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Morning Meeting at the Fish Market
  Since much of the country is still rural, you can expect to carry your back pack and go exploring on your scooter or hire a private driver to give you a tour. The weather is normally favorable so have some fun with an open mind. The Vietnamese often describe the geography of their country in cultural terms—its appearance resembling a peasant carrying two rice baskets on opposite ends of a pole. The northern basket is dominated by the Red River Delta, while the Mekong Delta forms the southern basket. In fact, these are the two main rice-growing regions of Vietnam. But the country has three other regions as well: the Northern Highlands, the Annamite Cordillera range, and the central Coastal Lowlands. The Northern Highlands border Laos and China. Forests and jungles cover much of this thinly populated region. Vietnam's highest peak, Fan Si Pan, rises 10,312 ft. (3,143 m.) in these highlands. The majority of Vietnamese people live in small, rural villages. The village has been the traditional focus of Vietnamese society. A dinh, or temple compound, occupies the center of most villages. Most homes are constructed of wood or bamboo with roofs of palm leaves or straw, although sheets of metal and plastic are sometimes used in the north, where the climate is cool. Rural women tend to wear the traditional costume, the ao dai, a full-length tunic, slit to the waist and worn over loose-fitting white or black trousers. Men and women wear conical hats for protection. Vietnamese cuisine is famous for its noodle dish – pho, made from rice noodles in both meat broth served with meat slices and vegetables. In addition, many of the chefs who were trained during the French occupation still dish up meals with much French influences infused with Vietnamese style. You can also expect to see many sea food here. The Vietnamese language is composed of single-syllable words that do not change. The same word, however, can have different meanings, which are expressed through different levels of pitch. Although Vietnamese has been enriched with many Chinese literary, philosophical, and technical terms, it is basically unrelated to the Chinese language. Chinese ideographs, or characters, were originally used in written Vietnamese. But they came into disuse after Portuguese and French missionaries in the 1600s invented quoc-ngu, a system of using Roman letters. Like the rest of Southeast Asia, Vietnam is affected by the monsoons that create two basic seasons, wet and dry. The dry season extends from November to April, while rains begin in April and can last into October. Rainfall during this season may be as heavy as 72 in. (183 cm.) in both Hanoi, the capital city, and Ho Chi Minh City. The temperature in the south tends to be more moderate and consistent throughout the year, averaging in the low 80s F. (28° C), while the mean temperature in the north is in the upper 80s F. (30° C). Both the north and south can experience daytime temperatures above 100° F. (38° C.) during the wet season. | |
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Article Contributors Anonymous user updated 1 year ago Anonymous user updated 1 year ago |
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