Travel: 20 infamous facts about Vietnam
From the moment I landed in Hà Nội, I wanted to know everything!
- Vietnam was colonised by the Chinese for over a century, Japan in 1940, and the French up until 1954. Each have left their mark on Vietnamese culture.
- As is to be expected, the French influence is most noticeable in the food, with ca-phe (coffee) and bahn mi (French baguette) now integrated in to the diet along with Pho, Vietnam’s national dish.
Politics
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is one of the four technically* remaining one-party states in the World, along with China, Cuba and the bordering Laos. Like China, Vietnam is a communist state but with a capitalist system.
- I say technically because there are other countries which operate like a one-party state, such as Cambodia, whose democracy has not seen a change of government for forty years due to corruption.
Nobody is unemployed in Vietnam
“What? I thought it was a developing country?” I hear you say…
With virtually no government support in Vietnam, earning a living is solely down to the individual.
If you don’t go out and find a way to make money, then you don’t eat. This is why, according to my local guide Khang, nobody can “technically” be unemployed in Vietnam because anybody can go out and sell something on the side of the road to earn a living.
Hence, why there are so many street vendors in Vietnam.
‘The American War’ is how the Vietnamese refer to the Vietnam War
Both refer to the same war – where a greater human loss than the Second World War and the Korean War was incurred.
To be elected as a local officer in Vietnam, (the only part of the system which allows for public votes) you must be:
- A member of the communist party
- “Three generations clear” – meaning if your father or grandfather worked alongside the Americans in the war, you are not allowed to run.
Population
The population (according to the 2017 census) is 95 million people, making Vietnam the World’s 14th most populated country.
It’s rare to see an elderly person in Vietnam
Vietnam has been left with a young population partly due to the tremendous loss from the War – making this wonderful couple even more precious.
Language
No word in the Vietnamese language is longer than one syllable
The pronunciation of a word can determine its meaning
For example: “Xin Cao” can either mean “hello” or “get me a bowl of rice” depending on the tone you use to say it. — I’m not making this stuff up, I swear! After this was explained to me, I realised why I received a few odd looks from people I believed I was greeting…
Geography
Vietnam is home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites – Halong Bay, Hue and Hoi An.
The Capital city is Ha Noi, but the largest and more modernised city is Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) in the south.
Saigon used to belong to Cambodia until the French handed it over to Vietnam.
Vietnam is the third largest exporter of rice in Asia, after Thailand and India.
And now for the really fun part….
Vehicles
There are 37 million registered motorbikes in Vietnam, and only 2 million cars.
Perhaps this has something to do with the 100% tax incurred on car purchases,160% on imported cars!! Not to mention the cost of shipping an imported car back every couple of years for an MOT! This is an example of the dramatic wealth gap between rich and poor in Vietnam.
Motorbike accidents are the number-one cause of tourist deaths in Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. Leave it to the experts!
Talking of biking experts, did you know that the Vietnamese motorbiking license is obtained through just a two-day driving test?
Day one consists of theory classes and day two is the practical test, where candidates must prove they can manoeuvre the bike around a figure eight drawn out on the side walk.
If you fail, you can try again immediately, luckily for Jeremy Clarkson…
It’s cheaper to take your motorbiking test again than to pay a speeding fine.
A local I met in Saigon told me that he once had his license confiscated for speeding and a fine of $40 had to be paid to retrieve it. Instead, he retook his test and paid $10 for a new license! Crazy – right?
Your scooter is like your Tinder profile.. swipe left to the Chinese makes!
A Japanese branded scooter may set you back $300, but it will also attract a girlfriend according to Khang – who has a Chinese scooter and tells us he will be single forever with one of these – best get saving up then Khang!
The legal limit of people on one motorbike is two adults and two children or as many other objects as you can fit…
Architecture
There’s a reason buildings in Vietnam are so narrow and long…
When buying a property In Vietnam, you are paying for the frontage.
This is why, particularly in the old quarter of Hà Nội, buildings are very narrow at the front, but tend to stretch back and up a lot further.
I stayed in a small boutique hotel in the old quarter of Ha Noi similar to the example in the photo below. True to form, my hotel only had two bedrooms on each floor but went up about six floors.
Lots of hotel bedrooms across Vietnamese cities will also be without a window for this reason.
Religion
80% of Vietnamese people believe in Buddhism but aren’t “strictly speaking” practising Buddhists.
And there you have it!
Twenty infamous, wonderfully quirky facts about the fascinating country that is Vietnam.
I hope this has inspired you to pay a visit!
