Hanoi Local Customs

Having both US Dollars and local currency, The Dong will not be a problem.

I used Us Dollars to pay for things like hotels, resturants, travel etc... and kept the local currency for small things. Never had any problems.

Rule No 1: When a Vietnamese say Yes. Dont take it as YES.
Dont put out a question like " You dont have it for sales,do you?"
Most of people will say YES - which actually mean You are right, i dont have it for sales!
Or they will say NO - which means NO, you are not right, WE HAVE IT FOR SALES!!

Ok, it can be very confusing..... So be patient and repeat your question. It sounds silly, but you better be sure, do not give up.

Again, when someone say Yes to everything you said. It does not mean Yes, he/she may not understand but still saying yes. It's dangerous and you may end up having arguments if you are buying something from them.

Rule No 2: When you say something, people keep smiling and nodding. it may means THEY DO NOT UNDERSTAND.
Vietnamese will not usually say " I dont understand". So make sure to say something in between of the conversation like " do you know what I mean?"

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Tet is the most important and popular holiday and festival in Vietnam. It is the Vietnamese New Year marking the arrival of spring based on the Lunar calendar. It takes place from the first day of the first month of the Lunar calendar (around late January or early February) until at least the third day. I was lucky to be in Hanoi during Tet in 2009 and the markets and shops and streets were simply heaving with people buying goods.

On the night of January 25th, I walked down to the Hoan Kiem Lake where masses of people were gathering for celebrations and fireworks. I walked around and observed people setting off paper lanterns into the night sky (a few of them getting stuck in trees!). I've included some video of them on my Hanoi page. The lake is lit up at night with coloured lights and lasers plus little tiny flecks of fire in the sky made from hundreds of paper lanterns. The fireworks kicked off at midnight and lasted for about 15-20 minutes and then I headed back to my hotel past people leaving food and drink offering on the streets outside their homes.

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Hanoi is home to plenty of street vendors, mostly women, who walk around the narrow streets of the city with either a shoulder pole attached to two baskets, a bicycle, a trolley or some other type of pushing machine. They sell fruit and vegetables and other food products, flowers, costumes, plastic toys, you name it. I went to the Women's Museum where, upstairs, they had an interesting exhibition about them with lots of photos along with real case accounts from the women themselves describing all aspects of their lives and job. As you'd expect, they don't earn much in the way of money and what they do earn, goes back to support their families in villages and they live in pretty horrid conditions. So spare a thought for them, the next time you see one on the streets.

In Hanoi (and Vietnam in general) it is a tradition to have wedding photos taken at various famous places around town. Therefore, it is very common to see a wedding couple outside temples, museums and so on.

You always get a big smile and a thank you in return when you congrat them.

In Hanoi, I came across what is in my photo, and never knew what they were!

Then, one day, on a tour to the Silk Village, the "Rock Sulpture" in the photo was there, so I asked the guide about it.
He said that a lot of companies buy them to put in their Office gardens.

I also saw a lot of sculptures made out of wood stumps.

Plenty of places to get that haircut, for men only? not sure.

A Barber jokenly asked me if I wanted a hair cut, well, I think it was said as a joke. I never did see a woman getting her hair cut at one of the sidwalk Barbers!

Barbers will set up their "shop" in lines along the sidewalk each morning.

A cut from one of these "street salons" is about 10,000 dong

On your wanders around Hanoi, you will come across many street vendors, selling all kinds of goods.

Sometimes, the fruit vendor, may let you try a piece of fruit.
If you decide to buy, remember to bargain, as the price will be higher than norm, because you are a tourist.

AND.................

Sometimes, before you know it, you will have a fruit carrying basket plonked on your shoulders, with them wanting to take a photo of you, OF COURSE, FOR MONEY!
It all happens very quick.