Chau Doc

Chau Doc's population is estimated at around 80,000 and is an important trading and marketing center for the surrounding countryside. Until the mid-18th century this region was part of Cambodia. There is still a large Khmer population and the largest Cham settlement in the Delta.

The Chau Doc district is also the seat of the 1 - 1.5 million followers of the Hoa Hao religion, founded in 1939 at the village of Hoa Hao.

It was here, 20 km east of Chau Doc that Huynh Phu founded an influential indigenous religion that attempted to rid Buddhism of its pagodas and clergy. After World War II, the Hoa Hao community created an anti Marxist political party called Don Xa, which led to Huynh Phu So's assassination by the Viet Minh. After 1975, the Communists clamped down on the Hoa Hao and the sect and it lost much of it's influence.

Dont's:
Shoes are to be removed when visiting homes or Buddhist Temples. Do not point the bottom of your feet towards other people or Buddhist statues. This is not universal so watch what others are doing.

Shorts are considered inappropriate attire and are allowed to be worn by children. In recent times in the main cities, it has been considered fashionable by women. However, it is still not widely accepted and has not yet filtered to the hinterlands. Again, check what people are wearing around you.

Leaving chopsticks sticking upright (vertically) in a rice bowl is not appreciated as this is a powerful death sign. In doing so this indicates incense sticks which are burned for the dead.

Vietnam's weather is tropical in the south and monsoonal in north with a hot, rainy season (mid-May to mid-September) and a warm, dry season (mid-October to mid-March).