Expats enjoy Lunar New Year festivities

As an expat living in Vietnam for over five years, Greg Ohan, an Australian senior director at a property consultancy in Ho Chi Minh City, regards the lunar New Year as his chance to take an extra holiday.

In his first year in Vietnam, while other expats took a week off and travelled around Asia, Ohan made an effort to stay in the city during Tet and developed a true appreciation for what it was-a chance to spend more time with family, friends, and loved ones.

Since then, he has encouraged friends and even family to visit him during Tet so they can experience what he believes to be the true soul and value of Vietnam-its people and how they celebrate their culture.

“The annual pilgrimage that my friends and colleagues make to their hometowns is a testament to the strong underlying values of the Vietnamese people, and what I enjoy most about my life in Vietnam,” Ohan said.

The picturesque transformation of Nguyen Hue road-and indeed all of Ho Chi Minh City-in the lead up to Tet are part of what Ohan appreciates about this festival.

“Watching the flower street take shape, seeing the lighting and decorations installed in and around the main boulevards and roads of the city, and the excitement of the people is what strikes me,” he said.

What Ohan admires about Tet is that it is not just a celebration of a new year, it is, in fact, a combination of cultural and spiritual traditions.

“From the fireworks, to lighting incense at the Pagoda, to traditional Vietnamese dishes, Tet and its customs represent the heart of Vietnamese people. For a foreigner, it is a mix of the calendar New Year, Easter, and Christmas all wrapped up into one large celebration,” said Ohan.

He also believes that the act of giving signature Tet gifts is a unique tradition. And although banh chung will never be his first choice over chocolate, “I do appreciate the red packet. However, I tend to give out much more than I receive!” he said.

For him, the lunar new year is about the trinity of Fs: Family, Friends, and Food.

“Otherwise, stay in town, or take that motorbike trip to Vung Tau or the Mekong you always planned, but be sure you can change a spare tyre because even the roadside mechanic will have his two weeks off.”

For German national Ulf Bieler, managing director of another consulting firm in Ho Chi Minh City, spending Tet with his family in Ho Chi Minh City is a must, especially as his two children are still too young to take on long trips.

“I’m sure they are happy to have daddy for a little longer than usual,” Bieler told VIR.

Ho Chi Minh City, he says, is quite nice during Tet. Everything is open and everybody is in a good mood, so it’s a pleasure to go downtown sometimes to watch people in the street eating good food.

As for travelling within Vietnam, he says that even locations within a relatively short distance from Ho Chi  Minh City are to be avoided, as transportation is usually sold out, and most nice destinations are overrun by Vietnamese on holiday. For this reason, he prefers to stay at home during this time.

“I like the neighbouring areas very much. Otherwise why would I like living in Vietnam? There are many beautiful places worth visiting, although I believe that foreigners living here know that there are better times to go to enjoy them,” he said.

A better developed road infrastructure would make it easier for people to travel during Tet, but Vietnam still has some way to go in this regard.

“Tourists might be very interested to travel to witness this aspect of Vietnamese culture. By the same token, the traditional water puppets are one of the tourism sector’s must-see attractions. I believe some tourists could be enticed to come and enjoy a traditional Tet celebration in a village. Having said that, many tourists come to enjoy the major cities and the beaches,” he added.

Foreigners who don’t want to spend Tet in a village with a family can ring in the lunar new year in cities like Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City where several countdown events will be held in public areas to celebrate the transition from the old to the new year.