Basic HTML Version
timeout
12
tet special
home with many bruises on her body,
but full of joy.
While single people love travelling
with friends during Tet to avoid bore-
dom and find inspiration, married peo-
ple have other reasons. Worries about
balancing finances and the exhaustion
brought on by hundreds of tasks makes
the holidays a daunting time for many
married couples.
For Nguyen Thi Trang, Tet is not a
time to rest, but a time to rush faster
than ever. Trang and Tuan, her hus-
band, live with Tuan’s family in Hanoi,
but her home town in Thai Binh is
120km away.
Trang’s Tet schedule will be famil-
iar to most Vietnamese: “I spend the
last days of the year cleaning up the
house and shopping for all the Tet sta-
ples, such as peaches, fruits and gifts.
The whole last night is spent preparing
a feast to offer the altar - a traditional
custom is to worship and invite the an-
cestors home to enjoy Tet. On the first
day of New Year, I visit my paternal
relatives. We then come back home for
a quick lunch, and sometimes I have
to meet the visitors who come by for
Tet well-wishing. On the second day,
my husband, my little son and I will try
our best to get on one of a rare buses
going to my home town to visit my
maternal relatives.”
Trang now has other ideas of how
she might spend her because last Tet,
on her way back to her hometown, she
met a girl who wanted to share the ride,
but she wasn’t heading home – she
was starting an adventure. “She spoke
so excitedly and infectiously of her trip
to Thailand that it made me wonder,
for the first time in my life, about my
busy Tet schedule and whether it is
necessary to tie myself to the same old
routine,” recalls Trang.
This year, Trang is excited as her
husband has at last agreed to a short
trip in the upcoming Tet holidays. “We
will try to simplify everything and save
four days to travel. We have chosen
Nha Trang,” says Trang. “I feel like I’m
walking on air when I think about the
trip. After four years of marriage, at
last I will have a joyful holiday so I can
recharge for the new working year. It is
more than I could wish for.”
Nguyen Thanh Ha is different. She
and her husband always travel during
Tet. “It is normal now. We have to take
time while we don’t have children. I
do not like to travel in Vietnam dur-
ing this time because the service is
not very good and prices boom. I am
undecided between China and Thai-
land, but Thailand seems to be the
better choice because China is so cold
in February.”
Travel agents consider the nine
days off work for Tet as the nine golden
days of tourism. Many tours are on of-
fer, with plenty of agents advertising on
the internet.
breaking tradition
Like Trang, Van Anh is fed up with
spending five days in her husband’s
hometown and being exhausted with
house work. However, her husband is
not in favour of travelling. He says: “It is
not normal to be away from home dur-
ing Tet. Only people who forget their
roots do that.” Van Anh says she felt
very sad when she asked for advice on
a website and many called her selfish.
Doctor Nguyen Van Cu is also
against travelling instead of gather-
ing with loved ones: “There are many
chances to travel during a year and
enjoying time with family is also a way
to lower stress. I think we should keep
the custom of being with family on the
holidays.”
Nguyen Thi Yen, of Tan Binh dis-
trict, Ho Chi Minh City says: “My chil-
dren’s family travels, so we have just
one year-end meal together. After that,
I will be alone in my house while they
all travel. I am rather afraid of being
alone.” However, when her children
invited her to go along, she declined
because she feels she must cook meals
every day to worship her ancestors.
Despite many contrary opinions,
travelling during the longest holiday
of the year is a growing trend. 60 year
old Nguyen Van Hung is always eager
to travel, despite his age: “I think the
elderly should follow the youngsters’
trend if they are still healthy enough.
We will still have a family gathering on
Tet and we can be even happier than
having a boring Tet at home.”
Doctor Trinh Hoa Binh also sup-
ports the idea: “Lunar Tet is not the
same as in the past. People’s thoughts
and wishes have changed. It is a mat-
ter of reducing stress and satisfying
one’s desires. People have a popular
phrase to describe escaping traditional
Vietnamese ways, we call it ‘getting
out of the bamboo range of the vil-
lage’. I think that phrase is apt to de-
scribe this movement.”
A peach blossom orchard in full bloom. Branches are sold throughout Vietnam
during Tet