Tet in Vietnam

Lunar new year, aka Chinese new year, but in Vietnam it's called Tet, is the biggest celebration of the year.  In the south it means yellow flowers, fruit trays, dragon dances, and impossible crowds at transport since everyone goes to their home towns. In the north it's red flowers, but we always go south as that's where my wife is from, so never mind that.

If you're a tourist thinking of visiting Vietnam, as interesting as the new year might be, I would recommend against going at that time. Mostly because it's impossible to get anywhere, and especially in the big cities, almost everything is closed. So instead I'll tell you here what you'll miss. And things you can find other times of the year when it's a much better idea to visit.

 

One such thing would be the flower markets. And since the south is sparkled with rivers going everywhere (I'm talking about the Mekong delta here), a lot of these are on boats. The flower markets get very crowded but they're definitely worth seeing with all the colours and variety.

In every household in the front they'll have a fruit tray, with all sorts of fruits gathered up and often drink cans behind them. There's also assorted nuts and other such snacks, and tea may be served. The first visitor of the year should be someone successful though, as it sets the luck for the rest of the year.

Another thing you'll find are flower trees, they try to make sure the bloom at the right time. There's likely some at the gate outside, and another indoors. The indoor one is decorated like a Christmas tree.

The cities tend to also have fireworks and other such things during new year. And dragon dancers go around doing their thing in front of houses. If you have family there, you'll need a lot of money in red envelopes to give away.

The breakfast in Vietnam tends to be either noodles or bread filled with all sorts of things. This stall in Long Xuyen kind of combines the two in a dish called súp bánh mì, you get both the soup and the bread. It's right at the central market in Long Xuyen, on one of the side streets. Look around of that dish name and of course "chay", which means vegetarian, and the most important word to recognise in Vietnam as most of the vegetarian eateries don't have any English labelling. So with that you should be able to find other food. Use Happy Cow to find the restaurants.

This time we went to Ben Tre, a province known for its coconuts, just south of Sai Gon (Ho Chi Minh city). Over there you can kayak along the river and see many blue birds, cycle on little roads surrounded and shaded by coconut trees, and of course buy coconut candies. They tend to be vegan (do check though, you never know!).