Vietnam, through the eyes of tourists, is a friendly and safe place to travel and enjoy a wonderful time thanks to the charming destination or trying a variety of food with much reasonable price that you can hardly find somewhere else in the world. However, like any countries, Vietnam does have some differences in the customs, traditions and habits. Once you have not prepared yet, you would become confused and hard to adopt what Vietnamese people say or react. Therefore, it’s definitely essential to know what you can and should do and what you must never do when travelling to Vietnam. Let’s take a look at some of the Dos and Don’ts if you really want to have a nicer journey and have the best chance to see the real side of Vietnam.
Dos
1. It’s better than ever to greet Vietnamese people by saying “Xin Chao” for “Hello”, “Tam Biet” for “Goodbye” and “Cam On” for “Thank you” with bent head. This will show how much you respect them and how grateful you are standing in front of them. When it comes to greetings there are not so much differences in the way people greet each other globally.
2. Vietnam is famous for those antique building including pagodas or churches or some other spiritual places. That’s why people often come to visit for that reason. Therefore, once visiting those destinations, make sure that you dress smartly and modestly. This means you should cover your breast, legs and arms since most of locals are very conservative. Although time passes time, people are becoming more and more outgoing and open-minded, that does not mean you can wear shorts or “bikini” to anywhere you like!
3. People, especially those coming from the cold region where winter is likely to be the main season of the year enjoy walking under the shining sunlight. That’s the moment you should always be careful with your pocket as well as backpacks. Thieves can be found in everywhere in the world and Vietnam is not exceptional especially those whose target is foreigner who usually don’t clearly notice. Control and keep your eyes around whenever strangers stand behind!
4. When you book a hotel room, it’s essential to ask for the hotel card at the reception including its address and phone number so that you can be easily finding the way to go back at night. Another thing is that make sure there is a safe there to put your cash, credit cards and other valuable stuff in it. Otherwise, you might lose them in the blink of an eye.
5. Car, taxi, bus, train or even motorbike are really common in Vietnam. In case you need to ask for a lift, you would rather ask for the price first as Vietnamese people might make the price much higher. It’s the same thing when going shopping especially at the markets. That’s when you should always bargain and remember as well as confirm the price once again before paying. After that, feel free to shop since foods or stuff in Vietnam is quite cheap, isn’t it?
DON’Ts
1. Unless you want to make yourself become an impressive target, don’t wear valuable jewellery and don’t show off your expensive phone or clothes. At any time could those bad guys could make an action. It’s better to be always careful, isn’t it?
2. It might be strange but thieves sometimes use the knives to rip your bag! That’s why we would recommend you never wear your bag on the back but on the front zipped or locked properly.
3. As being an Eastern country, like other neighbors in Asia continent, reputation or face is kind of really important to Vietnamese people. Thus, you should not lose your temper by shouting at them or they will disrespect the way you wish. Is it a good way to control your temperature when going out?
4. You would be informed before that Ho Chi Minh City and Ha Noi are the most famous destination in Vietnam. However, don’t only visit just two places or you would be regretful about your trip. Instead, let’s spend some more days exploring the charming beauty of nature and of those ancient architecture by going to other region in Vietnam. You will be amazed and impressed by its glamorous appearance as well as history!
