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4/18/2023
If there are two Vietnamese icons, one is the nón lá (roughly pronounced “noan lah”)and the other is the áo dài (roughly pronounced “ow zai” in the north or “ow yai” in the south - by the way, there are two "d"s in the Vietnamese language - “d” and “đ” - only the đ is pronounced with a “duh” sound, and it is a very hard duh sound with the emphasis on the first part of the sound (i.e., the d)…the “d” without the bar on it is pronounced as a “z” or a “y” - and to my limited knowledge, there is no Vietnamese word ending in a “d”)
In the picture to the right the two people walking away from the camera are wearing a nón lá. The nón lá is the iconic hat. You can see a very subtle difference between the two styles - if you look closely, the one on the left has smoother texture due to the use of a different material.The one right is the more traditional palm leaf and the one on the left is bamboo - I'm told. I notice that these hats are well designed to shed the rain water off the shoulders. I've seen them used as fans, carrying baskets, and to keep the rain or shine off the head/shoulders. If you click on the picture, you'll have a surprise, or what is known in the video gaming world, an “Easter Egg”… use your “back” arrow to return here.