Ian Paynton advises foreigners to be cheerful when visiting Vietnam, according to the The Insider website.

Vietnam is emerging as one of Southeast Asia’s most popular tourist destinations for international travelers and experts. More than 100,000 foreign experts are living and working in Vietnam.

Ian Paynton, a British native, resides in Hanoi. He first traveled to Vietnam in 2007, and three years later, he decided to leave London for the Southeast Asian country for resettlement.

Paynton has told The Insider seven dos and don’ts of a Vietnam visit for foreign tourists.

Here are seven travel tips:

Do not go around town while wearing swimsuits 

According to Paynton, the beauty of Vietnam lies in elegance, so foreign visitors should not wear scanty swimwear while traveling to beaches, rivers or waterfalls.

This is considered a taboo at temples and pagodas. In 2016, a foreign visitor was forced to leave a place of worship as the traveler wore shorts and a bra-styled shirt.

Get accustomed to being barged

Standing in line is not a habit in Vietnam, according to the foreigner. Though the bad behavior has improved, many visitors feel resentful at elbowing.

The Insider cited Paynton as saying that the Vietnamese do not see it as impoliteness. Many succeeded in barging, so others follow suit.

Respect places of worship

Like many other Southeast Asian nations, Vietnamese people often place altars at homes, restaurants, and workplaces. 

Tourists who stay at a homestay or pay a visit to an acquaintance’s house should watch their language in front of altars. Removing their shoes before entering the place of worship is a point of politeness.

Besides, couples should avoid public displays of affection, such as kisses, if they are in a room which has altars. “The action is considered as improper by locals,” said Paynton.

Be careful using dating apps

You should be careful if you are asked for a first date at a nightclub. A hot topic being discussed endlessly in the expat community is the way tour guides and nightclub owners are using the Tinder app to find guests.

After successfully joining a pair, these people will invite their mates to nightclubs where they are working. This is a trick to lure guests.

Furthermore, these guests are often overcharged for alcoholic drinks.

Do not be shy to bargain with vendors

It is easy to see hawkers on every street in Vietnam. In 2018, the Statista website estimated that Vietnam had over 430,000 street vendors.

Food hawker stalls often have fixed price tags, so it is not necessary to make a bargain. However, at hawker stalls selling clothes and cheap jewelry items, foreigners can manage to haggle a 50-percent discount for each item.

Tourists should notice that vendors often ask visitors to pay for photos of them. Taking an example, Paynton said that in Hanoi, fruit vendors call on travelers to take photos with non la, Vietnamese conical hats, literally meaning ‘leaf hats,’ or their stalls, but they must pay for these photos.

Inadvisable to prioritize visits to major cities

Scenic landscapes in Vietnam stretch from the north to the south. Paynton recommends traveling to numerous destinations beyond well-known cities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang.

Among must-visit sites are spectacular terraced rice fields in Mu Cang Chai, Yen Bai Province, stunning mountain ranges in Ha Giang Province, Phong Nha Cave in Quang Binh Province, and Hue Imperial Citadel City in Thua Thien-Hue Province.

Do not be mad when getting stood up

Sometimes, your appointments or meetings fail. Paynton advises foreign visitors to see a belated meeting as a bombshell in order not to be irritated.

In Vietnam, arriving late or changing a plan at the last minute is acceptable. “For flexibility, locals believe that everything is OK,” he said.

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A new pedestrian street is now open to the public along Hai Ba Trung Street in Hue City, Thua Thien Hue Province, making it the third of its kind to be launched in this central Vietnamese city.

The Hue government on Sunday evening held an opening ceremony for the third pedestrian street, which is aimed at serving tourists on the weekend.

The ceremony gathered thousands of visitors who came to experience traditional folk games and enjoy a wide selection of foods.

This one-kilometer-long Hai Ba Trung Pedestrian Street costs roughly VND97 billion (US$4.1 million) in investment.

The stone-paved route boasts various plants and a lighting system.

Nguyen Hoang Minh, a resident of Hue City, said what he liked most about this new pedestrian street was that the entire route is nicely paved with stones, instead of asphalt.

“This route at night will be as busy as Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in downtown Ho Chi Minh City,” he said.

Vo Le Nhat, chairman of the Hue City People’s Committee, said the operation of Hai Ba Trung Pedestrian Street on the weekend is expected to promote night tourism in Hue, which is dubbed the ‘city of festivals.’

“The city’s administration also set up many stalls showcasing traditional crafts on this pedestrian street,” the official added.

The Hue administration had earlier launched a pedestrian street inside the Hue Imperial Citadel and another one in the backpacker area linking Chu Van An, Vo Thi Sau, and Pham Ngu Lao Streets.

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The sky over Binh Thuan Province in south-central Vietnam was lit up by spectacular fireworks and colorful drone lights on Saturday night as the opening ceremony of the National Tourism Year 2023 themed ‘Binh Thuan-Green Convergence’ was held on Phan Thiet City’s beach.

The National Tourism Year 2023 will feature over 200 events, with 13 of them to be organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and other ministries.

Among them, Binh Thuan Province will host more than 30 cultural, tourism and sports events, while rolling out 164 other events with the participation of 41 centrally-administered cites and provinces throughout the year.

According to the organizer, last year saw Vietnam’s tourism as a highlight of the country’s post-COVID-19 economic recovery efforts, with an upsurge in the number of domestic tourists.

Tourism is meant to become one of the nation’s spearhead economic sectors.

The National Tourism Year, which is a typical annual event, is aimed at stimulating the growth of tourism and driving up the post-pandemic recovery.

Via the event, Vietnam can popularize cultural features, tourism potential, and tourist products among local and international visitors.

A series of activities in the National Tourism Year 2023 in Binh Thuan Province reflect a bright expectation of the tourism industry, including efforts in promoting and introducing tourism and turning the industry into a spearhead economic sector in Vietnam in general and Binh Thuan in particular.

Binh Thuan Province is endowed with a long coastline of 192 kilometers, Phu Quy Island, natural tourism resources, and stunning landscapes, while the province is home to the Mui Ne national tourism area.

These factors make the province capable of developing various types and products of tourism such as leisure tourism, sightseeing, adventure tourism, sea-based tourism, eco-tourism, cultural tourism, and religious tourism. 

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang said that the important event is a response to the message sent from the third national conference on tourism chaired by the prime minister.

Over the past few years, together with socioeconomic growth, the tourism industry has made great strides and become a key sector, said the deputy prime minister.

Vietnam’s tourism really becomes a spotlight on the global tourism map, winning multiple global awards, he affirmed.

With the theme ‘Binh Thuan-Green Convergence,’ the country’s tourism is moving toward a sustainable and green sector, Quang added.

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