Fun facts about Viet Nam

1. The country's name was originally spelled as two words, Viet Nam.
2. Their culture is a complex adaptation of Chinese, Japanese, French and American colonial influences.
3. The body of their first president Ho Chi Minh (Uncle Ho) was embalmed, and is on display in a mausoleum.
4. Their flag consists of a golden star with five points to represent farmers, workers, intellectuals, youth, and soldiers.
5. Traditional Vietnamese culture revolves around the core values of humanity, community, harmony, and family.
6. Tet Nguyen Dan (or simply Tet) is the most important festival in Vietnam.
7. Vietnamese traditional fashion is easily distinguished by the flowing robes (Ao Dai) and conical hats (Non La).
8. Their famous Dong Son drums are a relic of the sophisticated Bronze Age culture between 500 BC and 300 AD.
9. Water puppetry is another popular art form that dates back as far as the 11th century.
10. Construction styles vary from traditional stilt houses and Chinese style pagodas to colonial French architecture and thin tube houses.
11. Vietnam is the second largest producer of coffee in the world.
12. The My Son Sanctuary is a structural display of Hindu tower temples developed over ten centuries.
13. Elephant rides are a very popular activity enjoyed by tourists.
14. In religious construction, pagodas are for worship and offerings, while temples are built to honor historical figures.
15. Thu Phap calligraphy is described as blowing beauty into every single character.
16. The forbidden purple city is a walled fortress and palace in Hue that was only accessible to the royal family and servants.
17. Rice terraces are planted that way to enable the crop to grow along the steep mountainsides.
18. Fansipan, also known as The Roof of Indochina is the highest mountain peak in the region.
19. The Red River in the North and Mekong in the South are surrounded by extremely fertile plains.
20. Vietnam is also home to the world's largest cave, Son Doong.
21. The Bin Chau Hotsprings are hot enough to boil eggs.
22. The Perfume River is so named due to the scent of the tropical flowers that fall into the water during autumn.
23. The Vietnamese believe in Three Kitchen Gods or Tao Quan, who live with and observe each family's actions.
24. Their cuisine is well known for its balance of the five Asian elements; spicy, sour, bitter, salty and sweet.
25. The principle of yin and yang is also applied in composing a meal, to provide contrasts in spiciness and temperature of the food.
26. Tiet Canh is a traditional Vietnamese dish made from fresh animal blood.
27. Nguyen is the most common name in the country.
28. Vietnam's street food culture is quite popular and considered by many to be one of the best in the world.
29. Noodles or pho are the second most popular food in Vietnam, after boiled rice.
30. Lizard fishing is one of Vietnam's most widespread hobbies.