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Information on Hanoi - Vietnam

Information Sheet Vietnam - Hanoi

This grand-old dame of Asia is ageing better than most of her contemporaries! Hanoi has shaken off its once hostile attitude to travellers to become one of the most beguiling cities in Southeast Asia. It's slow-paced yet quick to charm, with a lovely landscape of lakes, shaded boulevards, verdant public parks and French-colonial architecture. Hanoi personifies the spirit of historic Vietnam in the temples, monuments and pockets of ancient culture along the narrow streets of the Old Quarter, yet perfectly reflects the rapid changes sweeping the country as Hanoian yuppies sip cappucinos in roadside cafés and compare cell phones.

Fast Facts

Population:3,500,000
Currency: Name: Vietnamese dong
Code: VND

Electrical Plugs

Languages Spoken: Official: Vietnamese

Time Zones: GMT/UTC +7

Country Dialing Code: +84

Weights & Measures: Metric

Weather

Winter (Nov-Feb) is generally cool and dry, with temperatures between 10-15°C (59-68°F). Spring (Feb-Apr) is warmer, but accompanied by constant drizzle which can start to wear a bit. Summer (May-Sep) is blatantly hot (30-36°C; 86-97°F) and sticky with the occasional devastating typhoon. Autumn (Sep-Nov) however, sees sunny, often perfect weather.

Shopping

Hanoi is a great place to shop. Silk items top the list, with oodles of shops and designer boutiques selling quality clothing and accessories. The local handicraft shops - lacquer ware, ceramics and mother-of-pearl inlaid items - and many art galleries offer unique quality presents or souvenirs.

Eating out

Hanoi has recently transformed itself from a culinary klutz to an epicurean entrepreneur. Sophisticated restaurants, beautiful bars and chic cafes have begun to emerge around the city with increasingly international offerings. You can't go past the Vietnamese staple though, a steaming bowl of pho ; no traveller should leave without sampling this tasty soup or the other delicious street food.

Travel Tips - Do's and Don'ts in Vietnam

Vietnam is a friendly and safe place to travel. With a sprinkling of common sense, your trip should be smooth and trouble free. Tourists usually complain about over-aggressive street vendors, tour operators with a bad attitude and dangerous driving. However, with a cool head and sensible planning, one can avoid these problems.

DO’S

Greetings are no different to western countries, there are no cultural formalities that as a foreginer you would be expected to know or practise.
Vietnamese dress conservatively. Despite the heat, it’s best not to show off too much skin. If you do, especially girls, you’ll only draw stares from the locals.
Dress well when visiting pagodas. No shorts or tatty beer t-shirts. Shoes are fine, and rarely will you have to remove them. If unsure, just follow what the locals do.
Drink plenty of bottled water, especially when walking around sightseeing. No need to carry huge bottles around with you, a vendor is never far away and no doubt they will find you before you find them.
Keep your cash, credit cards, airline tickets and other valuables in a safe place.

DON'TS

Wear a lot of jewellery or take a bag with you. Violent crime is highly unusual in Vietnam, but petty crime is more apparant. If you have a bag, or tout a digital camera around your neck, you are a potential target.
When taking a ride by motorbike taxi (xe om) make sure your bag, if any, is not on display or easy to grab. Bag snatches, although still rare, are probably the most likely crime a tourist would encounter, and it raises the probability immensely if you are tailing a camera or a laptop in the wind.
Don’t wear singlets, shorts, skirts or dresses, or revealing clothes to temples or pagodas.
Physical displays of affection between lovers in public are frowned upon. That’s why you may come across couples holding hands but not hugging or kissing.
Losing your temper in Vietnam means a loss of face. Keep a cool head and remain polite, you’ll have a greater chance of getting what you want.
Remember, this is Vietnam, a developing country, and things don’t quite work as you are maybe used to. Don’t be paranoid about your safety, just be aware of your surroundings.

Modern History

As it had under Chinese rule, Vietnamese nationalism simmered quietly throughout the country, waiting for an opportunity. Young Nguyen Tat Thanh, better known by his alias Ho Chi Minh, thought that the end of WWI was a good opening, so he tried to present a plan for an independent Vietnam to US president Woodrow Wilson at the 1919 Versailles Peace Conference. Evidently, self-determination was for Europeans alone.

When France fell to Nazi Germany in 1940, the Vichy government allowed the Japanese to put troops in Vietnam. The United States knew enough not to count on any French resistance, instead opting to pump arms and funding into the communist-dominated Viet Minh forces. Their leader, Ho Chi Minh, graciously accepted and began harassing the Japanese mercilessly.

After the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Ho called for a general uprising known as the August Revolution, and on September 2, 1945, Ho and his National Liberation Committee (with US officials at his side) declared the Democratic Republic of Vietnam independent at a rally in Ba Dinh Square.

The French were not pleased, and fought the Viet Minh tooth and nail for eight years, despite a massive military aid package from the USA and formal recognition by both China and the USSR. On May 7, 1954, the French threw in the towel and surrendered North Vietnam to the Viet Minh. Fiercely anti-communist leader Ngo Dinh Diem was elected (more or less; a lot of dead people voted in that election) president of South Vietnam. Soon afterward, the USA closed its consulate in Hanoi.

In 1959, Southern cadres asked that the North Vietnamese join them in 'armed struggle' against the Diem regime. Hanoi responded by agreeing to help the National Liberation Front (NLF), also known as the Viet Cong, who were mainly communist South Vietnamese resisters with little training. Without French troops, however, the South Vietnamese army was incredibly weak, and the Western world looked on nervously as Diem began losing control of the situation.

The USA sent 2000 'military advisers' to South Vietnam in 1961, the number swelling to 23,000 by 1964. By then, Hanoi was no longer helping the NLF out with guns and training; they were sending trained North Vietnamese troops across the border. Despite small victories, Hanoi's war didn't seem winnable until the 1968 Tet Offensive, when Hanoi gained the upper hand.

The USA continued to throw warm bodies - to the tune of 3.14 million men and women - at the increasingly bloody conflict until the 1973 cease-fire. The USA evacuated almost all troops out of Vietnam in return for Hanoi's commitment to keep communism above the 17th Parallel. They also cut off most financial and other aid to South Vietnam. By 1975, the southern half of the country was running on fumes.

North Vietnam launched a massive attack on the South on January 1975; Saigon surrendered in April. No one, least of all the leadership in Hanoi, was prepared for reunification. At least two million Vietnamese had died in the conflict and scars ran deep; the environment and economy were a shambles. The violence wasn't over, either: In 1979, answering for Vietnam's 1978 invasion of Cambodia, China attacked Hanoi. The Chinese were repelled within 17 brutal days.

The 1980s witnessed a devastating famine that left Hanoi with rice shortages and strict rations, a continuing guerrilla war with the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and the opening of European communism. Surprisingly, Vietnam finished the decade in much better shape than it started.

In February 1990, the government called for more 'openness and criticism', but was unprepared for the seething discontent behind the floodgates. Hanoi backtracked, but began allowing more economic openness while keeping government structure (and media access) in a lockbox. In 1992 Vietnam signed a peace treaty with Cambodia, and in 1994, the USA lifted economic sanctions on the country. The two former enemies now maintain diplomatic relations.

Recent History

As the economy continues to open to foreign investment and private ownership, Hanoi's leadership remains in the hands of hard-line communists. The economy's command structure insulated Vietnam from the worst of the Asian economic crisis (though its currency was devalued twice); the crisis actually increased confidence in the Communist Party.

The growing private business sector in the city makes it obvious; however, that capitalism is making sturdy inroads into Vietnam. While the government is eyeing Most Favoured Nation status with the US and, eventually, membership of the WTO, its human rights record is bound to be a stumbling block.

Points of interest and places we are visiting

Ho Chi Minh (name pronounced [ho ci min]) (May 19, 1890 – September 2, 1969) was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman, who later became prime minister (1946–1955) and president (1946–1969) of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam).

Ho led the Viet Minh independence movement from 1941 onward, establishing the communist-governed Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945 and defeating the French Union in 1954 at Dien Bien Phu. He led the North Vietnamese in the Vietnam War until his death; six years later, the war ended with a North Vietnamese victory, and Vietnamese unification followed. He was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century,[1] while the former capital of South Vietnam, Saigon, was renamed Ho Chi Minh City in his honor.

Tran Quoc Pagoda

This pagoda is situated on an island linked by a bridge to the causeway between West Lake and Tran Bach Lake. Founded in the early sixth century during the Ly Dynasty, it was moved from next to the Red River to its current location in the early 17th century. In the gardens stands a bodhi tree, taken from a cutting of the original tree, under which Buddha sat and achieved enlightenment. The island and pagoda provide a beautiful backdrop, particularly when viewed at sunset. Visitors must be decently attired and long trousers are required for men.

Sapa

The scenery of the Sa Pa region in large part reflects the relationship between the minority people and nature. This is seen especially in the paddy fields carpeting the rolling lower slopes of the Hoang Lien Mountains. The impressive physical landscape which underlies this has resulted from the work of the elements over thousands of years, wearing away the underlying rock. On a clear day, the imposing peak of Fan Si Pan comes into view. The last major peak in the Himalayan chain, Fan Si Pan offers a real challenge to even the keenest walker, the opportunity of staggering views, and a rare glimpse of some of the last remaining primary rain forest in Vietnam.

Geology, climate and human activity have combined to produce a range of very distinct habitats around Sa Pa. Especially important is Sa Pa’s geographic position, at the convergence of the worlds 14 “biomes” (distinct biographic areas), producing an assemblage of plant and animal species unique in the world.

The Hoang Lien Mountains are home to a rich variety of plants, birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles and insects, many only found in northwestern Vietnam. For this reason, the Hoang Lien Nature Reserve was designated in 1986, covering much of the mountain range to the immediate south of Sa Pa.

Forest type and quality change with increasing altitude. At 2000 meters the natural, undisturbed forest begins to be seen. Above 2500 meters dwarf conifers and rhododendrons predominate in the harsh “elfin forest”, so called because a lack of topsoil and nutrients means that fully mature trees grow to measure only a few meters in height. Higher still, only the hardiest of plant species are found. At over 3000 meters, Fan Si Pan’s summit can only support dwarf bamboo.

Sa Pa District is located in Lao Cai Province, north-west Vietnam, and 350km's north-west of Hanoi, close to the border with China. The Hoang Lien Son range of mountains dominates the district, which is at the eastern extremity of the Himalayas. This range includes Vietnams' highest mountain, Fan si pan, at a height of 3142m above sea level. The town of Sa Pa lies at about 1600 meters of altitude. The climate is moderate and rainy in summer (May—August), and foggy and cold with occasional snowfalls in winter.

Sa Pa is a quiet mountain town and home to a great diversity of ethnic minority peoples. The total population of 36,000 consists mostly of minority groups. Besides the Kinh (Viet) people (15%) there are mainly 5 ethnic groups in Sapa: Hmong 52%, Dao 25%, Tay 5%, Giay 2% and a small number of Xa Pho. Approximately 7,000 live in Sapa, the other 36,000 being scattered in small communes throughout the district.

Most of the ethnic minority people work their land on sloping terraces since the vast majority of the land is mountainous. Their staple foods are rice and corn. Rice, by its very nature of being a labour intensive crop. The unique climate in Sapa has a major influence on the ethnic minorities who live in the area. With sub-tropical summers, temperate winters and 160 days of mist annually, the influence on agricultural yields and health related issues are significant. The minority people can only yield one crop of rice annually, which leads to food shortfalls in many communes at specific times.

The geographical location of the area makes it a truly unique place for many interesting plants and animals, allowing it to support many inhabitants. Many very rare or even endemic species have been recorded in the region.

Fansipan or Fan Si Pan (Phan Xi Pang is the mountain in Vietnam we are climbing:the highest in Indochina, at 3 143 m. It is located in the Lào Cai province in Northwest Vietnam, 9 km southwest of Sa Pa Township in the Hoang Lien Son Mountain Range. Fansipan is dubbed "the Roof of Indochina"; it is to be approved as one of the very few ecotourist spots of Vietnam, with about 2,024 floral varieties and 327 faunal species.

The topography of Fansipan is varied. Muong Hoa Valley, at the lowest altitude (950 to 1 000m), is created by a narrow strip of land at the base on the east side of the mountain. It can be climbed in a steep and fairly strenuous hike.