On this page you can find information about Vietnam.
The focus is on the North of the country where we cycle at the end of 2004 and the beginning of 2005. Attention is also given to visas, bordercrossings and touristic highlights.
All information is mainly in the form of links to other pages.

You can use the menu below to jump to the topic you are interested in.

• Vietnamese visa & embassies
• Border crossings & borders

• Arriving by air
• International and domestic flights
• Traveling by train and other means of transport

• Health
• Provinces and tourist sites
• World Heritage sites
• Currency exchange
• Maps
• News and Newspapers
• Vietnam link pages

Visas for Vietnam and Vietnamese embassies abroad
  Probably the best deal is to get a visum on forehand. Look at the following site for a list of Vietnamese Consulates and Embassies worldwide. This site also lists the Embassies that can be found in Hanoi.

It is also possible to get an visa upon arrival when you arrive at Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat airport, Check out the Saigon Airport site for the details.

From Hanoi or Noi Bai airport is is about 35 km to Hanoi itself. Airport Taxis charge a flat rate of US$ 8 (one-way) for cars from Noi Bai Airport to central Hanoi. The drive takes about 45 minutes. A minibus makes the trip for US$ 4 per person. Some additional information is given is this FAQ.

From Tan Son Nhat airport it is about 20 minutes to down town Ho Chi Minh City by a metered cab for about VND 50,000. Also for HCM some additional information is given is this FAQ. For more information on Tan Son Nhat airport see the site of Saigon Airport.

International and Domestic flights
Next to the mentioned 3 international airports there are currently around 12 domestic airports and the number is still expanding. Most airports are serviced by Vietnam Airlines. Here you will find the Flight Schedule of Vietnam Airlines. When you leave keep in mind that you have to pay airporttax on international flights: 12 US $ (14 US $ if from Hanoi) and $2 for domestic flights. Another airline that operates between Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Danang is Pacific Airlines.

Transport in Vietnam
The following page of vietnamtourism.com gives information on transport by air, water, road and rail in Vietnam.

For everybody that wants to go travel by train inside Vietnam try the site of Vietnam Railways that gives information on the time tables, fares and other things to know. When you browse to these pages take in mind a division in different lines is made.

For those who want to travel from Hanoi to Lao Cai (the bordertown on the banks of the Red River) in style should try the Victoria express train. This site also contains information on other train running between Hanoi and Lao Cai.

Another great site with information regarding train travel across the world is seat 61. Voor info on both domestic and international train tables and other usefull information take a look at the Train travel in Vietnam page.

Vietnam and its provinces
  For information about Vietnam, its history, politics, demography, geography and general information on its provinces look at Wikipedia.

  Information on provinces from a touristic point of view is also available on the net. It focussus on musea, festivals but also info on hotels and restaurants.

  Information on the area we go the North West of Vietnam can also be found on the web. We also visit Dien Bien Phu that is famous for the battle that was fought here in 1954. Information on the Battle of Dien Bien Phu can be found on the site with the same name.

Vietnamese UNESCO World heritage sites
Vietnam has five World heritage sites. Two natural (Ha Long Bay and Phong Nha National Park) and 3 archaeological sites (Hoi An, Hue and My Son). On the linked site you can make a virtual tour around three of the sites. Make sure Quick Time is installed.

• The citadel in the town of Hue and nearby tombs (klik on the map to choose a site).
• Hoi An Historic Town (klik on the map to choose a site).
• Ha Long Bai: an Island and a Cave can be viewed.

Currency exchange
  The Vietnamese currency (the Dong) is rather afloat compared to other currencies. Was it once a better investment than the stockmarket in its haydays, more recently it has a reputation to fall down agains other currencies. Check the latest exchange rates with the following currency converter.

Maps
  There are several maps covering Vietnamese on the internet. Most of them are general maps showing the country and the most important cities. More detailed maps are not so wide spread. Most detailted maps are put on the web by American war veterans. A good example is the site of 1 : 50 000 maps from ca 1967 of Vietnam (and other S.E. Asian countries). Another, not so detailed topographic map showing war-time Vietnam in 6 parts (North East, North West, Mid North, Middle, Mid South, North of Saigon, South (Mekong Delta) can be found here.

News and Newspapers
In Thailand there are two main english language newspapers:
  The Viet Nam news
  Nhân Dân The voice of party, state and people of Viet Nam .

• The Vietnam link page of Visit Mekong.
  
• The The Vietnam directory Yahoo.
  
• In Dutch the Vietnam Startpagina.