Vietnam-the land of the 'Ascending Dragon'
We set out on a vacation to three Asian nations: Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. We were anxious to see new places, meet new people, and discover more about the distinctive histories and cultures of these nations. We began our journey in Ho Chi Minh City, where you should be ready to be astounded by the tens of thousands of scooters that you see cruising the streets.
We were taken aback, but we enjoyed the bustling environment when we walked out in the evening and saw how friendly and enjoyable everyone was in the city center. After visiting the city, we ventured out into the verdant countryside, where the breathtaking scenery utterly enthralled us.
We observed how locals make carpets and process coconuts, we went to the War Museum, and we went to the Mangrove Forest.I’ll let you read our blog post to find out where we went and what advice we had!Enjoy reading it as well as our suggestions for Vietnam dining, travel, and restaurants!
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A significant portion of the country’s economic activity—7.5% of GDP—comes from tourism. Vietnam was one of the world’s fastest growing tourism destinations in 2017 with almost 13 million visitors, up 29.1% from the year before. 9.7 million visitors, or about half of the total, were from Asia, specifically from China (4 million), South Korea (2.6 million), and Japan (798,119). With about 1.9 million tourists from Europe in 2017, Vietnam is also a popular travel destination. The majority of these visitors are from Russia (574,164), followed by the UK (283,537), France (255,396), and Germany (199,872). Other notable foreign arrivals by nationality are Australia (370,438) and the United States (614,117).
With more than 5.8 million foreign visitors, Ho Chi Minh metropolis, the country’s largest metropolis, is the most popular travel destination in Vietnam. Hanoi comes in second with 4.6 million, while Hạ Long, including Hạ Long Bay, comes in third with 4.4 million. In the top 100 most visited cities worldwide, all three are listed. Eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites are located in Vietnam. Travel & Leisure named Hội An among the top 15 travel locations worldwide in 2018.
With 96 million people living there, Vietnam, also known as Viet Nam or the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is the sixteenth most populated country in the world. It is located in Southeast Asia on the eastern end of continental Southeast Asia and covers an area of 311,699 square kilometers (120,348 sq mi). Vietnam shares borders with Cambodia and Laos to the west and China to the north. Through the Gulf of Thailand, it shares marine borders with Thailand; via the South China Sea, it shares borders with the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Hanoi serves as the country’s capital, and Ho Chi Minh metropolis—also referred to as Saigon—is its largest metropolis.
Paleolithic people lived in what is now northern Vietnam, with states founded on the Red River Delta in the first millennium BC. Northern and Central Vietnam were ruled by the Han dynasty from 111 BC until the first dynasty appeared in 939. Through Buddhism and Confucianism, succeeding monarchical dynasties assimilated Chinese influences, moved south to the Mekong Delta, and subjugated Champa. In 1883, the last imperial dynasty, the Nguyễn, submitted to France. In 1945, the communist revolutionary Ho Chi Minh led the nationalist Viet Minh to declare their independence from France in the wake of the August Revolution.
Vietnam is a developing nation with a lower-middle-income economy, but it is also one of the fastest-growing in the twenty-first century, with a GDP expected to match that of industrialized countries by 2050. Vietnam is among the lowest in the world in terms of civil liberties, press freedom, and the freedom of religion and ethnic minorities. It also has a poor human rights record, high levels of corruption, and censorship. It is a member of several global and intergovernmental organizations, such as the WTO, APEC, CPTPP, ASEAN, OIF, and Non-Aligned Movement. Twice, it has taken a seat in the UN Security Council.
