If you took a Vietnamese town and remove all the writing, you could not deternine whether you are in Thailand or Vietnam.

If you do not speak any Asian language and would have to choose another one that sounds the most similar, it would not be Chinese but Khmer, even though more Vietnamese words are of Chinese origin, but spoken with a Vietnamese sound.

But in one aspect, language-wise, Vietnam is at par with China: it is just as difficult to learn Vietnamese as it is to learn Chinese.

If you, as a Western man, in a provincial Chinese city which seldom sees foreigners, walk down a street, it will be easy for you to establish eye contact with more or less beautiful women (even those obviously married). This won't happen in a Vietnamese provincial city or, for that matter, anywhere in Vietnam. Vietnamese women do not look at you, unless they want to sell something.

Not that it would be much of a loss. For beauty, we would rank Vietnam right at the bottom of Asian countries.