lunch or dinner buffet in the elegant Me Linh grand room, with beer and soft drinks free for two hours, the deal is very competitive.

In addition, the hotel serves special Christmas Eve cakes to customers. They can enjoy the cakes there or take them home. Other restaurants in the hotel offer different deals.

Among many other places holding parties or special events for Christmas and the New Year is the Seventeen Saloon bar.

The bar will hold a “Sparkling with colors” celebration of Christmas at 103A Pham Ngu Lao Street, District 1 and at its branch in Da Nang City. Santa Claus and the Snow Princess will welcome guests at the specially decorated bar, a choir will sing famous carols and a popular Filipino band will make Christmas Eve rock.

The bar will hold a “Happy New Year” party on December 31.

Some five-star hotels have a few surprises in store. At the Mövenpick Hotel Saigon on Nguyen Van Troi Street in Phu Nhuan District, the especially attractive package involves discounted room rates with many perks including a free Christmas Eve buffet.

The hotel will offer free Tiger beer and soft drinks for two hours on Christmas Eve, and free decorations according to the theme of the festival. The Vietnamese buffet for the festival is priced at VND396,000++ and the international buffet at VND450,000++ per person. A special menu of Christmas specialties will cost VND486,000++ per person.

If customers choose to stay at the hotel, they will get the Christmas Eve buffet free, a fruit basket, and discount of up to 20 percent on all food and beverages. From December 23 till 25 room rents will drop from the normal $179++ for a double room and $149++ for a single room to just $99++ and they can use all services at the executive lounge at no cost.

Customers can also enjoy traditional turkey, fresh seafood dishes or famous Chinese dishes and Swiss style appetizers at the hotel’s Café Saigon Restaurant.

The Christmas Eve dinner will also include a choir performance, live music and a lucky draw. Santa Claus will be on hand to distribute gifts among children. The

Christmas Eve buffet on December 24 is priced at $55++ per person.

The room rents for the New Year, though will be $189++ for a double and $149++ for a single room. Customers staying at the hotel for the New Year will be picked up and dropped off from the airport or any other location within a 10-kilometer radius.

A complimentary glass of champagne will be served by the Café Saigon Restaurant as a lucky wish for the New Year. The New Year Eve celebration on December 31 will cost $65++ per adult (half for children below 12) with free flow of cocktails, beer, wine and soft drinks.

At 12.00  Arrival Halong city, Take the boat trip and Having seafood lunch on the boat and seeing some floating villages, experience the local’s lives

About 4hrs journey. Cruising through the emerald waters between the limestone outcrops and long corridors, visit Thien Cung cave (the cave of the heavenly palace – famous for its stalagmites and stalactites) the cave has only opened to the public since 1998.

It is  a great time to visit the newly discovered Dau Go grotto ( wooden stake cave-where in 1288 one of Vietnamese most famous Generals Tran Hung Dao amassed hundreds of stakes deep inside the cave prior to a battle with an invading Mongol army).

At 4 pm :  Back to Halong city where our driver will be waiting for you to take you back to Hanoi                               

At 19:30  Finish the trip

Included: Transportation, Boat trip, Entrance fee,  Seafood Lunch and english Guide.

Tour cost in USD per person:

If you are interested in other programme tour for one day.

one day - optional tours or Halong Bay 1 day TripAdvisor ‘review
Halong Bay Cruise 1 day from IndependentTraveler’s report

ĐẠI NHẠC HỘI

HAND IN HAND

HAND IN HAND là chương trình đại nhạc hội mừng Noel và chào đón năm mới 2010, được tổ chức vào 18h30 ngày 24/12/2009, tại sân nhà E – Học viện Ngân hàng (12 Chùa Bộc – Đống Đa – Hà Nội).

HAND IN HAND là chương trình được liên kết xây dựng bởi sinh viên đến từ 5 trường đại học: Học viện Ngân hàng, Đại học Kinh doanh và Công nghệ Hà Nội, Đại học Kinh tế Kỹ thuật Công nghiệp, Đại học Y Hà Nội. Nhiều tiết mục đặc sắc như nhảy Hàn Quốc, biểu diễn trang phục đến từ 8 quốc gia trên thế giới, hài kịch… sẽ được trình diễn trong đêm Giáng sinh. Bên cạnh đó, chương trình còn góp phần mang lại một không khí Noel, năm mới ấm ấp cho những em nhỏ khuyết tật thông qua việc quyên góp, ủng hộ.

Vietnam Awesome Trip : 5 days/ 4 nights

Day 1 :  Hanoi city tour ( L, D ) – Hanoi

At 8.30 you visit the Historical Museum, Literature Temple, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and One-Pillar Pagoda.

At 12.30 Having lunch and in the afternoon, visit Quan Thanh Temple, Hoan Kiem Lake, Ngoc Son Temple and go shopping in the old quarter.

At 5.15 pm. Enjoy a traditional water puppet show for one hour, At 6.30 pm Having dinner

Day 2 : Hanoi – Hoa Lu – Tam coc – Halong city ( B, L D )

At 8 .00 you star your tour to Hoa Lu ( 110 kms) it will take us over 2 hours and Visit Dinh and Le Temples in Hoa Lu, the ancient capital of Vietnam in the 10th century.

At 12.00 Having Lunch and take a small bamboo boat  for 2-hour rowing  to discover Tam Coc caves, taking some  nice photos of the green fieldThen visit Bich Dong Pagoda ( your option ) if the time allow us. At 3.30 pm . Continue your trip 160 km ( over 3 hours ) to Halong city

At 6.30 pm  Arrival Halong city to check in Hotel  & Having dinner and have a free time

Day 3 : Halong bay Cruise – Catba island ( B, l, D )

At 8 am : Take the boat trip and seeing some floating villages, experience the local’s lives, About 4hrs journey. Cruising through the emerald waters between the limestone outcrops and long corridors, visit Thien Cung cave (the cave of the heavenly palace – famous for its stalagmites and stalactites) the cave has only opened to the public since 1998.

It is  a great time to visit the newly discovered Dau Go grotto ( wooden stake cave-where in 1288 one of Vietnamese most famous Generals Tran Hung Dao amassed hundreds of stakes deep inside the cave prior to a battle with an invading Mongol army).

At 11.30 am . Having lunch with seafood and then arrival Catba isand, if you are interested in climbing Catba national park ( option)

At 2.30 pam Check in Hotel and free time, can go to Cat Co beach

At 6.30 pm. Having dinner and free time

Day 4 : Cat ba island – Speed boat – Hai phong city – Hanoi (B, L ,D)

In the morning, you have a pleisure time and visit Catba

At 12.30 Get to the speed boat for one hour to Haiphong city .

At 1.30 pm   visit to the Garden theatre, Du Hang Pagoda and Kenh temple. Keeping your trip 100 km back Hanoi city

At 6 mp. Come back Hanoi & enjoy dinner

Day 5 : Hanoi – Departure ( B )

Included : Car ( 7 seats ) Boat trip, Entrance fee,  Food and english Guide,  water puppet show, speed boat, bamboo boat .

Hotel in Hanoi  : Nam Hai 3 star Hotel

Hotel in Halong : Sunlight 3 star Hotel

Hotel in Catba  : Holiday view 3 star Hotel

Vietnam Luxury Golf Tour:  3days

Day 1: Hanoi – Welcome

Meeting & Greeting at Noi Bai International. Pick up and transfer to Hotel in Hanoi  (4 Star Hotel). Free yourself. Overnight at Hotel

Day 2:  Hanoi city – Phoenix Golf Course ( B )

After breakfast and check out the Hotel. Transfer 80 km to  Phoenix Golf for playing 01 round of golf of 18 holes, it will take about 4 hours

Day 3: Hanoi – Chi Linh Star Golf ( B )

After breakfast. Drive to  Chi Linh Star Golf. Enjoy playing one round of golf (1* 18 Holes). Pick up and transfer back to your hote l in Hanoi. Overnight at the hotel.

” Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints. Kill nothing but time ”

AM: 8:00 We pick you up from your hotel and depart Ha Noi for Cuc phuong national park.

10:30 Arrival at Cuc phuong national park. Your visit begins at the Endangered Primate rescue Center. Have lunch

PM: After lunch, you’ll start on a long trek through the forest to learn about the diverse flora and fauna of the park. You’ll also make stops at Cho Chi, the oldest tree in the forest, a number of picturesque streams and waterfalls and Nguoi Xua, the ancient cave of man.

15h30: Car pick up and transfer back to HanoiI.

Finish tour at 19.00

TOUR PRICE INCLUDES :

• Full transportation by as tour program indicated.

• Full meals as indicated in the itinerary (Vietnamese lunch).

• English- speaking guide (other languages are available upon request)

• Entrance fees.

• Tour cost in USD per person:

• Class	Private		Private		Note
  	2	4	6	8
  Standard	65 $	40 $	35 $	30 $
  Deluxe	69 $	44 $	39 $	34 $

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