Notes from Hoi An: Sustainable Tourism

Sam Miller

Back home in California you can’t swing a cat without whacking 100 things that are: locally produced, organic, eco-friendly, sustainable, carbon neutral, and/or fair-trade. 

It should come as no big surprise in a country where more Vietnamese friends have iPhones than at home and in a town catering to visitors’ tastes and preferences that the trend of ‘Sustainable Tourism’ (a sub-set of Sustainable Development) is catching on here too. 

Hello Moto: The King of Transport in Vietnam

Text by Amy Morison, photos by Michele North

Once upon a time I would’ve gasped at the sight of a man riding a motorbike through peak hour traffic with a refrigerator behind him, dubiously strapped to the back part of the seat. And yes, I too remember the feeling of pity mixed with amazement at the gaggle of live ducks being transported by xe may to the local market. (But of course I got my camera phone out, took a quick pic and sent the message to the folks back in Oz). And let’s not forget the pre-Tet frenzy where innumerous two-wheeled vehicles sprout celebratory cumquat trees in large earthen pots – usually wedged between driver and passenger. It’s like weaving through a moving garden of Eden on the street.

Springing Into Tet: Festivities For The Dragon Year

Amy Morison

While Christmas and New Year festivities will certainly be celebrated in Hoi An, the most important event on the local calendar is Tết Nguyên Đán (commonly shortened to ‘Tet’), which is the Vietnamese new year.

Also referred to as the ‘Spring Festival’ to typically mark the beginning of Spring, Tet is a grand affair, filled with ceremony, tradition, family reunions, and, of course, food.

 It falls at the same time as Chinese New Year (in correlation to the lunar calendar) however there are various Tet customs that are unique to Vietnam.

New Year Food Parcels - Help Make A Difference

Linda Burn

Being hungry is not nice for anyone, let alone a child.

Many of the families we help don't earn enough to eat much or often and some of the children are malnourished. We are sending the children to school so that they are educated, and we are giving a small food allowance to many of them, but the food allowance just makes a little difference; not enough for any celebrations.

Please help us raise funds for a parcel of the food basics, plus some treats for this Vietnamese New Year, which is the biggest celebration in Vietnam. Without food there is no celebration.

You better believe it: Superstitions in Vietnam

Caroline Mills

Like many Southeast Asians, the Vietnamese would not consider making a major decision, whether it involved marriage or building a house, without considering the lunar calendar and consulting an astrologer, psychic or fortune-teller.

This is pragmatism to them, not superstition: Abiding by these forces of nature is how one finds harmony with surroundings and is in turn rewarded with good luck and a happy life.

Qi Oi! The Essence Of Traditional Medicine

Amy Morison

It was on the outskirts of Ipoh, Malaysia in 2001 where I experienced my first and only ever sales rejection from a fruit vendor.  It was a typically tropical day –the sky acting like a blanket over the earth, with everything looking and feeling as if it were slowly asphyxiating. Half-dazed from heat and Tiger beer I stood bewildered at the back of the peddler’s lorry. The fetid air clung to my nostrils, bringing me close to a vomitus retch, but I remained steadfast in position. 

The Vietnamese Babel Fish 

Amy Morison

I always drew amusement from the name of the first widely-used online translation service: ‘Babelfish’ – which came well before the event of Google Translate. The name ‘Babel’ has biblical origins. According to the book of Genesis in the bible, all humanity spoke one language once. But when they began to build a tower to reach heaven from earth, God felt insulted and so the big maker decided to teach them a lesson.  He “confounded their speech”, thus hindering their ability to communicate with each other and finish what would become known as ‘The Tower of Babel’. Incidentally, the word ‘Babel’ is a Hebrew derivation of the word ‘jumble’.

The Symbolic Dragonfly 

Selene Minh Nguyet

“Do you have Dragonflies here in British Columbia?” I asked a friend when we were wandering through the orchards of Okanagan Valley (BC, Canada).  “Of course we have,” my friend said, “In the legends of many North American First Nations, dragonflies carry the spirits of the dead. They share the butterfly’s symbolism of immortality and rebirth. Dragonflies are thought to parallel people as we are both born out of water.”

Vietnamese Weddings

A Guide by Miss C

At some point during your stay in Vietnam you are going to pass by the two hundred plus bikes seemingly abandoned outside a kitsch, pink polyester fringed tent, reverberating with the ear bursting bass of a karaoke system and an overexcited MC.  On a lucky day you’ll probably see 10.  If you are really lucky you might even find yourself invited to one of the most fun and jaw dropping events of your entire holiday. Welcome to the world of Vietnamese weddings.

The Culture of Community

Phil Mellifont

I found it easy to fall in love with Vietnam, and in some ways it’s not difficult to understand why – the fresh food, the simple life, and the dollars in your pocket are worth millions!   So after visiting Vietnam the first time, I just couldn’t get the place out of my head and I kept wanting to come back until eventually I moved here!

What I’ve come to realize is that the mysterious reason I love living in Vietnam is a ‘sense of community’.