What do I need to know about temples — and those altars in shops?
Short answer
Cover legs and shoulders, take off shoes and hat. And watch the floor: shops and homes keep ancestor altars at ground level, and stepping over one is the mistake nobody warns you about.
At a temple or pagoda
The rule is short: legs and shoulders covered, hat off, shoes off. You can carry your shoes with you — the point is that they are not on your feet inside.
The same modesty applies at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and, the tourism board notes, generally in the countryside, where dress expectations run more conservative than in the tourist districts of the big cities.
The altars you will meet indoors
This is the part that catches visitors, because it happens outside temples entirely. Vietnamese homes and businesses keep altars — places of regular worship for ancestors — and some sit at ground level just inside the door.
Do not step over a ground altar, and do not stand or walk directly in front of one. Do not leave your bag or belongings in front of it either; the tourism board's own phrasing is that blocking it is disrespectful to ancestors and spirits. Once you know to look down when entering a shop, it stops being a hazard.
The register everywhere else
Greet the oldest people in a room first, shake with the right hand, and smile generously — the smile does more work here than the words. Pass dishes and objects with both hands, or the right hand alone, never the left.
Do not point at people, and do not pat anyone on the back or head, especially someone older than you. And the one that matters most: avoid loud arguments, scenes, or berating anyone for a mistake. Causing someone to lose face is the real breach, and staying calm is how you stay welcome.
Good to know
- Look down when entering a shop — ground altars sit just inside the door
- Pass things with both hands or the right hand, never the left
- Causing someone to lose face is the real breach, not the small slips
