Vietnamese military-owned telco Viettel has introduced a pre-paid mobile service specifically for foreign visitors to the country, according to VietNamNet Bridge. ‘Tourist Sim’ offers users a free SMS service providing information about the weather, transport times, hotel addresses, tourist sites, foreign exchange rates, taxi firms and tourist agencies. Travellers can purchase SIM cards for either USD5 or USD10, which can be charged via top-up cards with tariffs for outgoing international calls at VND3,240 per minute (USD0.18), 10% lower than the charges for international calls of other services. The fee for an outgoing international SMS is VND2,160. Nguyen Viet Dung, Viettel’s deputy director, said: ‘Around four million foreign visitors go to Vietnam a year and telecoms is one essential service for them during their stay. By providing the service, with supportive information and a convenient distribution system, we believe that foreign visitors will be very pleased when they come to Vietnam. This is also a factor contributing to the development of the country’s tourism industry.’ ...

The festivals and events are calendared in Lunar month. Normally, a lunar month stays later than western month of around 30 days. ...

Vietnam economy is growing rapidly and entertainment activities are all around the big cities but nightlife is still limited. The only places open after 11pm are small street cafés, a few quite bars and in the tourist areas, the hotels and, of course, police stations. Apart from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and some other big cities, things start closing down at about eight o’clock ...

With more than 80 million hard-working and talented people, land rich in natural resources, and a country located in the center of a dynamic economic growth region, Vietnam is an attractive investment environment from the standpoint of foreign investors. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRVN) has promulgated the Law on Foreign Investment in Vietnam with the view to expand its foreign economic cooperation, develop the national economy, promote export on the basis of efficient exploitation of natural resources, labor force and other potentials of the country and implementation of its "open-door" policy with respect to the world community. Vietnam has guaranteed that the investors should receive "fair and equitable treatment" and that the assets of foreign investors will not be nationalized, requisitioned or expropriated without voluntary consent. Finally, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam welcomes and advocates all foreign organizations and individuals to invest capital and technology in Vietnam. ...

Geography Area: 331,114 sq. km. (127,243 sq. mi.). Cities (2008): Capital--Hanoi (6.232 million); on August 1, 2008 the capital citys administrative borders were officially expanded to include Ha Tay Province and parts of Hoa Binh and Ving Phuc. Other cities--Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon; 6.602 million), Haiphong (1.711 million), Danang (806,900), Can Tho (1.154 million). Terrain: Varies from mountainous to coastal delta. Climate: Tropical monsoon. ...

The climate in Vietnam differs greatly from North to South due to geographical diversity. In the North, the rainy season is from August until November. Typhoons are sometimes a problem, but quite rare. The North can be quite chilly from December to February. In Central Vietnam the Rainy season is from October until December. Heavy rain and flooding can interrupt travel and Hue, Danang and Nhatrang may have to be missed if traveling overland. The climate in the Mekong Delta is sub-equatorial with two main seasons. The wet season lasts from May to October with short, sharp drenching downpours occurring almost every day. The dry season lasts from November to April. Annual rainfall for the South is approximately 80 inches (2,000 millimeters) while temperatures remain relatively constant - on average between 77 and 95 F (25-35 C). ...