Vietnam Do & Don't

Civil war aftermath - The north & the south of Vietnam
Beyond mentality, culture and food, political opinions and war history still distinguish the North from the South. Experience shows that civil wars leave...

Asking directions - Useful Vietnamese
The tricky part here is to get them to understand your question but never give them a chance to simply answer by 'yes'. A question like 'Is this (pointing) the...

Culture - Well behavior travelers in Vietnam
DON'T encourage the habit of paying local people to take photographs of them, as it encourages a begging mentality. Never give money to begging children...

Beaches - Swimming in Vietnam
The topography of Vietnam means that it possesses an impressive coastline (some 3,200 km of it), with about 125 beaches of varying sizes and in varying...

DMZ Blues - The wars in Vietnam
After the defeat of the French at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, the Geneva Accords provided for the temporary separation of Vietnam into two parts at the...

Tet, the biggest event of all - Vietnam holidays & festival
You can think of Tet as being the Vietnamese equivalent of Christmas, New Year and the annual holidays rolled into one. ‘Christmas’ as it is Vietnam's...

Good and bad tempers - Vietnamese way of thinking
It tends to be the accepted wisdom that Vietnamese people never really lose their tempers or get angry in public. Such behavior is certainly rarely...

Ten tips to learning the lingo - Yes or no in Vietnam
1. You have to learn to hear your own voice! Tape yourself... listen - not to the words - but to your intonations and inflexions. Ask someone who has...

Attending a funeral - Vietnam wedding & funeral
If a friend or colleague invites you to a relative's funeral, it is really polite to show up, even if for a short time. Here's how you should go about it: On the...

Visa issues - Entering Vietnam
Visas are still an expensive and rather tiresome aspect of traveling to Vietnam. DO ensure that you apply for a visa well in advance. And if you do so from...

Car, motorbike and bicycle rental - on the road in Vietnam
It's great to be able to drive yourself in Vietnam and go where you want, when you want. For extra comfort but also for a price, cars, Japanese...

Gender equality - The Culture of Vietnam
We have no intention of jumping on the gender analysis bandwagon. Numerous evaluations and studies are available to those who would like hard...

Administrative divisions - Vietnam cities & Provinces
Vietnam is divided in 64 provinces including…5 cities with ’provincial’ status (Hanoi, Haiphong, Danang, Can Tho and Ho Chi Minh City), Provinces are...

Markets and minim arts - Shopping in Vietnam
Shopping can be an interesting - but also a very exasperating experience. So arm yourself with plenty of time and patience and get out there to find...

Why can't they understand me? - Vietnam language & culture
One of the most irritating hurdles on the rocky road to learning Vietnamese is the seeming inability of Vietnamese to understand what we perceive...

Vietnam do & don't, waht to avoid when travel to Vietnam, Vietnam should do, Vietnam should not do, what to do when touring in Vietnam

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