The Vietnamese nation has been around for over a thousand years, and doesn't look as if it will be going away anytime soon. The passing centuries have left Vietnam with a rich culture that manifests in many interesting ways. Catch a performance of Vietnamese Water Puppets. Fine art? Visit Kim Bong Village and take home an intricate carving or two. To see Vietnam's culture in action city-wide, visit during one of Vietnam Festivals ; the fun of local celebrations during Tet the New Year will make the horrible traffic worth it!
The Vietnamese are obsessive foodies to the point of conflict; a local from Saigon will disagree vehemently with a Hanoi resident on the proper way to prepare the noodle dish pho. It's hard to pin down what exactly makes Vietnamese food great, but the influences from China and France come through in foods like cao lau noodles and banh mi.
Beer is another major Vietnamese preoccupation — every major city seems to have its own brand of beer, from Hue 's Huda to Saigon and Hanoi's eponymous brews.
Find out more about the best beers in Southeast Asia. When most Americans think of Vietnam, they think of the tragically bloody Vietnam War. Vietnamese, on the other hand, see the Vietnam War a part of a successful process of decolonization: the defeat of the French and retreat of the Americans is as much part of their national creation myth as the American Revolution is part of America's. Many Vietnam War sites in the country reflect this view.
Historic war sites in Saigon have been turned into memorials or museums depicting the inevitable triumph of the Vietnamese nation — the Cu Chi Tunnels depict the covert struggle of the Communist guerrillas against the invading American forces, the War Remnants Museum focuses on the savagery of the war effort, and the Reunification Palace marks the site where the South Vietnamese government finally submitted to Communist forces.
A former French prison in the middle of town has been converted into a museum honoring the struggle of Vietnamese against colonialism — the Hoa Lo Prison also known as the "Hanoi Hilton" depicts the horrors that Vietnamese prisoners had to undergo at the hands of their French jailers.
A single room is dedicated to the American POWs who were confined here, but that picture is studiously airbrushed to present the Vietnamese in the most humane light possible. All these sites are invaluable pilgrimage destinations for war history enthusiasts and Vietnam War veterans alike. The Vietnamese are gracious hosts — GIs visiting Vietnam War sites are treated with respect and kindness. Vietnam's embarrassment of geological riches varies as you go from north to south.
Up north, the karst limestone geology creates natural wonders like Ha Long Bay and Hanoi 's many lakes. In Central Vietnam, near the town of Mui Ne, sand dunes in red and white hues attract curious travelers.
In the south, the Mekong Delta allows visitors to look at an ancient riverside lifestyle and a habitat that provides plenty of fodder for biologists — the Delta has yielded about 10, new species since scientists started to study the area. Whether your tastes run as tame as sledding down the Mui Ne sand dunes , or as extreme as riding through Vietnam on a Russian-made motorcycle, there's something in Vietnam that suits your appetite for adventure.
Adventure activities around Ha Long Bay , among other things, include kayaking on the bay and climbing up the many natural karst walls in the area. Vietnam can be very rewarding for lovers. Visit Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi , for instance, and you'll find plenty of locals going a-courting around the lake's edge. Hoan Kiem is a favorite spot for Vietnamese getting their wedding photography done. Hanoi tends to be very wet. And the deluge of rain at Ha Long Bay means you should forget about going on a boat tour this month.
Conditions on the central coast are, on the whole, still pretty good, especially at Nha Trang , although the fine days are coming to an end. The central coast and central highlands , however, are getting very wet indeed, with storms on the horizon. Sunbathing in central Vietnam is over, however, as the rain dumps down, and storms make it difficult to get around.
Meanwhile, the south is drying up, and warming up. Balmy temperatures in the south and favourable conditions in the north make this an ideal month to visit either end of the country. Take your pick of the beaches in the south , or go trekking in the north. November is also the best time of year to visit Vietnam for a cruise at Ha Long Bay.
The wet season starts with a flourish around Nha Trang , and be warned that when the northeasterly winter monsoon hits, the riptides between Da Nang and Hoi An become particularly dangerous. When you are deciding on when to go to Vietnam it's worth taking a look at the calendar of annual festivals , so that you can perhaps plot them on your itinerary. The most important festival is Tet , the Vietnamese New Year, and lasts for seven days sometime between the last week of January and the third week of February.
Families get together to celebrate and there's a party-like atmosphere in the cities, with colourful decorations adorning the streets, the scent of incense in the air, and glorious fireworks displays filling the skies. The Vietnamese year follows a rhythm of festivals and religious observances, ranging from solemn family gatherings at the ancestral altar to national celebrations culminating in Tet, the Vietnamese New Year. In between are countless local festivals, most notably in the Red River Delta, honouring the tutelary spirit of the village or community temple.
The majority of festivals take place in spring, with a second flurry in the autumn months. One festival you might want to make a note of, however, is Tet: not only does most of Vietnam close down for the week, but either side of the holiday local transport services are stretched to the limit and international flights are filled by returning overseas Vietnamese.
Many Vietnamese festivals are Chinese in origin, imbued with a distinctive flavour over the centuries, but minority groups also hold their own specific celebrations. The ethnic minorities continue to punctuate the year with rituals that govern sowing, harvest or hunting, as well as elaborate rites of passage surrounding birth and death. The Cao Dai religion has its own array of festivals, while Christian communities throughout Vietnam observe the major ceremonies.
Funeral processions are recognizable from the white headbands worn by mourners, while close family members dress completely in white. Most festivals take place according to the lunar calendar, which is also closely linked to the Chinese system with a zodiac of twelve animal signs.
The most important times during the lunar month which lasts 29 or 30 days are the full moon day one and the new moon day fourteen or fifteen. Festivals are often held at these times, which also hold a special significance for Buddhists, who are supposed to pray at the pagoda and avoid eating meat during the two days.
On the eve of each full moon, Hoi An now celebrates a Full-Moon Festival: traffic is barred from the town centre, where traditional games, dance and music performances take place under the light of silk lanterns. Tet lasts for seven days and falls sometime between the last week of January and the third week of February, on the night of the new moon.
This is a time when families get together to celebrate renewal and hope for the new year, when ancestral spirits are welcomed back to the household and when everyone in Vietnam becomes a year older — age is reckoned by the new year and not by individual birthdays. Instead, all the major cities hold fireworks displays. Tet kicks off seven days before the new moon with the festival of Ong Tau, the god of the hearth 23rd day of the twelfth month.
Ong Tau keeps watch over the household throughout the year, wards off evil spirits and makes an annual report of family events, good or bad, to the Jade Emperor.
In order to send Ong Tau off to heaven in a benevolent mood, the family cleans its house from top to bottom, and makes offerings to him, including pocket money and a new set of clothes. Tet is all about starting the year afresh, with a clean slate and good intentions.
Not only is the house scrubbed, but all debts are paid off and those who can afford it have a haircut and buy new clothes.
To attract favourable spirits, good-luck charms are put in the house, most commonly cockerels or the trinity of male figures representing prosperity, happiness and longevity. The crucial moments are the first minutes and hours of the new year as these set the pattern for the whole of the following year.
People strive to avoid arguments, swearing or breaking anything — at least during the first three days when a single ill word could tempt bad luck into the house for the whole year ahead. The first visitor on the morning of Tet is also vitally significant: the ideal is someone respected, wealthy and happily married who will bring good fortune to the family; the bereaved, unemployed, accident-prone and even pregnant, on the other hand, are considered ill-favoured.
The week-long festival is marked by feasting: special foods are eaten at Tet, such as pickled vegetables, candied lotus seeds and sugared fruits, all of which are first offered at the family altar. The most famous delicacy is banh chung banh tet in the south , a thick square or cylinder of sweet, sticky rice that is prepared only for Tet.
The rice is wrapped round a mixture of green-bean paste, pork fat and meat marinated in nuoc mam, and then boiled in banana leaves, which impart a pale green colour. Tet is an expensive time for Vietnamese families, many of whom save for months to get the new year off to a good start. Plum and kumquat symbolizing gold coins are also popular, alongside the more showy, modern blooms of roses, dahlias or gladioli.
After an initial jamboree, Tet is largely a family occasion when offices are shut, and many shops and restaurants may close for the seven-day festival. Officially only the first four days are public holidays, though many people take the whole week.
First to seventh days of first lunar month; late January to mid-February. Vietnam is 1, miles 1, kilometers long so it does take some time to travel from place to place.
Most visitors tend to visit Vietnam in 2 weeks and travel from North to South Vietnam or vice versa. It can be exhausting traveling from place to place so another option is to stay in one location such as South Vietnam. There are plenty of local attractions to visit on your South Vietnam itinerary in 2 weeks or hang out in Central Vietnam for a week. If you have more time off from work or school, one month in Vietnam would be even better! What is great about Vietnam is that you can experience many different cultures, landscapes, food, and vibe as you travel from North to South.
The opportunities are endless to explore. Riding a boat through the Mekong Delta is one of the top reasons to travel to Vietnam. Photo credit: Alyshia Turchyn via Scopio Photos.
The local way of going from city to city is to either take the overnight sleeper bus or train. The sleeper buses are comfortable and allow you to recline your body and legs so you can rest. The trains are also another option and have comfortable seating or even a bed with air conditioning. Train tickets need to be booked in advance, especially around the holidays and Vietnamese Lunar New Year. For those short on time, taking a plane ride on a domestic airline between cities is another option.
Otherwise, you can take metered taxis or use a ride-hailing service, such as Grab or Go-Jek for shorter-distance car or motorbike rides.
Here is a snapshot of the iconic places to visit in Vietnam. Visit Hoi An to see these beautiful silk lanterns light up in the evenings. For a more local experience , experience a meal on the squatty plastic chairs and tables and on the sidewalk. There are delicious desserts too! Depending on your budget, there are cheap to fancier vegetarian restaurants. The rice plates are filling, healthy, and so cheap!
The robusta coffee flavor is stronger due to the use of a coffee phin to slow drop the coffee. You may get the jitters after drinking your coffee. For a relaxing morning or afternoon, head to a local coffee shop, sit on the sidewalk if this is an option , enjoy your coffee, and do some people watching. Vietnamese coffee is a fantastic way to start off your vacation in Vietnam! Despite what you hear about Vietnam, the country is safe to travel to. Owning firearms is illegal in the country.
Therefore, the only thing that you need to worry about is petty theft. Here are some helpful tips to prevent petty theft:. There are some cases of women getting assaulted and groped while riding on Grab motorbikes. These incidents occur in the larger cities but can happen anywhere. It helps if you know pricing and some conversational Vietnamese to sort out the issues.
Vietnam has done a good job of preserving these buildings for locals and visitors to admire. Vietnam has a variety of adventures to experience during your itinerary.
From hiking to riding a sampan boat to learning how to drive a motorbike, the opportunities are endless. We love to go hiking and Vietnam has incredible hiking opportunities. The popular overnight hiking trails are in the Lam Dong province in the Central Highlands. You can also head to Sapa to go trekking through the ethnic villages or Fansipan. Read more about Vietnam waterfalls here. How many islands does Vietnam have?
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