Introduction

Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is a country located on the eastern coast of the Indochina's Peninsula. Hanoi is Vietnam's capital while Ho Chi Minh is the country's largest city. Laos and Cambodia border Vietnam in the west, China from the north and the South China Sea in the Southern region.

Most visitors to Vietnam are overwhelmed by the sublime beauty of the country's natural setting: the Red River Delta in the north, the Mekong Delta in the south and almost the entire coastal strip are a patchwork of brilliant green rice paddies tended by women in conical hats. There are some divine beaches along the coast too, while inland there are soaring mountains, some of which are cloaked by dense, misty forests.