While we were in Halong Bay one of our guides told us about the significance of the five Chinese elements in the lives of the Vietnamese. Depending on the year you are born, you are characterized by one of the five elements. For instance, I am the element of wood. In Vietnam, when you are thinking of getting married, you first visit a fortune teller to find out if you and your partner’s elements match. If they don’t match, the relationship ends. It sounds so incredibly final, yet as Miss May reassured me, “They will still be friends. No problem.”