Tet, the Lunar New Year

Tet Nguyen Dan falls on the first new moon of the lunar year, between late January and the middle of February, and it reorganises the country for about two weeks. Houses are cleaned and debts settled beforehand. A week out, flower markets fill the pavements with peach branches in the north and yellow apricot in the south, along with kumquat trees carried home upright on the back of motorbikes. Kitchen gods are seen off to heaven a week early and live carp are released into rivers and lakes. Families cook banh chung, a square of sticky rice, pork and mung bean boiled in leaves overnight. The first three days are for visiting, red envelopes and very long meals.

What you actually see

• Flower markets - peach blossom, kumquat trees and yellow apricot sold from the kerb.
• Banh chung - square rice cakes wrapped in dong leaves and boiled through the night.
• Carp release - live fish tipped into lakes and rivers a week before the new year.
• Li xi - small notes in red envelopes given to children and to elderly relatives.

When to go

The week before is the interesting part, with the markets, the cooking and the traffic of people travelling home. The three days from new year's eve are quiet in the streets and busy inside houses. Book transport and rooms months ahead, since domestic travel peaks and fares rise sharply. The date moves each year with the lunar calendar.

Honest expectations

For a visitor this is the hardest week of the year to travel and the most interesting to watch. Shops, museums, workshops and most food stalls close for three to five days, some longer. Transport is full and expensive, prices rise generally, and the cities feel deserted. Places that stay open add a surcharge. Plan to sit still somewhere.

Nearby

Hanoi's flower market on Hang Luoc street runs in the days before the holiday.