What are some things you want to know about Vietnam? Ask and I'll try to answer them.
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
90 Answers
Are there any ill feelings between the former north and south parts? Has Hue been rebuilt?
Are there still lingering feelings for or against the US?
What type of music do you listen to? Years ago when I had more Vietnamese friends their parties were big family parties and the music was awesome dance music. Like the runway music, high energy dance.
How much does Kim in North Korea worry you?
What’s the name of your country’s leader?
What’s that person’s title? Is it Premier or something else?
Have you personally been able to visit any of the amazing Eastern ruins, like Angkor, or The Museum of Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses in Xi’an? Would you like to? Priority, or no?
What are the big holidays where families get together? Do people travel to see relatives for the holidays?
Are rentals of scooters and/or bikes common there? I have seen vacation shows in which rentals like that are common and simple in some other lands.
What is the average family size? Are multigeneration families common there?
What is the most common housepet there? Would it be cat or dog, or maybe non mammal, such as birds?
@Adirondackwannabe
First question: The short answer is “yes, sort of”. Yeah we were divided into “North” and “South” back to the day of the Vietnam war. At that time the north and the south were too different. Lifestyle, political belief… Under Ngo Dinh Diem’s rule, the south seemed richer and “more civilized” than the north (at least that was what they were made to think), so some of the southern people began to think they had higher social status than the northern people. The belief passed from parents to children to grandchildren… So even after the war some narrow-minded people still stuck to that thought and looked down on the north. And because the thought was passed from generation to generation, even today there are some people who claim the north is inferior now and again. If you go to Youtube for example, you can see some video mocking northern people.
Well it seems that the south tends to attack the north more. I don’t think I see the north doing the same though…
Second question: Yes it has been rebuilt. I have visited Hue twice and I could see no traces of the wars. Hue has done a good job rebuilding everything. But one thing doesn’t seem to change, and that is people’s mind. They are still very superstitious and many obsolete rituals are still kept.
@Dutchess_III We have mostly forgotten all the hate for the US during the war. No more lingering feeling now. And even during the war we didn’t completely hate the US. We only hated the ones who commanded soldiers to invade us, not the whole US (thanks Ho Chi Minh for explaining who was our real enemies :P)
Now many love US products, and one of the best way to sell your products is to print on the packages this line “made in the US” :D
@JLeslie right now I think I will listen to anything that sounds good to my ears. I prefer classic jazz and some pop music, but anything good is fine. I can even listen to war music :p My dad has a collection of music and he often play them in the computer with the speaker on. There is some war music in the collection and I listen to it.
Well that was a party right? I’m not surprised to know they used dance music. Dance music is very common for parties here. We use any kind of dance music: Vietnamese music, English music… as long as the music is exciting. We don’t care for the lyrics.
@ibstubro My government is as worried about Kim as it’s worried about an ant :P
Bed time. More answers later. Stay tuned.
Bed time! Are you in California?
Which “celebrity” would Vietnam welcome back most, John Rambo or Jeremy Clarkson?
@Brian1946 right now it’s Nguyen Tan Dung. And you are almost right. His role is translated into: “Prime Minister of Vietnam”
There is also president Truong Tan Sang, but it seems that he doesn’t have as much control over the country as Nguyen Tan Dung.
@ibstubro no, I have never been to any of those places (did I say I have never been abroad?) If I had a chance I would definitely go see them.
@jaytkay we don’t have as many holidays as the US. And most of the holidays are very short (one or two days). So the only “true” holiday is Tet, which lasts for two weeks. Families whose members live close to each other get together in every holiday, but Tet is the only occasion when people from far away come home. At Tet everyone travels to see relatives, that’s a must. At least they have to present for all the rituals during Tet.
@Here2_4
First question: motorbikes/scooters make up 80% of the amount of vehicles here. The roads here are very small, and most people don’t have much money, so it isn’t surprising that there are so many motorbikes. It’s becoming harder to find a parking space for cars too, as people are increasing.
Second question: it depends. In the cities families tend to be smaller than those in the countries. A typical city family consists of 4 or 5 people: father, mother and their children. In the countries there may be grandma and grandpa, sone families even have uncles, ants and their children! My mom’s family is a multigeneration family with grandparents and their children and grandchildren. The house is always noisy.
Third question: the most common pets are dogs, cats, birds and fish. It’s hard to find other kinds of pets here. Pets in Vietnam are not so various as pets in the US, as Vietnamese are generally reluctant to try new things.
And did I say I have never been to the US?
@johnpowell that’s what happens when you eat rice three times a day, 365 days a year. People are simply too bored with the traditional food and want something more exotic. KFC is their answer.
@ucme right now the easier question should be: which “celebrity” would Vietnam welcome back most, SUJU or SNSD? ~
Come back Spice Girls, all is forgiven.
@Here2_4 She’s in Vietnam!
Wow. This is a great thread. I wonder if I’d get the same response if I asked, “What would you like to know about Kansas?”.....Nah. Me thinks not.
@Mimishu1995 What are some of the stereotypes the Vietnamese people have about Americans, and has participating on Fluther changed some of those for you?
@Mimishu1995 I think that may be the very first time I have ever heard of KFC being called exotic. I think you just took my cherry or something. I don’t surprise easily but that did it. :)
We’ve both been deflowered. ~
Not me! I’m a virgin! Forever!
Between this and the China question I feel like I’m back in a university again. I like it!
These are fun questions. You can pick up a lot of info about other places.
Then why going to bed at 10 PM Pacific time?
What time was it in Vietnam?
Vietnam is 12 hours behind the US EST.
So if it was 10 pm Ca time, it was….2 p.m. Vietnam time, different date?
Mimishu likes naps, guys :)
In Vietnam is there rampant feminism there as here (US)?
What is the average age women tent to wed?
If a woman chose a man to marry that was 12 years or more than her age does it give Vietnamese the heebie jeebies as it does people here (US)?
What the hell is “rampant feminism?
Thanks @longgone. I forgot to mention my noon nap addiction :D
Do Vietnamese people pay attention to news from France? Do people know the name of the President of France? Is the French language used anywhere?
Also, @Mimishu1995 I wanted to say something about Chicago. We have a street FULL of Vietnamese businesses. The street name is Argyle Street.
Some people call it Little Saigon
Notice the Asian roof on the elevated train station in this photo
@Dutchess_III Most of us will think of Americans as awesome cowboys holding guns and fire at bad guys ~ Just kidding. Imagine someone who is a combination of this, this, this and this, and you’ll get the typical stereotypes (actually we want to be as tall and fat as you Americans very much :P)
@Dutchess_III Oh, the second question:
I generally don’t categorize people, so I don’t think I have changed any of my stereotypes (because I don’t have any :)
Surely this might be the 1st Sunken Treasure question of 2015, but will it also be the 1st Jules Verne?
@Hypocrisy_Central
First question: Women fight for their rights here too, but not to the point that their struggle is considered “rampant”. Mostly because women here are more submissive and tolerant, and because the Vietnamese culture values women to some degree (it was the Chinese that told Vietnamese to degrade women when they invade us for the first time, the Vietnamese culture itself does not hate women)
Second question: The legal age is 18, but there are some underage people can get “private” marriage ceremonies celebrated by their families only. The situation is more common in rural areas. That’s technically illegal, but the families will just say to everyone that the marriage is “just family parties”. In some mountainous villages underage marriage is considered “legal” by the village chiefs!
Third question: I don’t think so. It may attract some attention if the wife or husband is a celebrity, but no one will take much notice.
@jaytkay I don’t think people care so much about France. Yeah we have our TVs and newspapers and they give people France’s news, they keep people updated about the latest news but it seems that people don’t care much. It isn’t a topic people come up with in a conversation. And the president name… ah what is his name again? :p
French is still taught at school but very few schools teach it. I was in one of those school and to tell the truth, the teachers didn’t like to teach either. They knew that French won’t be useful. Hardly anyone out there use French for anything (except for those translators). And now the only French word I know is “bonjour”.
And thanks for the photo. I’ve never known there is a Vietnamese town in Chicago. I would like to go there if I could afford to travel to the US.
Ha ha! Talk about stereotypes happen to be true for the most part!
So, I’ve heard the deadliest snakes in the world are found in Vietnam. Have you ever encountered one?
@Dutchess_III I’ve heard people here saying the same thing, but I have to admit that this is the only place I’ve heard people saying that. No one here claims that Vietnam has the most deadly snakes. But then again I’m stuck in this city so… yeah.
@Mimishu1995 The legal age is 18, but there are some underage people can get “private” marriage ceremonies celebrated by their families only.
Thanks for that, however, it missed the point I was seeking some. I can Google what the legal age is, I wanted to know on average when does a female wed, for instance, usually between 23 to 31 years of age, most wait until 26–34 years of age, by 24 most women have wedded, etc.?
@Hypocrisy_Central oh I think I miss your point. The most honest answer is I don’t know. My guess (without looking at @ibstubro‘s links) will be about 24–25, if I exclude the “illegal” marriages.
Thanks for the links @ibstubro.
So, did Vietnam welcome our presence in the 60’s in the fight against North Vietnam or did they resent it? And do YOU know why the hell we even got into that war? Cuz I don’t.
The Domino Theory was taught as fact the entire time I was in school, @Dutchess_III. I still think it has validity. It’s arguable that we did win the larger war in Vietnam.
“Won” it what way? Things were the same when we left as when we went in.
Re: venomous snakes, this web page could be helpful. Vietnam isn’t mentioned specifically but South East Asia is.
@ibstubro “I can Google, Google, Google…”
Like 97% of all questions here, it can be Googled if one took the time, I had boots on the ground which I thought would be more accurate than some Web site I was too lazy to hunt down anyhow.
@Dutchess_III well according to some documentaries I watched, Americans were somewhat welcomed., especially activists. I used to watch a document about some musicians who came to Vietnam to write and perform anti-war songs. They were warmly welcomed by most. One musician wrote a song based on the lamentation of a woman with a dead son. Truly touching.
And I don’t really know why we had to fight with each other either. All they told me was that Americans had some plans in mind and wanted to invade Vietnam as part of it, and we were only defending ourselves
And that Domino Theory… this is the first time I’ve ever heard about it. But I don’t care who won or lost, as long as now there is no more war and no one is up-in-arm with anyone.
Are chocolate chip cookies widely available in Vietnam? If so, do you enjoy them?
@cookieman yes of course. But to tell the truth apart from those imported one, all the made-in-Vietnam ones are clumpsy copycats. There is just so much sugar. There are some that I enjoy, but not as much as the imported one.
The US government believed in the Domino Theory, @Dutchess_III. Specifically, that if we didn’t intervene in Vietnam, it would fall to Communist rule, allowing the Communists to infiltrate and overtake another, neighboring country. If you subscribed to the Domino Theory and you believe, “Things were the same [no worse] when we left as when we went in.”, then we won the larger war.
How open is your internet access. I admit that I’m surprised that a citizen of Vietnam can access a site like Fluther.
Because of another Fluther question, I found that your postal system is prone to searches of outside packages and seizure of desirable items.
There is no comparison between the chocolate chip cookies you ‘import’ and the ones we bake, @Mimishu1995! As with the pudding, you need to look for local sources for ingredients and on-line for recipes. Or ask a question here.
Do people still venture off the reservation, out into the jungle? If so, do they encounter unspent ordinance still laying about causing a hazard to health or danger to life?
Do you like bánh xèo? I love it. Where would I find the best vegetarian Vietnamese food in Vietnam? Would it be at a restaurant, a street vendor, or in someone’s kitchen?
@Hypocrisy_Central Depends on what they go there for. If it’s for wood then a lot are still going. If it’s for exploration then few people want to go. And they may encounter unspent ordinance, but I have seen no one say anything about that.
@Kardamom Yeah of course :D But to tell the truth bánh xèo costs quiet a lot, at least in my city. So I don’t eat it very often.
You want to find some vegetarian food? That’s easy because more and more vegetarian restaurants are appearing, though I don’t know why. Mostly they sell vegetarian food in restaurants. You have less chance to find one in street vendors and people’s kitchen, since the ingredients for a typical vegetarian dish is not so cheap (yeah, what do you expect from fake fish, fake meat, fake spring rolls…?).
@ibstubro Obviously the Domino Theory was false, else we’d be speaking Russian now. We aren’t. Things were the same when we went in as when we went out, so we went in there and accomplished absolutely nothing, much less winning a “larger war.”
Perhaps you could explain to me what this “larger war” is that you speak of.
The Russian communist block was allowed after WWII and held in check by NATO in Europe.
However, the Russians had been charged with accepting the surrender of troops in the north of Korea (previously wholly under Japanese control) and helping Korea return to self-rule. Instead they fought free elections and eventually supported attacking S. Korea, which was under UN (not US) control.
When S. Korea repulsed the attack and seemed poised to continue on to overtake N. Korea (and complete the agreed upon unification), China entered the battle and forced the return of the N./S. Korea division. China was, what, about, what, 4–5 years Communist, and breaking with the USSR.
The Korean War had long-lasting consequences for the entire region. Though it failed to unify the country, the United States achieved its larger goals, including preserving and promoting NATO interests and defending Japan..
Larger goals.
Should I continue to the Larger War, via Vietnam?
Viet Nam vs Vietnam. Does the difference matter?
If visiting potential in-laws there, is it appropriate to bring gifts? What kind of gifts, and for which family members?
If bringing American souvenirs, is there anything that would be offensive? Too cheap? Color?
;-)
@dxs the standard English accepts Vietnam. However, there are many people, especially Vietnamese, write Viet Nam. I personally think Viet Nam seems like a Vietnamese trying to learn English or the word “Việt Nam” written on the computer.
@ibstubro As far as I know, it’s not very necessary, but it’s better if you do. Food and small useful things are most appreciated (I don’t recommend giving money though). It’s best to aim at the mother or the father.
As for American gifts, we like exotic things so American souvenirs will be accepted very quickly. Just don’t give anything so “sexy” though (like a doll with breast half-revealed).
@Mimishu1995 Wow….I don;t know how I missed this when you asked, great question, great information, I want to go to Vietnam so badly, maybe one day.
What definable seasons do you have in Vietnam? Is there cold winters and hot summers? Are the summers dry, partly dry or are their showers all of the time?
@Mimishu1995, did your parents/grandparents go through the the Tet Offensive?
@Hypocrisy_Central It depends on the region. In the North we have all the four seasons and every season is like what you expect (except snow). But go further to the South and the seasons become less and less obvious. In South Vietnam you only see two things called “rainy season” and “dry season”, which is the same as they sound. Rain heavily and dry and boiling. Central Vietnam is a mix bag of the four and two seasons. Even I don’t know how to call it.
@Dutchess_III I saw it. I just couldn’t answer the other day, my connection was laggy, sorry.
Yes. Most of the adults in my family have passed the time. But the thing is that no one seemed to participate in it. My grandpa was some kind of a member of the gorvernment, maybe he had some part in it, but I don’t see him talk about it.
Well, I was wondering if they were affected as citizens, not as participants.
@Dutchess_III I don’t know. Nobody talks about it. They only say very general things like there was shortage of everything. Nobody talks about that day.
Is the shrimping really as good as it said in Forest Gump?
What would happen if you asked about it? I mean, is it taboo, or does it just not come up?
@Hypocrisy_Central Never watched Forest Gump.
@Dutchess_III no taboo or anything. It’s just like… nobody remembers anything about it. They just see it as another day in their life. I don’t know why. Maybe they were too busy getting enough to eat and dodging bombs to bother?
In general, how many people in Vietnam be they n the city or the country side commute or get around on bikes? And is bike riding as transportation confined to a specific age group or old as well as young ride?
@Hypocrisy_Central I don’t understand the first part.
And the second part, bikes are for people who are over 18. There are some smaller bikes and electric bikes for younger people. But it’s not uncommon to see some youngsters riding big bikes. They want to appear cool, even though that’s against the law.
Getting a riding licence is considered a sign of maturity. Most people in their 18 take a riding test for a licence. And those who don’t take the test are considered “wimps”.
^ And the second part, bikes are for people who are over 18.
That is a very interesting fact. Here in the US from what I can gather, many see getting a license to operate a motor vehicle as a rite of passage.
But it’s not uncommon to see some youngsters riding big bikes. They want to appear cool, even though that’s against the law.
Here in the US (at least this area) as green as cycling for transportation is, bikes are seen as for kids or wimps, losers or chumps. There was a helmet law that says every rider under 16 (could have been 18) had to wear a helmet but it has pretty much gone by the wayside as no cops ticket it anymore. Certainly not discouraged or against the law for them.
Getting a riding licence is considered a sign of maturity.
Here not getting a license for a motor vehicle and choosing to commute green is seen as a sign of irresponsibility. The only time you should ride, as it seems, is for recreation or exercise on your fancy carbon fiber bike with all the fancy skins on likes a Tour De France cyclist.
Do people there try to use the expense of their bike for status or bragging rights as people here use their vehicles for?
I think maybe Mimishu is writing about motor bikes and HC is writing about bicycles.
Is that correct?
Do you know of any LGBTQ rights organizations or clubs in your area?
Omg. I didn’t expect this question to come back to me like this.
I’m not familiar with the LGBTQ community, but I think there are LGBTQ organizations in Vietnam. If there are, then they are unofficial groups run by young people who just want to create a safe space for LGBTQ people. It’s more like a gathering club than an actual organization.
I don’t think there are any in my area though. Most LGBTQ in Vietnam get their support on the Internet anyway.
Answer this question 
