Hanoi Fair
| Fair Date: Tuesday, October 25, 2005 |
Fair Schedule |
| 11:00 |
am |
Set-up |
| 12:00 |
nn |
Lunch |
| 1:00 |
pm |
Country Briefing for Representatives |
| 2:00 |
pm |
Fair Open |
| 6:00 |
pm |
Fair End |
| Who Attends the Fair |
| The majority of students interested in studying abroad are seeking an
undergraduate education (over 80% of all students). They are mostly self-sponsored,
but seeking financial aid. Dissemination of accurate and timely information
about the US higher education system remains difficult in Vietnam and thus
you may expect that students will be extremely eager to pick up any information
from colleges and universities at the fair. |
| Fair Costs |
|
| IIE Educational Associates |
$500 |
| Non-Educational Associates |
$550 |
| Literature Distribution Only |
$150 |
Shipping
Information  |
OCS,
the IIE's official shipping company for the 2005 fairs, will be sending you the
shipping
kit after you have
registered for our fairs. You would have options to choose whether or not to
ship your materials through OCS. Since all the fair materials will be stored
in
the OCS warehouses and delivered directly by OCS to the fair venue, you must
read
the instructions from OCS carefully to ensure that your
materials
are received and kept safely,
and
delivered
by OCS in a timely manner.
If for some reason you have NOT
received
this shipping kit, you may email fairs@shipOCS.com or
call OCS at 781-933-1130. All instructions, procedures, and
rates will be included in the kit.
If you decide to ship materials independently, please address them to yourself
or your institution's representative at the venue. You should make the necessary
arrangements so that all customs procedures, duties, taxes, and fees will be
handled by your carrier. Neither IIE Vietnam nor the venue will be able to
assist with the clearance of your materials into Vietnam. |
| Accommodation |
Sofitel
Plaza Hanoi
1 Thanh Nien Road
Ba Dinh District
Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel: (84-4) 823-8888
Fax: (84-4) 829-4287
Website: http://www.accorhotels-asia.com/3553
Fair participants have been provided with rates as follows:
Room rates: Inclusive of American Buffet Breakfast and does not include
5% service charge and 10% VAT.
Superior: US$85.00++
Deluxe: US$92.00++
For room reservation, please download
reservation form and fax to Sofitel Plaza at 84-4-8293888 or
8294283. |
| Visas and Other
Helpful Information |
A tourist visa is required. Please contact the Vietnam Embassy in Washington,
DC (202-861-0737) or the Vietnamese consulate in San Francisco, and allow at
least one week for processing. You may also download the information that you
will need for your visa from the Embassy webpage at www.vietnamembassy-usa.org.
Generally, you will need to provide the Embassy/Consulate with a completed
application form, two passport photos, a check for the visa fee, your passport,
and a return express mail envelope. Visas are normally good for 30 days from
the date you specify that you will enter the country. You must also decide
your port of entry because this will be written on your visa and cannot be
changed later. If you indicate that you will be traveling for tourist purposes
and arriving by air, your visa will usually permit you to enter and exit by
both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Because you will be in Vietnam for a short visit, even if you extend
for a few days to visit local institutions, please apply for a tourist
visa. List the hotel where you will be staying as your contact. It is
not appropriate to list IIE because as a foreign organization, we have
no authority over you and are unable to sponsor visas. If you list the
Ministry of Education and Training or a university, you will be required
to have them sponsor your visa, delaying your application.
When you arrive in Vietnam, you will first go through immigration where
your passport and entry-exit card are carefully checked. Next you will
pick up your luggage and clear it through customs. Do not bring videos,
or lots of bulk materials for fair distribution as this may cause delays.
If something is held at customs for review, ask for a receipt and pick
up the materials later (most often it is more trouble for the customs
officer to issue the receipt than it is to clear the materials). Also,
make sure to keep your entry-exit card and customs form together with
your passport as they will be checked when you leave Vietnam.
After
clearing customs, follow the flow of passengers out of the airport.
Both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have done a good job of clearing
the immediate area outside the airport of independent taxi drivers
and
hotel agents so you can get into the city hassle-free. In Hanoi: If
you do
not have a hotel car waiting for you, cross to the transit island
directly across from the exit and take either a Vietnam airlines
or Noi Bai
Transport taxi desk. The standard fare into the city is $10. They will
assign a
car and driver to you. In Ho Chi Minh City, if you have not already
made other arrangements, there will be metered taxis lined up outside
the
airport. You need only tell the driver where you want to go. Please
make sure that they turn on the meter and do not accept "quoted" prices.
Leaving Vietnam
Vietnamese visas specify from which point(s) you are permitted to leave
the country - usually Hanoi Noi Bai Airport or Ho Chi Minh City Tan
Son Nhat Airport. If you indicated that you will arrive and depart
by air, then your visa should automatically reflect your ability to
depart from either airport. If you intend to exit from a place not
specified on your visa, make sure to have the immigration office adjust
your visa accordingly. It is essential to reconfirm your departing
flight as soon as you arrive in Vietnam. The hotels can assist you.
Departure tax is $14 payable in US dollars or Vietnamese dong.
Traveling inside Vietnam
If you have already booked in-country flights, it is essential that you
reconfirm them upon arrival. Vietnam Airlines, the main carrier, has
been known to delay, reroute or even cancel local flights with little
or no warning. It is recommended that early morning flights be used
if at all possible. Departure tax at domestic airports has now been
folded into the price of the ticket.
Money
The currency of Vietnam is the "dong" (abbreviated as VND or "d" with
a vertical line through the stem), and can easily be changed at the
hotel, gold shops and of course banks. US dollars are also acceptable,
but shops
will only accept clean, whole bills. USD notes with tears, writing
on them, or older notes (i.e., not the newly issued versions) may
not be
accepted even by the hotel or banks. Credit cards can be used at
most hotels and up-scale shops and restaurants, however a 3% commission
is usually passed onto the customer. Traveller's Cheques can also
be
used,
but it is best to cash them at the State Bank of Vietnam to avoid
all kinds of additional fees and commissions.
Health
Various health authorities recommend travelers to Vietnam get a slew
of vaccines including rabies, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, BCG (tuberculosis),
Japanese encephalitis, polio, typhoid, tetanus and diphtheria. Yellow
fever is not endemic to Vietnam, but you are required to have it if
you are traveling from a yellow fever area. If you are only planning
to stay in Vietnam a few days and are not leaving the major urban areas,
it is probably only necessary to make sure your regular inoculations
are up to date (measles, tetanus, hepatitis A and B). There are very
good international hospitals and evacuation services in Hanoi and Ho
Chi Minh City. The hotels will be able to assist you in case of emergency.
Climate and Clothing
Vietnam has a remarkably diverse climate as a result of its wide range
of altitudes and latitudes. In October, Ho Chi Minh City will be extremely
hot and humid, while Hanoi will be slightly cooler, and less humid,
although it may rain. However the tropical storm season will be over
for both cities. Dress in Vietnam is more casual than in other Asian
capitals, skirts or slacks for women and short-sleeve dress shirts
with ties for men are considered appropriate.
Warning
Be especially careful of pickpockets in the urban areas (particularly
downtown Ho Chi Minh City and any market area). In Ho Chi Minh City,
it is often better not to carry a wallet and simply carry your i.d.,
credit cards, and other money that you believe you will need on that
particular trip out. Also please beware of drive-by-snatchings as you
cross the street or stand at corners waiting to cross. The most common
theft in Vietnam is by motorcyclists snatching bags of unsuspecting
tourists. If you must carry a bag, please walk with it carried away
from the flow of street traffic. Do not wear the strap across your
body as it could cause injury during a drive-by-snatching if it does
not disengage and you are pulled into traffic. In any event, avoid
keeping anything of great value in your bags when walking on the street.
During the fair, please keep any valuables in your room or the hotel
safe as there have been instances of pickpocketing at past events. |
| Links to Country and City
Guides |
|
| Fair
Coordinator Contact Information |
Trinh Mai Oanh, Office Manager and Financial Officer
Institute of International Education
Tung Shing Square
Room 505
2 Ngo Quyen
Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel: (84-4) 935-0412
Fax: (84-4) 935-0418
Email: tmoanh@iievn.org |
|
