Facebook unwelcome in Vietnam, but Zuckerberg OK

Associated Press, Dec 27, 2011 

In this Dec. 26, 2011 photo, Facebook website founder Mark Zuckerberg

rides  a water buffalo in northern resort town of Sapa in Lao Cai province, 

Vietnam  in this picture taken. Vietnam may block its citizens from using to 

Facebook, but that didn't stop website founder Mark Zuckerberg from spending

 his vacation there. Zuckerberg spent Christmas Eve in the popular tourist 

destination Ha Long Bay, local official Trinh Dang Thanh says.

(AP Photo/VnExpress, Le Thanh Hieu)

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) -- Vietnam may block its citizens from using Facebook, but that didn't stop website founder Mark Zuckerberg from vacationing in the communist country.

Zuckerberg spent Christmas Eve in the popular tourist destination Ha Long Bay, local official Trinh Dang Thanh says.

State-run media say Zuckerberg arrived in Vietnam on Dec. 22.

Zuckerberg spent Christmas Day at an ecolodge in the northern mountain town of Sapa and rode a buffalo, said Le Phuc Thien, deputy manager at Topas Ecolodge.

Zuckerberg, Facebook's 27-year-old CEO, founded the social networking site in 2004.

Vietnam's aggressive Internet censors block access to Facebook and other websites, but young Vietnamese easily bypass the restrictions.