Travel information FOOD With unbelievable abundance of fresh vegetables, herbs, fish and seafood, Vietnam has a lot to offer. Dishes such as noodle served with beef or chicken (pho), spring roll, crab sour soup, rice spaghetti, steamed rolls made of rice-flour, rice pancake folded in half (and filled with a shrimp, meat and soya bean sprouts). Food sits at the very center of Vietnamese culture: every significant holiday on the Vietnamese cultural calendar, all the important milestones in a Vietnamese person's life, and indeed, most of the important day-to-day social events and interactions - food plays a central role in each. Vietnamese cuisine varies slightly from region to region, with many regions having their own specialties. Generally, northern Vietnamese cuisine is known for being bland while southern Vietnamese cuisine is known for being spicy. LANGUAGE Vietnamese is the official language. Most hotel and airline staff know enough English to communicate. In the big cities, some of the big international luxury hotel chains will have staff who are able to speak French. PUBLIC HOLIDAYS January: Tet (Lunar Chinese new year) April 30: Liberation day September 2: 31: National day RELIGION Buddhism is the largest religion in Vietnam, with over 85% of Vietnamese people identifying themselves as Buddhist. Catholicism is the second largest religion, followed by the local Cao Dai religion. Other Christian denomi-
nations, Islam, and local religions also share small followings throughout the southern and central areas. VISA A Visa is obligated. There are 2 ways to get a Visa. You can go to the Vietnamese embassy in Brussels (€65). Another possibility is ‘a visa on arrival’. This will be issued at the border gates to those who have written invitations by a Vietnamese competent agencies or tourists in the tours organized by Vietnamese international travel companies. This will costs €45. Your passport has to be valid 6 months after return. WEATHER Because of its extensiveness knows Vietnam different climates from north to south. The most pleasant time to travel is from mid November till the end of April, with a change of a shower. From the end of April till mid November is rain season. BY PLANE The trip from Hanoi to HCMC will take about 2 hours by plane. There are many flights connecting the two largest cities, Hanoi and HCMC, to major towns as Da Nang, Hue. Vietnam airlines is probably the best and most comfortable airline in Vietnam. Passengers are generally allowed to take 20 kg checked baggage and 7 kg cabin baggage plus a laptop bag or a handbag. On the most flights they serve drinks and sandwiches. With Vietnam airlines you get 2 times a meal if you are departing from Europe. If you do a domestic flight you will get 1 meal 30 minutes after departure.