Explore Vietnamese Culture
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The Culture of Vietnam, an agricultural civilization based on the cultivation of wet rice, is one of the oldest in East Asia; the ancient Bronze ageDong Son culture is considered to be one of its most important progenitors. Due to the long-term Chinese influence on its civilization, in terms of politics, government and Confucian social and moral ethics, Vietnam is considered to be part of the East Asian Cultural Sphere.
Some elements generally considered to be characteristic of Vietnamese culture include ancestor veneration, respect for community and family values, handicrafts and manual labour, and devotion to study. Important symbols present in Vietnamese culture include dragons, turtles, lotuses andbamboo.
Clothing
The most popular and widely-recognized Vietnamese national costume is the Áo Dài. Áo Dài was once worn by both genders but today it is worn mainly by females, except for certain important traditional culture-related occasions where some men do wear it. Áo Dài is derived from the ChineseQipao, although it consists of a long gown with a slit on both sides, worn over cotton or silk trousers. Áo Dài is elegant and comfortable to wear. Áo Dài was likely derived in the 18th century or in the royal court of Huế. White Áo dài is the required uniform for girls in many high schools across Vietnam. Some female office workers (e.g. receptionists, secretaries, tour guides) are also required to wear Áo Dài.
In daily life, the traditional Vietnamese styles are now replaced by Western styles. Traditional clothing is worn instead on special occasions, with the exception of the white Áo Dài commonly seen with high school girls in Vietnam.
Performing arts
Hát tuồng (also known as Hát bội): A theatre form strongly influenced by Chinese opera, it transitioned from being entertainment for the royal court to travelling troupes who performed for commoners and peasants, featuring many well-known stock characters.
Cải lương: A kind of modern folk opera originating in South Vietnam, which utilizes extensive vibrato techniques. It remains very popular in modern Vietnam when compared to other folk styles.
Hát chèo: The most mainstream of theatre/music forms in the past, enjoyed widely by the public rather than the more obscure Ca trù which was favored more by scholars and elites.
Water Puppetry: Water Puppetry is a distinct Vietnamese art which had its origins in the 10th century. In Water Puppetry a split-bamboo screen obscures puppets which stand in water, and are manipulated using long poles hidden beneath the water. Epic story lines are played out with many different puppets, often using traditional scenes of Vietnamese life. The puppets are made from quality wood, such as the South East Asian Jackfruit tree. Each puppet is carefully carved, and then painted with numerous successive layers of paint to protect the puppets.
Despite nearly dying out in the 20th century, Water Puppetry has been recognised by the Vietnamese Government as an important part of Vietnam's cultural heritage. Today, puppetry is commonly performed by professional puppeteers, who typically are taught by their elders in rural areas of Vietnam. It is now extremely popular with tourists, and is performed at the National Museum in Ho Chi Minh city and in specialist theatres. In 2007 a Water Puppet troupe toured the USA to acclaim.
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Reviews from Customers
Please take a look at the following reviews from our customers
Ovad and Angela
Israel | 11/02/2018
Trip to Vietnam and Cambodia
We would like to highly recommend Funny Travel as travel agency to arrange a trip as you desire. We asked Joe to help us arrange a honeymoon trip for 3 weeks in Vietnam and Cambodia. He did everything and sent us a done schedule with every fine details (activities, flights, hotels, guides, drivers, meals etc.). From the moment we arrived, we didn't have to worry about nothing (pick up from and to an airports/hotels, a local sim, money exchange, advises, making sure daily that we are ok and if we need anything). A very big appriciation to Joe, Vicky and their staff, everything they did for us was above and beyond. It was a pleasure. We absolutely sure that whoever will choose Funny Travel, will not regret. Thank you again for a perfect honeymoon, Ovad and Angela
Hawkoinc
Australia | 11/02/2018
Motorcycle city and street food tour
Loved it, loved it, loved it. We organised a tour with Joe at the last minute but our guide and 3 drivers turned up at 9am the following morning. Our guide Chien was very knowledgeable and made it a fantastic day for us. He had a great personality and sense of humour and the street food we tried was beautiful. Joe has gone out of his way to help us with anything we needed. He is a wealth of information and local knowledge. Do yourself a favour and book a tour with Funny Travel. They have a tour to suit everyone. I highly recommend Funny Travel.
Moniqueavelaine
United Kingdom | 11/02/2018
Funny Travel made our trip amazing!
WOW, where to start. We had the most amazing experience in Vietnam with Vicky and the Funny Travel staff and there is no way we would have had such an incredible experience without their expertise. From the moment we booked Vicky communicated with us about what we hoped for in our 8 day trip in North Vietnam and now at the conclusion of our trip we are so happy because of the incredible experience they arranged. Everything was thoughtful and we'll orchestrated - we had great accommodations everywhere (including a homestay in an ethnic village near Sa Pa), we had AMAZING GUIDES!!! (thank you Thuc, Ben, and Hieu) and they were so knowledgeable of the communities and places we were visiting, Vicky set us up with a Sim card which made communication easy, she checked in and helped us easily get things done to make our trip more comfortable (arranging laundry, mail, etc), showed us amazing food and answered every question, and all around was so warm and welcoming. It was an incredible trip because of Funny Travel. We 100% recommend and plan to use Funny Travel again when we are back in Asia!
Samsee
Switzerland | 11/02/2018
Tour Halong Bay e Sapa
Dopo aver visto le varie recensioni positive, ci siamo rivolti pure noi a questa agenzia. All'ultimo minuto Vicky è riuscita ad organizzarci due giorni e una notte in crociera alla baia di Halong e tre giorni e due notti alle risaie terrazzate di Sapa. Tutto organizzato al meglio: trasporti comodissimi, hotel al top, guide simpaticissime e sempre disponibili, escursioni e attività molto piacevoli, abbiamo trascorso anche una notte in una homestay a sapa ed è stato davvero tutto perfetto. Un paese molto interessante abitato da persone gentilissime. Se volete andare sul sicuro rivolgetevi anche voi a questa agenzia!! Super raccomandata!!
Rebecca
Australia | 11/02/2018
Perfect Travel Agency
It's not just a funny travel agency - it's a perfect agency! We've never aspected to get such a good trip to sapa and halong bay! Everything was organised very well. They took care about us the whole trip, they were always very frindly, kind and funny :p was a pleasure to meet them in Hanoi! thank you Vicky!!!
Colyn D
Poland | 11/02/2018
Wonderfully warm, friendly and excellent service!
I would like to thank Funny Travel for their absolute fabulous service. We had a great time doing the bicycle and food tour and highly recommendit to anyone in the Hanoi area! A definite must-have experience!!
Relinda G
Philippines | 11/02/2018
Hanoi Vacation
Funny Travel, you made our vacation memorable, great experience. We had fun in our day tour, friendly staff. They even have an incredible food trip to top it all with. The whole trip was exceptional! A must do when you head over to Hanoi. Thank you to all our guide and to the staff. Keep up the great work
Danielle O
Australia | 11/02/2018
Craig & Danielle Overend
We were lucky enough to come across Joe and he offered a street food tour to us. He and his colleague Ken took us on a tour trying all different types of food in the old quarter. He was also full of information about his country, we had a fantastic day and highly recommend Joe and his team. Great value for money.
Fager1898
Spain | 11/02/2018
Buen hacer y excelente trato
Si quieres evitar agencias sospechosamente baratas y no te importa pagar un poco más, esta es una excelente opcion. Muy atentos en el trato, tanto a la hora de la contratación como durante el tour. Hicimos un tour de un día sin prisas, a nuestro ritmo, con un guía muy agradable y seguimos exactamente el recorrido que queríamos dedicando el tiempo que considerábamos necesario. ¿Hay otras agencias más baratas? Sí, las hay, pero a veces por unos pocos dólares no merece la pena arriesgarte con sorpresas que puedan estropear tus ilusiones. Con esta agencia te quedará un muy buen recuerdo de un día irrepetible, en nuestro caso en Mua Cave y Tam Cốc.
Funny Travel Vietnam
Head Office Only At: 35 Gia Ngu Street, Hoan Kiem District, Ha Noi city, Viet Nam
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