Vth Rencontres du Vietnam
Particle physics and astrophysics
New views on the Universe
New views in Particle physics
Hanoi, Vietnam, August 5 - 11, 2004
Sous le Haut Patronage de Monsieur Jacques Chirac, Président de la République française
FINAL INFORMATION BULLETIN
(updated 14/07/04)
(replacing the original bulletin, available by clicking here)
update to social programme: click here
update to tours: click here
update to conference facilites: click here
Conference Site
The Conference site is in: |
Hanoi Horison Hotel 40 Cat Linh Street, Hanoi. Phone : (84 4) 733 08 08, Fax : (84 4) 733 08 88 |
ARRIVAL AT NOIBAI AIRPORT (Hanoi)
From Noi Bai Airport, please take a taxi to go to the conference site (Hanoi Horison Hotel). The average cost is about 15 US$.
However, if you inform the Conference Secretariat of your flight number and the air carrier as well as the date and time of your arrival, the conference will organize a welcome team of Vietnamese physicists who will meet you at the airport between 8:00 and 22:00. If you arrive after 22:00 or your flight is delayed, please take a taxi to go to the Hanoi Horison Hotel.
For the arrival day (August 5), the welcome team will be at the Noi Bai airport from 8:00 to 22:00 to help arriving participants who have informed the Conference Secretariat of their arrival date and time.
CONFERENCE SECRETARIAT
The conference secretariat will be located in Hanoi Horison Hotel.
The opening hours are:
The registration desk will open at the Conference site on Thursday 5th August from 8:00 to 20:00.
We encourage the participants to register on Thursday 5th August in order to avoid congestion on the first morning of the Conference.
REGISTRATION FEES
The conference fee for participants will be 350 US$. or 320 Euro. This covers a copy of the proceedings and the cost of all social events. Payment can be made either by interbank transfer (preferred method) or by cash at the conference site; we regret that credit card payment will not be possible for the conference fee. Depending on whether you are sending the fee in euros or in dollars, you should transfer the fee to one of the following two banks (and please remember to add 25 Euro or 30 $ to cover the bank charges):
| If paying in Euros (please add 25 Euro for bank charges) | If paying in US dollars (please add 30 US$ for bank charges) |
| RENCONTRES DU VIETNAM CREDIT LYONNAIS, 5 Rue A. Pecard 91190 Gif sur Yvette, France |
RENCONTRES DU VIETNAM CALYON Hanoi Branch 49 Hai Ba Trung Street Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, Vietnam |
| Account number : 0000079171H Key : 45 IBAN : FR12 3000 2089 6800 0007 9171 H45 BIC : CRLYFRPP |
Account number : 0040073-2150-000-USD Swift code CRLYVNVX |
The transfer should indicate clearly your name to identify the payee. Please inform the conference secretariat by fax or email that the transfer has been done. You should bring proof of payment, and hand it to the conference secretary when you register on arrival.
Participants from the Eurozone can also cover their registration
fees by personal check, in euros, to the order of "Rencontres du
Vietnam", sent to our secretariat in France:
Mrs Elizabeth Hautefeuille
Rencontres du Vietnam, BP 33
104, avenue du Général Leclerc
F-91192 GIF SUR YVETTE CEDEX , France
Payment of the fees before the conference will be much appreciated, since this will reduce congestion on arrival.
ACCOMMODATION
Most participants will be lodged at the Hanoi Horison Hotel:
| Hanoi Horison Hotel 40 Cat Linh Street, Hanoi. Phone : (84 4) 733 08 08, Fax : (84 4) 733 08 88 |
However, due to limited room availability, some participants may have to be lodged in neighbouring hotels, within a short (about 1km) taxi ride of the Horison hotel. Taxis in Hanoi are very cheap and easily available.
Nevertheless, all meals (lunch and dinner) will be taken together at the conference center.
The cost per person (full board for 6 days) will amount to: 360 US $ for a double room, 510 US $ for a single room. All rooms are air conditioned and have either a shower or a bath.
Payment for the board and lodging should be done at your arrival directly to the travel agency either by cash, travellers' checks or credit card (the latter will incur a small supplement).
Important note: Hotel reservations are made for the whole duration of the meeting, i.e. from Thursday 5th August afternoon to Wednesday 11th August morning (lunch included). Please note that the total cost of the meeting cannot be reduced even in case of partial attendance.
If you intend to arrive before August 5th and leave after August 11th, please let us know in advance, so that we can make the appropriate hotel reservation for you.
Please note also that if you arrive before midday, and wish your room to be made available immediately, you will be charged for an extra day; you must inform us, so that the hotel can prepare your room in advance.
MEALS
Lunch and dinner will be served at Hanoi Horison Hotel to all participants, wherever they are lodged. The restaurant can prepare a few extra vegetarian meals if necessary, but unfortunately cannot cater for the dietary rules of different religions.
If you are on a special diet or must avoid certain foods for medical reasons, please let us know as soon as possible about your health requirements, and we will try to come to an arrangement with the hotel.
VISA
A visa is required to enter Vietnam.
Those who have already sent in their visa application form will receive the visa authorization with which they can obtain a visa at the Vietnamese embassy.
If you have not yet sent off your visa application to Elizabeth, it is now too late to do it from France. You should apply for a tourist visa at the Embassy (mentioning the hotel in Hanoi: Hotel Hanoi Horison) or send the visa application form directly to:
Mr VU ANH DUNG, International Relation Department, VAST, Hanoi
Fax: (00) 84 4 756 44 83 - Phone: (00) 84 836 17 79 - Email: vadung@ncst.ac.vn
with copy to Elizabeth; you must include your email and fax number so that Mr VU ANH DUNG can send you the visa authorization directly.
Please note that persons accompanying participants also require a visa - do not forget to send off a form for each accompanying person.
OPENING CEREMONY
The Opening Ceremony will take place on Friday 6th August at 8:30 in the Conference Room of the Hanoi Horison Hotel. All participants are invited to attend the ceremony.
The following equipment will be available : a slide projector for 5cm x 5cm slides, an overhead projector and a video projector ("beamer") for computer presentations. The beamer will have a dedicated computer, loaded with standard powerpoint software; we strongly advise participants to bring a backup set of transparencies (or at least a printout of your presentation so that we can make transparencies), in case of catastrophic equipment failure which cannot be repaired on the spot.
It is hoped to make the talks available on the web; transparencies will be collected and scanned after each talk. To expedite the work, speakers are encouraged, whenever possible, to send their talk in advance, as an attached PDF or Postscript file to:
| Jacques.Dumarchez@cern.ch | for the particle physics conference |
| blois.confs@obspm.fr | for the astrophysics conference |
PROCEEDINGS
It is hoped to publish the proceedings of the Vth Rencontres du Vietnam in a reasonable time frame; instructions for preparing a manuscript will be made available on the Conference website at the time of the conference.
Although the deadline for submission of manuscripts is January 1st, 2005, early submission would be much appreciated. Reminders will not be sent before; it would also be particularly appreciated if there were not need to send reminders after the deadline!
E-MAIL CONNECTIONS
We will have 3-4 PCs for e-mail connections. A personal laptop can also be connected directly to the network via a cable in the hotel, or (but this will incurr extra expense and we have no experience of its reliability in Vietnam) via a WIFI connection (which involves the use of a card which must be bought at the hotel). Either way, if you bring a laptop, you can avoid queuing up for one of the PCs.
SOCIAL PROGRAM - updated 6/7/04
All the participants and their families are invited to the following events:
In the case of conference participants, the cost of these events is included in their registration fee.
Note, however, that accompanying persons will be asked to pay 100$ or 90 Euros for the package of these 4 events.
Finally, keep in mind that the hotel has a large swimming pool; don't forget to bring your bathing costume!
ACCOMPANYING PERSONS PROGRAM
A volunteer-based program for accompanying persons will be organized. A meeting with all interested persons to establish a program of visits in Hanoi will be organized on Friday August 6th at 10 am in the lobby of Hanoi Horison Hotel. Suggestions and proposals for this program are welcomed and should be sent to: elizabeth.hautefeuille@th.u-psud.fr.
The cost of this program will depend on the content and is not included in the cost of the above "standard" social program.
TOURS (see below for more details)
All the tours: 1 (Halong bay), 2 (North to South, Ho Chi Minh City) and 3 (Halong bay and Sapa) will be organized. Participants who have registered for these tours will meet with the travel organizers in Hanoi for payment of the tours. Payment can be made either by cash (preferred) or traveller's checks; at the time of writing, we do not know whether credit cards will be acceptable.
CLIMATE
Summer in Hanoi is hot and humid. The temperature often rises to at least 34o C ( 90o F ) in the daytime. Bring your handkerchiefs, sunhats and sunglasses. Conference rooms and hotels are generally well air-conditioned, as are most taxis.
VACCINATIONS
There are no compulsory vaccinations for travel to Hanoi or to big cities. However, it is a good idea to ensure that routine vaccinations against diphtheria, tetanus and polio are up to date. Please check with your doctor. Bring your usual medicines, and also adequate medication in case you happen to have diarrhoea or constipation.
CURRENCY EXCHANGE
In addition to the Vietnam currency, the Dong, the most common currency used in Vietnam is the US dollar. The exchange rate is approximately: 1 US$ = 15 500 VND, 1 Euro = 18 500 VND.
ATM cash service for credit cards is not available in Vietnam. We recommend that participants bring US$ or Euro in cash (relatively small denominations) or travellers' checks and to exchange this currency to Vietnamese Dongs. It may be possible to obtain cash at the Horison Hotel with your credit card; be aware, however, that the exchange rate, while not ruinous, is unlikely to be very favourable.
There is a safe in each room at the Hanoi Horison Hotel, in which you should keep your valuables, spare cash etc.
TIME DIFFERENCE
20:00 in Hanoi corresponds to:
MISCELLANEOUS
1. Taxis: Taxis are easily available and cheap. Driving a car is dangerous and not recommended.
2. English can be used only for very basic communication. Always carry the name, address and phone number of your hotel with you.
3. Electric power in Vietnam is 220 V AC. Power sockets are standard French sockets; US appliances require an adaptor.
Post-conference tours
Three post conference tours are proposed; details (including some photographs taken on previous tours) can be found by clicking on the relevant tour.
If you are interested in participating in any of these tours, please fill in the online tour registration form; in the case of the recently added Tour 1a, however, please inform the conference secretariat directly.
For certain parts of these tours, you are advised to bring a decent pair of walking shoes!
Note that Tour 1 and Tour 2 are compatible, i.e. Tour 2 will not leave until Tour 1 has returned!