Come to Vietnam and prepare for the ultimate culture shock: chaotic traffic that somehow flows, strangers asking your age, coffee that could wake the dead, and street food so good you’ll forget every table manner you ever learned!
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1. Street food dining is a luxury experience
Tiny plastic stools, food served on the sidewalk, and steam rising from a pot of noodles – it may look simple, but it’s the heart of Vietnamese cuisine. Foreigners are shocked by how delicious and cheap everything is!
See more: 9 must-do things in Saigon
2. The “chaotic” traffic that somehow works
Motorbikes fill every inch of the road, horns never stop honking, and people cross right in the middle of moving traffic – total chaos to a foreigner. But to locals, it’s an unspoken system that works perfectly. Everyone just flows and somehow, no one crashes.
3. Vietnamese coffee is “no joke”
Forget your usual latte – Vietnamese coffee is thick, sweet, and extremely strong. One sip of cà phê sữa đá can keep you awake all day. For locals, it’s the morning ritual. For foreigners, it’s a caffeine bomb.
4. Sharing food from the same dish
In Vietnam, meals are about togetherness. Everyone uses their own chopsticks to pick food from shared plates. It’s a gesture of warmth and trust – though many foreigners find it a bit… unhygienic.
5. Personal questions are friendly, not rude
“How old are you?”, “Are you married yet?”, “How much do you earn?” – these might sound intrusive elsewhere, but in Vietnam, they’re simple ice-breakers. Asking means you care and want to connect.
6. Strangers love to hold and play with babies
In many countries, touching someone’s child is off-limits. In Vietnam, it’s a sweet and genuine way to show affection. Locals adore babies – and everyone’s a potential babysitter.
7. Napping anywhere, anytime
Office workers, shopkeepers, drivers – everyone takes a quick nap after lunch. Under the table, on a motorbike, or even on the sidewalk. It’s a true Vietnamese superpower: the ability to sleep anywhere.
8. Bathing and doing laundry in open spaces
In many towns or rural areas, it’s normal to see people showering or washing clothes outside. It’s just daily life – nothing to be embarrassed about. But for foreigners, it’s definitely a culture shock.
9. Deep respect for ancestors and spirituality
Most Vietnamese homes have an altar for their ancestors. People burn incense on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, and make offerings during holidays. To outsiders, it may seem mysterious – but for Vietnamese people, it’s a sacred way to stay connected to family and tradition.
And that’s what makes traveling here so fascinating – the everyday details that reveal the heart and soul of Vietnamese culture.
