If any country in the world accommodates breath-taking islands, dense caves, eye-catching beautiful beaches, clean and tidy natural view of the various mountains, lush green forests, rivers and lakes, then surely it is Vietnam. Because of all these things at one place, Vietnam has now become one of the most stunning holiday destinations in the world. This fascinating Asian country is steeped in the history with an assortment of people, cultures and scenes that attract travellers globally to celebrate their holidays in Vietnam. Put simply, the country is rich in history and culture intermingled with varied influences that have presided over the country as well as its people.
Brief introduction of Vietnam
Vietnam is impressively beautiful from the north, where pointy mountains and lush rice paddies line the Chinese border. And if talking about the south, you will see the mighty Mekong flowing to the sea. No doubt, unforgettable beauty of Halong Bay’s limestone islands, the emerald rice paddies of the far north, lush flora of the Highlands and long white sands of China Beach will all leave an enduring mark on your memory and make your Vietnam tour and holidays memorable.
Vietnam, a land of incredible wonders and memorable holidays
Since end of the war which damaged it for so long, now Vietnam has become one of the hottest new adventure destinations globally that increases the interest of tourists to make their tours here. However, a lot of modern developments have been done. The natural environment of this country brings a great chance to those who love to visit:
• The Asian beauty of nature
• The booming busy cities like Ho Chi Minh City (also known as Saigon)
• An assortment of places to explore as well as the cool and passionate highlands-home like Sa Pa, Da Lat
• The magnetism of antique castles like Hoi An and Hue
• The glory of the sea and islands like Halong Bay and Nha Trang
A tour to Vietnam changes your holidays into adventure and fun
Travelers who make their tours to Vietnam for adventure holidays can luxuriate in endless patchworks of rice paddies, soaring mountains, and opportunities to move slowly through Vietcong underground tunnel systems, beautiful handicrafts and delicious street food. Moreover, Sa Pa is regarded as the perfect mountain base, where you will see the traditional villages of Vietnam.
Beautiful attractions of Vietnam have persuaded UNESCO to declare it as full of world heritage sites. No doubt, this Asian country is now being embraced by the world because of friendly and inquisitive people, magnificent natural beauty and delicious food as well. At last, the centers of attractions of the country are sure to leave you spellbound.
Vietnam-travelinfo.com is a travel agency which offers special packages of Vietnam Holidays to the tourists at competitive prices. Vietnam Holiday package is a way to get the extreme height of relax and pleasure.
Culture Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam?
I’m looking for a book explaining the culture of these countries, what to do what not to do. I’m going there this summer and would appreciate some advice on literature.
Answer
Culture of Thailand
The culture of Thailand has been greatly influenced by Buddhism. But there have been other dominating influences of Hinduism as well along with the effects of the repeated invasions of Myanmar, Laos and also the Chinese immigrants.
Arts and Crafts in Thailand
Traditional visual arts in Thailand bear a great influence of Buddhism but contemporary Thai art is a combination of the modern techniques along with the traditional styles. Crafts include textiles and decorative items that bear the distinct Thai style.
Architecture of Thailand
Classical Thai architecture is found in the temples and royal palace buildings and the best examples of Thai architecture are the Grand Palace, the Wat Benchamabophit, Wat suthat to name a few.
Thai Cuisine
Thai cuisine is extremely popular due to the blending of the four fundamental tastes of salty, sour, spicy and sweet. Most of the dishes combine all of these and there are innumerable spices and herbs used to achieve this.
Music and Dance in Thailand
Music consists of both the folk music and also the classical traditions along with pop or string music.
The Ram Thai or Rabam is the main art form while the dance forms can be divided into the high art or classical dance and low art or folk dance divisions.
Religion in Thailand
Thailand is predominantly a Theravada Buddhist country but there are the minorities like the Phra Nyanasamvara Suvaddhana Mahathera and the Muslims as well.
Thai Customs and Traditions
The most distinctive Thai custom is the Wai that bears resemblance to the Indian namaste demonstration of affection amongst friends are common in public. It is considered rude to put the feet above someone’s head or step on a Thai coin as it has the King’s head engraved upon it.
Thailand Hill Tribes (Akha, Karens, Lahu, Lisu, Meo, Yao)
The tribes of the Akha, Karen, Hmong, Yao, Lisu had migrated to Thailand about a 100 years back from the southern part of China and they have their own religion, art, culture and dress.
Fashion in Thailand
Thailand is a land where the latest styles and traditional crafts have been well blended and there is some thing or the other for every buyer irrespective of the budget.
Thai Etiquette
The behavior of the Thais is well controlled by etiquette based on the Buddhism. The society is non- confrontational in nature and so disputes need to be averted at all costs. Thais prefer proper behavior and dress. Revealing clothes and behaving rudely in public needs to be avoided at all costs.
Culture of Cambodia
The culture of Cambodia has had a rich and varied history dating back many centuries, and has been heavily influenced by India. In turn, Cambodia greatly influenced Thailand, Laos and vice versa. Throughout Cambodia’s long history, a major source of inspiration was from religion. Throughout nearly two millennium, Cambodians developed a unique Khmer belief from the syncreticism of indigenous animistic beliefs and the Indian religions of Buddhism and Hinduism. Indian culture and civilization, including its language and arts reached mainland Southeast Asia around the 1st century A.D. Its is generally believed that seafaring merchants brought Indian customs and culture to ports along the gulf of Thailand and the Pacific while trading with China. The first state to benefit from this was Funan. At various times, Cambodia culture also absorbed elements from Thai, Lao, Chinese, and Javanese cultures.
Culture of Vietnam
The Culture of Vietnam which is the agricultural civilization based on the wet rice cultivating is one of the oldest of such in the Asia Pacific region. In terms of prehistory, most Vietnamese historians consider the ancient Dong Son culture to be one of the defining aspects of early Vietnamese civilization.
Long periods of domination and interaction with its northern neighbor, China, has resulted in Vietnam’s historic inclusion as part of the East Asian Cultural Sphere, known widely as Chinese Cultural Sphere. Historically, passing the imperial Mandarin exams was the only means for Vietnamese people to socially advance themselves.
Following independence from China in the 10th century AD, Vietnam began a southward expansion that saw the annexation of territories formerly belonging to the Champa civilization (now Central Vietnam) and parts of the Khmer empire (today South Vietnam) which resulted in minor regional variances in Vietnam’s culture due to exposure to these different groups.
During French colonial period, Vietnamese culture received marcant influences from the Europeans, including the spread of Catholicism and the adoption of Latin alphabet — to this day, Vietnam is the only non-island nation of Indochina which uses the Latin Alphabet to write the national language.
In the socialist era, the cultural life of Vietnam has been deeply influenced by government-controlled media and the cultural influences of socialist programs. For many decades, fore
