VIETNAM – GENERAL INFORMATION

Vietnam

General information

• Official name: The Socialist Republic of Vietnam (authorized since 1976).
• Capital: Hà Nội.
• Population: 92.700.000 people (as of 2016) ranking it the 14th biggest country in terms of population.
• Total area: 332.698 square kilometers ranking it the 46th largest country in terms of coverage.
• Number of states: 59 cities with 5 municipalities.
• Currency: VND (Việt Nam Đồng), officially issued since 1978.
• Dial code: +84.
• Time zone: GMT +7.
• Number of communities: 54, in which the Kinh (native Việt) makes up 80 percent.

Vietnam national flag (Source: Google)

Vietnam Dong (Source: Google)

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is the Easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula with its Eastern side faces the East Sea, or South China Sea. In terms of frontier sharing, Vietnam is enclosed by China in the North, Laos in the Northwest, Cambodia in the Southwest while sharing the Gulf of Thailand with Thailand in the Southernmost. Sitting solely in the Northern hemisphere and stretching widely across different types of topography, Vietnam is holding a great potential in various fields awaiting to blow your mind with its best Vietnam trips.

Map of Vietnam (Source: Google)

Climate

Northern Vietnam consists of four basic seasons in a year which are known as Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Springtime lasts from February to April. Summer comes in between May and August. Autumn hits the land between September and November, while Winter is welcomed in the rest of the months. In general, the Northern weather seems to be better clarified compared to the other two regions. Such killing heat and heavy rains arrive in the area around summertime, while the insane coldness reaches before Lunar New Year.

Wonders of Northern Vietnam (Source: Google)

Southern Vietnam, meanwhile, due to its closer location towards the Equator, which makes the citizens live within two seasons in a year only. Rainfalls hit Southern Vietnam from May to November, while the rest of the year welcomes the burning heat. In the meantime, the climate condition in Central Vietnam bears a slight complication with the presence of occasional storms. The best time to travel to Central coastal cities is definitely from March to August. Why? The rest of the year brings storms and rains to Central Vietnam, which means the sea is not as calm as it was. If you are a beach fan, do not pick this season if you do not want to get stuck in the room forever!

Central Vietnam (Source: Google)

Southern Vietnam (Source: Google)

Economy

As of June 2018, Vietnam exported 113,93 billion US dollars, in which electronic components make up the largest percentage. Meanwhile, the country imported 111,36 billion US dollars with the highest ranking goes to cashew nuts.

Landscapes and topography

Well illustrated on the map, the country of Vietnam looks exactly like a letter S, whose Eastern side meets a length coast of over 3200 kilometers, which make Vietnam own one of the longest coastlines in the area of Southeast Asian countries. As a consequence, millions of tourists love to come over the nation thanks to its deep blue ocean, and of course, the magnificent mountain views along the Western face. In 2017, there was up to 12.9 million turns of foreign visitors checking in the country, in which Chinese and Korean took the two highest rankings.

Golden Bridge (Source: Google)

Apart from those, Vietnam is recorded to obtain 21 natural tourist attractions, while one of the best Vietnam trips is known to be Halong Bay. Halong Bay consists of roughly 1600 limestone islands of all sizes and proudly recognized as a UNESCO Natural Heritage Site back in 1994. The most popular outdoor activities people love to join here in Halong Bay are kayaking, visiting a pearl-making farm, spending a night on a luxury boat in the middle of the Bay and looking for squid sausage (Chả Mực).

Halong Bay (Source: Google)

In addition to the dream-like long coast, the largest natural cave in the whole wide World was discovered to be in Quảng Bình, a Central province of Vietnam in 2009 by the British Cave Research Association, known as Sơn Đòong Cave. Against common misconception, Sơn Đòong is not the longest yet the biggest cave recorded, with 5 kilometers in length, 660 feet in height and 490 feet in width.

Sơn Đòong Cave (Source: Google)

Cuisine

One of the top reasons for making people fall in love with this East Asian country is the wide range of food itself. Up and down the length of Vietnam, the gastronomy system stretched across three main regions, if not counting far-off corners where the ethnic communities take over with their exotic and authentic dining creations.

Phở is phenomenally known as the most recognized dish. Other than the most popular big names such as Bánh Mỳ or Spring Rolls, travelers nowadays are open-mindedly welcomed in their best Vietnam trips with a diversified system of Bún (noodles) and soup-like dishes. In general, the cuisine world of Vietnam is a harmonious fusion of domestic taste, Chinese influence, Cambodian breath and a bit of Indian savor.