Dear Valued Clients,
Vietnamese New Year – From Thursday 15/02/2018 to Tuesday 20/02/2018 the Origin Travel’s office will be closed for the Tet Holidays. We will start working again on Wednesday 21/02/2018.
During the Tet holiday, we still remain open to receive your requests. However, the reply time might be longer than 24 hours. In any case of urgent, please make a call us at the hotline number: (+84) 82 909 8686 or (+84) 976 701 068.
At this special time of year, we would like to give thanks for all clients who have made our jobs easier and our lives more fulfilling.
From all of us at Origin Travel a big thanks.
Happy Lunar New Year!
Some travel tips during Lunar New Year Holiday
Lunar New Year or Tet Nguyen Dan is a traditional New Year of Vietnam, according to the lunar calendar. Tet is from the first day of first month in lunar calendar. It is often from late January to early or mid February. Base on each year Tet holiday normally last from 6 to 9 days working off. With Vietnames, Tet holiday is the most important as Christmas in Western, it is the time for everyone come back home for relax, think of family, friends. Therefore, the demand of transportation increases dramatically before 1 month and after 1 month of Tet holiday official. It is the result of everyone work far from home come back homeland with family for holiday.
It is recommended that everyone should make schedule and book all transportation (flight ticket, train ticket, etc) before at least 6 months so that make sure the seat is available on the date you wish to travel. This is also a recommend with traveller who wish to visit Vietnam on this occasion.
In contrast, when turn on 30th December of Lunar Calendar, the whole country enter slowly mode, no more traffic jam which can easily see in big cities of Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh. On first days of New Year most shops, stores closed.
However, it is the best time to travel Vietnam because it is the rare time which you can see the beauty of Vietnam with much decoration, custom, preparation atmosphere of local people for Tet Holiday.
Below are tips when you plan visit Vietnam on Tet Holiday to experience :
When is Tet Holiday?
For 2018, Tet Holiday falls from Thurdays 15/02/2018 to to Tuesdays 20/02/2018. During this time most services closed, there are some few restaurants operate. Therefore, while you travel this time please ask recommend for restaurants operate if the hotel restaurants don’t. You can go to local restaurant as Vietnamese style because these are served for Vietnamese people on this holiday.
Travel
On four first days of New Year, most people go home, so the street is very quiet. You will not worry for traffic jam on these days. However, the prices of transportation such as bus, train, airline increase for Tet.
Additional plastic seats will be added to bus and train for higher demand of local folks. They might bring livestock on board. Flights sometimes have a long delay; even become a nightmare for tourists. Also there are a high number of fellow local travelers who are first-time flyers. Therefore, they seat wherever they want, usually taking the window seats and put their luggage wherever they see a space.
Watch out for valuables things and jewelry
On these crowded days, it is better you should ask hotel reception keep all your passport, personal paper, valuable jewelry, and money. It seems that even thefts want to have more money to bring back home. Therefore, you should watch out for your valuable things such as phones, wallet, camera, etc. Addition to, you should be careful with street vendors, shoe-shiners and “xich lo” drivers who try to sell some food, fixing your shoes, or ask you to take a ride.
Accommodation
While most restaurants and other services closed, hotels and resorts are welcomed with people who want to enjoy Tet Holiday in a new way. Everything should book ahead to make sure you have services as your wish. At famous cities like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Phu Quoc island or Danang, it is easy for you to find a hotel booking online. However, it is difficult if you travel to small destinations or mountainous. It is not easy to book a guesthouse or homestay. So please make sure you should have everything before your travel. When you are lucky to stay at a local family on Tet holiday, it will be a wonderful chance for you to experience local customs and enjoy a fun time cooking traditional foods.
Some other tips
On Tet Holiday, you should avoid wearing dark color clothes when you visit someone’s house in Tet. Let choose something with a bright color such as red and yellow for lucky on first days of New Year. Because red and yellow are color of luck, while black and white are the color of dead and misfortune.
Please note no bargain when shopping during the holiday. As the opinion of Vietnamese, it will bring bad luck for the shop-owners for the whole year. And of course, the prices of things are uncommonly higher than usual.
Tet holiday is the time for party and alcohol of Vietnamese people, please be careful when crossing the road or driving by yourselves.
Finally,
CHÚC MỪNG NĂM MỚI!
