Culture

Food in Vietnam

Vietnamese cuisine, includes elements of chinese, french, indian and other cuisines, yet maintains an identity of its own. Below are some of the famous and delicious food in Vietnam.

 Pho bo

Beef noodles made from pot of stewed meat, marrowbones, onions topped up with vegetables like beansprouts, coriander and served with parboiled beef and soft, thin rice noodles. This is a specialty of Vietnam one must not miss! 

 Vietnamese spring rolls

Freshly made prawn spring rolls made from handmade rice paper, its unique flavor gives you a refreshing taste when one bites into the wrap with your favorite vegetables, shrimps & other meat of your delights. Often serves as an appetizer. 

Cha ca 

Cha consists of grilled fish nuggets served in hotpot, topped with vegetables and roasted peanuts, best eaten with bun, the rice vermicelli. This local specialty is served best when one sits along some corners on the streets and devours this dish hot.

Arts in Vietnam

Rich in arts and culture, Vietnam has various forms of craft arts such like ceramic arts, silk, lacquer as well as performance arts like Cheo and water puppets. Below are some art forms that are traditional and yet gaining popularity among the tourists:

 Water puppetry; Mua Roi Nuoc

Originated from the Red river delta, water puppetry performance is used to celebrate Tet and the end of agricultural labors since 12th century. This traditional performance in fact has a complicated system of strings, bamboo poles and floats supported with extreme good coordination between the players to put up such a good show. 

 Lacquer arts

Lacquer painting is an artisan painting techniques that is introduced to the Vietnamese by the French. These elegant aesthetic pieces are painstakingly made by hands with about 12 coats of resin mixed with paints. 

Cheo

This is a popular opera form that has been performed for peasants at the village communal house with makeshift props like bamboo screen for backdrop and bed mats as stages originally. This performing arts consists of folk songs, instrumental music, dances etc that offers a well blend of romance, tragedy and comedy, especially tales of the Red river delta. 

Religions in Vietnam
The Vietnamese adopt a polytheistic approach to religions, practicing a blend of ancestry worship, spirit cults to a mix with Buddhism, Catholicism, Confucian and Taoist world views. 

 However, most Vietnamese practice Buddhism. 

Cao dai
Cao Dai is a relatively new religion created in the 1920s by Vietnamese spiritualists who drew upon, and mixing and adding ideas from the religious philosophies such as Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Christianity. There are many temples in Vietnam dedicated to this religion, as well as a growing number of followers. 


Credits: http://www.vietnamtourism.com/e_pages/news/index.asp
Journey Through Hanoi by Quek Ling Xiang
Photo credits to all respective owners