Vietnam
Country Profile: VIETNAM
Vietnam is a beautiful country located between Thailand and Philippines.
The capital is Hanoi, which has amazing tourist attractions to see.
Population is 89 million and their currency is called Vietnamese dong.
Vietnam is very cheap place to travel around. 1 Australian dollar equals
19600 Vietnamese dong! Cu Chi tunnel and Ho Chi Minh mausoleum is the
main tourist attractions that people enjoy.
Vietnamese flag is simple. A red flag with a gold star in center- how
simple is that? But they have great meaning in that flag. Red symbolized
revolution and blood that Vietnamese people fought for, and the five
pointed star represents the five elements of the populace- peasants,
workers, intellectuals, traders and soldiers- that unite to build socialism.
Truong Tan Sang, the president of Vietnam, is called one of the countrys
top leader. He was born in January 21th of 1949. He became the president
of Vietnam since July 2011.
Climate of Vietnam is surprisingly diverse. Very diverse. Diverse means its
completely different. There is two seasons in Vietnam- very frosty and
cold season, and very warm and hot season. It is estimated that Vietnam
has 100 days of rainy days. Climate of the Vietnam may change throughout
the year and not all of the cities have same climate.
Main cultural food of Vietnam is pho, a rice noodle soup, served with beef,
chicken or seafood. There are lots of vegetable and delicious rice noodle
in the soup. Banh Cuon is a rolled rice pancake with vegetables and
meat/seafood inside. Its not a pancake literally, its a boiled rice paper.
Color is clear and its chewy.
Tourism-
Vietnam is an exciting tourist destination because of the cheap price and
great weather. Over 200,000 people from Australia visited Vietnam in
2012. Vietnams tourism is growing stronger and stronger. Tourist
attractions of Vietnam is very interesting. There is one main attraction
that you must visit- Cu Chi tunnel. Cu Chi tunnel is the underground tunnel
used by Viet Cong soldiers as their hiding place and supply routes. And
other thing that you must do- try traditional food of Vietnam. There is rice
noodle soup called Pho, which can be served with beef, chicken or
seafood. And there is a rolled rice pancake, served with seafood and
vegetables inside. Lots of traditional foods in Vietnam is healthy. You
must visit Vietnam. Vietnam has lot to offer and it has lots of adventure.
Vietnam will get benefit from us when we spend money from Vietnam.
That makes economy go around and around, so the people from Vietnam
can spend money in Australia when they come. Best time to visit Vietnam
is- April, May or October. The weather is warm enough.
Health and Security-
Vietnam is pretty safe place to live and travel. Life expectancy of Vietnam
is 75 years and the literacy rate is 94%, which is pretty high. Traffic
accidents occur often in Vietnam, because of the busy cars and vehicle
going very fast. But if you just go straight without being afraid, you will
never get hit by the car- thats what the foreigners say!
If you go to Vietnam to travel for short time, we advise to avoid tap
waters and ice cubes. Many of tourists catch disease by drinking tap
waters and ice cubes made out of dirty waters. And we advise you to just
drink bottled water, since the things in Vietnam is very cheap. But if you
are staying in Vietnam for long time, we advise to get used to the tap
waters. Because you cant keep buying bottled waters to drink- especially
Vietnam is country that you need plenty of water to drink!
Ho chi Minh city, famous place for the travelers and backpackers- since
there are lots of tourists, there is lots of thieves and sellers to sell things
really expensive, since the tourists doesnt know the actual price of things.
Always avoid suspicious people. And there are tips for the tourists to stop
buying things in expensive price- try to bargain with the sellers. Usually
the sellers will call the price 5 times higher than the actual price, so try
to make the price low. If you success, you are nearly Vietnamese!!
Back again to tap water- 80% of disease in Vietnam is caused by polluted
water. If you are staying in hotel, you can ask the staffs if the water is
safe to brush your teeth. Usually the hotel are safe from the polluted tap
water, so be relieved! Ben Thanh market, the main market in Ho Chi Minh
City, serves lots of Vietnam street food. Because so many people are
coming to the market, they serve the food faster and safer. Still, there is
risk getting sick but its the minimum.
Lastly, the poverty in Vietnam. Minimum daily income of Vietnam people
is $2 -$3. The Vietnam government has made great process over these
years and the poverty has been less. But the country still faces challenge
and the government is trying their best.
