[aiesec hcmc][igcdp][service]reception booklet

2Made by Service Team 2014-2015

What we deliverHomestay program/

Hostel finding support

Buddy System City tour

Vietnamese class Pocket bookletSkills

empowerment

I will come back again


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Virtual Statistics

Official name: The Socialist Republic of Viet Nam

Capital: Ha Noi City

Politics: Single-party system

Area: 331,212 km2

Calling code: +84

Time zone: GMT +7

Population: 90 million

Language: Vietnamese (official)

Religion: Indigenous , Buddhism, Christians

Currency: Viet Nam Dong (VND)


Vietnam is a multi-nationality

country with 55 ethnic groups. The

Viet (Kinh) people account for

90% of the country's population.

The other 54 ethnic minority

groups make up nearly 9 million

people.

PEOPLE


Vietnam is a monsoon tropical country but

each area has its own specific climate.

Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) has two seasons,

the dry and rain.

The weather in HCMC is really hot. In dry

season is about 36°C to 39°C.

CLIMATE


Most of Vietnamese practice indigenous

religions, worshiping local spirits, gods

and mother goddesses (45.3%). Buddhism is the

second-largest religion with 16.4% population,

around 8.2% and 30% of the Vietnamese are

Christians and religiously unaffiliated,

respectively.

The number of Vietnamese practice Buddhism is not

high but people who practice Indigenous religion

and unreligious people usually go to pagoda to

pray for good and lucky things.

RElIgIons

Made by Service Team 2014-2015 10

The official language is Vietnamese with

90% population. The 10% left is ethnic

minority language include: Chinese, Tay,

Muong, Hmong, Khmer, Gia Rai, etc.

In large cities, most of youth and

people who are working for services

center can speak English

Language

Languages

English Vietnamese Pronunciation

Hello Xin chào Sin ciao

Goodbye Tạm biệt Dam biet

Thank you Cảm ơn Cam uhn

Sorry Xin lỗi Sin loy

No Không Khom

Yes Vâng/dạ Vang/ya

How much? Bao nhiêu Bow new

Bottled water Nước đóng chai Noouhc dom jai

Stop Dừng lại Yoong lie

I love you Tôi yêu bạn Toy iju ban

Help me Cứu kju


Common phases

Basic Currency ExchangeAs of 24th June 2014

1 US Dollar 21,300 VND

1 Euro 28,810 VND

1 Great British Pound 35,922 VND

1 Singapore Dollar 16,832 VND

1 Australian Dollar 19,894 VND

1 Hongkong Dollar 2,716 VND

1 Canadian Dollar 19,599 VND

1 Thailand Baht 645 VND

1 Japanese Yen 206 VND

1 Swiss France 23,535 VND


Bank notes

Five hundred Viet Nam Dong

One thousand Viet Nam Dong

Two thousand Viet Nam Dong

Five thousand Viet Nam Dong

Ten thousand Viet Nam Dong

Twenty thousand Viet Nam Dong13Made by Service Team 2014-2015

Fifty thousand Viet Nam Dong

Five hundred thousand Viet Nam DongTwo hundred thousand Viet Nam Dong

One hundred thousand Viet Nam Dong


Bank notes

Transportation

Bus: We have different buses for you to get around the city. Base fare is 6,000 VND; but prices go higher the farther the destination is.


Motorbike taxi: motorbike taxi is a convenient choice for passing through routes too narrow for cars and buses. It is also the fast public transportation. You have to show the driver your destination and ask them how much does it cost at first; prices go higher the farther the destination is.

Taxi: in Ho Chi Minh City, taxi is considered as the most luxury transportation but it is very comfortable. Depending on how far do you want to go. In each taxi will have an equipment to estimate from kilometers you travelled to bills. So remember to check this carefully.

Some well-known brand:

Mai Linh (08) 38 38 38 38

Vinasun (08) 38 27 27 27

Price: The prices depend on which kind of car and which brand:

4 seat car (per 1km) 15,000 VND – 16,000 VND

8 seat car (per 1km) 17,000 VND – 18,000 VND


Cost of living In general, prices for basic necessities such as food, clothing, public transport…in Vietnam are not really high. You can easily find something that fits your budget; for every categories, Vietnam offers a wide range of available choices and prices. How much you spend depends on how personal lifestyle preferences.


Type items price

Food Restaurant meal 100,000 VND to 200,000 VND

Fastfood (KFC, Lotteris, McDonald, Jollibee..)

From 30,000-100,000 VND

Water (500ml) 7,000 VND

Milk (350ml) 10,000 VND

Coke (can) 10,000 VND

Cafe From 20,000 VND

Top-up card Local call 35,000 VND to 60,000 VND

Entertainment Cinema (Galaxy cinema, CVG cinema, BHD cinema…)

From 60,000 VND-120,000 VND per film

Karaoke From 30,000 VND-60,000 VND per hour


Phở (Vietnamese noodle soup)

Of course, this is the very first dish that you must try!!! If you don’t eat

Phở that means you never come to Vietnam.

Gỏi cuốn (Spring rolls)A Vietnamese traditionally consisting of pork, prawn, vegetable, bún (rice vermicelli) and other ingredients wrapped in Vietnamese bánh tráng (rice paper). Just dip it in the peanut sauce and the food bring you to the ninth cloudThis is the most popular street food in Vietnam.

FOOD


Bánh xèo (Sizzling Pancake)

Banh xeo are savory fried pancakes made

of rice flour, water, turmeric powder,

stuffed with slivers of fatty pork, shrimp,

diced green onion, and bean sprouts.

Cơm tấm (Broken Rice)Com Tam is made from fractured rice grains.

It is usually served with grilled pork (either ribs or

shredded) over broken rice. The dish may also come

with fried egg, “Bì” (thinly shredded pork mixed

with shredded pork skin), “Cha” (steamed pork

loaf topped with egg yolks). 20

Made by Service Team 2014-2015

Bánh mì (Vietnamese Bread)

Banh mi is a Vietnamese term for all kinds of bread. The bread most commonly found in Vietnam is a single serving baguette. It is sometimes called “Vietnamese sandwich”. It is usually more airy than its Western counterpart, with a thinner crust. Just one bite, and you will be speechless

Bánh bèoA banh beo is a variety of small steamed rice cake. It is white in color and typically features a dimple in the center, which is filled with savory ingredients.


Bánh cuốn, bánh ướtLet imagine this: the rice batter is the

cloth of “Banh cuon”. and it wraps all the

wonderful ingredients And “Banh uot” is

just the cloth of “Banh cuon”

And they both eat with “Cha” (

Vietnamese pork sausage), fried prawn cake,

vegetables. Last but not least, the

masterpiece of Vietnam fish sauce

Hủ tíu ( Rice noodle soup)

Known as Kuy Teav in Cambodia, this rice noodle soup

dish can be made with a variety of ingredients. It can also

be served dry without the soup! Mmmm, it’s so hard to

choose what to get at a Vietnamese restaurant…


Famous Places in HCMC

Notre Dame CathedralIndependence Palace

Central Post Office

Ben ThanhMarket


Ben Thanh Market- Dist 1 An Dong Plaza- Dist 5 Tan Dinh Market- Dist 1

Binh Tay Market (Cho Lon)- Dist 5 Saigon Square Nam Ki KhoiNghia (Dist 1)

Saigon Square Ton DucThang (Dist 1)

Source: HCMC’s 100 Interesting things

Shopping


TRAVELING


The scenery of the Sa Pa region in large part

reflects the relationship between the minority people and nature. This is seen especially in the paddy fields carpeting the rolling lower slopes of the Hoàng Liên Mountains.With the chillinweather of the mountainous area creates an ideal destination.-About 2140km from Ho Chi Minh City


SAPA

Ha Long BayHa Long Bay (descending dragon bay) was

inscribed as UNESCO’S World heritage for its limestone karstic geomorphologic features.

About 1790 km from Ho Chi Minh City


Phong Nha-Ke Bang is a national park and UNESCO World Heritage in the North Central

Coast region of VietNam. It also owns biggest limestone karstic caves all over the world-About 1300km from Ho Chi Minh City


Phong Nha – Ke Bang


Hue Imperial CityHue Imperial City is a walled fortress and

palace in the former capital of Nguyen

Dynasty. The grounds of the Imperial City

were surrounded by a wall 6.6 meter height,

and the walls were surrounded by a moat.

This structure is called the citadel. Inside

the citadel was the Imperial City, with a

perimeter of almost 2.5 kilometers.

-About 1000 km from Ho Chi Minh City

Hoi An ancient town

Hoi An Ancient Town is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a South-East Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century. Its

buildings and its street plan reflect the influences, both indigenous and foreign, that have combined to produce this unique

heritage site-About 600km from Ho Chi Minh City



Datlat is located in the south central

highlands of Vietnam and spreads across some pine-

covered hills with a small lake in the centre. The city lies

at an altitude between 1,500 and 2,000 metres. Dalat is

always be special attractive to tourist by its poetic scene

and legend romantic love. To be gifted a mild climate of

the sub-tropical, Da Lat seem to be not suffer the heat

from the south or the cold from the north but the weather

is always mild and cool.

-About 300km from Ho Chi Minh City

DaLat - City of Flower

Nha Trang beach

-Nha Trang is well known for its beaches and scuba diving and has developed into a popular destination for international tourists, attracting large numbers of backpackers, as well as more affluent travellers on the Southeast Asia circuit.-Nha Trang Bay is also considered as among the world's most beautiful bays.-About 400 km from Ho Chi Minh city to the north


Cần Giờ DistrictCần Giờ is a coastal suburban district of HồChí Minh City, Southeast region, Vietnam.All kind of attractions gathering in this marvelous place. Just take a bus and go straight to beach, explore the mangrove forest with thousand kind of birds and visit the monkey island! This is a total perfect package!-About 30 km from Ho Chi Minh city


People said that “If one has not visited floating market, he has not visited the south-west of

Vietnam”.Most of the boats here are packed with a lot of farm products and specialties of Cai Rang Town (coconut, banana, watermelon, grapefruit, dragon

fruit and so on.) While shopping on boat, one can also enjoy fresh fruits and see floating house of

the locals along the riverside.-About 165km from Ho Chi Minh City


floating marketCan Tho

Phu Quoc Island

Phu Quoc, is the largest island in Vietnam. Fringed with white-

sand beaches and with large tracts still covered in dense,

tropical jungle, Phu Quoc has been quickly morphing from a sleepy backwater to a favouredbeach escape of Western expats

and sun-seeking.About 800km from Ho Chi Minh

city


Should and shouldn’tShould

Do dress well when going to the pagoda. No shorts, mini skirt or tatty beer T-shirt

Do always bring a bottle of water with you because dehydration happen really fast in here

Do bring a photocopy of your passport and visa when you leave home. Left the origin at your place.

Do always bargain when buying something, especially in the market

Do hold your bag tightly and always watch out for your camera or cell phone

Shouldn’t Don’t wear a lot jewelry made from gold

or silver. You will be robbed and get bad injury

Don’t across the street if you feel you cannot make it. The traffic in Vietnam is crazy and always busy, ask someone to help you.

Don’t smoke when you are at public

places or at your host.

Don’t involve with prostitutes and drugs. These two is completely illegal in Vietnam, so don’t try to get in jail


TIPS for survival

- Split your money into small amount and use credit card instead of cash. Don’t exchange the money at airport.

- Bring your medicine along

- Be active in learning Vietnamese, contacting with buddy.

- Prepare gifts for host

- Bring your country’s flag and souvenir for culture-exchange activities.

- Household Electricity in Vietnam: 220W

- Photocopy and scan: passport, AN, TN letter and picture (passport size)


Citizens from many country can get a visa

on arrival at the major points of entry

(usually at the airport).

Price:

1 month single 13 USD

1 month multi 14.5 USD

3 months single 19.5.5 USD

3 months multi 23.5 USD

*This price does not include stamp fee at

the border (first entry only). Stamp fee:

45USD single visa

65USD multi 1 month

95USD multi 3 month

VISA


Citizens from following countries can get a visa on arrival but it is really difficult. They are required to pay extra fee from $25 - $105.

Albania – Algeria – Azerbaijan – Bahamas – Bahrain – Barbados – Benin – Bolivia – Bosnia -

Botswana - Burkina Faso - Burundi – Cameroon - Cape Verde - Mainland China - Costa Rica

- Côte d'Ivoire - Dominican Republic - Egypt - El Salvador – Ethiopia – Gabon - Ghana –

Greece – India – Iran – Jordan – Kenya - South Korea – Lebanon – Liberia – Malta – Mauritius

– Mongolia – Morocco – Namibia – Nepal – Oman – Pakistan – Peru - Puerto Rico – Qatar –

Rwanda – Senegal - Sierra Leone - South Africa - Sri Lanka – Tanzania - U.A.E.

Citizens from the following countries can not get visa on arrival. They need to go to Vietnamese embassy in their country to apply for visa

Afghanistan – Mozambique – Nigeria – Togo – Tunisia – Turkey – Uganda – Zambia - Zimbabwe

Follow these links for more information about visa applying processVisa Procedure

http://bit.ly/1pY4aGJ [Process]http://bit.ly/1qs4RXB [Visa fee changed and applied from 1 Jan 2013]

http://bit.ly/1qXl208 [Guide]


http://bit.ly/1pY4aGJ



http://bit.ly/1qs4RXB

http://bit.ly/1qs4RXB

http://bit.ly/1qXl208

http://bit.ly/1qXl208

Đào Xuân TrườngVice President of Project Management Email: [email protected]: (+84) 126 754 2626

CONTACT


Nguyễn Trần Diệu HiếuManager of Service TeamEmail: [email protected]: (+84) 948 272 923

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

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