Traditional houses of Asian countries: Vietnam and Laos. Features of Vietnam - our observations How houses are built in Vietnam

And we'll tell you about national houses of Vietnam and Laos – two exotic and mysterious countries with a mysterious Buddhist culture, amazing oriental cuisine, ancient architecture, preserved from the Middle Ages and amazingly hospitable people.

Traditional Vietnamese houses

The main distinguishing feature of traditional Vietnamese is that it must fit harmoniously into the life of the village: on the one hand, it is separated from other houses, and on the other, it is an integral part of the entire village community. The walls that separate the passages between the houses are “open” to relations with the entire village, but at the same time they create their own world, closed from everyone, for the family living in this house.

There are many different types traditional Vietnamese, among which two main types can be distinguished: houses in the form of the hieroglyph “Mon” (the main room is in the middle, and two utility blocks are attached to the sides) and T-shaped houses (the main room with one utility block attached to it). The latter type of house is most often found in the northern plains areas of Vietnam.

Traditional Vietnamese usually includes a main building, utility rooms, chicken coop, barn, garden, pond, fence and gate. The main room is the central link within the home of one family. Most often you can find houses with an odd number of rooms (1, 3, 5, 7), but an even number of rooms is very rare for Vietnam.

The choice depends on natural conditions a certain region and the financial status of the family - it can be bamboo, wood, stone, clay, etc. The frame of the house is most often made of wood, and the rafters and beams are connected to each other with special types of fastenings. In some houses, the walls are made of bricks and the roof is covered with tiles laid according to the “yin-yang” principle. The external shape of Vietnamese houses is simple and uncomplicated; the roof is pitched, without elaborate decorations or complex elements. In rare cases, you can find decorations in the form of patterns of lines. Under the roof there is usually a colonnade connecting with the walls - such a space looks modest, but at the same time noble.

Basically, all Vietnamese ones are designed in a symmetrical manner. Due to the fact that the house has an odd number of rooms, the main room is always located in the middle and is the place where guests are received and the family altar is set up. The main room is the face of the entire house, so it is decorated with special care. In many houses, the columns located in the main room are decorated with drawings and patterns, and the rafters are decorated with fine and skillful carvings.

In the middle of the main room there is an ancestral altar - the most important place in the city, to which the Vietnamese pay a lot of attention. On the sides the altar is decorated with panels with paired sayings. An altar is a mandatory attribute of a traditional Vietnamese home, and even if the owner is in a very tight financial situation, he still arranges an altar in his most prominent place.

As for the internal space, it clearly demonstrates the difference in the position of women and men: women's rooms are located in the wing, in side or auxiliary annexes, while men's sleeping places are located in the main room. The overall interior decoration is quite simple and modest.

Vietnamese have existed for several centuries and are traditionally passed down from father to son. For this reason, building a house in Vietnam is a matter of extraordinary importance, which is taken very seriously at all stages of construction. Thus, to lay the foundation of a house, the Vietnamese choose a favorable month and day, since it is believed that if such a day was chosen poorly, then the constructed dwelling, no matter how high-quality the chosen building material, will not allow the family to live in love, prosperity and prosperity.

Traditional dwellings of Laos

Laos is one of the few Buddhist countries that rarely experiences conflict. Residents of the country are friendly and peaceful people who are very tolerant and calm towards customs and foreigners. In addition, Laotians have a wonderful sense of humor, which helps them in many life situations. And if you approach communication with the local population with a smile, they will always answer you in kind.

As for the traditional houses of Laos, they also have their own distinctive features. The valley dwellers (Tai and Lao), like many people in other Southeast Asian countries, build on stilts in case of heavy rains or river floods. It is usually a frame dwelling made of woven bamboo, having an open veranda and a gable roof covered with palm leaves or bamboo. The free space under the house can be used for work, relaxation and keeping animals.

In mountainous areas, houses are built directly on the ground. As a rule, the material for the construction of these are boards. The walls of richer houses are built of brick. It is not uncommon for several families to live in a Laotian house. Therefore, the terraces of traditional Lao dwellings are usually clearly divided into public and private areas. The interior decoration of peasant houses is very simple, the dishes and furniture are homemade.

It is also interesting that the Laotians tend to locate theirs near termite mounds, which are considered sacred and bring happiness here, since their shape is somewhat reminiscent of a pagoda. Relatively recently, modern civilization (electricity, the press) practically did not penetrate Laotian villages, and most of the population remained illiterate. Mostly, village residents were engaged in household crafts and rural work. Even a bicycle was a rarity here, which is why the travel of peasants, as a rule, was limited to their own province.

So, today we looked at traditional houses of Vietnam and Laos , which are located in southeast Asia and border each other. But despite close proximity, Vietnam and Laos have significant differences in ethnic and social culture. However, these two countries also have a lot in common, for example, in the history of the Vietnam War and the formation of the regime (it should be noted that both Laos and Vietnam still formally preserve the communist system). In addition, the President of Vietnam often pays friendly visits to Laos, and in Lately Vietnamese companies invest a lot of money in the development of the Laotian economy.

In this article I will tell you how to rent housing for a day or a month in Vietnam. About average prices for hotels, apartments, rooms in guesthouses. In what cases is it better to look for accommodation on the spot, and when to book in advance online.

Renting apartments, houses and hotels in Vietnam has its own characteristics, because the majority of Vietnamese people do not speak English. On popular resorts(Mui Ne, Nha Trang) local residents They speak Russian, which greatly simplifies the search.

In order to rent a house in Vietnam, I used a standard scheme that is also applicable in other Asian countries. Read more about it below.

Hotel in Vietnam

We are going on vacation to Vietnam for 2-3 weeks

✓ If you are flying on vacation to Vietnam and have planned your route in advance, it is better to book accommodation online so as not to waste time on the spot. We study reviews on booking sites, book accommodation and go enjoy your vacation.

✓ I usually check several sites at once and book where I find an option that is suitable in price and quality. Websites where it is safe to book accommodation in Vietnam:

• Booking.com - guesthouses and hotels, payment on the spot

• - the largest selection of housing in Vietnam. Sometimes they ask for 100% prepayment, but prices are lower than on other sites.

✓ Now even run-down guesthouses and hotels in Nha Trang, Mui Ne, Hanoi, Da Lat, Ho Chi Minh City are presented on booking and other similar sites. The prices are the same as if you rented housing locally, so there is no point in wasting time searching when you arrive in the country.

✓ The most budget housing for tourists these are rooms in guesthouses. Next come hotels, then bungalows and villas.

✓ If there are no clear dates and route for the trip, then rooms in hotels and guesthouses can be found on the spot if your trip does not fall on New Year’s dates

✓ Domestic tourism is well developed in Vietnam. If you are traveling in winter, find out what dates Vietnamese falls on New Year(usually late January - early February). At this time, cheap housing in resorts popular among Vietnamese is 90% booked, and prices for what remains are doubled.

✓ In Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Dalat you can rent hotels and rooms in guest houses. At the coastal resorts you can find apartments, apartments, rooms in guesthouses, large villas and houses of both the Vietnamese type and those designed for tourists from Europe.

Hotels in cities of Vietnam

First you need to decide on the route. Below I list several Vietnamese cities and resorts where people usually go and provide a selection of hotels in these cities.

Hotels in Nha Trang

✓ Nha Trang — resort town in the south of Vietnam, also popular among Russian travelers. The sea there is calmer and the infrastructure is better developed than in Mui Ne

Mui Ne and Phan Thiet hotels

Hotels in Hoi An

✓ Hoi An - a tourist city in the center of Vietnam, listed as a UNESCO site. The beaches are located 3-5 km from the city center. We'll have to choose. Either live in the center in inexpensive guest houses and go to the beach, or rent expensive housing by the sea and go out to the city in the evenings. In winter (December-February) it is cold to swim in the sea ☞ Apartments and hotels in Hoi An

Hotels on Phu Quoc Island

✓ Phu Quoc - island in the Gulf of Thailand. Jungle, beaches

Hotels in other cities

✓ Hanoi- the capital of Vietnam, located in the north of the country ☞ Apartments and hotels in Hanoi

✓ Ho Chi Minh City is the second largest city in Vietnam, located in the south of the country. If you are planning a seaside holiday (in Nha Trang, Mui Ne, Vung Tau), it makes sense to buy air tickets to Ho Chi Minh City ☞ Apartments and hotels in Ho Chi Minh City

✓ Dalat- my favorite french city in the mountains of southern Vietnam. Strawberry plantations, coffee, a lot of Vietnamese and almost no foreigners ☞ Apartments and hotels in Dalat

✓ Danang- popular seaside resort in the center of Vietnam ☞ Guesthouses and hotels in Da Nang

Houses and apartments in Vietnam for a month +

If you cherish the dream of renting a cozy house with a kitchen and internet for... 200$ on the seashore and romantically living there all winter, then this is not about Vietnam.

Here you need to immediately come to terms with the fact that Vietnam is not Thailand. The choice of European quality housing in Vietnam is quite scarce, and prices for houses and apartments are higher than in Thailand.

If you need comfortable, spacious accommodation with air conditioning on the seashore, and even in resort area, then prices reach 1000-2000$ per month for a house, which in Thailand can be rented for 400-600$

The maximum you can expect in Vietnam for 200-300$ per month is a small room in a guesthouse with one or two beds and a refrigerator without a kitchen. Or a house (not near the sea) with a Vietnamese-style kitchen.

If you are going to Vietnam for the first time and plan to be there for a month or more, it makes sense to book a hotel room online in advance for the first few nights, come to the city, look around, and understand exactly which area you want to live in.

In life, everything looks different from the photos on the Internet. You may not like the beach; some nuances may appear on the spot that cannot be foreseen in advance. After you have lived in a hotel and explored the area a little, you can start looking for an apartment, a room in a guesthouse or a house by interviewing local residents (meaning Russian-speaking people who have lived in Vietnam for a long time).

If you don’t like this way of renting a house in Vietnam, then we are looking for specialized groups in social networks. networks. There are many groups in contact in which they publish advertisements for housing for rent at inflated prices. Intermediaries increase their markup, so I personally don’t think this method is promising or profitable, but it’s up to you.

Sometimes you can find really interesting options for renting rooms or apartments in public places, especially in Mui Ne or Nha Trang.

Recently, a lot of apartments have appeared on the Internet at quite reasonable prices. You can use the link to ask the price and book apartments online: apartments in Vietnam →→→

Prices for renting housing in Vietnam for a month

• Private room in Mui Ne guest house - from 140$

• A room in a guesthouse in Phan Thiet or Nha Trang - 300$

• Studio in Mui Ne - from 200$ before 450$

• One-room apartment in Nha Trang – 350-400$

• Bungalow in Mui Ne without furniture near the sea - 200$

• Vietnamese house in Mui Ne with furniture near the sea - from 300-400$

• Vietnamese house in Nha Trang - from 400-500$

Helpful information!

✓ The longer the rental period, the lower the price. One month doesn't count in Vietnam long-term lease. Many places require 3-6 months advance payment for a house.

✓ For one month, it makes sense to look for a room in a hotel or guesthouse with a kitchen (which is rare) or at least with a refrigerator, then you can meet the average 250-300$ per month. This is the most budget and realistic option that can be rented in resort Vietnam(Mui Ne, Nha Trang) for one to two months.

✓ If you rent an apartment or house, you need to add electricity and internet bills to the rental price. Also the price depends on the season. IN new year holidays at the end of December - January, housing prices increase by 30-40%

✓ If you want to live cheaply near the sea in Mui Ne, then this is definitely just a room in a guesthouse. Without kitchen or with shared kitchen. Self-catering houses in Mui Ne, of which there are very few, are located far from the sea on the other side of the road. There are spacious houses near the sea in the area wild beaches, but the price they told me started from 900$

It looks like Hundertwasser, Dali and Gaudi can smoke on the sidelines. Because it’s not for nothing that the Madhouse Hotel is one of the ten strangest buildings in the world.
Each building in it is unique, each room is unique. However, so is the history of its creation. Because this hotel was invented and built by the daughter of the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, which, in my opinion, only adds another bit of madness to this. So, the architect of this creation is the Vietnamese Dang Viet Nga (a good name that says: Viet is the indigenous people of Vietnam, and Nga is Russia). Her biography is largely determined by the fact that she is the daughter of Truong Tinh, who for many years was the right hand of Ho Chi Minh, so I will tell you a little about him. Interestingly, Truong Tinh, which means “Long March,” is a pseudonym he took in his youth, during the period of his fascination with Mao’s ideology. True, as a result of this hobby and his agrarian reform, famine began in the country, and after the Soviet-Chinese split he was demoted for this deviation. But in the 80s he returned again and became the president of Vietnam. His real name is Dang Xuan Khu (the Vietnamese always have their surname first). Dang Viet Nga was born in Hanoi in 1940, but lived for 14 years in Russia. From 1959 to 1972, she studied in Moscow, at the Moscow Architectural Institute and in graduate school there, defended her PhD thesis in architecture and as a result... brought home a love for the hippie style and ideology.
After returning to Vietnam, she worked in Hanoi, designing buildings for the government (regular, not crazy buildings) for many years.
And then she settled in Dalat, which charmed her with its cool mountain climate, amazing landscapes and the pleasant character of the local people. And in 1990, she began construction here of her favorite brainchild called “Moon Villa,” which she conceived as a hotel for lovers.
She declares that the mission of the building is to return us to nature, which was largely destroyed by previous generations (and ours too).
The architecture of the villa is indeed oversaturated with elements of nature - both flora and fauna.
Caves, tree roots, vines, labyrinths... It seems that there is not a single straight line, not a single right angle. Here is the passage from one building to another, painted to look like a cow, and even entwined with vines and dripping with milk...
Continuous bends, weaves and labyrinths are a striking contrast with typical Vietnamese houses with their narrow, elongated upward facades 3–5 meters wide, joining tightly to each other. I will show them later, they are also very beautiful... but in a different way.
Round shapes and complete unpredictability dominate here - you never know what awaits you ahead, the villa is filled with secluded corners and unexpected turns, descents and ascents. Where did the second name come from: architectural structure it was so fantastic that the first guests who visited it exclaimed “Crazy house!”, which translated means “crazy house!” Since then it has been called that. By the way, local residents were sure for many years that this is exactly how they build in Russia. The stairs here are also unusual - Viet Nga really likes to make them in the form of stumps.
Each of the ten rooms in the hotel is dedicated to its own totem animal, and they also symbolize a certain country: for example, the bear above is Russia (you probably noticed the motifs of a Russian hut there), the tiger is China (it will appear later), and this one eagle (or rather toucan?) - America. Maybe South, judging by other details.
The rooms are furnished with unique furniture. Each totem animal is also a fireplace.
The villa is changing all the time, just like a living organism; after 22 years it has not yet been fully completed. We recently finished building transitions between buildings. Under the glass dome there are underground floors, they are not yet ready at all. The rooms are equipped with modern bathrooms, but also in an interesting design. And mirrors are often located above the beds - Viet Nga believes that this promotes love.
All ten rooms are rented out for accommodation, and for relatively little money for foreigners - about one hundred dollars per night. But it’s better not to leave the room after dark, especially when drunk: due to the indescribable geometry of the transitions, I got completely lost there several times, even when sober and in daylight
In addition, guests cannot completely close the doors to their rooms during the day, they can only limit access to the rooms, and there are at least several hundred tourists here every day, so residents go somewhere for the day. But I would still like to spend at least one night here, it’s a pity, time didn’t allow it.
Wash basin. You can meditate on it for several hours. There are not only big buildings here. Here is a detached cottage with miniature two-story apartments. In general, the rooms are very different in size - some are for large families, and some are for couples in love.
This one is small. On the first floor on the right is the entrance to the toilet, on the left is the staircase to the second floor. There is also a small table nearby and that’s it. Bedroom on the second floor. But the space is so intricately organized that you don’t notice the cramped space. Entrance to the adjacent building. By the way, I also found a number of caves (or even hollows) with small tables and benches - apparently for meetings and conversations. And all this is not only incredible, it is also very beautiful. And here is Dang Viet Nga herself (this photo is not mine, but I really want to show it to you). She is 72 years old and still dresses in hippie style, speaks good Russian, drives an old Soviet car and sells tickets at the box office of her villa, and spends her free time with her boyfriend.
It’s a pity that I didn’t know any of this when we arrived there. I had no idea that we could meet the author himself. But if you get there, having already read my post, you will have the chance to meet one of the most remarkable women in the world! And what a blessing that the authorities did not demolish her villa, as they did with the “house of a hundred roofs” by another equally insane architect. He just didn't have that kind of dad. Now they want to restore his house...

Immediately after Lena and I got married, we were in Vietnam. This is a story in pictures about how we drove across the country from north to south and back.

As usual, we bought tickets, got visas and made plans. approximate route. We took an evening Aeroflot flight to Hanoi. The plane was 90% filled with Vietnamese. The Vietnamese sitting behind us, anticipating a quick return to their homeland, took off their shoes and socks and stuck their feet into the spaces between our seats. I had to plug these gaps with pillows.

The next morning, having safely passed through passport control, we boarded a mini bus and went to the old part of the city to look for a hotel. Quite quickly we found a suitable hotel not far from the lake of the returned sword. In Vietnam, when checking into a hotel, they often require you to hand over your passport at the reception; we made do with photocopies. We dropped our things, rested a bit and went outside. We arrived on the eve of two major holidays: the fall of the Saigon regime and Labor Day. In this regard, the entire city was decorated with flags and looked festive. We had breakfast in a restaurant on the second floor of an old French building. This restaurant is no different from many others in Hanoi, it has the same friendly waiters and divine prices, but it has a highlight - music! There's always awesome American rock and roll playing there.

Hanoi. Vietnam is one of the convenient countries for independent travel, tourist services are developed very highly, in every big city there is a mini travel agencies, which sell tours to all attractions in the surrounding area. Considering that the country stretches from north to south, it is very easy to travel around it, moving from one city to another. There is practically no risk of being deceived and buying tickets several times more expensive, in all travel companies similar routes and prices. We bought excursions to Sapa and Halong.

About architecture. Once upon a time there was a tax on the width of the facade of buildings, and the Vietnamese began to build narrow houses of three, four floors, and sometimes even higher. The average width of such a house is about three to four meters. Today there is no such tax, but over the years an idea has been formed of how a house should look, and that is how they build it to this day. But the facades of these buildings are beautifully decorated and varied. Inside the house there is always a massive wooden staircase with very steep steps, the railings sometimes go perpendicularly upward. Interesting houses are built along the road that leads from the airport.

On the first day of our arrival, we rode a rickshaw through the streets of the old city. In Vietnam, as I have already noted, there is a desire to rationalize the entire living space. Therefore, the streets of the old city are very regular. Shoes are sold on one street, watches and gold on another, clothes on a third, and so on. Tombstones are sold at the intersection of Hang Bac and Hang Dao streets. The owner of one of the shops used a cunning marketing ploy to sell the product better: he put a tombstone with a photo of Britney Spears in the window. It’s interesting how the singer herself would react to this; she lives and doesn’t know that they are making money off her image in this way.

Then we walked around the lake of the returned sword. There is a pleasant atmosphere near the lake, they don’t bite seeds, they don’t drink beer while sitting on the backs of benches, they don’t throw trash cans into the lake, not like us. In general, Hanoi is considered the safest capital in the world, and I agree with this. Before the trip, I read a lot of travel reports; there is even a thread on the Vinsky forum “Why I won’t go to Vietnam anymore.” The authors intimidated as best they could: they say that bags are torn off, they are robbed, they are crushed with bikes, taxi drivers do not allow passage. Zharov actually wrote such things about Vietnam that it seems that in some places it was written by some spoiled girl, and not by a man who has traveled half the world. I agree that in terms of man-made attractions, Vietnam is inferior to many countries South-East Asia, but in terms of nature, beach holiday, food, service very good. In general, it’s strange where such reviews come from; perhaps everything is learned by comparison. If you have been to India, then the issue of intrusiveness of drivers, poor service in restaurants, cleanliness and comfort of hotels will not arise in Vietnam. And the level of organization exceeds many countries in Southeast Asia. The Vietnamese are a very hardworking people, and Vietnam's economy is one of the fastest growing in the world.

The next morning, waking up early, we went to have breakfast; restaurants for foreigners were still closed and I dragged Lena into a cafe for locals. The choice was small, we took Pho Bo - a soup with wide flat rice noodles with beef and herbs. The soup tasted of something rotten, even a little like sabaka, after tasting it, I realized that there was nothing rotten in it, perhaps it was seasoned with nyok mam - a sauce made from rotten fry. There was a long journey ahead to Ha Long, so I crushed the whole bowl. It is noteworthy that in the first days we were often heated, and this time for such a breakfast they charged us 70,000 dong, although the real price of the ball was no more than 30,000. But considering that one dollar is equal to 16,000 dong, this is not much for us tensed. By the way, new style dongs are made on plastic film, this is very convenient in a country with a hot, humid climate. I even swam with money in the pocket.

Soon a minivan pulled up, we loaded up and hit the road. In theory, the drive was about two hours, but because of the holidays, many Vietnamese decided to go to Ha Long, as a result, at the entrance to the pier we got into a traffic jam, or rather, our driver greatly contributed to its occurrence. The road was narrow, one lane in each direction. The main direction and the side of the road were already occupied, and the driver drove along the oncoming lane where, without driving even twenty meters, he met with oncoming traffic. The place was narrow. There was already a queue behind us and behind the oncoming car; no one could back up. And the small gaps between cars and buses were instantly filled with motorbikes. And everything stopped, and those on motorbikes deliberately intervened to be part of the moment. What is surprising is that no one swears, yells, or threatens to perform sexual acts with the relatives of neighbors in a traffic jam. And everyone stands, honks, and smiles. Then a guy got out of a car and slowly resolved the situation.

While still in the minivan, our guide collected everyone’s passports, and upon arrival, he immediately rushed with them towards the ticket office located on the pier. Ostensibly to buy tickets, in fact he needed passports for something else - during two day trip on a ship, the tour price includes: transfer, accommodation, tickets, food, but not drinks. And when it comes time to pay for drinks, a pawned passport is a compelling argument.

Jonky. Once upon a time, as a child, I had an illustrated book about ships. On the last page of this book, against the background of the setting sun, was drawn a ship with low wooden sides and webbed sails, unlike anything else. I have always wanted to see such a boat with my own eyes, and going sailing is just a dream! And here we are on the pier chock full of junks, coming up one after another, pushing each other, boarding and disembarking passengers... My thoughts were interrupted by the returning guide and we, following him, jumping from one ship to another, reached ours. The junk moved away from the shore towards Halong Bay, the tables were set and we began to dine. Halong is unique a natural phenomenon protected by UNESCO. The bay is home to about 2,000 islands of varying sizes and shapes, most of them inaccessible cliffs overgrown with bushes. The water is quiet, calm, transparent and has an unusual turquoise color. The junks stop at the floating houses of local fishermen selling live sea food. The bay is home to countless marine inhabitants for every taste and color. The purchased ones, I don’t know what to call them, are prepared on the ship especially for the one who bought them.

On the first day we were on an island on which there are caves with stalactites illuminated in different colors. The guide persistently showed us images of creatures created by nature, but I didn’t really notice anything. We spent the night on a junk; the cabin had a double bed, shower, and toilet. The next day we went kayaking around the bay. The entire two days we spent in Ha Long were foggy, and sometimes the sun broke through, which made the bay seem mysterious and unexplored.

We were traveling back to Hanoi by bus, but the bus broke down. And here we are standing under the hot sun and thinking: “Everyone is in trouble, where can you find an empty bus in the middle of the road?!” But it was not there! Not even five minutes had passed before three minivans drove up to us. Service.

Hanoi again. We had 7 hours before the train to Sapa. A very unpleasant thing turned out to be the case - I forgot the adapter for charging the camera in Moscow and, therefore, we can assume that we don’t have a camera. Leaving Lena in the restaurant with our backpack, I, pretty drunk, set out in search of an adapter. We had not yet bought a local SIM card, and for some reason Lenin’s phone did not work in roaming and, therefore, we had no connection with each other. And I also needed to change money. And so I gallop from one electronics store to another and everywhere it’s the same thing: “Wow, what a camera you have, sir! We don’t have those.” I had to buy a new camera. This was also a whole story. As a result, I caught a motorbiker and rushed through the evening city, illuminated by lanterns, headlights of cars and motorbikes, moving in all directions at the same time, back to the restaurant. Many people describe traffic in Vietnam as the worst possible chaos on the road, but in reality it is not. You don’t have to travel far to be convinced of this; Cambodia is nearby and even less rules are followed there. There was time left before the train, so we went to wander around the city, bought a SIM card, this is done very simply, you don’t even need to register for any document, exchanged money, and ate again. And then they took us to the station in a minivan.

In Vietnam, narrow gauge Railway, because of this the trains are narrower than ours, but at the same time on the shelves in compartment carriages there is a lot of space. We traveled to Sapa with Australian pensioners from the island of Tasmania.Very entertaining old travelers. They had a three month trip through Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. We found a lot of them general topics, I drank beer with my grandfather. In the morning the train arrived in the city of Lao Cai. This city is located on the border with China, and there are buses from it to the city of Sapa. It was raining outside. A hotel representative was already waiting for us at the station building.

Sapa. Judging by the photographs that I saw on the Internet before the trip, everything in Sapa is monotonous: mountains, hills, stepped fields, waterfalls. Based on this, I planned a trip for one day. And in vain. Because you can easily spend a week in Sapa. Thanks to the mild climate, there is a special atmosphere, stunning nature, very hospitable people, and delicious food, like everywhere else in Vietnam. The city is located in a mountainous region at an altitude of about one and a half thousand meters above sea level nearby, the most high mountain Vietnam - about three and a half thousand meters. When the bus travels to Sapa for several hours, my ears begin to pop, like on an airplane. Despite the fact that it is raining below, the sun is shining in the city, the air is fresh and fragrant with the aromas of flowers. In the vicinity of Sapa there are many villages in which small nationalities of Vietnam live, some of them are immigrants from Siberia who passed through China many centuries ago. After breakfast, we went to the nearest village to the Black Hmong. The Hmong tribe is the largest, with about three hundred and fifty thousand people. They dress in dark blue clothes embroidered with multi-colored patterns, they have large baskets behind them, in their hands they hold dry hemp from which they twist a thread, from which they then make clothes. Very nice smiling people. Hmong houses are made of planks, heated by fire, and because of this they are heavily smoky. But in the houses there are televisions and DVD players. The Hmong sell a variety of crafts: clothing, knives, musical instruments, snake infusions. I bought myself something like khomus, and amazed all the tourists with my virtuoso playing of an unfamiliar instrument. musical instrument. Lena bought herself a cool bracelet. Having passed through the village, we found ourselves at a waterfall, next to a spinning wheel of a mini hydroelectric power station and a cool bamboo swing, turning over under the weight of the water of small streams flowing from the hills. And there are bamboo thickets around.

All this time we were going down the hill, and to get back there were two options: either walk up the mountain for two hours or ride a motorcycle along the road in twenty minutes. We hired a local driver and the three of us raced along a narrow mountain serpentine road. The road was winding and covered with sand, but it was necessary to drive quickly, otherwise the bike would not have reached the mountains. Trucks sometimes drove to the meeting. We rode like a breeze, bringing tears to our eyes. There are especially many Minsks in Sapa, some came to Vietnam back in Soviet times, some are still supplied today. In general, there is a lot of our equipment in northern Vietnam; Kamaz and UAZ vehicles are often found.

After lunch, our program included a silver waterfall, to which we were supposed to be taken by JEEP. A broken-down army UAZ from the seventies arrived, in which we, Lena, the guide and the driver in flip-flops, went to the waterfall. The journey took less than an hour. The waterfall turned out to be really high, but not too deep. On special floorings you can climb up to one third of the entire height of the waterfall, where a bridge made of chrome-plated pipes is thrown over the waterfall. In principle, you can climb higher on the rocks. When leaving the waterfall, we bought sweet green tea; you don’t need to add sugar to it, you just brew it, and it’s already sweet. On the way to the waterfall, stunning views open up; if you are there, ask the driver to brake on the serpentine road, get out of the car and enjoy the vastness of the world around us.

The day spent in Sapa came to an end; there were four hours left before the bus that was supposed to take us to Lao Kai station, which we spent walking around the city. In terms of richness of impressions, one day in Sapa surpassed two days in Ha Long. Sitting in a cafe in the city of Lao Kai, I got drunk into unconsciousness from a very, very tasty beer of the same name. Consciousness was excited and demanded continuation, but the legs could no longer move. I don’t remember how we got to Hanoi.

Hanoi again. The next morning, we arrived in Hanoi. We had already purchased tickets for the evening train to Hue. And we actually didn’t have any business in Hanoi. Therefore, after taking a shower and leaving our things at the hotel, we took a rickshaw to Grandfather Ho's mausoleum. I liked the organization of the passage to the mausoleum, people walk exactly along the lines in a column of two people, if someone starts to joke, the guys in a formal white uniform politely explain to him how to behave, so no one climbs forward through the bushes and the line goes quickly, not like we have. Just as quickly, everyone passes inside; in the center of the main hall there is a glass sarcophagus, demonically illuminated with red light. In it lies Ho Chi Minh City in rubber galoshes. He did not want to be embalmed, but the nation needed a creed, and Ho's followers provided it.

Ho Chi Minh City is a great man who managed to free Vietnam from the French and contributed to the unification of the north and south. During the war against the Americans, showing miracles of diplomacy, he managed to negotiate help with the USSR and China, which at that moment were on the brink of war among themselves. Thanks to this, Vietnam is currently a single state, but it could be like in Korea.

Next to the mausoleum there is a yellow presidential palace- former governor's knowledge, built by the French. In a nearby park wooden house, in which Ho Chi Minh City lived when the Americans bombed Hanoi. The pond in the park there is full of fish. Not far from that place is the Ho Chi Minh City Museum and the pagoda on one pillar.

After snacking on fruit in the garden near the pagoda on one pillar, we walked north to the temple, in which there is a figure of a deity personifying the wind.

From there, again on foot, but in the other direction, we reached the Temple of Literature. I walked barefoot because the streets in Hanoi are clean and the sidewalks are warm. A rickshaw driver was driving nearby and begging for a lot of money for a ride that we didn’t agree to.

The Temple of Literature is a smaller copy of the Chinese Temple of Confucius. Mandarins - officials - were trained in this temple. On the territory of the temple there are stone turtles, on the shells of which there are stone slabs with the names of graduates.

On the way back to our hotel, we ate at KFC and went for a foot massage. Vietnamese massage is not as good as Khmer and certainly not as good as Thai. Although they crumple their legs, it’s okay. After a massage, masseuses always persistently ask for tips, and this is the situation in all cities of Vietnam.

Nonsense of Vietnamese traffic

You are going to Vietnam for the first time. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with some of the features of the culture, traditions and customs of Vietnam. Although Western culture has influenced Vietnamese identity, the everyday life, superstitions and rituals of the Vietnamese will still seem strange (or even savage) to a European. Don’t be afraid, because traveling is the best way to educate yourself.

general information

• It is better to come to Vietnam with dollars. Other currencies are not in use here, and changing them will not be easy. Take large denomination banknotes with you; the exchange rate for small denominations is significantly lower.

• It is difficult to buy large size clothes in Vietnam. The Vietnamese are very petite people. A guy 175 cm tall is considered very tall, and there are practically no girls of this size at all. Sizes M and L are extremely rare in stores.

• Liquor is very cheap in Vietnam due to the lack of excise taxes. Imported alcohol in regular stores at the same price as in Duty Free. The price of local beer does not exceed half a dollar.

• In Vietnam, the price for equipment (chain, cable, halyard, rope) depends on weight.

• In Vietnam, as in Vietnam, plastic bags are very popular. Absolutely everything is placed and poured into them. Liquids in bags are tightly sealed with a rubber band; they remain airtight even during long-term transportation.

• Due to the high humidity, guitars in Vietnam have rusty strings. Also, due to humidity, photographs are laminated here, although over time the lamination “leaks.”

• The Vietnamese do not like the Chinese due to many years of enmity.

• The monetary unit of Vietnam, the dong, is made of plastic. It can be wetted and wrinkled.

Dong with the image of Ho Chi Minh

• In Vietnam, only war veterans and government employees have pensions.

• The upper classes - officials, military, police and priests - do not have problems with land. They get it for free.

• Vietnam allows the death penalty. Since 2011, execution has been replaced by lethal injection. By the way, execution is also imposed for drug-related crimes.

• The Vietnamese address female tourists as “Madame” and men as “Monsieur”: an echo of the times of the French occupation.

• Don't try to learn Vietnamese. There are 6 tones in the language. Even if you learn to distinguish all tones, the most difficulty will arise with homonyms and homoforms. The same word, when pronounced differently, can mean completely different things. For example, in the word “womb,” if you play with the “o,” you get the verb “to get confused” or a rough equivalent of the word “vagina.” Instead of looking for a place selling Pho soup, if the tone is used incorrectly, you can look for a “prostitute.” This is how your nutritional needs will innocently go down a little lower)))

• Speaking of prostitution. Girls of easy virtue are called “carrots” here. There are many scams and scams associated with prostitution in Vietnam. Be careful.

đồng chí (from Vietnamese - comrade), I have many madam for you, big and small. Yum-yum, hit-fit, 50 dollar

• Appeal to ladies: when letting your husband go for a massage, be prepared for the fact that masseuses in some salons can offer your husband a “Happy end”, i.e. oral sex for dessert.

• In Vietnam, as in Thailand, kilograms and tubers of wires are piled on poles in cities. And why didn’t the French educate the people about electrification?

The ubiquitous wires of Hanoi

Customs and traditions of the Vietnamese

• In Vietnam there is a belief that if you kill a snake, you can extend your life by a year. The Vietnamese believe that if you eat the beating heart of a snake and drink its blood, your male strength will increase, and women's immunity will improve.

• In Vietnam you can often see 100 dollar bills lying around. Do not rush to select them in order to determine authenticity. These fakes are scattered during the funeral procession. They are also burned; it is believed that through fire they are transmitted to the next world.

• Almost every Vietnamese has a $2 bill in their wallet: for good luck. This belief became the basis of the tradition of giving 2 dollars for various holidays. It is believed that bets made in a casino or at horse races with such banknotes will definitely bring a win, or at least double.

• Before entering a room in Vietnam, you should take off your shoes.

• The memory of ancestors in Vietnam is honored more than saints. Even atheists and communists have altars at home with yellowed photographs of long-dead relatives. From the Vietnamese point of view, ancestors have no less power than even the Buddha or the goddess of mercy Guanyin. But the gods are often busy, and you can always turn to your ancestors.

• The Vietnamese prefer to live where their ancestors are buried, and if need forces them to move to another city, they sometimes dig up graves and take their own bones with them to bury them near their new home.

Abundance of Vietnamese table

Vietnamese cuisine

• Vietnamese people eat Pho soup for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Vietnamese start cooking Pho soup before dawn, so that by 5-6 in the morning they can feed it to people rushing to work.

• In Vietnam, you can try the Balut delicacy. Balut (balut) is a boiled duck egg in which a fruit with plumage, cartilage and beak has already formed. It is believed that this dish increases potency. Eggs are steamed and eaten with salt and black pepper.

More than 5,000,000 dogs are eaten annually in Vietnam

• Vietnamese eat dogs. No one knows exactly when the Vietnamese started eating them, but the custom has a long history, especially in the north of the country. Dog meat is a staple dish at parties, weddings and special occasion feasts. In Vietnam, it is believed that dog meat increases male potency, warms the blood on cold winter evenings and helps protect against many diseases. Overall, this protein-rich product serves the Vietnamese as an excellent substitute for pork, beef and chicken.

• In Vietnam you can try frog legs. The love for frogs here comes from the French. Or from the French from the Vietnamese?

• But it is reliably known that the baguette in Vietnam is an echo of the French “yoke”. You won't find black bread here.

• People in Vietnam don’t like sweets, but sweet meat is welcome. Sugar Beef Jerky, Sugar Jerky Fish, Sugar Fried Chicken.

The Vietnamese eat lizards, snakes, rats, cats, dogs, crocodiles, ostriches, silkworm larvae and many other reptiles.

• In Vietnam, the process of eating takes a very long time. The bulk of the meal is spent talking.

• At the Vietnamese dinner table there is a huge variety of dishes (can reach up to 10). But one thing remains constant: rice. The Vietnamese love burnt rice. They deliberately leave it on the tile longer so that a crust forms on the bottom.

• You can bring your own alcohol to restaurants and cafes in Vietnam.

• Because of the heat, ice is even added to coffee.

• Speaking of coffee. Few people know that Vietnamese coffee is considered one of the best coffees in the world. In Vietnam, unlike other countries, coffee is not decaffeinated. They also add butter to make the coffee fattier and more aromatic.

• The Vietnamese drink very strong coffee from small transparent cups, brewing roasted and ground beans in aluminum strainers. Condensed milk is added to coffee.

• The Vietnamese dry fish in the sun without salt. Then it is fried with sugar!

• There are yellow watermelons in Vietnam. The color inside is like pineapple.

In Vietnam, coffee is not boiled, but simply poured with boiling water.

• Nuoc Mam is the most famous Vietnamese sauce. There is an opinion that it is prepared from rotten fish. This is not entirely true (although the cooking process is similar to fermenting fish). The Vietnamese themselves willingly support this legend and tell it to everyone supposedly in secret, because... tourists become very interested in trying this sauce. The Vietnamese often use Nuoc Mam in many dishes.

On the roads of Vietnam

• International driving licenses are not accepted in Vietnam.

In theory you are not allowed to rent a vehicle with an engine capacity of more than 49 cubic centimeters.

Practically you can rent a car or a motorcycle, and no one will ask you if you have a Vietnamese license.

In fact In the event of an accident, you will be at fault.

For the Vietnamese, a bike is not a luxury, but a means of transportation, a bed, a dining table and a second home

• In Vietnam you can't drink and drive. However, it is rare to find a sober driver on Friday or Saturday. But no one will touch you until you have an accident.

• In the evenings, when there are no traffic police, you can meet drivers without a helmet and 4 or 5 people on one motorbike.

• Vietnamese drivers do not like to turn on their turn signals and look in the rearview mirror. And when they are overtaking (this applies not only to taxi drivers, but also to bus drivers), they turn on the emergency signal.

• Forget about the zebra crossing in Vietnam. Nobody crosses the road; locals park their cars on it.

• Don't think that sidewalks in Vietnam are for pedestrians. Sidewalks in Vietnam for motorbikes! You will have to constantly run back and shy away from the ever-screaming bikes.

• A traffic light in Vietnam is simply a road accessory. Even if the main flow has stopped, there will always be a dozen tanks that will go to red. Therefore, when crossing at a traffic light, you should always look at the road. Moreover, in both directions, because the Vietnamese calmly drive in the oncoming direction.

• How to cross the road correctly and safely in Vietnam? Do the same as the locals do: stand at a “sort of” pedestrian crossing and start slowly moving to the opposite side. The stream of bikes will simply go around you. Only you must behave predictably, move at the same speed and not stop.

Saigon is home to more than 8 million inhabitants. There is no metro here, but the only one public transport- bus

• Vietnamese traffic regulations require wearing a helmet when riding a bike, but this rule does not apply to children under 12 years old! (apparently they are trying to reduce the population in this way).

• The most favorite activity of the Vietnamese at car services is changing the oil. If something breaks, knocks, makes noise or does not start: according to the Vietnamese, the whole problem is from the oil.

Vietnamese. Their morals

• Vietnamese people get up early and go to bed early.

• There is a cult of sports in Vietnam. In the morning, all the parks and embankments are crowded with people. Some people run, some do gymnastics, others walk along the beach. In the evening they can organize dances: families, couples or just girlfriends dance in courtyards or in parks.

• If a Vietnamese man waves his hand at you as if to say “goodbye”, do not think that he is saying goodbye to you. He calls you. The Vietnamese also peel fruits not towards themselves with the edge of a knife, but away from them.

• The Vietnamese love to sing karaoke. Mostly popular are Western pop-rock songs from the 70s to the 90s.

• In Vietnam, the lion's share of the population smokes.

• In Vietnam, as throughout Southeast Asia, there are problems with hygiene. Garbage is scattered everywhere on the streets. Nobody notices the trash cans at all. Leftovers, cigarette butts, bottles: everything flies under the Vietnamese refectory table. Restaurants, bars and clubs try not to use expensive floor coverings, as cigarette butts turn the floor into a sieve.

In Vietnam, you can drive in oncoming traffic, turn around through 2 solid lanes, turn anywhere, drive on the sidewalk and not stop at a red light. If an accident occurs, the one whose “face” is broken is to blame.

• Real Vietnamese nightclubs are open until 10 pm and no one dances there. It looks something like this: Vietnamese people are sitting in a cloud of tobacco smoke, drinking coffee while listening to deafeningly loud music.

• Vietnamese people don't like cats. The cat says “meow,” which translates to “poverty” in Vietnamese. And the Vietnamese are very superstitious people.

• As much as the Vietnamese don't like cats, they love dogs... yes.

• In a Vietnamese family, as a rule, the woman clears the table.

• In Vietnam, as in Thailand, there is a cult of white skin. Girls carefully hide all parts of their bodies from the sun and buy all kinds of whitening cosmetics. Almost all cosmetics in Vietnam have a whitening effect.

• Black Hmong women who live in northern Vietnam still treat migraines with hot copper. And the women of the Red Zao, when they get married, shave their eyebrows, temples and the back of their heads!

• Balm “Star” came to us from Vietnam. True, here it is in liquid form. The Vietnamese believe in the miraculous power of this magical liquid; they smear it on everything and for any ailment. And it helps, damn it!

• A very famous Vietnamese tradition is to be late. And not for 10-20 minutes, but for 40 minutes. or a whole hour. So if you make an appointment, feel free to arrive 30 minutes late, you won’t go wrong.

In Vietnam, business exists for the sake of business. It’s important for Vietnamese to do something, but it doesn’t matter what kind of income it will generate.

• When communicating with service personnel, one gets the feeling that they can only think through actions one step ahead. If you get the idea to give someone several tasks at once, then after completing one of them, the Vietnamese will simply sit and wait for the next instructions.

• Another remarkable feature of the Vietnamese population is the amazing forgetfulness when repaying debt.

• The concept of taste and style is alien to Vietnamese women. IN mall you can see a lady in a tracksuit and heels. A tracksuit is comfortable for riding a bike, and shoes are perfect for going out and going out.

• Not the best makeup situation. If a Vietnamese woman decides to wear makeup, it is like war paint: a thick and bright layer of cosmetics.

• Don’t be shocked if you see a saleswoman relieving herself in a crowded place. Vietnam has relatively recently opened its doors to tourism, and the aborigines have recently left the villages.

In Vietnam, houses stretch upward, not outward. Property taxes are paid based on the area of ​​land occupied.

• In Vietnam, business exists for the sake of business. It’s important for Vietnamese to do something, but it doesn’t matter what kind of income it will bring. The first floors of each dwelling are equipped for a store. Even those who have a house on the 1st floor manage to set up a store and live there. And all family members - from a 5-year-old child to an 80-year-old grandmother - automatically become service personnel.

• In Vietnam, property taxes are assigned based on the square footage along red lines (roads), with no restrictions on height or depth. That's why houses in Vietnam are tall and narrow. The width of some houses sometimes does not exceed five meters!