A bit of context - Religion in Vietnam

Vietnam's traditional religious background is based on three great philosophies and religions - Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism - that coexist with a more ancient but still thriving Mother Worship cult, ancestor worship, popular beliefs, superstitions and ancient Vietnamese animism. It is a rich and finely balanced amalgam that permeates not only the spiritual side of Vietnamese life (most will say they are Buddhists) and their understanding of the universe (taken from Taoist philosophy), but also regulates family and civic duties (which is the main focus of Confucianism).

Beliefs and superstitions

DON'T underestimate the extent and power of popular beliefs in Vietnam. The 'respect' mentioned a few paragraphs above will be more difficult to bestow when it will' adversely affect your plans, but that's when it will be most needed. Your Vietnamese friends might not want to start a journey on a particular date and may be too shy to tell you the real reason why...it's simply not a 'good day' to travel. They might be 'very busy' the night you decided you wanted to go and try dog meat...It s not the proper time of the month to eat dogs. They might delay the purchase of your motorcycle or the signing of a contract because it's a 'bad day' to do business...

Respect, as anywhere else in the world

Everywhere you travel, politics and national issues can stir very emotional responses from citizens. Vietnamese are not particularly sensitive but certainly are proud of their achievements and highly nationalistic. DO show respect for other's opinion, no matter what's your own stance on the matters. DO understand that not all people share the same political views.

For number crunchers

Although religious identification is not such a clear-cut matter, statistics tell us that about 70 percent of the population are Buddhist, 10 percent Catholic, 3 percent Cao Daist, 2 percent Hoa Hao and the rest of various other religious groups such as Protestantism, Islam, Hinduism and the specific beliefs of some ethnic minority groups.

Code of conduct - Mainly for women in Vietnam

DON'T touch Vietnamese men in public unless you are absolutely sure it will not embarrass them and their entourage. Aside from some very rare exceptions, Vietnamese women don't drink and don't smoke. (They're such saints...) It looks bad! Bur, as a foreigner, smoking shouldn't damage your image too much. The same goes for alcohol. In fact, most Vietnamese (well, Vietnamese men) will encourage you to drink as much as them. 'Down in one' (tram phan tram) is a well entrenched custom.

Public displays of affection

As in the rest of Asia, public displays of affection are not encouraged. Although you will see the younger generations trying to pick up Western ways, kissing and hugging in public is still considered impolite and disrespectful. Avoid it, if at all possible. Even more important is to avoid any physical contact or I of affection towards Vietnamese colleagues of the opposite sex. You risk embarrassing them lose face and reputation in front of friends and colleagues. But time are changing and many young people are adopting more open manners, especially towards foreign. For instance, young women will occasionally take the arm of a foreign for a picture, will give him a big hug on departure or will drop a casual arm on a shoulder. DO let them initiate such actions and model your own behavior to their level of comfort.

Gestures to avoid

Unless you're at a decidedly Buddhist religious site, or with minorities coming from Khmer or Thai descent, you can pretty well forget all the old clichés about 'not touching the head' or 'not pointing with your feet' (hey, do you really point with your feet back home?). In fact, there are very few gestures that can cause you or your Vietnamese friend’s real embarrassment. DON'T employ the Western way of signaling someone to come, by wiggling an upward-pointing index finger. Get used to the Asian way, which is the wiggling of all four fingers together, palm facing down.

DON'T use the Western sign for good luck, with the second finger curled over the index. This has a totally different meaning here, as it refers to the female sexual organs. It is considered a very rude and bad mannered gesture. As is the (rather obvious) inserting of the index finger in a circle formed by the thumb and index finger of the other hand. DO relax ... apart from the previous gestures, unless you're obviously and desperately trying to insult people, you won't get into any serious trouble.