Travel Tips

Gift giving is important in Vietnamese because of the significance of interpersonal relationships in Vietnamese culture.

First and foremost, do not encourage corruption. There is a clear cut between gift-giving and bribery. Nevertheless, it is common in Vietnam for exchanging small gift on certain occasions such as anniversary, Tet holiday… to express your respect, appreciation or gratitude.

Gift-giving customs depends on the context. If it is private gift for one Vietnamese partner you should give the gift at private occasion or at a business meeting if no other one presents. If you have gift for the whole office or company, you should give it after the business meeting with the whole office’s employee.

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The climate of Vietnam varies considerably from region to region. Although the entire country lies in the tropics and subtropics, local condition varies from frosty winters in the far northern hill to year-round, sub-equatorial warmth in the Mekong Delta.

Vietnam’s weather is indicated by  two monsoons. The  winter monsoon comes from the northeast between October and March, bringing wet cold winter to all areas north of Nha Trang, and dry and warm temperatures to the south. From April or May to October, the southwestern monsoon bring warm, humid weather to the whole country except for those areas sheltered by mountains.

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New coins were minted by every new dynasty in the East. But kings were not the only ones to issue their own money…

For the four short days of the year 1521 in which his contemporaries called him “King,” Tran Cao did one major thing to commit his name to posterity: he minted his own coins.

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Many languages and dialects are spoken in Vietnam, but Vietnamese is the official language and the language of most people. Many older Vietnamese are familiar with French or English. Interest in English has been rising, with language schools opening throughout the country.

Like English, Vietnamese uses the Roman alphabet, but otherwise the languages are very different. Every word in Vietnamese has only one syllable, and the language is based on tone. There are up to six tones, and what looks like the same word can have different meanings according to the tone used by the speaker. Tones are high, low, falling or wavering, like notes on a scale. For example, the word ma has six different meanings: “mother” with a high falling tone, “ghost” with a high flat tone, “grave” with a low to rising tone, and so on. In writing, one of five accents (or none) is placed above or below a word’s vowel to indicate the tone.

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During working as Travel Consultant at Footprint, some my clients ask me how they should tip for tour guides, drivers…….at the end of trip. Just smile, I usually have the same answer:  Depend on you but that is our responsibility to make you feel pleasure with our services.
Be the person who have good experience in traveling to many countries in the world, one of our regular client- Mr Lindsey said: “Just small thing but It is difficult as a traveler, there are different of tipping- culture”.  So I hope some information about tipping – culture below will be useful for travelers:

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Vietnamese Beaches, the best time to go there:

The country has a long coastline, varied, complex climatic zones and generally a fair amount of rain.
The best beaches are mostly in the southern half, and that’s best Dec- May. However, in that area it doesn’t usually rain for long periods at any time, only showers, unless an infrequent typhoon hits the coast, so the beaches are basically OK all year round.
The worst season is probably July -Oct (humidity, occasional rains, typhoons, and of course July-Aug is always a busy holiday period)
Oct – Dec has the best weather over the whole country for sightseeing, with clear skies and temperatures in the mid 20Cs.
Plan ahead if you wish to travel during the Tet New Year festival – it can be a problem getting accommodation and transport.

China Beach, between Da Nang and Hoi An Best May-Oct
The most unspoilt Vietnam beach is the endless white sand of China Beach, where US troops landed during the 70’s unpleasantness.
The main beach is officially around the Non Nuoc Resort hotel but some locals argue that the real China Beach is at My Khe Beach about 5 km north of the hotel [both are near the tourist attraction of Marble Mountains]. Development is in on the way!

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Taxis are a surprisingly cheap way to get around the major cities in Vietnam – and if need be, its event not too prohibitive to take a taxi between cities. In Saigon the crowded streets and haphazard construction can make walking a very hot and tiring exercise so it can be quite a relief to hop into a nice cool taxi when you are starting to wear out.

In general cross city taxi travel in Ho Chi Minh City between major tourist sights can be achieved for $1-2, occasionally up to $5 or $6 if you need to travel a particularly long way – for instance from downtown Dong Khoi area up to Chinatown. The vast majority of taxi drivers are very courteous, helpful and safe drivers, if a little too fond of their horns at times, so you should feel free to relax and enjoy the scenery as you drive.

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Living in Vietnam and travelling throughout Asia it is always sad (and occasionally embarrasing) to see travellers ruining their trips by getting too worked up over money. It is a natural reaction, as the way people shop in the West and the East is very different – but it is completely avoidable.

For those of us who have grown up in Western societies with fixed prices and no room for manoeuvre, haggling in a foreign country with unfamiliar people and practices can be an unsettling experience. Some people feel offended that an initial offer is higher than a ‘local’ price, or get angry when a trader won’t budge.

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Vietnam is a multi-nations country, which is home to the people of about different 54 nations. However, about 90% of the population is Vietnamese but there are a large number of ethnic minorities. The remaining 10% of the Vietnam Population constitutes of the various ethnic groups that include approximately 1.2 million Chinese.

Spread over an area of about 331,690 sq.kms Vietnam has a population of more than 83, 535, 576 people. Vietnam has a rapid population growth, the average growth rate of Vietnam’s population id 2.23 %. Owing to its rapid population growth many fear that it has started becoming an obstacle in the development of the country. In order to reduce the risk of population growth overcoming the food production, the Vietnamese government has launched a 20-year crash plan of reducing fertility rate from the present 3.7 children per woman to a level of 2 per woman.

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About Hiking In Vietnam:

The lure of Vietnam adventures lures countless tourists to the country every year. Amongst the various adventures in Vietnam, the hiking trails in Vietnam see the highest footfall. You have the wooded mountains up north and particularly in Sapa, the ravishing scenery in the Central Highlands of the country, bask in the lush greenery of the Mekong Delta and wonder at the striking seafront at Halong Bay, Vietnam.

Adventure holidays in Vietnam and particularly in the Central Highland region are gaining popularity through the years. The Yokdon National Park is one of the largest nature reserves in Vietnam and possesses some of the most eclectic and enchanting hiking trails in Vietnam. Vietnam hiking trips in these parts will acquaint you with the peculiar features of a typical south-east Asian tropical forests and bring you face-to-face with many indigenous varieties of flora and fauna.

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