How expats celebrate Tet in Vietnam
Timothy
Scott Thompson (1st from right) poses for a photo with two his colleagues at
Tet celebrations held at the Nha Be Campus of the American International
School. By courtesy of Timothy Scott
Thompson
Editor’s Note: Three expatriates have shared with Tuoi Tre News how
they will spend their Tet or the Lunar New Year in Vietnam.
Dana Filek Gibson – Managing
Editor of Asia Life Magazine
Nothing like a traditional
Tet in the countryside
This will be my fifth Tet since moving to Vietnam. Over
the years, I've celebrated the holiday in many different ways – sometimes in Vietnam,
sometimes abroad – but there is nothing like a traditional Tet in the
countryside. One year, I had the privilege of welcoming the new year at a
friend's house in Ha Tinh Province. The town was awash with beautiful
landscapes and clear, crisp quiet – something you don't often find in Saigon. But what impressed me most about the holiday
was its spirit: the towering cay neu poles erected in front of each
house, the vibrant red-and-yellow flags perching by the roadside, the markets
full of yellow flowers and the endless family meals, surrounded by good
friends and kind, generous people. No matter where you are in Vietnam, there
is a sense of communal celebration that brings everyone together for the
first few days of the new year.
On the last night before Tet, my friend and I joined all
the young people in the town and walked from house to house, greeting every
neighbour and snacking on sunflower seeds and mut dua [coconut
meat jam]. In fact, the next few days were filled almost exclusively with
eating. One of my favourite parts of Vietnamese culture is the food and a
traditional Tet does not disappoint. I probably had more meals during that
week-long holiday than I did for the rest of the month!
Dana Filek Gibson is seen doing an interview with local men for her
story. Photo: By courtesy of Dana Filek Gibson
This year, for the first time ever, I will celebrate Tet
in the city. Everything I've heard suggests that Saigon
will be eerily quiet over the next week but I'm looking forward to the
holiday. Though I've driven past it for years, I've never actually enjoyed a
walk down the Flower Street. My memories of Saigon
around Tet have always been of the bustling pre-holiday rush that comes just
before everyone heads back to the countryside with their families.
These days, with lots to do and not much free time,
celebrating the Tet holidays in Saigon will be a welcome break from the chaos
of the city. I plan to spend my new year taking walks around town without the
worry of a thousand motorbikes, visiting with friends, relaxing and generally
rediscovering all the parts of Saigon that
made me fall in love with this city. Especially over the last year, there
have been so many projects that have transformed the city, I want to make
sure I have the opportunity to revisit some of my favourite places in town
and see how they've changed. It may not be the way most Vietnamese families
spend but I look forward to the change of pace that the new year will bring.
Timothy Scott Thompson – Associate Principal of the Nha Be Campus of the American International School
‘Vietnamese neighbor calls me
‘heart’’
Tet is a time for the Vietnamese half of my family.
Every year that I have lived in Vietnam
we travel to my wife’s hometown in Lam
Dong Province.
In a small village and there nearly all of my wife’s close relatives will
gather together for Tet. We spend each afternoon in the first 3 or 4 days of
the Lunar New Year at a different aunt or uncle’s house where they will cook
specials meals for us, including banh chung [square glutinous cake], nem [fried
roll], and a boiled whole chicken combined with the local rice wine. We spend
our “Tet days” going to and from each relative’s house to give lucky money to
the children, eat sunflower seeds, dried fruit, and drink jasmine tea.
A memorable funny visit occurred one year when a
neighbor from a nearby village came to “chuc tet” [give Tet wishes] at my
wife’s parent’s house. I introduced myself as Tim, but he could not
understand the way to pronounce my name. So, I told him in Vietnamese it
sounded just like “trai tim” as in “heart.” So, now whenever I see this particular
neighbor, he always calls me “Trai Tim” and not just Tim. This year I will
travel to my wife’s hometown again and I am looking forward to the food,
family, and friends that I have there. My 7 year old son Binh loves to see
his grandmother and great grandmother and run on the dirt roads of the
village with his cousins. What I enjoy most about my wife’s village is the
peacefulness that you can never find in Ho
Chi Minh City. There are only coffee and tea trees
for as far as the eye can see. My Internet connection there also rarely works
properly, so I am disconnected from my work as Associate Principal at the American International School.
These things combined are the makings for a relaxing vacation with my
Vietnamese family.
Jesse Peterson – Sales Manager
of Fortex Group, based in Thai Binh Province
Tet is perfect time to take
motorbike trips
Every year when Tet comes I look forward to getting on
my motorbike and driving around Vietnam. My ultimate goal for the
last five years has been to drive from Ho Chi Minh City
to Hanoi, but
for some reason I’ve never been able to organize it.
One year I drove from Ho Chi Minh
City to Can Tho, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, and back to Ho Chi Minh City with a
group of my expat friends. That was a really exciting year. We spent a night
in every town and made sure to try all the special food (and lots of beer of
course!).
And then after that was the first year I attempted to
drive to Hanoi.
I drove up to Buon Ma Thuat first, and then to Dak Lak to meet some friends.
I underestimated the time it takes to drive from Ho Chi
Minh City to Hanoi so I wasn’t
able to complete the journey, instead driving over to Nha Trang and then back
to Ho Chi Minh City.
But it was still a great holiday all the same.
That was the last year I was able to attempt driving
from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi. Until now, I live in Hanoi and I have the intention of moving home to Ho Chi Minh City. I’ve
shipped all my belongings home already, only myself and my motorbike remain
here. I have no choice! It’s drive back to Ho Chi Minh
City or spend a lonely Tet in Hanoi waiting until the shipping services
are open again.
I know that Tet, to millions of people living in Vietnam,
means going home to their families. But for a lot of young expats in Vietnam, it
just means a long holiday where Vietnamese people go away to meet their
families and we have to stock up on food because the stores are all closed.
And it’s the perfect time to take a motorbike trip for us expats, we don’t
have any responsibilities like making banh chung,
preparing the house for guests, ect. Generally, expats don’t have anything to
do during Tet, and a trip by motorbike is probably the most fun and
adventurous thing they could do in the time that they have.
Jesse Peterson and
his motorbike Yamaha YBR 150cc. Photo: By courtesy of Jesse
Peterson
I think this year will be good. For one, I’m really
prepared. A lot of expats run into trouble when they rent those old Minsk bikes that break
down on the road. I’ve got a multirole reliable and durable motorbike, a
Yamaha YBR 150cc, it’s built for both the city and for the mountains. I’ve
got a tent, sleeping bag, mini-stove, a number of handy tools, and a lot of
experience travelling and camping in Vietnam together with a number of
other countries and environments should I ever run into any kind of problem,
like a situation where I can’t find a hotel for example. I’ve got Google Maps
on my phone so I won’t get lost or too far of course. And I speak Vietnamese!
So until I come to the central part of Vietnam and I am unable to
understand the central accent, I should be able to ask for any help when it
is needed. And fortunately I’m starting in the cold provinces, so the weather
only gets better as I come down the country.
I will be getting on my motorbike and hitting the road,
1,700 kilometers! However there is no need to rush. There’s a lot of country
to see, Da Nang, Hoi An, I don’t know if I’ll ever be brave enough to take
the trip twice so I’d better make the most of it while I can. I know that a
lot of people are telling me that it’s dangerous, but seriously, when I think
about all the beer and Vietnamese wine I’ve drunk during Tet in Vietnam in
the past years, that’s also pretty dangerous too. I might as well hit the
road and save my liver a few years.
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