VIETNAM IN BRIEF
Located in South East Asia, Vietnam starts to emerge as a major tourist attraction. Vietnam has two main cities, the political capital Hanoi and the economic capital Ho Chi Minh City (also known as Saigon).
Ho Chi Minh City's (Saigon) Tan Son Nhat Airport is Vietnam's busiest international air hub, followed by Hanoi's Noi Bai Airpot. A few international flights also serve Danang. Bangkok has emerged as the principle embarkation point for Vietnam but it's still possible to get direct flights from a number of major Asian cities and a few Australian cities.
Vietnam is a country rich in handicraft products, thanks to the hardworking, dexterous, and creative qualities of the Vietnamese people. For a very long time, handicraft products have been a source of culturalpride and a source of income for the people. As the varieties of handicraft products are too numerous to be fully introduced, only a few typical items and their sources are mentioned here.
There are currently six border crossings for travellers coming to Vietnam, but more may open soon. All crossing points suffer from heavy policing and often requests for 'immigration fees'.
GETTING TO VIETNAM
For getting to/from China, it's become very popular to cross the border at Friendship Pass, or Dong Dang, 20km (12mi) north of Lang Son in northeast Vietnam, to get to/from Nanning. There is a twice-weekly international train between Beijing and Hanoi that stops at Friendship Pass. The other popular border crossing with China is at Lao Cai in northwest Vietnam, which lies on the railway line between Hanoi and Kunming in China's Yunnan Province. There's also a seldom used crossing at Moi Cai.
It's possible to enter Laos from Lao Bao in north-central Vietnam; there's an international bus from Danang to Savannakhet (Laos). The other crossing is at Keo Nua Pass/Cau Treo, west of Vinh. The only crossing to Cambodia is via Moc Dai; an international bus links Phnom Penh with Ho Chi Minh City.
VIETNAM CLIMATE
In the north, the rainy season is from August until November. Typhoons are frequent, but not too much of a problem. The north can be quite chilly in winter (Dec. - Feb.).
The climate in the Delta is sub-equatorial with two main seasons. The wet season lasts from May to October with short downpours occurring almost every day. The dry season lasts from November to April with the last three months of this period being very hot and humid.
Annual rainfall for the South is approximately 80 inches (2,000 millimeters) while temperatures remain relatively constant - on average between 77 and 95 F (25-35 C). Between July and November, Vietnam is hit by random, violent typhoons that develop off the coast in the South China Sea. They typically hit the central and north coasts and have been with increasing frequency over the past few years.
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