Traditional Vietnamese houses. Strange houses of the Vietnamese rich (9 photos). Settlements, real estate

August 6th, 2011

We continue to explore Southeast Asia. This time our short vacation was enough for 2 countries: Vietnam and Cambodia. We spent most of our time in Vietnam, traveling across the entire country and seeing as many places as time allowed us, without staying in any of them for more than a day or two.

In this post about Vietnam: facts, impressions, observations and route.

The name Vietnam in their language consists of two words: Viet and Nam, which means the Viet people living in the south.

The country is heavily overpopulated - 89 million people, which is twice as much as in Ukraine, with a territory half the size of ours. But for Asia, such a population density is par for the course. Only 30% live in cities, the rest grow rice in the fields.

We met different people in Vietnam: both good and evil. Some helped us well and were very friendly, but if we talk about the general mass, then the people are nasty and very lazy. Thailand and neighboring Cambodia boast more open and friendly people. It is difficult to say why this is not the case in Vietnam. Perhaps this is due to the socialist system and the lack of religion. Religion, of course, is here, besides all the main movements: Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, but according to research, more than 80% of the population are atheists.

As elsewhere in Asia, the most popular means of transportation is the motorbike. The ratio of motorcycles to cars is approximately the same as ours, only in reverse. For example, in Saigon alone there are 6 million officially registered motorbikes versus 300 thousand cars. During rush hour, something unthinkable happens on the roads and, of course, there are no rules!

In Vietnam, mostly in the north of the country, houses with a narrow (3-5 meters) facade are common. To increase the usable area of ​​the room, it extends inward and upward. Sometimes it was very exhausting when in hotels you had to climb with backpacks to the 5th-6th floor along narrow, twisting stairs. There is an opinion that a narrow facade is a remedy against a special tax that was once levied based on the width of the facade. By building houses with a narrow facade, the tax was minimized. One local dispelled this myth, saying that there is no tax and this is just a traditional Vietnamese house, and they build it in such a way that later, when the children grow up and start their own families, the house can be divided into several families.

Another dispelled myth concerns face masks, which locals (mostly women) use to protect themselves from smog and exhaust fumes. But, having noticed such beauties in rural areas, and on the coast, where the air is clean, the question arose: why do they wear this? It turned out that they are very afraid of tanning and, in order to protect their already not white skin from the sun, they cover their faces. Combined with a traditional Vietnamese hat, this makes an excellent sun protection option.

An integral thing in every Vietnamese home is a hammock. The people most often seen in the hammock were men. During this time, women apparently work hard and/or raise children.

We came across the most delicious food in those places where normal person I wouldn’t eat. Such cafes are the dream of the sanitary and epidemiological station - they are popular among local residents and not too squeamish tourists. Plastic doll tables and chairs, as well as reusable sticks, can shock an unprepared tourist. But here, as a rule, you can find the freshest seafood and traditional local cooking. On the first day in such a place, we took a bottle of vodka for prevention and carefully wiped the dishes with disinfectant wipes. Over time, you begin to relate to this more easily.

The traditional Vietnamese soup is called Pho. Tried it - not tasty. Much cooler is the traditional Thai Tom Yam. In one of the cafes, from the second floor I watched the process of preparing Pho soup. First, the required amount of rice noodles (pre-prepared and already cooked) is removed from a huge bag, then chopped meat and onions are added, as well as tofu cubes, and finally all this is poured with a rich broth from a huge vat.

In Vietnam, a cobra tincture is prepared, sometimes with the addition of scorpions. It's called a snake vine. The tincture can be found in most souvenir shops, as it is one of the most popular souvenirs from Vietnam. In some places you can taste it. Not for everyone, so to speak...

The journey began in Hanoi, the capital, where we spent the first half day before heading to the non-touristy part of Halong Bay. We have returned to Hanoi more than once, since it is a large and only transport hub in northern Vietnam, from where you can go in various directions. Hanoi is a tough city, dusty and crowded. The dust raised by street traffic does not settle even at night. I liked Hanoi only in the early morning, not yet waking up, in the pleasant morning light.

In the center of Hanoi, in the old quarter, an ancient district has been preserved shopping streets, each of which specializes in a specific product and bears the corresponding name: tableware, shoes, etc. Driving along the street of spices, our noses began to tingle from the characteristic aromas. In the photo below there is a shop on the street selling buttons and various sewing accessories, and the entire street sells the same thing. And our fellow travelers, in search of sunglasses, went, of course, to a specialized street.

Often in Hanoi you can find shops like this with a variety of posters on socialist themes. A saleswoman with a distinctive appearance.

Further along the route was the non-tourist Ha Long Bay. Actually it's very tourist place, but we, like true travelers, went to its wild part in order to experience the country to the fullest, so to speak. Ha Long Bay will be a separate post.

Mountain Sapa became the next point of our journey. Mountains, cascades of rice terraces, waterfalls, bamboo thickets, hanging bridges and authentic villages - we saw all this in a few days. .

Then we took a three-day break to Cambodia and continued our journey through Vietnam from the south (Saigon), moving first to the center and then to the north of the country.

Saigon or Ho Chi Minh - as it is now called - was glimpsed. Unlike Hanoi, it is already modern city, with skyscrapers, civilized cafes, traffic lights and a completely English-speaking population.

From Saigon we went to the Mekong Delta. From southern capital It takes about three hours to get to the Mekong, so there wasn’t much time left for the delta itself. But we managed to feel the general atmosphere of life on the Great River!

Many narrow channels cut the land, there were bridges across the islands and thousands of boats all around.
Every year, terrible floods occur in the Mekong Delta and therefore, adapting to the vagaries of nature, people live in floating houses that rise and fall with the water level. In a wide part of the river we saw many big-eyed boats (eyes are painted to protect against evil spirits), as well as large merchant ships loaded with a variety of goods. Smaller boats scurry about large ships to the shore, purchasing wholesale quantities of goods and selling them to traders on land, who in turn distribute the goods further along the chain. Therefore, the coastal market was amazing low prices for fruits, since they have not yet had time to go through all the markups of speculators as they move deeper into the country.

From Saigon we fly to Dalat. This is a mountain town, it is cool here and there are pine trees. In Dalat, grapes and strawberries are grown, which are not typical for the tropics, but the unique local microclimate allows this. Wine is made in Dalat and it is sold in large quantities throughout the country and beyond.

We spent one day in Dalat, which was quite enough, and moved south - to the long-awaited sea, enjoying the beautiful views along the way.

Nha Trang is one of the most famous and developed coastal resorts Vietnam. As a rule, package travelers come here, and I feel sorry for these people: to travel such a long way and end up on the city beach of a large busy city. The beach is lined with sun loungers, and unpleasant-looking women wander between them every now and then, persistently offering massages. After lying in the shade and having a little rest from the constant running around of the last week, in the evening we became bored and began to think about where to go tomorrow. Our thoughts were heard and we were offered a private boat tour around the islands, snorkeling, phishing with such a bite that the client should forget about everything in the world and include lunch. The next day we traveled by boat in search of a non-existent bounty island, and the failed catch was supposed to become our lunch, as it later turned out. We spent a couple of hours on the paid beach of an expensive island hotel; there was clean sand, but it was forbidden to use sun loungers. Fortunately, this is where our acquaintance with Nha Trang ended.

The train from Nha Trang to Da Nang was very different from the tourist train to Sapa, and not for the better. The compartment was filled with piles of rubbish, a dirty bed, and giant cucaraches. We raised the kipish. The dodik guide came, looked at the piles of garbage, two crushed cucumber birds, smelled the back of his head, shrugged his shoulders and, giggling, left. A minute later he brought clean bed linen and a broom. The night was not a pleasant one...

Danang is another big one resort town, where we didn’t want to go at all, so we headed to Hoi An, thirty km from Da Nang - a small beautiful town with a nice historical center and beautiful beach, desert, 300 meters from the city. There will be a separate post about Hoi An, I really love this place. One could have stayed here longer, but the vacation was inexorably approaching its end...

For dessert we still had the amazing train Da Nang - Hue, a walk along ancient capital Vietnam and the stubborn employees of Vietnam Airlines, who almost prevented our return home.

There were a lot of adventures, both pleasant and not so pleasant, and somehow the thought even crept in that it was time to change direction and change Asia a little, but after some time you still understand that you had a great rest and the impressions were only positive. And as for Asia - I miss it again: the color, the crazy traffic, the temperature +35, high humidity and backpacks...

It looks like Hundertwasser, Dali and Gaudi can smoke on the sidelines. Because it’s not for nothing that the Madhouse Hotel is one of the ten strangest buildings in the world.
Each building in it is unique, each room is unique. However, so is the history of its creation. Because this hotel was invented and built by the daughter of the general secretary Communist Party Vietnam, which, in my opinion, just adds another bit of madness to this. So, the architect of this creation is the Vietnamese Dang Viet Nga (a good name that says: Viet is the indigenous people of Vietnam, and Nga is Russia). Her biography is largely determined by the fact that she is the daughter of Truong Tinh, who for many years was the right hand of Ho Chi Minh, so I will tell you a little about him. Interestingly, Truong Tinh, which means “Long March,” is a pseudonym he took in his youth, during the period of his fascination with Mao’s ideology. True, as a result of this hobby and his agrarian reform, famine began in the country, and after the Soviet-Chinese split he was demoted for this deviation. But in the 80s he returned again and became the president of Vietnam. His real name is Dang Xuan Khu (the Vietnamese always have their surname first). Dang Viet Nga was born in Hanoi in 1940, but lived for 14 years in Russia. From 1959 to 1972, she studied in Moscow, at the Moscow Architectural Institute and in graduate school there, defended her PhD thesis in architecture and as a result... brought home a love for the hippie style and ideology.
After returning to Vietnam, she worked in Hanoi, designing buildings for the government (regular, not crazy buildings) for many years.
And then she settled in Dalat, which charmed her with its cool mountain climate, amazing scenery and pleasant disposition of local residents. And in 1990, she began construction here of her favorite brainchild called “Moon Villa,” which she conceived as a hotel for lovers.
She declares that the mission of the building is to return us to nature, which was largely destroyed by previous generations (and ours too).
The architecture of the villa is indeed oversaturated with elements of nature - both flora and fauna.
Caves, tree roots, vines, labyrinths... It seems that there is not a single straight line, not a single right angle. Here is the passage from one building to another, painted to look like a cow, and even entwined with vines and dripping with milk...
Continuous bends, weaves and labyrinths are a striking contrast with typical Vietnamese houses with their narrow, elongated upward facades 3–5 meters wide, joining tightly to each other. I will show them later, they are also very beautiful... but in a different way.
Round shapes and complete unpredictability dominate here - you never know what awaits you ahead, the villa is filled with secluded corners and unexpected turns, descents and ascents. Where did the second name come from: the architectural structure was so fantastic that the first guests who visited it exclaimed “Crazy house!”, which translated means “crazy house!” Since then it has been called that. By the way, local residents were sure for many years that this is exactly how they build in Russia. The stairs here are also unusual - Viet Nga really likes to make them in the form of stumps.
Each of the ten rooms in the hotel is dedicated to its own totem animal, and they also symbolize a certain country: for example, the bear above is Russia (you probably noticed the motifs of a Russian hut there), the tiger is China (it will appear later), and this one eagle (or rather toucan?) - America. Maybe South, judging by other details.
The rooms are furnished with unique furniture. Each totem animal is also a fireplace.
The villa is changing all the time, just like a living organism; after 22 years it has not yet been fully completed. We recently finished building transitions between buildings. Under the glass dome there are underground floors, they are not yet ready at all. The rooms are equipped with modern bathrooms, but also in an interesting design. And mirrors are often located above the beds - Viet Nga believes that this promotes love.
All ten rooms are rented out for accommodation, and for relatively little money for foreigners - about one hundred dollars per night. But it’s better not to leave the room after dark, especially when drunk: due to the indescribable geometry of the transitions, I got completely lost there several times, even when sober and in daylight
In addition, guests cannot completely close the doors to their rooms during the day, they can only limit access to the rooms, and there are at least several hundred tourists here every day, so residents go somewhere for the day. But I would still like to spend at least one night here, it’s a pity that time didn’t allow it.
Wash basin. You can meditate on it for several hours. There are not only big buildings here. Here is a detached cottage with miniature two-story apartments. In general, the rooms are very different in size - some are for large families, and some are for couples in love.
This one is small. On the first floor on the right is the entrance to the toilet, on the left is the staircase to the second floor. There is also a small table nearby and that’s it. Bedroom on the second floor. But the space is so intricately organized that you don’t notice the cramped space. Entrance to the adjacent building. By the way, I also found a number of caves (or even hollows) with small tables and benches - apparently for meetings and conversations. And all this is not only incredible, it is also very beautiful. And here is Dang Viet Nga herself (this photo is not mine, but I really want to show it to you). She is 72 years old, and she still dresses in hippie style, speaks good Russian, drives an old Soviet car and sells tickets at the box office of her villa, and free time spends with her boyfriend.
It’s a pity that I didn’t know any of this when we arrived there. I had no idea that we could meet the author himself. But if you get there, having already read my post, you will have the chance to meet one of the most remarkable women in the world! And what a blessing that the authorities did not demolish her villa, as they did with the “house of a hundred roofs” by another equally insane architect. He just didn't have that kind of dad. Now they want to restore his house...

We live in a normal Vietnamese area, not in a closed area for foreigners. Our house is nine stories high and is located deep in the block, so we can’t hear any noise from the road. Maybe in the evening the children play ball, and in the morning they saw iron in the neighboring workshop :) Nine-story buildings are not as common here as in Russia; there are four- and five-story buildings all around. The entire house belongs to one rich Vietnamese family. They built a house for themselves. The family consists of a husband (he sells plumbing), a wife (she is a housewife and takes care of the tenants' affairs) and a daughter of 14-15 years old. The daughter goes to the French Lyceum and speaks fluent English and French. One of the owner’s sons is studying in Singapore, the other in America.

On the ground floor there is a huge hall in which cars (there is room for three of them), mopeds and bicycles are parked. The dog Milu also lives there (emphasis on U). The doors are kept open during the day, and one day a dog wandered into the hall. They tried to kick her out, but she didn’t leave. Then they decided to feed her and still drive her away. The dog ate and settled in forever. The hostess said that according to popular belief, an animal that comes into the house on its own brings good luck to the house. They bought a rug and overalls for the dog. The security guard walks with her in the mornings and evenings.

They also constantly stock toilets in the hall, from which we concluded that the owner sells plumbing fixtures. There is a security guard on the ground floor 6 days a week. The guard has a nook with a bed, a microwave, a kettle, and a TV. The functions of the security guard are to “keep out” strangers, open doors for us who shy away at night, accept mail, parcels, water, help load plumbing equipment, wash the owners’ cars.

There is a plumbing warehouse on the second and third floors. I don’t know if anyone lives on the fourth. We and our neighbors, a German-Vietnamese couple, live on the fifth. On the sixth floor live the Vietnamese larks, who can start cleaning the floor at 6 am. On the seventh and eighth floors there is a two-level apartment for the owners. The house is served by a security guard, two maids and a general repairman.

The security system is interesting. The apartments are separated from the common staircase by lattice doors, only residents have keys. There is a hanger for drying clothes in the common interfloor area. Here is my dress drying.

That is, even if a stranger gets on the common house staircase, he will not be able to go to the apartments. For the same purpose, the elevator operates only with cards. The card must be placed on the reader and the floor button pressed. Each card has different clearance levels. We live on the 5th floor, and with our card you can only get to the 1st, 5th and 9th floors. The security guard and maids always have the card with them, around their necks, and they have access to any floor.

It is often said about Vietnamese maids that they are dishonest, and if you don’t take care of things, you can lose something. There are often complaints in the company chat that after cleaning, perfume or cosmetics or small money are missing. Theft up to 500 thousand dong ($25) is considered an administrative violation, and above this amount is a criminal violation. We don’t have such problems because our maids are not from the company (where they are not monitored), but from the mistress who keeps them in line. Our maids don’t even take chocolates and small change that I try to give them. However, for peace of mind, we have a safe.

Our apartment consists of a kitchen-living room, two bedrooms and two toilets. It costs $900 a month, the entire amount is paid by the company. The price includes: the apartment itself, water supply and sanitation, internet (wi-fi), cleaning 2 times a week. We pay for electricity and drinking water (in bottles) ourselves, separately.
Living room


Kitchen


All windows are barred. In Hanoi, every house has bars on every floor. This is due to frequent home thefts. We also have very bad views. Our kitchen looks out onto the backdrop of another street, and our bedroom window looks out onto the balcony of a German-Vietnamese couple. Because of this, the bedroom is always a little dark, which is generally not bad, because we only sleep there.

On the 9th floor there is a public area: a garden and a karaoke room. You can bring guests, friends, and meet neighbors there. The garden contains bonsai, hibiscus, citrus and chicken trees. Yes, chickens! Because a Vietnamese can leave the village, but a village cannot leave a Vietnamese :) Moreover, when I asked the owner when they would eat these chickens (maybe they fatten them up for Chinese New Year?), she was very indignant and said that the chickens live there for communication ! To admire, stroke and feed. And she buys chickens for food in the village. On the 9th floor there is a common water heater and a utility room for barbecuing and other pleasures.

My favorite chair.

Rocking chair and hibiscus.

Bonsai

Hibiscus

Rooster.

About garbage. There are no stationary tanks here. I think this is due to the fact that in such a climate a garbage dump would instantly become a source of rats, mice and disease. By the way, there are rats here anyway. In the evening they can be seen bashfully running away into the alley. Each resident places his bag of garbage on the doorstep of his house or takes it to a designated place (under the board with information for the area) so that the garbage man passing by every 3-4 hours will pick it up. The arrival of the scavenger is marked by the beautiful ringing of a bell. The last time the garbage man calls is relatively late, at 9.30. There is no waste sorting by residents here. There are people who collect waste paper, and there are people who collect faulty electronics. Garbage collectors are most often women (but there are also men) with bins on wheels. Having collected a full box of garbage, the garbage man takes it to the nearest garbage collection point - a garbage truck arrives there and takes away the garbage. The scavengers themselves sort the garbage into some unknown categories, stuffing it into bags.

In this article I will tell you how to rent housing for a day or a month in Vietnam. About average prices for hotels, apartments, rooms in guesthouses. In what cases is it better to look for accommodation on the spot, and when to book in advance online.

Renting apartments, houses and hotels in Vietnam has its own characteristics, because the majority of Vietnamese people do not speak English. On popular resorts(Mui Ne, Nha Trang) local residents speak Russian, which greatly simplifies the search.

In order to rent a house in Vietnam, I used a standard scheme that is also applicable in other Asian countries. Read more about it below.

Hotel in Vietnam

We are going on vacation to Vietnam for 2-3 weeks

✓ If you are flying on vacation to Vietnam and have planned your route in advance, it is better to book accommodation online so as not to waste time on the spot. We study reviews on booking sites, book accommodation and go enjoy your vacation.

✓ I usually check several sites at once and book where I find an option that is suitable in price and quality. Websites where it is safe to book accommodation in Vietnam:

  • Booking.com - guesthouses and hotels, payment on the spot
  • - the largest selection of housing in Vietnam. Sometimes they ask for 100% prepayment, but prices are lower than on other sites.

✓ Now even run-down guesthouses and hotels in Nha Trang, Mui Ne, Hanoi, Da Lat, Ho Chi Minh City are presented on booking and other similar sites. The prices are the same as if you rented housing locally, so there is no point in wasting time searching when you arrive in the country.

✓ The most budget accommodation for tourists is rooms in guesthouses. Next come hotels, then bungalows and villas.


Room in 4* hotel Saigon Da Lat for $60
A room in a guesthouse in Vietnam. Bed, shower, toilet, balcony 8$+

✓ If there are no clear dates and route for the trip, then rooms in hotels and guesthouses can be found on the spot if your trip does not fall on New Year’s dates

✓ Domestic tourism is well developed in Vietnam. If you are traveling in winter, find out what dates Vietnamese falls on New Year(usually late January - early February). At this time, cheap housing in resorts popular among Vietnamese is 90% booked, and prices for what remains are doubled.

✓ In Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Dalat you can rent hotels and rooms in guest houses. At the coastal resorts you can find apartments, apartments, rooms in guesthouses, large villas and houses of both the Vietnamese type and those designed for tourists from Europe.

Hotels in cities of Vietnam

First you need to decide on the route. Below I list several Vietnamese cities and resorts where people usually go and provide a selection of hotels in these cities.

Hotels in Nha Trang

✓ Nha Trang is a resort city in the south of Vietnam, also popular among Russian travelers. The sea there is calmer and the infrastructure is better developed than in Mui Ne

Mui Ne and Phan Thiet hotels

Hotels in Hoi An

✓ Hoi An - a tourist city in the center of Vietnam, listed as a UNESCO site. The beaches are located 3-5 km from the city center. We'll have to choose. Either live in the center in inexpensive guest houses and go to the beach, or rent expensive housing by the sea and go to the city in the evenings. In winter (December-February) it is cold to swim in the sea ☞ Apartments and hotels in Hoi An

Hotels on Phu Quoc Island

✓ Phu Quoc - island in the Gulf of Thailand. Jungle, beaches

Hotels in other cities

✓ Hanoi- the capital of Vietnam, located in the north of the country ☞ Apartments and hotels in Hanoi

✓ Ho Chi Minh City is the second largest city in Vietnam, located in the south of the country. If you are planning a seaside holiday (in Nha Trang, Mui Ne, Vung Tau), it makes sense to buy air tickets to Ho Chi Minh City ☞ Apartments and hotels in Ho Chi Minh City

✓ Dalat- my favorite french city in the mountains of southern Vietnam. Strawberry plantations, coffee, a lot of Vietnamese and almost no foreigners ☞ Apartments and hotels in Dalat

✓ Danang- popular seaside resort in the center of Vietnam ☞ Guesthouses and hotels in Da Nang

Houses and apartments in Vietnam for a month +

If you cherish the dream of renting a cozy house with a kitchen and internet for... 200$ on the seashore and romantically living there all winter, then this is not about Vietnam.

Here you need to immediately come to terms with the fact that Vietnam is not Thailand. The choice of European quality housing in Vietnam is quite scarce, and prices for houses and apartments are higher than in Thailand.

If you need comfortable, spacious accommodation with air conditioning on the seashore, and even in resort area, then prices reach 1000-2000$ per month for a house, which in Thailand can be rented for 400-600$

The maximum you can expect in Vietnam for 200-300$ per month is a small room in a guesthouse with one or two beds and a refrigerator without a kitchen. Or a house (not near the sea) with a Vietnamese-style kitchen.

If you are going to Vietnam for the first time and plan to be there for a month or more, it makes sense to book a hotel room online in advance for the first few nights, come to the city, look around, and understand exactly which area you want to live in.

In life, everything looks different from the photos on the Internet. You may not like the beach; some nuances may appear on the spot that cannot be foreseen in advance. After you have lived in a hotel and explored the area a little, you can start looking for an apartment, a room in a guesthouse or a house by interviewing local residents (meaning Russian-speaking people who have lived in Vietnam for a long time).

If you don’t like this way of renting a house in Vietnam, then we are looking for specialized groups in social networks. networks. There are many groups in contact in which they publish advertisements for housing for rent at inflated prices. Intermediaries increase their markup, so I personally don’t think this method is promising or profitable, but it’s up to you.

Sometimes in public pages you can find really interesting options for renting rooms or apartments, especially in Mui Ne or Nha Trang.

Recently, a lot of apartments have appeared on the Internet at quite reasonable prices. You can use the link to ask the price and book apartments online: apartments in Vietnam →→→

Prices for renting housing in Vietnam for a month

  • Private room in Mui Ne guest house - from 140$
  • A room in a guesthouse in Phan Thiet or Nha Trang - 300$
  • Studio in Mui Ne - from 200$ before 450$
  • One-room apartment in Nha Trang – 350-400$
  • Bungalow in Mui Ne without furniture near the sea - 200$
  • Vietnamese house in Mui Ne with furniture near the sea - from 300-400$
  • Vietnamese house in Nha Trang - from 400-500$

Helpful information!

✓ The longer the rental period, the lower the price. One month doesn't count in Vietnam long-term lease. Many places require 3-6 months advance payment for a house.

✓ For one month, it makes sense to look for a room in a hotel or guesthouse with a kitchen (which is rare) or at least with a refrigerator, then you can meet the average 250-300$ per month. This is the most budget-friendly and realistic option that can be rented in the resort of Vietnam (Mui Ne, Nha Trang) for one or two months.

✓ If you rent an apartment or house, you need to add electricity and internet bills to the rental price. Also the price depends on the season. IN new year holidays at the end of December - January, housing prices increase by 30-40%

✓ If you want to live cheaply near the sea in Mui Ne, then this is definitely just a room in a guesthouse. Without kitchen or with shared kitchen. Self-catering houses in Mui Ne, of which there are very few, are located far from the sea on the other side of the road. There are spacious houses near the sea in the area wild beaches, but the price they told me started from 900$

And we'll tell you about national houses of Vietnam and Laos – two exotic and mysterious countries having a mysterious Buddhist culture, amazing oriental cuisine, ancient architecture, preserved from the Middle Ages and amazingly hospitable people.

Traditional Vietnamese houses

The main distinguishing feature of traditional Vietnamese is that it must fit harmoniously into the life of the village: on the one hand, it is separated from other houses, and on the other, it is an integral part of the entire village community. The walls that separate the passages between the houses are “open” to relations with the entire village, but at the same time they create their own world, closed from everyone, for the family living in this house.

There are many different types traditional Vietnamese, among which two main types can be distinguished: houses in the form of the hieroglyph “Mon” (the main room is in the middle, and two utility blocks are attached to the sides) and T-shaped houses (the main room with one utility block attached to it). The latter type of house is most often found in the northern plains areas of Vietnam.

Traditional Vietnamese usually includes a main building, utility rooms, chicken coop, barn, garden, pond, fence and gate. The main room is the central link within the home of one family. Most often you can find houses with an odd number of rooms (1, 3, 5, 7), but an even number of rooms is very rare for Vietnam.

The choice depends on natural conditions a certain region and the financial status of the family - it can be bamboo, wood, stone, clay, etc. The frame of the house is most often made of wood, and the rafters and beams are connected to each other with special types of fastenings. In some houses, the walls are made of bricks and the roof is covered with tiles laid according to the “yin-yang” principle. The external shape of Vietnamese houses is simple and uncomplicated; the roof is pitched, without elaborate decorations or complex elements. In rare cases, you can find decorations in the form of patterns of lines. Under the roof there is usually a colonnade connecting with the walls - such a space looks modest, but at the same time noble.

Basically, all Vietnamese ones are designed in a symmetrical manner. Due to the fact that the house has an odd number of rooms, the main room is always located in the middle and is the place where guests are received and the family altar is set up. The main room is the face of the entire house, so it is decorated with special care. In many houses, the columns located in the main room are decorated with drawings and patterns, and the rafters are decorated with fine and skillful carvings.

In the middle of the main room there is an ancestral altar - the most important place in the city, to which the Vietnamese pay a lot of attention. On the sides the altar is decorated with panels with paired sayings. An altar is a mandatory attribute of a traditional Vietnamese home, and even if the owner is in a very tight financial situation, he still arranges an altar in his most prominent place.

As for the internal space, it clearly demonstrates the difference in the position of women and men: women's rooms are located in the wing, in side or auxiliary annexes, while men's sleeping places are located in the main room. The overall interior decoration is quite simple and modest.

Vietnamese have existed for several centuries and are traditionally passed down from father to son. For this reason, building a house in Vietnam is a matter of extraordinary importance, which is taken very seriously at all stages of construction. Thus, to lay the foundation of a house, the Vietnamese choose a favorable month and day, since it is believed that if such a day was chosen poorly, then the constructed dwelling, no matter how high-quality the chosen building material, will not allow the family to live in love, prosperity and prosperity.

Traditional dwellings of Laos

Laos is one of the few Buddhist countries that rarely experiences conflict. The inhabitants of the country are friendly and peaceful people who are very tolerant and calm towards customs and foreigners. In addition, Laotians have a wonderful sense of humor, which helps them in many life situations. And if you approach communication with the local population with a smile, they will always answer you in kind.

As for the traditional houses of Laos, they also have their own distinctive features. Residents of the valleys (Tai and Lao), like many residents of other countries South-East Asia, built on stilts in case of heavy rains or river floods. It is usually a frame dwelling made of woven bamboo, having an open veranda and a gable roof covered with palm leaves or bamboo. The free space under the house can be used for work, relaxation and keeping animals.

IN mountainous areas houses are built directly on the ground. As a rule, the material for the construction of these are boards. The walls of richer houses are built of brick. It is not uncommon for several families to live in a Laotian house. Therefore, the terraces of traditional Lao dwellings are usually clearly divided into public and private areas. The interior decoration of peasant houses is very simple, the dishes and furniture are homemade.

It is also interesting that the Laotians tend to locate theirs near termite mounds, which are considered sacred and bring happiness here, since their shape is somewhat reminiscent of a pagoda. Relatively recently, modern civilization (electricity, the press) practically did not penetrate Laotian villages, and most of the population remained illiterate. Mostly, village residents were engaged in household crafts and rural work. Even a bicycle was a rarity here, which is why the travel of peasants, as a rule, was limited to their own province.

So, today we looked at traditional houses of Vietnam and Laos , which are located in southeast Asia and border each other. But despite their close proximity, Vietnam and Laos have significant differences in ethnicity and social culture. However, these two countries also have a lot in common, for example, in the history of the Vietnam War and the formation of the regime (it should be noted that both Laos and Vietnam still formally preserve the communist system). In addition, the President of Vietnam often makes friendly visits to Laos, and recently Vietnamese companies have been investing a lot of money in the development of the Laotian economy.

 

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