HANOI, VIETNAM

By Justin Grahamcracker

FLIGHTS TO HANOI, VIETNAM• Eva Air, Flight 17 77W San Francisco(SFO)12:25 a.m. – Feb. 20, Fri.

Taipei(TPE) 6:15 a.m. – Feb. 21, Sat.

Nonstop Coach

• Eva Air, Flight 397 M90Taipei(TPE)Hanoi(HAN)

9:30 a.m. – Feb. 21, Sat.11:35 a.m. – Feb. 21, Sat.

Nonstop Coach

Flight Duration : 16 hr. 55 min.Layover Duration: 3 hr. 15 min.Total Trip Time : 20 hr. 10 min.$529 + $27.80(taxes) = $556.80

(Boeing 777 – 300 ER Jet)

(Boeing(Douglas) MD – 90 Jet)

FLIGHTS TO SAN FRANCISCO• ANA Flight, 858 787

(787 Jet)Hanoi(HAN)Tokyo Haneda(HND)

1:55 p.m. – Jul. 23, Thu.9:05 p.m. – Jul. 23, Thu.Nonstop Coach

• United Airlines, Flight 876 777Tokyo Haneda(HND) San Francisco(SFO)(Boeing 777 Passenger Jet)

1:00 a.m. – Jul. 24, Fri.6:40 p.m. – Jul. 23, Thu.

Nonstop Coach

Flight Duration: 14 hr. 50 min.Layover Duration: 3 hr. 55 min.Total Trip Time: 18 hr. 45 min.$681 + $83.40(taxes)= $764.40

Hanoi Serenity hotel 2• 17 Nguyen Van To Street, Hoan Kiem

District - Old Quarter, Hanoi• 16 dollars a night

• Wi-Fi, laundry service, airport transfer, meeting facilities, concierge are on the list of things guests can enjoy.

“No matter what your reasons are for visiting Hanoi, Hanoi Serenity Hotel 2 will make you feel instantly at home.”

General Information

• Religion: Predominantly Indigenous following with Buddhism and Christianity

• Location: On the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia

• Capital: Hanoi

• Currency and exchange rate: Dong = 0.000047 U.S. dollars

• Size of country: 332,698 km squared/128,565 sq. mi.

• Size of city: Municipality 3,344.7 km squared/1,291.4 sq. mi./Urban 186.22 km. squared/ 71.90 sq. mi.

• Name of country: Vietnam

• Name of city: Hanoi• Language: Vietnamese

CULTUREThe traditional focuses of vietnamese culture are humanity (nhân nghĩa) and harmony (hòa); family and community values are highly regarded. Vietnam reveres a number of key cultural symbols, such as the Vietnamese dragon, which is derived from crocodile and snake imagery; Vietnam's National Father, Lạc Long Quân, is depicted as a holy dragon. The lạc – a holy bird representing Vietnam's National Mother, Âu Cơ – is another prominent symbol, while turtle and horse images are also revered.

ECONOMY

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam remains a communist dictatorship characterized by political repression and an absence of civil liberties. Economic liberalization began in 1986 with its doi moi reforms, and Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization in 2007. In 2012, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung acknowledged mismanagement of the Vietnamese economy and affirmed his commitment to reforming the state sector, but the vietnamese are still waiting for action. Vietnam’s economy is driven primarily by tourism and exports. Inflation is a problem, and the country has struggled to attract investment in the absence of a transparent legal and regulatory system.