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Vietnam Holidays Vacations
Marshal McLuhan, the famous Canadian communication theorist, educationist, writer and social reformer said about Vietnam, “Television brought the brutality of war into the comfort of the living room. Vietnam was lost in the living rooms of America- not on the battlefields of Vietnam.”
So true, since most westerners tend to look at the little country shaped like a twisted ice cream cone through the prism of war. Yet most don’t know that the once war-torn country has the most spectacular rainforests and highlands, which have remained intact through the war, not to mention the most picturesque villages in the world. |
Spread across a surface area of 128,000 square miles – about the size of Italy – this somber and graceful country is host to over fifty separate ethnic groups. About seven million of these ethnic minorities are members of the hill tribes or montagnards (which is French for denizens of the mountains).
While the predominant religion is Buddhism with obvious influences of Confucianism and Taoism, some 10 percent of the population is Catholic with pockets comprising Protestants and Muslims. Foreigners may be intrigued to discover yet another religion called Cao Dai, a unique blend of all the major religions of the world, somewhat akin to the long-defunct Din-e-ilahi propounded by the medieval Indian Mughal emperor Akbar the Great.
If you are already in the process of packing your bags you might consider carrying lightweight clothing, mostly cotton. Be sure to wear full-sleeved garments in Vietnam as a safeguard against mosquito and insect bites. A word of caution: avoid wearing skimpy clothing like shorts or mini skirts to temples as this is viewed as disrespectful by the local populace. Also, you must take off your footwear while entering a private home.
Once in Vietnam, you might want to commence your journey from the north, exploring its snowy peaks, the Red River Delta, the plains of Cao Bang and Vinh Yen. Next, you might want to explore the lush plateaus rendered fertile with volcanic soil, as well as the exquisite lagoons, beaches and dunes of central Vietnam.
And while you are at it, you might want to look at the ancient imperial city of Hue renowned for its majestic pagodas and tombs, the old Imperial complex, etc. From there to the urbanity of Ho Chi Minh City in the south embraces a vast canvas of exotica. Now, if you have already finished packing your bags you might want to fold your hands and say ‘Xin chào’ which is ‘Hi’ in Vietnamese. |
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