Vietnam

Capital	Hanoi
Area	332,698 km2
Population(Nationalities,Amount)	Vietnamese, 90,630,000
Official Language	Vietnamese
Religion	Vietnamese folk religion
State Rule	Marxist-Leninist single-party state
Currency	Dong(đồng)

Transport system in Vietnam

Railway transport

The Vietnamese railway network has a total length of 2,600 kilometers, dominated by the 1,726 kilometers single track North–South Railway running between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The national railway network uses mainly 1,000 mm meter gauge, although there are several 1,435 mm standard gauge and mixed gauge lines in the North of the country. There were 278 stations on the Vietnamese railway network as of 2005, most of which are located along the North–South line. National railway company Vietnam Railways has proposed a high-speed rail link between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, capable of running at speeds of 300 km/h.

Road transport

Vietnam's road system includes: national roads administered by the central government (marked by red and white milestones); provincial roads managed by provinces (blue and white); district roads managed by districts (green and white); urban roads managed by cities and towns; and commune roads managed by communes. The total length of the Viet Nam road system is about 222,179 km with 19.0% paved, mainly national roads and provincial roads (source: Vietnam Road Administration, 2004). The national road system length is 17,295 km with 27.6% of its length paved. The provincial road system is 27,762 km of length with 23.6% paved.

Air transport

Vietnam operates 37 civil airports, including three international gateways: Noi Bai serving Hanoi, Da Nang serving Da Nang City, and Tan Son Nhat serving Ho Chi Minh City. Tan Son Nhat is the largest, handling 75 percent of international passenger traffic. Vietnam Airlines, the national airline, has a fleet of 30 aircraft that link Vietnam with 19 foreign cities. Airports with civil service:

• Total : 37

• Airports with runways over 3,047 m : 9

• Airports with runways from 2,438 to 3,047 m :6

• Airports with runways from 1,524 to 2,437 m :13

• Airports with runways from 914 to 1,523 m :9

Waterways

Total: 579 ships Ships by type: barge 1, bulk 142, cargo 335, chemical tanker 23, container 19, liquified gas 7, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 48, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1. Cam Ranh – large deep water port and used by Marco Polo during his voyages to China; formerly a major military facility for the U.S. Army and US Navy during the 1960s; later used by the Soviet Navy and the Vietnamese Navy. Da Nang – Tien Sa seaport is the third largest sea port in Vietnam after Ho Chi Minh City and Hai Phong; handles 3-4 million tons of cargo annually.

Visa policy

Visitors to Vietnam must obtain a visa from one of the Vietnamese diplomatic missions or via agency on arrival unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries. All visitors must hold a passport valid for 6 months. Vietnam allows nationals of 17 countries to enter Vietnam without a visa for varying time periods, most of the countries being members of the ASEAN.

Customs Regulations

You are able to bring the maximum amount of the followings; otherwise, it is mandatory to declare and pay import taxes: Duty Free:

• Cigarettes: 400

• Cigars: 100

• Tobacco: 100 gram

• Liquor: 1.5 liters

• Perfume and jewellery for personal use

• Souvenirs and gift items valued at not more than US$ 300

Materials Under Declaration

There are no restrictions on the amount of currency, gold, precious metals and stones; however, you have to declare on the customs forms provided that your luggage includes: Declare if you bring:

• Foreign currency: in excess of US$ 5,000

• Vietnam Dong: in excess of VND15.000.000

• Gold: in excess of 300gr

• Gold and jewellery not for personal use

• Video tapes, CDs: CDs and tapes are often kept for screening and returned to you after a few days

Banned Materials

Things below should be excluded from your luggage:

• Weapon, ammunition, explosives and inflammable objects

• Military technical equipment; drugs, opium and other narcotics

• Anti-government literature; pornographic literature, etc.

Sightseeing

Hanoi.

Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum. In his will, the President stated his wish to be cremated, and to have his ash buried on the hills of the North, the Center, and the South of Vietnam. Yet, in honor of his huge dedication for the country and for the love of all Vietnamese for him, the successor Communist Government decided to keep his body so that he can see the whole country’s reunion, and the following generations can come and visit him.

The Temple of Literature is a Temple of Confucius in Hanoi, northern Vietnam. The temple hosts the "Imperial Academy" Vietnam's first national university. The temple was built in 1070 at the time of King Lý Nhân Tông. It is one of several temples in Vietnam which is dedicated to Confucius, sages and scholars.

Ho Chi Minh’s Residence. Refusing to live in the Presidential palace, President Ho Chi Minh lived in a normal electrician’s house nearby. Coming inside, visitors can witness a site left in the genuine state of the President last days here. The house has two floors. The ground floor was the meeting place, consisting of 12 chairs around a large table. Upstairs, there is a bookshelf used as a wattle between his study room and bed room. The lowest level of the shelf is laid a small typewriter for him to type himself.

Cat Ba Island is the biggest island among 1.969 islands in the complex islet of Ha Long Bay. The island is a fascinating combination of boundless sea, primitive forest, river, springs, caves, hills, valley and beautiful beaches with gold smooth sand. Cat Ba’s climate is ideal for tourism with cool and fresh air. Coming to Cat Ba, tourists will attend a musical concert of in which performers are wind and waves: the sound of wave crashing into cliffs, strong wind blowing on beaches or the wild sound of wind hissing on the hill top or inside forests.

Gabon

Capital	Libreville
Area	267,667 km2
Population (Nationalities, Amount)	Gabonese, 1,475,000
Official Language	French
Religion	Christianity, Bwiti, Islam
State Rule	Dominant-party presidential republic
Currency	Central African CFA franc (XAF)

Transport system in Gabon

Railway transport

The Trans-Gabon Railway is the only railway in Gabon. It runs 670 km east from Owendo port station in Libreville to Franceville via numerous stations, the main ones being Ndjolé, Lopé, Booué, Lastoursville and Moanda. The Trans-Gabon Railway crosses the Ogooue River five times, at Franceville, at Ndjolé, and three times around Booue.

Air transport

Gabon had an estimated 56 airports , but only 11 of which had paved runways. There are three international airports: Libreville, Port-Gentil, and Franceville. Numerous airlines provide international flights. Nouvelle Air Affaires Gabon handles scheduled domestic service. In 2003, about 386,000 passengers were carried on scheduled domestic and international airline flights.

Road transport

Main roads connect virtually all major communities, but maintenance work is difficult because of heavy rainfall. The road network comprised 8,454 km, of which 838 km were paved, including 30 km of expressways. A north-south road runs the length of the country, from Bitam to Ndendé. This main north-south link continues into Cameroon in the north and the Congo in the south. An east–west road connects Libreville and Mékambo. Farther south, another road runs from Mayumba to Lastoursville and Franceville. Roads in Gabon link most areas of the country, and many of the main roads are of a reasonable standard. However, remoter areas along the coast and in the east are often not connected to the road network.

Water transport

The busiest ports are Port-Gentil, the center for exports of petroleum products and imports of mining equipment, and Owendo, a new port on the Ogooué estuary, 10 km north of Libreville. Owendo’s capacity, initially 300,000 tons, reached 1.5 million tons in 1979, when the port was enlarged to include timber-handling facilities. The smaller port at Mayumba also handles timber, and a deepwater port is planned for the city. Gabon had 1,600 km of perennially navigable waterways, including 310 km on the Ogooué River.