A Little About Vietnam

Vietnam is known most famously for the US-Vietnamese war (and perhaps for eating dog). But before they were fighting off the Americans, the Vietnamese had to beat off successive waves of would-be colonizers and conquerors like the Chinese, Khmers, Chams, Mongols and French. Vietnam has remained a proud nation even though foreign hands have influenced their language, writing, food, and culture.

These days Vietnam is a quickly developing nation. It was welcomed into the WTO in 2006 and its bad relations with China have begun to improve.

CURRENTLY

Capitol: Hanoi
Government: Communist, with distinctly free market leanings.
Population: 86 million
Borders: China to the north, Loas to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, entire east coast is next to the South China Sea.
Religion: Combination of Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism fused with Animism and Ancestor worship. It all works. There are also a growing number of atheists among the new generation.
Peoples: 84% ethnic Vietnamese, 2% ethnic Chinese and the rest is Khmers, Chams and members of more than 50 ethnolinguistic groups.
Currency: The Dong, 17500 Dong = 1 USD

(All images from the web.)

Reference: Wikipedia and Lonely Planet Guide