Feb 12, 2026 Feb 12, 2026 2026-02-12

Since many of you seemed to enjoy the 7 Random Facts About Vietnam post, I thought to complete it with another installment. This time, the facts will not be random, but straight up unusual. Full disclosure, these are sourced from my own 2+ years of living in Vietnam experience. Without further ado, let’s go.

1. Gold Is 10% More Expensive

If you’re into crypto, you probably heard about the “Kimchi premium”, which refers to a higher markup in South Korea for all crypto assets. Well, Vietnam has something similar, but for gold. As a general rule of thumb, gold is considered one of the most stable stores of value here, alongside land. Every time a Vietnamese person has some available cash (and it may happen way more often than you think) they either rush to the gold shop, or buy some land. As a result, the price of both assets is significantly higher, with gold being at least 10% above the regular price.

Vietnam has a centralized economy and the currency is state controlled. The strategy is to keep the Vietnamese Dong weak, which supports exports, and keep the labor market busy, but this also creates continuous inflation. Locals are not very fond of keeping cash, because they know in a few months it will be worth significantly less, so they all rush to the gold shop.

2. Motorbikes in the Living Room

This is something that still baffles me, in a nice way, even after 2 years. Vietnamese bring their motorbikes inside their houses, literally in the hallways or in their living rooms. In the big cities this may not be very common, but in the countryside this is the norm. It’s almost like motorbikes are part of the family, and they deserve a place under the same roof. I repeat, this is inside the house, not in a specialized area of the house, known as “garage” in the Western world.

3. Soup Is at the End

When I first arrived here I was fooled almost every time: we go out, start eating, with something that looks half appetizers, half main course, and we keep eating for about 1-2 hours, only to realize that at the end of it all there’s also… soup. Sometimes it takes the form of a hotpot, that you literally make on the table, but other times it’s simply a normal soup, but served at the end of the meal.

For a Westerner, this is the reverse of what you’d expect, so be warned.

4. If You Just Drink (and Don’t Eat Too) You’re Poor

In big cities you’ll find a lot of drinking places, or bars. It’s common culture, and as a foreigner it’s easy to overlook a very important habit of the Vietnamese people: they always eat when they drink. If you really look, in the big cities, there are also a lot of restaurants filled with Vietnamese, that are drinking while having hours long meals. And the more you go in the countryside, the more restaurants you see, and far fewer bars. In some small cities you’ll have a really hard time finding “the bar”. Drinking here is intertwined with eating.

To such a point that, if you go to one of those restaurants, and just ask for a beer, like us Westerners do on a terrace, the locals will literally believe you’re poor. Like you only have money for drinking, not for food.

5. Relatives Are Referred by Numbers, Not Names

Ok, this one is more common in the South, but it still counts. Here, all your aunties and uncles have numbers: Auntie number one, Uncle number 4 and so on. Of course, they also have names, but they are more often than not referred by their number. It’s part of the authority culture, in which the elderly still have a lot more to say in the family than the young ones.

Still, I find it very funny every time this happens around me.

6. Matriarchy Is a Real Thing

In the areas known as the Highlands, as well as in some Northern Mountains, matriarchy is still very common. It happens predominantly in different ethnic groups, like Ede and Jarai, but in some places, like Dak Lak, these groups account for almost 30% of the population. In these groups, it’s the women who go searching for a husband, who take almost all responsibilities in the family and who are in charge of the money and pretty much everything else.

In younger generations, this tends to fade, but it’s still a thing.

7. Bonus: Don’t Verbalize, Just Do Something

Ok, this is a bit more subtle. It’s also not very widespread, but enough to be considered something to look for. In close relationships, or in more traditional families, too much verbalizing will unsettle them. Saying “thank you” too much is considered a form of avoidance, or some kind of tactic. Instead of saying every time you are grateful for something, just do something to show this, preferably while keeping quiet.

This is still by far the most challenging part of relating here, but I’m trying to adjust.