Vietnam Food
Vietnamese cuisine is especially varied – there are said to be nearly 500 different traditional dishes that include exotic meats (but think twice before you eat a rare animal) and fantastic vegetarian creations (often prepared to replicate meat and fish dishes). However, the staple of Vietnamese cuisine is plain white rice dressed up with a plethora of vegetables, fish (which is common in Vietnam), meat, spices and sauces. Spring rolls, noodles and steamed rice dumplings are popular snacks, and the ubiquitous soups include eel and vermicelli, shredded chicken and bitter soups. Fruit is abundant; some of the more unusual ones include green dragon fruit, jujube, khaki, longan, mangosteen, pomelo, three-seed cherry and water apple. Vietnamese coffee (ca phe phin) is very good; it’s usually served very strong and very sweet.

Vietnamese Language
The Vietnamese language belongs to a language group which was established a long time ago in East Asia. Changes in material conditions over  centuries and the increasing demands of cultural life have influenced the Vietnamese language.
While adopting many elements of the Chinese language, the Vietnamese people changed many Chinese words, gradually creating Han-Viet (Chinese-Vietnamese) which incorporated purely Vietnamese words. “Vietnamization” is not only applied to the Chinese language, but also to French and other language groups, creating a diverse vocabulary for the Vietnamese language.

In conjunction with the development of the nation, the Vietnamese language was constantly developed and improved. Around the 17th century, western missionaries came to Vietnam and learned Vietnamese in order to disseminate Catholicism. They developed a romanced script to represent the Quoc Ngu (meaning national language) in order to translate prayer books and catechisms. A number of Portuguese and Italian missionaries used Quoc Ngu to compile catechisms and Portuguese-Vietnamese and Vietnamese-Portuguese dictionaries. Based on these works, in 1651, Alexandre de Rhodes, a French Jesuit missionary, published the Vietnamese Portuguese-Latin dictionary in Rome. After Alexandre de Rhodes, Quoc Ngu was further improved by foreign missionaries and Vietnamese scholars.

In 1867, some colonial schools began to teach Quoc Ngu. It was not until early in the 20th century that Quoc Ngu became widely used in the local primary educational system. The introduction of Quoc Ngu constituted a new step in the development of the Vietnamese language. While romanization received a reserved welcome in other Asian countries, it recorded extraordinary success in Vietnam, creating favorable conditions for cultural and intellectual development.

Vietnam Festivals and Events
Special prayers are held at Vietnamese and Chinese pagodas on days when the moon is either full or the merest sliver. Many Buddhists eat only vegetarian food on these days. Some of the major religious festivals follow a lunar calendar. They include: Tet (late January or early February).the most important festival of the year, which lasts a week (with rites beginning a week earlier), marking the new lunar year; Wandering Souls Day (Trung Nguyen), held on the fifteenth day of the seventh moon (August), is the second-largest festival of the year, when offerings of food and gifts are given to the wandering souls of the forgotten dead; Tet Doan Ngo (Summer Solstice Day) in June sees the burning of human effigies to satisfy the need for souls to serve in the God of Death’s army; and Holiday of the Dead (Thanh Minh) in April commemorates deceased relatives.

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Hanoi, the capital of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, is a pleasant and even charming city, in large parts because of its famous lakes, shaded boulevards and verdant public parks. The city center is an architectural museum piece, its blocks of ochre buildings retaining the air of a peaceful and austere provincial town, contrary to the fast-living and bustling air of Saigon. The city of Hanoi is a small part now of Greater Hanoi, which has a land area of 2,139 sq.km and a population of about 3,000,000. In the past, Hanoi was first chosen by King Ly Thai To as the capital of the country and was named Thang Long (Descending Dragon) in 1010. Through several successive dynasties, it remained  the country’s capital city, the heart and soul of the whole nation, and has born a variety of names, including Dong Kinh (Eastern capital), from which the Europeans derived the name they eventually applied to all of northern Vietnam, Tonkin. The city was finally named Hanoi (the city in a bend of the river) by Emperor Minh Mang (Nguyen Dynasty) in 1831. From 1902 to 1953, Hanoi served as the capital of French Indochina. There are two main seasons in Hanoi: the hot (and rainy) season from May to October with the hottest month: July – average temperature 31 0C; and the cold (and dry) season with the coldest month: January – average temperature 14 0C.

Ethnology Museum
Just opened at the end of 1997, the museum has attracted the attention of visitors, ethnographers and researchers from all over the world. With its astounding collection of 1,000 objects, 15,000 photos and hundreds of tapes about the 60 ethnic groups of Vietnam, it has successfully recreated the daily life together with the religious rituals and the symbolic festivals of each ethnic group.

Fine Arts Museum
With numerous exhibitions of specific fine arts collections including ancient stone sculptures, antique pottery, ethnic minority paintings, lacquer ware, etc., the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum is a lively historical treasure depicting the origins and evolution of Vietnamese fine arts. The entrance is at No. 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc St. and the opening hours are 8:00am-12:00 am & 1:30pm to 4:30pm, from Tues. to Sun.

History Museum
Once the museum of the Ecole Francaise d’Extreme Orient, the building remains one of Hanoi’s most stunning architectural showpieces. It preserves a large number of valuable artefacts from Vietnam’s turbulent past including prehistory, Dong Son culture, etc. to various Vietnamese dynasties as well as the Vietnamese struggles against foreign invaders.

West Lake  & Tran Quoc Pagoda
West Lake , the largest lake in Hanoi, and  Truc Bach Lake are an attractive part of the city. The two lakes are separated by Thanh Nien St. with rows of willow trees offering a picturesque site in the heart of the country. In the past, West Lake was once a resort for mandarins and kings. Now it is a very popular recreational place for Hanoians to enjoy fresh air, peaceful atmosphere and typical dishes. We wouldn’t forget to mention Tran Quoc Pagoda right on the shore of  West Lake which is one of the oldest pagodas in Vietnam.

Hoan Kiem Lake & Ngoc Son Temple
Hoan Kiem Lake, considered the most beautiful lake in Hanoi, is an enchanting body of water right in the heart of the city. Lying on a small island in this lake is Ngoc Son Temple (Jade Mountain) founded in the 18th century and dedicated to the Scholar Van Xuong, General Tran Hung Dao (who defeated the Mongols in the 13th century) and La To (patron saint of physicians). Ngoc Son Temple is reached via the red-painted, wooden bridge – The Huc (Rising Sun) constructed in 1885.

Old Quarter
Hanoi’s Old Quarter of over a-thousand-year history, or 36 streets with each taking a different name after its product, remains one of Vietnam’s most lively and unusual places, where visitors can buy anything from precious stones to silk kimonos. Some of the specialized streets here include Hang Bac with a trip of snazzy jewellery shops or Hang Ngang with a row of clothing shops and tailors. Moreover, a stroll through this historic Old Quarter with a stop at Dong Xuan Market is highly recommended for visitors can get a good dose of Vietnamese culture and some insight into the country’s long history.

President Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum
President Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, the final resting place of President Ho Chi Minh, was constructed between 1973 and 1975 of native materials gathered from all over Vietnam. It now becomes a site of pilgrimage for Vietnamese as well as for foreign visitors. Just some steps from the mausoleum, visitors can visit One-Pillar pagoda resembling a lotus blossom and also  Ho Chi Minh Museum depicting a view of President Ho’s life.

Temple of Literature
The Temple of Literature (Van Mieu) is a pleasant retreat from the streets of Hanoi. Founded in 1070 for the worship of sages of Confucianism, it constitutes a rare example of well-preserved traditional Vietnamese architecture and is well worth a visit. Vietnam’s first university was established here in 1076 to educate the sons of mandarins. In 1482, King Le Thanh Tong ordered the erection of stelae with inscriptions of the names, places of birth and achievemnets of the graduates who had taken examinations since 1442. The stelae are in a form of tortoises which surely give visitors many impressions. Presently, 82 stelae stand at the Temple of Literature.

Bat Trang ceramics village
Half an hour’s drive from Hanoi, across the bridge Chuong Duong and down the northern bank of the Red River, brings you to one of the best-known villages in Vietnam. The residents of Bat Trang have been making ceramic objects for centuries. In their heyday, – some 600 years ago – the artisans were responsible for providing dinnerware for the royal families of the capital city and China, while trader took Bat Trang plates, jars and ornamental items as far afield as Japan, Holland and France. Nowadays, by the help of techniques, Bat Trang village can produce its product in high volumes at a low cost. Mold are used to make votive and ornamental objects in its thousands, which are fired in brick kilns then painted by hand. There is very few artisans still use a wheel to create pottery items.

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General Advice About Travelling in Vietnam

From the worker’s simple outfits in the rice fields to western style business suits in the city, the Vietnamese are conservative in their dress. Visitors wearing shorts are tolerated, even though you may see many shirtless Vietnamese men in shorts.

Wear conservative clothing if you visit a culturally sensitive area such as a temple or pagoda — the less bare skin the better.

Keep in mind that, although tolerant, people may be judgmental. Unfortunately you cannot expect hospitality at every turn and you may experience problems with petty theft and pick pockets. This is more prevalent in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and Nha Trang. In other areas, especially in the north, reports of these activities are extremely minimal. It is not something to be paranoid about but be aware of your surroundings.

Below is a list of do’s and don’ts to help you avoid some of the social taboos during your visit. Take heed of these pointers and you will be rewarded with a culturally and socially enriching experience.

What You Should Do

Store your cash, credit cards, airline tickets and other valuables in a safe place. Most 4-star hotels have in-room safes, otherwise ask the reception to keep your valuable things in their deposit facility.

Take a hotel business card from the reception desk before venturing out from your hotel. This will make your return to the hotel in a taxi or cyclo much easier.

Carry a roll of toilet paper in your daypack on long excursions from your base hotel. You never know when you might need it!

Dress appropriately. Not only for the prevailing weather, but also not to cause offence to the local people. Vietnamese have conservative dress codes, and it is only in larger cities that these codes are a little more relaxed. Do not wear revealing clothing.

Drink plenty of bottled water. During the summer months you should be drinking a minimum of 2 litres per day. If you drink tea, coffee and alcohol you should increase you water intake accordingly as these will help to dehydrate you.

If invited into a Vietnamese home, always remove your shoes at the front door when entering.

Ask for permission when taking a photograph of someone. If they indicate that they do not want you to, then abide by their wishes.

Things Not To Do in Vietnam

Offer money or push the issue.

Never carry more money than you need when walking around the streets.

Do not wear large amounts of jewellery. There are two reasons for not doing this (1) It is considered impolite to flaunt wealth in public; (2) It is more likely that you may become a victim of a pickpocket or drive-by bag snatcher.

Don’t be paranoid about your security, just be aware of your surroundings.

Don’t wear singlets, shorts, dresses or skirts, or tops with low-neck lines and bare shoulders to Temples and Pagodas. To do this is considered extremely rude and offensive.

Avoid giving empty water bottles, sweets and candies or pens to the local people when trekking through ethnic minority villages. You cannot guarantee that the empty bottles will be disposed of in a correct manner, and the people have no access to dental health. If you want to give pens, ask your guide to introduce you to the local teacher and donate them to the whole community.

Never sleep or sit with the soles of your feet pointing towards the family altar when in someone’s house.

Never lose your temper in public or when bargaining for a purchase. This is considered a serious loss of face for both parties. Always maintain a cool and happy demeanour and you will be reciprocated with the same.

Do not try to take photographs of military installations or anything to do with the military. This can be seen as a breach of national security.

Never take video cameras into the ethnic minority villages. They are considered to be too intrusive by the local people.

The above advice is meant to help you have a perfect trip to Vietnam.

Do not be overly paranoid though. Generally, Vietnamese people are very appreciative if they see you trying to abide by their customs, and very forgiving if you get it wrong or forget. If you make the effort, you will be rewarded.

Vietvaluetravel.com

Vietnam LanguageVietnamese (tiếng Việt, or less commonly Việt ngữ), formerly known under French colonization as Annamese (see Annam), is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of the Vietnamese people (người Việt or người Kinh), who constitute 86%-90% of Vietnam’s population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese, most of whom live in the United States. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam. It is part of the Austroasiatic language family, of which it has the most speakers by a significant margin (several times larger than the other Austroasiatic languages put together). Much vocabulary has been borrowed from Chinese, especially words that denote abstract ideas in the same way European languages borrow from Latin and Greek, and it was formerly written using the Chinese writing system, albeit in a modified format and was given vernacular pronunciation. The Vietnamese writing system in use today is an adapted version of the Latin alphabet, with additional diacritics for tones and certain letters.

- Vietnamese is the official language.

- Almost tourist guides speak languages: English, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish and Japanese.

Vietnamese Currency

vietnamese currency
Vietnamese dong (VND) is the official currency in Vietnam.

- Paper notes include: VND 500,000; 200,000; 100,000; 50,000; 20,000; 10,000; 5,000; 2,000; 1,000; 500; 200 and 100. Coins include VND 5,000; 2,000; 1,000; 500 and 200.

Cheques with value as Vietnamese dong include: VND 1,000,000 and 500,000.

- Foreign currencies and tourist cheques can be exchanged into Vietnamese Dong at banks or foreign exchange agencies.

- Credit cards are popularly used, especially in cities and big tourist centers.

Before leaving Vietnam, Vietnamese dong can be exchanged into foreign currencies at the airport

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A friend of mine came to visit me in Saigon – he’d been working on a yacht from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean and so had been covered by his employer for that stretch of the journey. He decided to leave his job and come and visit, but didn’t think to get cover for the rest of his travels. One night in Saigon he came off his motorbike and managed to break his jaw in five places – very nasty but it could have been far worse. It still meant getting his jaw wired shut for six weeks and metal plates in his mouth, as well as a whopping medical bill for thousands of pounds.

Happily he is healed and scar free, but I doubt he’ll make the same mistake again. I felt very sorry for the family when I read this article in the Telegraph – a family was left with a £25,000 medical bill when a motorbike accident landed their son in hospital.

The main train line runs North-South from Hanoi to Saigon, for the most part running along or near the coast and stopping at major destinations such as Ninh Binh, Hue, Danang, Quy Nhon and Nha Trang. It currently takes around 30-35 hours to travel from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City or vice versa, a distance of over 1,000 miles.

Additionally there are several smaller train lines and routes: from Ho Chi Minh City to Phan Thiet (for Mui Ne), from Hanoi to Halong Bay, Hanoi to Hai Phong, and from Hanoi past Lao Cai (for Sapa) up to the Chinese border and on to Nanning, in Guanxi Province. There used to be more train lines in the country such as the link from Ho Chi Minh City to Dalat, but sadly many of these have fallen into disrepair.

Outside of these key destinations you may need to get a bus – particularly if you plan to visit the hills. However if you are travelling along the train’s route we highly recommend it as a way to experience the countryside, take in the beautiful rural scenes far from the dust and noise of the highways, and to meet Vietnamese travellers.

Tickets and classes on Vietnamese Trains

Train travel in Vietnam is reasonably comfortable, with most carriages coming with A/C and some level of onboard entertainment. All trains have a dining car with simple snacks and beer which is a nice place to pass an hour or two, and the sleeper cars are fairly comfortable.

Tickets are sold in 4 classes that get progressively more expensive:

• Hard Seat: Simple wooden benches and open windows – no A/C. We’d recommend not taking this on a long journey, and definately not overnight.
• Soft Seat: Reclining chairs in an A/C compartment. Although slightly battered looking the seats are fairly comfortable and easy to doze in during daytime trips.
• Hard Sleeper: With a thin mattress these beds are a little hard but still not bad, and far more comfortable than a hard seat. There are 6 beds in a cabin.
• Soft Sleeper: Though not luxurious these beds are comfortable enough, and there are 4 beds in a cabin

Not all classes are available on all trains – the trains marked SE are generally faster and have better quality beds and seats, while the TN class trains may only have hard sleepers and tend to stop more often and travel at a slower speed.

When buying a sleeper ticket you may be asked which level you wish to sleep on. There are normally 3 levels with the top being cheapest as it can be a bit tricky to climb up for smaller people, and the bottom bunk being the most expensive – but the difference is normally pretty negligable.

Tickets can be purchased at railway stations and occasionally at offices in tourist centres – for example there is a booking office on Pham Ngu Lau in Ho Chi Minh City. It is not yet possible to book tickets online.

If you wish to book a sleeper ticket it is wise to book at least a day or two in advance; and should you wish to travel on or around a national holiday you may need to book a week or two in advance to avoid disappointment. During these busy periods it is normally possible to find a bus.

Private Train Companies

There are a number of private train companies offering a ‘luxury service’ between destinations in Vietnam. Usually these are upmarket carriages that are attached to standard trains. These include Livitrains in the north of the country, operating from Hanoi to Danang and Lao Cai, and Goldentrains (Vietnamese only) in the south, which operates carridges on routes from Ho Chi Minh City – Nha Trang – Quy Nhon.

Future Projects

Vietnam is planning to build a ‘bullet train’ type service between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh that will increase speeds from the current average of 45km/h up to 350km/h, dramatically reducing the time it takes to travel from one to the other to 7 hours. The line will cost $56 billion and will be build with Japanese assistance, and is expected to be completed by 2025, with sections between Hanoi and Vinh and HCMC and Nha Trang coming online in 2020.

There is also line planned between HCMC and Phnom Penh in Cambodia that is being built with Chinese assistance that will help complete a pan-ASEAN transport network, eventually enabling train travel from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur through Thailand, Cambodia and Laos all the way up to Beijing in China.

We think any responsible traveller should at a minimum learn how to meet and greet people and how to be polite, but taking the time to learn a few more phrases will certainly enhance your enjoyment – even if it just means you are able to recognise a few more items on that otherwise baffling Vietnamese menu. Use our free online phrasebook to sharpen your skills and prepare for your trip – or download it as a PDF to put on your Kindle, mobile, iPhone, iPod touch or other ebook reader

There is an enormous variety of goods on offer including clothes, footwear, hats. hair clips, jewellery, watches..etc The prices are normally cheaper than day markets or supermarkets as the sellers pay less for the rent, so there are some great bargains to be had. As well as the choice in souvenirs there’s also a great range of food, with many street vendors setting up shop to take advantage of the passing trade.

Some night markets specialise in cheap goods for students and workers, and are located out of town near universities and textile factories, such as the huge Ky Hoa night market on Cao Thang in District 10, where many student live. In these markets the prices are often cheaper than in town and less bargaining is necessary; many people also come to these markets and buy wholesale to stock their shops in town.

The food in Ky Hoa is delicious and surprisingly cheap, just $1 for a bowl of noodles or a plate of broken-rice with grilled pork and fried egg, plus a glass of sugar cane juice on the side. You will find a similar atmosphere at Binh Tay / Cho Lon, Hoa Hung and Ba Chieu night markets.

In case of police assistance in Vietnam, the number to contact is 113, for the Fire Brigade, you can dial 114 and to contact the ambulance in case of medical aid, the number is 115. These are the essential emergency phone numbers in Vietnam that every traveler to the country must be aware of.

Besides these, however, there are several other numbers that you can use in case of emergency situations during travel to Vietnam. These are listed below for your reference:

Telephone Repair – 119
Drainage – 8234444 – 8230800
Greenery – 8316181 – 8550488
Street Lamps – 8535500
Roads and Bridges – 8531111

The emergency phone numbers for hospitals in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, and Ho Chi Minh, the largest city are:

Hanoi:

International SOS (24-hr alarm center and medical emergency teams) – 9340555
Vietnam International Hospital (24-hr emergency clinic) – 5740740
Medex (24-hr emergency) – 8430748

Ho Chi Minh:

International SOS (24-hr alarm center and medical emergency teams) – 8298424, 8298520
Alain Carpentier Foundation IMC Heart Institute (24 hr emergency) – 8654025
Colombia Asia Saigon (24-hour emergency) – 8238455

Tourists traveling to Vietnam generally look for souvenirs and traditional handicrafts and there are lots of shops in Vietnam that offer these. The best gift items include articles made of lacquer, especially paintings, then there are wooden screens, reed mats, earthenware, (check out the elephants). Things with lovely embroideries like wall hangings, draperies, robes are quite sought after. Oil paintings, Silk paintings, Carpets, jewelry and leather goods are also quite popular. You can also purchase antiques to decorate your home. However be careful while buying antiques because in Vietnam there are strict laws for buying antiques. Some of the souvenir shops in Vietnam are:

• Thao Nguyen in Ho Chi Minh
• Precious Qui in Ho Chi Minh
• Art Tunnel in Hanoi
• Nga in Ho Chi Minh
• Kids And Stone in Hanoi

Buying the national garment Ao Dai is also a good option in Vietnam shopping or you could also settle for their famous pointed hats. They are so big that they can double up as an umbrella protecting you from the sun and rain. Some tourists even look for War souvenirs while shopping in Vietnam, but make sure you do not buy any weapons.

Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have the best options for shopping in Vietnam, while the other cities offer nice traditional handworks. Shops in Vietnam are usually open from 7 or 8 o’clock in the morning to 11:30pm, however some shops remain open only during the afternoon. Among the various things to do in Vietnam shopping is probably the most pleasurable one