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Vietnam over New Year's

Vietnam over New Year's

Old Oct 27, 2015, 8:22 am
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Vietnam over New Year's

I'm trying to plan our family's trip to Vietnam and the Angkor Temples.
The itinerary I'm laying out has us arriving in Hoi An for NY eve and staying until the morning of Jan 3. How can I determine what is and is not available for us to do on NY day? It seems like a great place to have some down time.
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Old Oct 27, 2015, 9:08 am
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I'll be interested in the answer. Do the Vietnamese celebrate the western New Year? We were in Hanoi a couple days before the start of Tet, their new year. Everyone heads to their family home and by the day before Tet, the city was shut down. We left a day earlier than planned because there genuinely was nothing to do.
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Old Oct 27, 2015, 10:35 am
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Originally Posted by flyerdoc
I'm trying to plan our family's trip to Vietnam and the Angkor Temples.
The itinerary I'm laying out has us arriving in Hoi An for NY eve and staying until the morning of Jan 3. How can I determine what is and is not available for us to do on NY day? It seems like a great place to have some down time.
Business as usual in Vietnam and Angkor over the western holidays. Vietnam will be closed for Lunar New Year and Cambodia in April for national holiday.
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Old Oct 27, 2015, 1:48 pm
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Thank you!
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Old Oct 27, 2015, 3:06 pm
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Originally Posted by SanDiego1K
I'll be interested in the answer. Do the Vietnamese celebrate the western New Year? We were in Hanoi a couple days before the start of Tet, their new year. Everyone heads to their family home and by the day before Tet, the city was shut down. We left a day earlier than planned because there genuinely was nothing to do.
Yes, they absolutely DO celebrate "western" New Year. I was in Saigon for New Year and it was absolutely mad. Streets packed, bands playing, lots of (free) entertainment, fireworks and the streets gridlocked with motorbikes and pedestrians. It was a great night!
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Old Oct 27, 2015, 5:59 pm
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Smile Will be there...checked with locals last week.

My wife and I will be in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia late Dec and early Jan. Since we'll be in SGN on Xmas and HAN on New Year...checked with biz assoc and they said "have fun." Apparently minimal closures and good times had by all.
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Old Oct 27, 2015, 6:17 pm
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Originally Posted by bibbju
Yes, they absolutely DO celebrate "western" New Year. I was in Saigon for New Year and it was absolutely mad. Streets packed, bands playing, lots of (free) entertainment, fireworks and the streets gridlocked with motorbikes and pedestrians. It was a great night!
Especially around the cathedral. My cousins and I abandoned our scooters and had to walk because it was so packed. Most stores were open for business that night and the next morning, like normal.
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Old Oct 27, 2015, 6:19 pm
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Originally Posted by SanDiego1K
I'll be interested in the answer. Do the Vietnamese celebrate the western New Year? We were in Hanoi a couple days before the start of Tet, their new year. Everyone heads to their family home and by the day before Tet, the city was shut down. We left a day earlier than planned because there genuinely was nothing to do.
Yeah, many tourists get caught in the Tet "trap" not realizing that this particular holiday meant everyone going home. It's a grand ole time for people reuniting with their families... but not much else is going on for those who don't have families there.
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Old Oct 28, 2015, 1:15 am
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Outside of the Cities Christmas and Western New Year aren't celebrated.
Until my wife met me, 1st of January was just another day for her and she had never received a Christmas gift in her life.
Have fun there, such a wonderful country.
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