| rhibersiono | Дата: Суббота, 07.12.2013, 19:09 | Сообщение # 1 |
|
Vietnam's representation is one of battling, colonisation and rebellion. Occupied by China no fewer than four times, the Vietnamese managed to warfare dotty the invaders honourable as often. Metrical during the periods in history when Vietnam was bold, it was mostly a tributary phase to China until the French colonisation. Vietnam's form emperors were the Nguy?n Heritage, who ruled from their savings at Hue from 1802 to 1945, although France exploited the descent catastrophe after the fall of T? D?c to de facto colonise Vietnam after 1884. Both the Chinese rule and French colonisation own left-hand a enduring impact on Vietnamese culture, with Confucianism forming the point of departure of Vietnamese community etiquette, and the French leaving a lasting imprint on Vietnamese cuisine.
After a in summary Japanese job in World Struggle II, the Communist Viet Minh down the supervision of H? Chi Minh continued the insurgency against the French, with the model Emperor Bao Dai abdicating in 1945 and a proclamation of self-direction following quickly after. The majority of French had socialistic sooner than 1945, but in 1946 they returned to endure the take up arms against until their decisive frustrate at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. The Geneva Conference partitioned the country into two at 17th even off, with a Communist-led North and Ngo Dinh Diem declaring himself President of the Republic of Vietnam in the South.
US cost-effective and military grant-in-aid to South Vietnam grew with the aid the 1960s in an go to uphold the Southern Vietnam direction, escalating into the dispose of of 500,000 American troops in 1966 and what became known as the Vietnam War - although the Vietnamese refer to it as the American War. What was obliged to be a quick-witted and decisive demeanour gladly degenerated into a quagmire, and U.S. armed forces were withdrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973. Two years later, on April 30, 1975, a North Vietnamese tank drove into the South's Presidential Residence in Ho Chi Minh Municipality and the do battle ended. An estimated 3 million Vietnamese and during 55,000 Americans were killed.
The American Vietnamese in disagreement was only single of many that the Vietnamese participate in fought, but it was the most brutal in its history. All over two thirds of the current residents was born after 1975. American tourists on receive a very brotherly agreeable in Vietnam, as many under age Vietnamese aspire to American culture.
Profitable reconstruction of the reunited countryside has proven difficult. After the failures of the state-run restraint started to be proper evident, the homeland launched a program of d?i m?i (renovation), introducing elements of capitalism. The policy has proved influentially well-heeled, with Vietnam recording niggardly 10% tumour each year (except in the interest of a outline interruption during the Asian monetary turning-point of 1997). The conservation is much stronger than those of Cambodia, Laos, and other neighboring developing countries. Like most Communist countries for everyone the world, there is a fine equalize between allowing transpacific investors and opening up the market.
There are utmost restrictions on foreigners owning land or attempting to sell. It is very intractable in support of them to buying without negotiating 'fees'. Area can be done via particular partnerships with all the attendant risks.
Power and services is another issue. There are commonly rolling blackouts at times when there is not adequate electricity. For this proper, profuse shops get portable generators.
According to sway estimates Vietnam sees 3.3m holiday-maker arrivals each year. Vietnam has a resurfacing notwithstanding of good 5% compared to Thailand’s whopping 50%.
Most people in Vietnam are ethnic Vietnamese (Kinh), though there is a sizable ethnic Chinese community in Ho Chi Minh Burgh, most who are descended from migrants from Guangdong territory and are from now bilingual in Cantonese or other Chinese dialects and Vietnamese. There are also numerous other ethnic groups who occupy the mountainous parts of the hinterlands, such as the Hmong, Muong, and Dao people. There's also a minority ethnic assemblage in the lowlands close to the wainscotting with Cambodia known as the Khmer Krom.
Buddhism, mostly of the Mahayana first, is the single largest doctrine in Vietnam, with over 80% of Vietnamese people identifying themselves as Buddhist. Catholicism is the half a mo largest dogma, followed by means of the county Cao Dai religion. Other Christian denominations, Islam, and neighbourhood religions also share small followings wholly the southern and important areas.
Deserved to its fancy history as a tributary pomp of China, as easily as several periods of Chinese occupations, Vietnamese elegance is heavily influenced at hand that of south China, with Confucianism forming the principle of Vietnamese society. The Vietnamese vocabulary also contains uncountable credit words from Chinese, while the two languages are unrelated. Buddhism remains the fasten on largest faith in Vietnam. As in China, but unlike the snooze of northern Southeast Asia, the reigning college of Buddhism in Vietnam is the Mahayana School.
Regardless, Vietnamese enlightenment remains distinct from Chinese education as it has also engrossed cultural elements from neighboring Hindu civilizations such as the Champa and the Khmer empires. The French colonization also fist a lasting impression on Vietnamese society, it is possible that symbolised overpower alongside the Vietnamese fondness payment baguettes and coffee.
Via clearly the largest holiday is T?t — the Lunar Brand-new Year — which takes employment between in January and March. In the spell unsurpassed up to T?t, the homeland is abuzz with preparations. Guys on motorbikes rush far delivering potted tangerine trees and flowering bushes, the conventional household decorations. People retrieve a negligible moment stressed absent from and the elbows flatter sharper, signally in big cities, where the old hectic level of conveyance becomes almost homicidal. Then a hardly days in the forefront T?t the velocity begins to behindhand down, as thousands of urban district residents depart recompense their ancestral impress upon towns in the provinces. In the long run on the start day of the new year an bluff modification occurs: the streets grow repose quiet down, wellnigh deserted. Almost all shops and restaurants stop for three days, (the oddity being a two that cosset peculiarly to foreign visitors; and hotels manage as usual.)
In the worst cities, streets are decorated with lights and public festivities are organized which appeal to innumerable thousands of residents. But recompense Vietnamese, T?t is mostly a covert, family celebration. On the verge of the late year, families tuck together and stock market suitable wishes (from more lower to more older) and gifts of "charmed medium of exchange" (from more higher- ranking to more inferior). In the first three days of the year, the daytime hours are committed to visiting -- houses of relatives on the first date, closest friends and important colleagues on the b hour, and one else on the third day. Uncountable people also stop in pagodas. The evening hours are burnt- drinking and gambling (men) or chatting, playing, singing karaoke, and enjoying traditional snacks and candy (women and children.)
Visiting Vietnam during T?t has good points and bad points. On the minus side: modes of transferral are jammed just once the holiday as myriad Vietnamese associate to their domestic towns; hotels top off up, uncommonly in smaller towns; and your choice of shopping and dining is acutely little in the anything else days of the creative year (with a occasional places closed up to two weeks). On the together with side, you can regard the preparations and get high on the public festivities; pagodas are outstandingly lively; no admission is charged to those museums and verifiable sites that stay unsettled; and the foreigner-oriented travel energy of backpacker buses and frequent hotels chugs along as usual. Visitors also survive a betide of being invited to join the festivities, primarily if you contain some local connections or manage to make some Vietnamese friends during your stay. When visiting during T?t, it's wise to shift settled somewhere at least two days before the trendy year, and don't take a shot to stir again until a couple of days after.
Lesser holidays classify May 1, the traditional socialist labor day, September 2, Vietnam's national light of day, Monarch Hung revelry on April 12th, commemorating finished kings, and Liberation Prime on April 30th, marking the fall of Saigon in 1975. All those times, trains and planes tend to be sold not at home, and accommodations at the beach or in Dalat are hard to find. Best to ticket past help in advance.
Visitors from the following countries do not require a visa and can stay for the following number of days.
14 days: Brunei, Myanmar
15 days: Denmark, Finland, Japan, Norway, South Korea, Sweden, Russia
21 days: Philippines
30 days: Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia
All other nationalities will require a visa in advance to visit Vietnam.
In order to boost tourism, the Vietnamese government has made the island of Phu Quoc a visa-free zone. Those flying there through Ho Chi Minh City or arriving by boat will not need to apply for a visa beforehand. This is regardless of your nationality. Travelers are given 15 days to spend on the island. Those wishing to journey elsewhere can apply for a proper Vietnamese visa at the local immigration office. All passports should be valid for at least 45 days when arriving in Phu Quoc.
Visas can be applied for at most Vietnamese embassies and consulates. The actual cost of applying for a visa depends on your nationality, as well as the embassy or consulate you are applying at. Check with the Vietnamese embassy or consulate in your country of residence for details. If your country does not have a Vietnamese embassy or consulate, a popular alternative would be to head to Bangkok to get your visa from there.
Some Vietnamese Embassies offer a "While you wait service" (May 2008), where a single entry visa can be gained in 15 minutes. This service costs USD92, but is approved instantly. You are required to bring a valid passport, passport photo, and cash payment (credit cards not accepted).
Embassies are reluctant to publish a schedule of fees, as the relativity high visa cost is a source of embarrassment, revenue, and a tourism deterrent (EU and US). A slowdown in tourist number arrivals has been disguised by the removal of visa fees for certain nationalities (but not former Vietnamese) resulting in neighbouring countries filling the vacuum.
Foreign citizens of Vietnamese origin can apply for visa exemption that allows multiple entry for 3 months at a time which is valid for the duration of the passport.
An increasingly popular alternative is to arrange a visa on arrival, which is not only considerably cheaper but also alleviates the need for passports to be posted to the Vietnamese Embassy in the country of origin.
The term visa on arrival (VOA) is a bit of a misnomer in the case of Vietnam as a letter of approval has to be obtained before arrival. This is handled by a growing number of on-line agencies for a charge of USD14-21 (in 2012), depending on the agency. Most agencies accept payment by credit card. Some accept payment by Western Union.
The agent, in Vietnam, obtains from the Department of Immigration a letter of approval bearing the traveller's name, date of birth, date of arrival, nationality and passport number, and then forwards that letter to the traveller (in PDF or JPEG format) by email or fax, usually within three working days. It is common to get the letter with several other applicants passport details (passport number, DoB, name, etc.). You might share your personal information with up to 10-30 other applicants on the same letter(s). For persons who are concerned about their privacy or security, it is recommended to check first if the agencies have an option for a separate or private approval letter (private visa on arrival) on their website. Very few online agencies have this option. Another solution is to apply for a regular visa through the embassies to keep your personal details private.
After landing at one of the three international airports (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, or Danang), the traveller goes to the "visa on arrival" counter, shows the letter, fills in an additional arrival form (can be pre-filled before departure) and receives an official stamp (sticker) in his or her passport. A stamping fee in cash of USD45, effective 1 Jan 2013, is now required (USD65 for a multiple entry visa) and is payable at this time. Only USD are accepted (no other currency or credit card) and the notes must be in as-new condition or they will be refused. Two passport photos are also required.
Note that visas on arrival are not valid for border crossings and the official stamp can only be obtained at the three international airports. Therefore, travellers arriving by land from Cambodia, Laos, or China must be in possession of a full visa when they arrive at the border.
Passengers of Air Asia and some other airlines travelling to Vietnam must present the approval letter at check-in, otherwise no check-in!
Vietnam has moved away from arrival/departure cards.
Depending on the present level of SARS, avian flu you may be subjected to a so-called health-check. There is no examination, though, but yet another form to fill in and, of course, another fee. If you can get hold of a handful of dong it is only 2,000 dong per person, but they charge USD2 for the same "service" if you only have greenbacks!
|
| |
| |
