Cultural diversity makes the world interesting but sometimes put the tourist in not very good situation. When you learn a bit about traditional habit of the place you are going to, you will not be considered as impolite if you do the ‘don’t’ and you will surely impress the local people and your friends. Tours Indochina Vietnam
Especially when you give a tour around temples and pagodas, it is not only about polite but also about respect when you follow local people’s belief. The following is some tips from a Vietnamese, enjoy reading and remember when you visit temples and pagodas Vietnam.
- Don’t wear shorts, short dress
It is understandable why they have such rules. For Vietnamese people and Asian in general, temples and pagodas are very sacred places. They worship their gods and ancestor. They believe short outfit shows disrespect in front of their gods and ancestor.
Now you know it, plan well for your visit to temples pagodas, especially the cloth part, no matter how hot the city would be.
Ngoc Son temple, one of the most famous tourist attractions in Hanoi – source: kienviet.net
- Don’t forget to take off your hat
It’s okay to wear the hat when you still walk around in the yard of a temple or pagoda. However, once you enter the praying house, you should immediately take off your head. It’s like showing your respect when you meet their gods. It’s not so difficult to do, you will not suffer any extreme sunshine indoor anyway. Travel to Vietnam
One Pillar pagoda, near Ho Chi Minh mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam – source: static.panoramio.com
- Don’t point
Do not point anything inside the temple and pagoda, especially the things they worship. Vietnamese has faith that their gods will get mad if you point at them or their stuff. One fact not related to temples and pagodas: do not point at any Vietnamese either; they just do not like it.
Tu Hieu pagoda, must-visit one in Hue, Central of Vietnam – source: farm3.staticflickr.com
- Don’t take funny photos
We all understand that pagoda is not for fun. Setting up funny photos to make a joke is absolutely not recommended. Even the ones are worshiped inside a pagoda or temple is not your god, let’s respect them as you one others respect yours.
Ngoc Hoang pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam that the U.S President Obama visited – source: giadinhvatreem.vn
- Don’t say dirty words
It is unknown whether Vietnamese gods understand foreign dirty words or not, but lots of Vietnamese do. You do not want to be hated so keep your dirty words away from these scared places.
Vinh Trang pagoda in Tien Giang, Mekong Delta, Vietnam – source: bmktcn.com
- Don’t pick up anything and bring back home
Vietnamese believes that anything inside a pagoda or a temple is blessed. Bringing something without asking the gods the worship inside the pagoda or temple by praying is considered as stealing and bad luck may come to that person. You really do not want to get bad luck just because picking a leaf, don’t you?
Linh Ung pagoda in Son Tra, Da Nang, Vietnam – source: admin.goterest.com
Now you can be confident to with these tips for your spiritual visit. There is so much to discover by your naked eyes. What are you waiting for? Discover temples and pagoda throughout Vietnam would be interesting thing to try.