Our Vietnam Travel Guide will provide you with some unique information you need to know about the country. These include Vietnamese cuisine, Vietnamese clothing, Vietnamese art, their trade villages and alternative ways to travel around.

Colorful Vietnamese Cuisine

Food in Vietnam uses a lot of herbs and very little oil. As such, it’s considered as one of the world’s healthiest cuisines that any visitor, whether on a diet or not, can feast on. The style of cooking used in the country is distinct from other Asian countries. Common ingredients apart from the fresh herbs include fish sauce, soy paste, fruits and vegetables. Some of the popular herbs used in Vietnamese cooking are mint, lemongrass, coriander and Thai basil leaves. As for meat, commonly used are chicken, pork, beef, fish and other seafood. One flavoring that is always present in Vietnamese cuisine is fish sauce or nuoc mam. This is not just an ordinary fish sauce. It is made from fish that are highly salted and left to ferment for up to 12 months inside ceramic vats.

Although the different regions of Vietnam may differ in their cooking style, there are features that they share in common. For instance, they focus on keeping food fresh as much as possible. To do this, the meats are cooked only briefly to ensure they retain their colors and textures while the vegetables are often eaten fresh. At times, vegetables may be stir-fried or boiled but only for a short time. Dishes that have broths or soups are also a staple.

The way food is presented matters as well. Meals are often served with condiments that feature a variety of colors to make them more attractive. Vietnamese cuisine always strives to have a balance, based on the five elements – wood, fire, earth, metal and water. These are represented by five spices – sour, bitter, sweet, spicy and salty, respectively. It is very intriguing as these spices in turn reflect, in the same order, different colors – green, red, yellow, white and black. The cuisine should also appeal to the five senses, and again going for the same order, the food arrangement appeals to the visual sense; the spices are for the taste; the consistency and contrasting texture of the ingredients appeal to the sense of touch while the aromatic herbs are meant to enhance the sense of smell. Finally, the use of crispy ingredients is to appeal to the sense of sound. Each cuisine should also have the five nutrients – powder, fat, protein, minerals and water, corresponding to the five elements, in the same order.

Vietnam is divided into three main regions and each region has different styles of cooking based on the ingredients used. The cuisine in the northern and colder part of Vietnam is normally not too spicy, as the colder climate does not warrant the production as well as the availability of spices. Due to scarcity of spices, black pepper is relied on to achieve the spicy flavor. Cuisine in North Vietnam is intrinsically light and balanced in flavors. Crab is a top ingredient in many dishes although other seafood such as prawns, shrimps, squids and clams are also used. Fish sauce, prawn sauce, lime and soy sauce are the flavorings commonly used in this region.

On the other hand, there is an abundance of spices in Central Vietnam. As this was the seat of the last dynasty’s reign, the food here reflects the royal cuisine of ancient Vietnam, characterized by being highly colorful and decorative. Spicy foods are regularly prepared in this region and chili peppers and shrimp sauces are dominant. Signature dishes are bánh xèo or sizzling cakes and bún bò Huế or Huế style beef rice vermicelli. Bánh xèo is actually savory pancakes made of rice flour, water and turmeric powder. The pancake is filled with shrimps, green onions, bean sprouts and small slices of pork with fat.

South Vietnam’s cuisine is sweeter, as cooks love to add sugar and coconut milk to their dishes. Fruits and vegetables as well as meat and poultry are the main ingredients. Fresh herbs, shallots and garlic are some of the ingredients used to balance the flavors. The cuisine in this region is heavily influenced by Indian, Thai, French and Chinese cuisines.
This is the current cuisine standard in the different regions of Vietnam. But you will be surprised to learn that in ancient Vietnam, when royalty still reigned, 50 chefs were employed by the palace to prepare the meals for the King. They had to prepare 12 dishes just for breakfast alone. While you may think that it’s too much, 50 main dishes plus 16 desserts and sweets were prepared for lunch as well as dinner. Some dishes like tổ yến or bird’s nest soup, bào ngư or abalone, vi cá or fish fin and gân nai or deer’s tendon were essential dishes. They must only use water that came from a well in Hàm Long or in Cam Lồ or from the well at the pagoda at Báo Quốc, which was near the bottom of the Thúy Vân mountain. Rice used must be the “de” variety and harvested from the royal fields and cooked only in Phước Tích clay pots, which were only used once. The cooked food for the King must not come in contact with any other person except members of the Thượng Thiện board and the eunuchs who pass the dishes to the King’s wives who will offer the dishes to the King. He would then eat alone in a room where musical entertainment was provided.

Trade Villages: A Trademark of Vietnamese Culture

Vietnam boasts of trade villages where the country’s cultural values are still preserved up to this day. These villages, most of which are situated in the north plains came about as a result of culture, civilization and national history. They have different groups that are divided into several segments such as arts, interior decorations as well as eating and drinking. Apart from the cultural values they feature, these villages also contribute to the income of the rural residents as well as to the entire country’s tourism industry. As an example, there has been an increase in the number of tourists visiting these villages in recent years. The Bat Trang ceramic village, for one, accommodates up to 30,000 domestic tourists every month and some 6,000 foreign tourists.

To date, some 3,500 handicraft villages exist in Vietnam and most are very accessible. Of this number, there are 300 traditional trade villages that have been in existence for more than 150 years now. Some of them have become famous tourist spots such as the Dong ho village (Bac Ninh), the Bat Trang and Phu Lang ceramic villages, the Non Huoc stone village (Quang Nam), the embroidery village or Hue and the Van Phuc silk village or Ha Tay. In these places, visitors will be able to see the ingenuity of the Vietnamese folks through the products that they make by hand. Other trade villages are involved in pottery as well as in making mats, jewelry, silver carvings and paintings.

Elephants: A Good Way to Move Around Vietnam

Going around Vietnam is always a unique experience particularly for non-Asian travelers. You can do your tour of the place on board brand new Honda motorcycles instead of buses, cars or taxicabs. Through this mode of transportation, you can be sure to enjoy your sightseeing of the wonderful sights of the country. Popularly known as the Honda Om or Honda embrace, a motorcycle ride is very cheap as long as you clearly tell the driver your specific destination. It is strongly recommended to bring with you a map as well as a pen and paper to assist you in explaining to the driver.

For those wanting to explore the road less traveled, visiting the western border with Laos, the northern border with China and then the Halong Bay on the eastern part makes for a great and memorable adventure. After your motorcycle ride, a cruise along the Halong Bay is a not-to-be-missed activity being a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A canoe tour of the bay area literally known as the Bay of the Landing Dragon will give you an opportunity to explore the tidal lagoons as well as the caves.

Pedaling your way around Vietnam is another fun activity. There are bicycles for rent for the entire day at a very minimal price. Just make sure you have a map with you and you know where you’re heading to in order to enjoy an easy and fun bike ride. Doing a bike tour with a group would be more enjoyable.

Finally, you might want to try riding on an elephant. The 58,200-hectareYok Don National Park, the largest in Vietnam, is the place to go to. The park has become famous among tourists mainly due to the elephant rides. Visitors can hop on this huge animal and ride along for a few hours or even for a few days into the jungle or to the Ban Don village where the elephant training takes place. The M’nong and Lao trainers will make sure you have a pleasant ride every time.

Non La or the Conical Vietnamese Hat

If you have seen pictures of women from Vietnam, you will notice that most of the time they will be shown wearing a head covering, called a non la. It is wide-brimmed and conical and almost covers the face of the wearer. The frame of the hat is made from bamboo, while the hat is made of palm leaves. Silk straps are added to hold the hat in place while under the top of the hat is a circular bamboo frame that fits over the head. Centuries ago the non la was called a “poetical leaf” hat as artisans cut the characters of a poem’s verse our of the palm leaf before interweaving it into the layers of the other palm leaves and can be seen when sunlight is reflected on the hat. At present the non la is decorated with landscapes, dragons and flowers.

Great pains are taken in making the non la as each one is hand-crafted. The palm leaves are harvested from the forest and only the young leaves are used. They will be exposed to dew overnight to soften the leaves. They should be dry but still pliant by morning before the leaves are flattened by hand or ironed. Sixteen to eighteen rims made from a special bamboo specie are used for each hat. A special type of reed made into thread called doac is used to sew the rims and the palm leaves together. Attar oil is applied over the hat to make it waterproof and smooth. The skill of the non la craftsman is gauged by the fineness of the stitches where no knots show and the regular arrangement of the leaves as well as the roundness of the hat.

The Elegant, Demure and Charming Ao Dai

During the Nguyễn Dynasty, Lord Vu Vuong ordered that everyone should wear an ensemble consisting of loose-fitting trousers in white or black. A button-front gown should be worn with the trousers. During the reign of Emperor Minh Mạng he decreed that a dress code should be observed in the country and ordered that the servants and imperial concubines must wear the ao dai when setting foot inside the palace. All citizens are to wear trousers rather that skirts.

While there are 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam and each group has its own traditional clothing, the most common type of clothing that goes with the image of men and women in Vietnam is the ao dai. The ao dai comes in many different hues and the soft materials used make the clothing flow with the wind and flatter any type of figure.

From the traditional button-front gown and loose trousers, fashion designer and tailor Cat Tuong reshaped the ao dai in 1930, which became the look and cut of the ao dai that is still seen today. On women, the top of the gown hugs the body while the skirt of the gown was made longer to reach the floor. The skirt was split from the waist down to have front and back panels to allow for comfortable movement. The front row of buttons was moved to the left side of the bodice. In the 1950s another innovation was made to the cut of the ao dai and the raglan sleeves were introduced by tailors from Saigon. The neckline is either boat neck or mandarin.

The color of the ao dai indicates the status and age of the wearer. Young girls are only allowed to wear white and fully-lined ao dai. Soft pastel shades are used by older but not yet married women. Ao dai with strong and rich colors worn over black or white trousers indicate that the wearer is married. Nowadays men only wear ao dai for special ceremonies and occasions.

Lacquer Art

When you go around Vietnam, you will see shops selling highly polished paintings and containers inlaid with seashells and mother of pearl. It is an ancient traditional craft that is a specialty in Vietnam. This art form has been in Vietnam since the third and fourth centuries before Christ. Lacquer is used to preserve and decorate the artwork and competes with the traditional Vietnamese painting on silk.

There are only a few colors used – the brown of cockroach wings, black, pure gold, pure silver and red. Mother-of-pearl and eggshells are used to prepare the colors. The weather affects the drying process of the lacquer painting. To keep the lacquer dry it must be kept hot. Lacquer painting is not a simple process. The lacquer is applied in layers to create depth and each layer must be dry before the next stage is started. Painting strokes are minute as the lacquer is very sticky and mistakes will surface later if the artist is not careful. Lacquer painting is done on wood, which is covered with a piece of cloth. The cloth is glued to the wood using lacquer tree sap. Afterwards the cloth is coated with the same sap mixed with soil. When dry the layer is sand papered until smooth and a new layer of hot sap is applied. When polished, the wood will have a smooth, black and highly glossy surface. Hot lacquer will then be used to draw the outline of the painting and the colors will be applied one by one, one layer at a time. And time is of the essence since the sap dries very slowly. The finished work is then polished and washed.