About Indochina
Indochina is a region in Southeast Asia which lies roughly east of India and south of China. It comprises the territory of the following countries, in the strict sense of only the former colonial French Indochina of Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. However, in the wider sense, better described as Mainland Southeast Asia, it also includes Peninsular Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand. These countries are influenced mainly by India, with a smaller influence from China. However, this is actually reversed for Vietnam.
VIETNAM
Statistics
Vietnam, officially known as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest and Cambodia to the southwest. It covers an area of 331,690 km² and has a population of over 87 million.
A Brief History
Vietnam was an independent country until the mid 1800’s, when the country was colonized by the French, hence the strong French influence. In 1941, Viet Minh - a communist and nationalist liberation movement emerged under Ho Chi Minh, to seek independence for Vietnam from France. Following the military defeat of Japan and the fall of its Vietnamese colony in August 1945, Viet Minh occupied Hanoi and proclaimed a provisional government, which asserted independence on September 2. In the same year the Provisional French Republic sent the French Far East Expeditionary Corps, which was originally created to fight the Japanese occupation forces, in order to pacify the liberation movement and to restore French rule. On November 20 1946, triggered by the Haiphong Incident the First Indochina War between Viet Minh and the French forces ensued, lasting until July 20 1954. Ho Chi Minh eventually negotiated a ceasefire with a favorable position at the ongoing Geneva conference of 1954. Colonial administration ended as French Indochina was dissolved, and the contested State of Vietnam ceased to exist. According to the Geneva Agreements the country was divided at the 17th parallel into Ho Chi Minh's North Vietnam and Ngo Dinh Diem's South Vietnam after the example of Korea. This was intended to be temporary, pending an election in 1956, which never took place.
The Communist-held Democratic Republic of Vietnam was opposed by the US-supported Republic of Vietnam. Disagreements soon emerged over the organizing of elections and reunification. The U.S. began increasing its contribution of military advisers, where U.S. forces soon became embroiled in a guerrilla war with the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF), and hence the Vietnam War began. The Paris Peace Accords of January 27, 1973, formally recognized the sovereignty of both sides and under the terms of the accords all American combat troops were withdrawn by March 29, 1973. Limited fighting continued, but all major fighting ended until the North once again sent troops to the South during the spring of 1975, culminating in the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. South Vietnam briefly became the Republic of South Vietnam, under military occupation by North Vietnam, before being officially integrated with the North under communist rule as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on July 2, 1976.
In 1978, the Vietnamese army invaded Cambodia (sparking the Cambodian-Vietnamese War) to remove the Khmer Rouge from power. This action worsened relations with China, which launched a brief incursion into northern Vietnam (the Sino-Vietnamese War) in 1979. This conflict caused Vietnam to rely even more heavily on Soviet economic and military aid. In a historic shift in 1986, the Communist Party of Vietnam implemented free-market reforms known as Doi Moi (renovation). With the authority of the state remaining unchallenged, private ownership of farms and companies, deregulation and foreign investment were encouraged. The economy of Vietnam has since achieved rapid growth in agricultural and industrial production, construction and housing, exports, and foreign investment, and is now one of the fastest growing economies in the world.
Food
Vietnamese cuisine is known for its common use of fish sauce, soy sauce and hoisin sauce. Vietnamese recipes use many vegetables, herbs and spices, including lemon grass, lime, and kaffir lime leaves. Throughout all regions the emphasis is always on serving fresh vegetables and/or fresh herbs as side dishes along with dipping sauce. The most common meats used in Vietnamese cuisine are pork, beef, prawns, various kinds of tropical fish, and chicken. Duck and goat/lamb are used much less widely.
Vietnamese cuisine can be basically divided into three categories, each pertaining to a specific region. With North Vietnam being the cradle of Vietnamese civilization, many of Vietnam's most famous dishes (such as ph?) have their birthplace in the North. The North's cuisine is more traditional and strict in choosing spiciness and ingredients. The South's cuisine has been influenced by the cuisines of southern Chinese immigrants, and thus Southerners prefer sweet flavors in many dishes. As a new land the South's cuisine is more exotic and liberal, using many herbs. Central Vietnamese cooking is quite different from the cuisines of both the Northern and Southern regions in its use of many small side dishes, and also its distinct spiciness when compared to its counterparts.
Currency
The dong has been the official currency of Vietnam since May 3, 1978. It is subdivided into 10 hào. However, the hào is now worth so little that it is no longer issued. The dong comes in 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10 000, 20 000, 50 000, 100 000, 200 000, 500 000 banknotes.
Weather
Because of differences in latitude and the marked variety of topographical relief, the climate tends to vary considerably from place to place. During the winter or dry season, extending roughly from November to April, most parts of the country are dry only by comparison with the rainy or summer season. The average annual temperature is generally higher in the plains than in the mountains and plateaus and in the south than in the north. Temperatures in the southern plains (Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta) vary less, between 21°C and 28°C (70° and 82.5°F) over the course of a year. The seasons in the mountains and plateaus and in the north are much more dramatic, with temperatures varying from 5°C (4°F) in December and January to 37°C (98.6°F) in July and August.
Visa
A visa is required to gain entry into Vietnam. An entry visa to Vietnam can be applied by Post or in Person by the applicant or anyone on his/her behalf at the Embassy of Vietnam in London (12 Victoria Road, London W8 5RD). Visa fees are various and depend on the length of stay and number of entries. Details of requirements can be found here: http://www.vietnamembassy.org.uk/consular.html A visa can also be obtained upon arrival at the airport in Vietnam. You will require 2 passport photographs, a completed visa form (download visa form) and the visa fee of $25 per person.
CAMBODIA
Staistics
The Kingdom of Cambodia, formerly known as Kampuchea, borders Thailand to its west and northwest, Laos to the northeast and Vietnam to the east and southeast. It covers an area of 181,035 km² and has a population of over 13 million.
A Brief History
The Khmer Empire flourished from approximately the 9th century to the 15th century A.D, with its centre of power being Angkor (meaning “city”). Angkor Wat, the most famous and best-preserved religious temple at the site, is a reminder of Cambodia's past as a major regional power. It was built for King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. After a long series of wars with the Cham people of Champa (formerly southern and central Vietnam) and neighboring countries Angkor was sacked by the Thai and abandoned in 1432. During the next three centuries, The Khmer kingdom alternated as a vassal state of the Thai and Vietnamese kings, with short-lived periods of relative independence between.
In 1863 King Norodom, who had been installed by Thailand, sought the protection of France. Cambodia continued as a protectorate of France from 1863 to 1953, administered as part of the French colony of Indochina. After war-time occupation by the Japanese empire from 1941 to 1945, Cambodia gained independence from France on November 9, 1953, when it became a constitutional monarchy under King Norodom Sihanouk. During the Vietnam War Sihanouk adopted an official policy of neutrality until ousted in 1970 by a military coup led by Prime Minister General Lon Nol and Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak, while on a trip abroad. From Beijing, Sihanouk realigned himself with the communist Khmer Rouge rebels who had been slowly gaining territory in the remote mountain regions and urged his followers to help in overthrowing the pro-United States government of Lon Nol, hastening the onset of civil war. U.S. forces bombed and briefly invaded Cambodia in an effort to disrupt the Viet Cong. The bombing continued and, as the Cambodian communists began gaining ground, this eventually included strikes on suspected Khmer Rouge sites until halted in 1973. Some two million Cambodians were made refugees by the bombing and fighting and fled to Phnom Penh. The Khmer Rouge reached Phnom Penh and took power in 1975, changing the official name of the country to Democratic Kampuchea, led by Pol Pot. They immediately evacuated the cities and sent the entire population on forced marches to rural work projects. They attempted to rebuild the country's agriculture on the model of the 11th century. They also discarded Western medicine, with the result that while hundreds of thousands died from starvation and disease there were almost no drugs in the country. Estimates vary as to how many people were killed by the Khmer Rouge regime, ranging from approximately one to three million. This included massacres from1975 to 1979 by the Khmer Rouge known as the Killing Fields. Hundreds of thousands more fled across the border into neighbouring Thailand.
In November 1978 Vietnam invaded Cambodia to stop Khmer Rouge incursions across the border and the genocide of Vietnamese in Cambodia. Violent occupation and warfare between the Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge holdouts continued throughout the 1980s until a comprehensive peace settlement was arranged in 1991 by the United Nations. After the brutality of the 1970s and the 1980s, and the destruction of the cultural, economic, social and political life of Cambodia, it is only in recent years that reconstruction efforts have begun and some political stability has finally returned to Cambodia.
Food
Khmer Cuisine is another name for the food widely consumed in the country Cambodia. It is well known for its exotic and unique flavors. Khmer cuisine is noted for the use of prahok (a type of fermented fish paste) in many dishes as a distinctive flavoring. When prahok is not used, it is likely to be kapi instead (a kind of fermented shrimp paste). In Cambodia there is regular aromatic rice and glutinous or sticky rice. The latter is used more in dessert dishes with fruits such as durian. Almost every meal is eaten with a bowl of rice. Cambodian cuisine also uses fish sauce widely in soups, stir-fried cuisine, and as dippings. Curry dishes known as kari shows its ties with Indian cuisine. Influences from Chinese cuisine can be noted in the use of many variations of rice noodles. Typically, Cambodians eat their meals with at least three or four separate dishes. Each individual dish will usually be one of either sweet, sour, salty or bitter.
Currency
The riel is the currency of Cambodia. There have been two distinct riel, the first issued between 1953 and May 1975, and the second since April 1, 1980. The most common riel banknotes are 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10 000 riel. The US dollar is also widely used throughout Cambodia.
Weather
Cambodia's temperatures range from 10° to 38°C (50° to 100°F). The country experiences the heaviest precipitation from September to October with the driest period occurring from January to February. It has two distinct seasons. The rainy season, which runs from May to October, can see temperatures drop to 22°C and is generally accompanied with high humidity. The dry season lasts from November to April when temperatures can raise up to 40°C around April.
Visa
A visa is required to gain entry into Cambodia. A tourist visa can be applied for at the Consular Section of the Royal Embassy of Cambodia in London (64 Brondesbury Park, Willesden Green, London NW6 7AT) in Person or by Post. The cost for a single entry tourist visa is £15 and details of requirements can be found here: http://www.cambodianembassy.org.uk/index.php?menu=5
A visa can also be obtained at the airport upon arrival in Cambodia. You will require 2 passport photographs, a completed visa form (download visa form) and the visa fee of $20 per person.
LAOS
Statistics
Laos, officially known as the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in southeast Asia, bordered by Burma (Myanmar) and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west. It covers an area of 236,800 km² and has a population of over 6 million.
A Brief History
Laos traces its history to the kingdom of Lan Xang, founded in the 14th century by Fa Ngum, himself descended from a long line of Lao kings. Lan-Xang prospered until the 18th century, when the kingdom was divided into three principalities, which eventually came under Siamese suzerainty. In the 19th century, Luang Prabang was incorporated into the 'Protectorate' of French Indochina, and shortly thereafter, the kingdom of Champassack and the territory of Vientiane were also added to the protectorate. The French saw Laos as a useful buffer state between the two expanding empires of France and Britain. Under the French, Vientiane once again became the capital of a unified Lao state. The French remained in de facto control until 1954, when Laos gained full independence as a constitutional monarchy.
Laos was dragged into the Vietnam War, and the eastern parts of the country were invaded and occupied by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA), which used Laotian territory as a staging ground and supply route for its war against the South. In response, the United States initiated a bombing campaign against the North Vietnamese, supported regular and irregular anticommunist forces in Laos and supported a South Vietnamese invasion of Laos. The result of these actions were a series of coups d'état and, ultimately, the Laotian Civil War between the Royal Laotian government and the communist Pathet Lao. Massive aerial bombardment by the United States followed as it attempted to eliminate North Vietnamese bases in Laos in order to disrupt supply lines on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. In 1975, the communist Pathet Lao, backed by the Soviet Union and the North Vietnamese Army, overthrew the royalist government, forcing King Savang Vatthana to abdicate on December 2, 1975. He later died in captivity.
After taking control of the country, Pathet Lao's government renamed the country as the "Lao People's Democratic Republic" and signed agreements giving Vietnam the right to station military forces and to appoint advisers to assist in overseeing the country. Laos was ordered in the late 1970s by Vietnam to end relations with the People's Republic of China which cut the country off from trade with any country but Vietnam. Control by Vietnam and socialization were slowly replaced by a relaxation of economic restrictions in the 1980s and admission into ASEAN in 1997. In 2005, the United States established Normal Trade Relations with Laos, ending a protracted period of punitive import taxes.
Food
Lao cuisine is the cuisine of the Lao ethnic group of Laos and Northeast Thailand (Isan). The staple food of the Lao is sticky rice. Galangal and fish sauce are important ingredients. The Lao national dish is laap, a spicy mixture of marinated meat and/or fish that is sometimes raw (prepared like ceviche) with a variable combination of greens, herbs, and spices. Lao cuisine has many regional variations, according in part to the fresh foods local to each region. A French influence is also apparent in the capital city Vientiane, such that baguettes are sold on the street, and French restaurants (often with a naturally Lao, Asian-fusion touch) are common and popular. Vietnamese cuisine is also popular in Laos.
Currency
The kip is the currency of Laos since 1952. The kip can be sub-divided into 100 att (Lao) or cents (French). In 1979 banknotes were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 kip. Later 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10000, 20000 and 50000 kip notes were added.
Weather
Lao’s temperatures range from 17° to 34°C (62° to 93°F). The wet season runs from around May to October, and as with many Southeast Asian countries, the wet season is characterised by a downpour for a few hours a day rather than all day torrential rain. Laos' dry season has two distinct sub-sections. First comes the cool dry season and then comes the hot dry season, the former is one of the most popular times to visit Laos, the later less so. The cool dry season runs from November to February and the hot dry season from March to April.
Visa
A visa is required when entering Laos. There is no Laos embassy based in the UK so applicants must apply for a visa upon arrival at the Laos airport. Two passport photographs are required and the visa fee is $30 per person.
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