Rough Guide to Vietnam - Jan Dodd [40]
As a visitor, it’s recommended that you err on the side of caution. Shorts and sleeveless shirts are fine for the beach, but are not welcome in pagodas, temples and other religious sites. When dealing with officialdom, it also pays to look as neat and tidy as possible. Anything else may be taken as a mark of disrespect.
Women in particular should dress modestly, especially in the countryside and ethnic minority areas, where revealing too much flesh – no shorts or sleeveless shirts – is regarded as offensive. (See "Culture and etiquette" for more advice for women travellers.)
It’s also worth noting that nudity, either male or female, on the beach is absolutely beyond the pale.
When entering a Cao Dai temple, the main building of a pagoda or a private home it’s the custom to remove your shoes. In some pagodas nowadays this may only be required when stepping onto the prayer mats – ask or watch what other people do. In a pagoda or temple you are also expected to leave a small donation.
Officially, homosexuality is regarded as a “social evil”, alongside drugs and prostitution. However, there is no law explicitly banning homosexual activity and, as long as it is not practised openly, it is largely ignored. Indeed, the number of openly gay men has increased noticeably in recent years, particularly in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, and homosexuality is discussed more frequently in the media, although the lesbian scene remains very low-key. Although outward discrimination is rare, this is still a very traditional society and it pays to be discreet in Vietnam. For more information, consult the excellent Utopia Asia website, www.utopia-asia.com.
As in most Asian countries, it’s not done to get angry, and it certainly won’t get things moving any quicker. Passing round cigarettes (to men only) is always appreciated and is widely used as a social gambit aimed at progressing tricky negotiations, bargaining and so forth.
Tipping, while not expected, is always appreciated. In general, a few thousand dong should suffice. Smart restaurants and hotels normally add a service charge, but if not ten percent is the norm in a restaurant, while the amount in a hotel will depend on the grade of hotel and what services they’ve provided. If you’re pleased with the service, you should also tip the guide, and the driver where appropriate, at the end of a tour.
Other social conventions worth noting are that you shouldn’t touch children on the head and, unlike in the West, it’s best to ignore a young baby rather than praise it, since it’s believed that this attracts the attention of jealous spirits who will cause the baby to fall ill.
Shopping
Souvenir–hunters will find rich pickings in Vietnam, whose eye–catching handicrafts and mementos range from colonial currency and stamps to fabrics and basketware crafted by the country’s ethnic minorities, and from limpet–like conical hats to fake US Army–issue Zippo lighters.
Throughout the Guide, we’ve highlighted places to shop, but in general you’ll find the best quality, choice and prices in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Hoi An. Though you’ll find more shops now have fixed prices, particularly those catering to tourists, in markets and rural areas prices are almost always open to negotiation (See "The art of bargaining" for some tips on successful bargaining).
Shopping |
Clothing, arts and crafts
Few Western tourists leave Vietnam without the obligatory conical hat, or non la, sewn from rain- and sun-proof palm fronds; at around 25,000đ for a basic version, they’re definitely an affordable keepsake. From the city of Hué comes a more elaborate version, the poem hat, or non bai tho, in whose brim are inlays which, when held up to the light, reveal lines of poetry or scenes from Vietnamese legend. Vietnamese women traditionally wear the ao dai – baggy silk trousers under a knee-length silk tunic slit up both sides. Extraordinarily elegant, ao dai can be bought off the peg anywhere in the country for around US$20; or, if you can spare a few days for fitting, you