What do expats think about Vietnamese?

chrisauw wrote:

Hi its Ling.
I have been living and working in HCM for 2 years, so I have some VN friends here.
Yes, every people are very different, even if they are coming from the same country. But I do find some....let us say:"very general/common things" in VN people.

What I like:
1.The way they speak Vietnamese, the way they smile and laught, just make me feel that everyday is like a "happy weekend day"!
2.Live in a "Dont worry about it, my friend. Just relax." mode.

What bothers me:
1.Late for a meeting or a date very often, without good reason. If we have a appointment at 9:00am, then arriving in 9:15am is really not "on time"...
2.Beautiful VN girls are very very proud...I read:"My way, or you boys go away" on their faces.....Yes, beautiful girls in Taiwan are proud too, but you can still try to talk some sense with them. But in VN, it is really difficult. Even they speak good English, they just want everything in their own ways, and they dont feel like waste the time to understand different personality or culture...."My way, or you boys go away"....I really feel it.

Yes, agree with you.  but, for Vietnamese girls, they are very special. You need more time, more studies  to understand them. You have litle chance to become a real friend of educated girls. So it is easy for misunderstand them. I love them.

Hi Chrisauw
I don't know how old are you or what educational background you have. But just to share, don't you know by now that a person's NAME is the MOST honoured item especially in the Asian context. It is something given by the elders or the parents and since birth, you pick up your identity with IT. So not addressing anyone by their known name is actually totally OFFENSIVE! to say the least!!

ConRua wrote:

dinhHien2006 wrote:

Some years ago, i and my friend went to a bar in district 1 for drink. I chatted with two girls, from Erope. About 10 minutes later, we needed new beers. Because, the beers had to be paid in advance. So I offerred to invite them then i gave the money to the waitress. The girls seemed so afraid. They said it is not ok then stood up and went away in some seconds. I wondered much but, after that, i thought if i come to a strange place, maybe i will do the same. It is a lesson for me. Through this story, i d like to tell that we have to learn to trust other people when we live in somewhere in long term. Learn who we can trust, we will get a better life.

They were just being cautious. You really can't blame them. Alot of bad stories of men taken advantage of women at bars, so they were being careful being tourist.

I offer still very frequently a drink to staff, it is also wide appreciated and accepted. However, the drink offer includes "Vietnamese" alternatives like a coke or a milk. None-alcoholic drinks make up a decent percentage of accepted drinks. And NO, I have very little interest in "taking home".
If you know, what Vietnamese wife's are like, you not need a second one. 

To me although I personally like Vietnam and Vietnamese people, I think the Viets are in general among the least welcoming people in South East Asia. I have met plenty of really nice and friendly Vietnamese people but in general I find most Viets to be not as open and welcoming as other south east asians. This is also an opinion shared by many other Malaysians, Thais and Cambodians that I know.

Foreigners are treated by many Viet traders as people who should be cheated as much as possible. Its not a problem for me as I have grown used to it and its actually helped my negotiating skills but many foreigners find this very annoying. The economist claims that 5% of tourists who visit Vietnam will return while the rate is 50% in Thailand. For Japanese tourists the rate is 1%.

http://www.thanhniennews.com/index/page … visit.aspxhttp://www.economist.com/blogs/asiaview … _promotion

I know the history of Vietnam and understand that poverty and war plays a large part in this but the same applies to countries like Cambodia where the people are much friendlier and welcoming towards tourists.

In my opinion I think the Vietnamese authorities/tourism ministry has a lot of work to do to change this perception and the attitude of local people towards tourists. Right now it seems like they are killing the golden goose instead of taking one egg at a time like the other more advanced tourist destinations in south east asia have become adapt at doing.

This is just my opinion btw and I hope nobody gets offended by it. As I said I personally like Vietnam and the people here but if tourism here is to develop further some things will have to change.

gary2012 wrote:

To me although I personally like Vietnam and Vietnamese people, I think the Viets are in general among the least welcoming people in South East Asia. I have met plenty of really nice and friendly Vietnamese people but in general I find most Viets to be not as open and welcoming as other south east asians. This is also an opinion shared by many other Malaysians, Thais and Cambodians that I know.

Foreigners are treated by many Viet traders as people who should be cheated as much as possible. Its not a problem for me as I have grown used to it and its actually helped my negotiating skills but many foreigners find this very annoying. The economist claims that 5% of tourists who visit Vietnam will return while the rate is 50% in Thailand. For Japanese tourists the rate is 1%.

http://www.thanhniennews.com/index/page … visit.aspxhttp://www.economist.com/blogs/asiaview … _promotion

I know the history of Vietnam and understand that poverty and war plays a large part in this but the same applies to countries like Cambodia where the people are much friendlier and welcoming towards tourists.

In my opinion I think the Vietnamese authorities/tourism ministry has a lot of work to do to change this perception and the attitude of local people towards tourists. Right now it seems like they are killing the golden goose instead of taking one egg at a time like the other more advanced tourist destinations in south east asia have become adapt at doing.

This is just my opinion btw and I hope nobody gets offended by it. As I said I personally like Vietnam and the people here but if tourism here is to develop further some things will have to change.

Yes, vietnameses are gennerally welcoming and generous. But their perception of doing bussiness is needed to change, special for service industry and for some local areas. If you go to Vungtau city, you should take care of their charge; Otherwise, sometimes they still treat you differently such as for strangers and/or foreigners

what does vietnamese people feel about Viet Kieu vs. Westerners? I know at some places some girls wouldn't even talk to a VK as oppose to western guys.

i was rather shocked when i started to live in VN. when i came here for tourism, people treated me a lot different then now that i live here.

Another point, we all came from a different background. much like nguoi Bac and nguoi Nam.  The US is a big place there are places where we grew up that nguoi VN can not understand, yet, and there are places that are like VN that the only difference is the language.   

Mind you this thread can't be generalize, cus each of us had our own experience, in both Vietnam and our country of origin.

I am in Alaska.

I found your topic very interesting. Please pardon my long post.

Probably, I am not the expert on Vietnamese people you seek, but I have been to S.E. Asia 16 times and owned a small telephone company in Thailand for a while.  In my travels, I have had some exposure to the kind people of Vietnam.

Let me tell you what I see as an inexperienced Alaskan about as far away from your tropical paradise as one can be.  Maybe in my ignorance, you might see some clarity of the raw outside opinion I think you are looking for.

Let me tell you first that I work dang hard. I work long hours and I think I do more than most of my friends to make a buck.

My friend Madison beats me to work every single day...and he is there after I leave. He is from just outside HoChiMin city. 

Madison is about as trustworthy and dependable as anyone you could meet.  He is perhaps the hardest, most consistent worker I know.  He is helpful to his family, good to his bride, he is a funloving guy.  He came to America with NOTHING..NADA...ZERO.  Now he owns 2 beauty shops and teaches classes in his off time.   The guy has a nicer boat than mine and uses it well to feed his family during salmon season.   He takes care of his elders and the children of his brother.   He has old fashioned integrity.  I am honored to have him as a friend.  He may be Vietnamese, but he makes one superb Alaskan.

I have a Vietnamese divemaster friend named Ton.   Ton is an expert in SCUBA.  He hardly uses much air...little dang bubbles like champagne come out of the guys regulator...he can stay down longer on one tank than ANY of us. The guy is observant as can be, and natural in the water like some kind of neoprene coated sea mammal.   We ALWAYS see the coolest stuff when Ton is on the dive, and that is a coincidence that makes me not believe in coincidences.  He is another never stop, hard working, dependable Vietnamese guy.  His laughter will make everyone around him chime in.  He gave CPR to a diver from another boat two years ago and saved his life. 

My former Chef Sommy was from NhaTrang before anybody gave a dang.  He was another guy who worked his hind quarters off and would not stop.  He was quick on the knives, skilled in presentation and demanding of himself and his crew.  He raised the bar for the chefs around him.  He spent a good deal of his income taking care of family back in Vietnam.

In the past 10 years, I have probably hired 20 or so Vietnamese staffers for the hotels we manage here in Alaska.  While I wish I had the chance to have gotten to know them better, their ability to come and do the job asked of them with great skill and commitment has never been lost on us.  What really hard workers!  We promote from within, and the speed in which the Vietnamese staff were promoted was about twice the speed of our other workers.  Why?  They WANT to work!  They WANT to make more money!  They are not afraid to work for it.

Suun was a Vietnamese housekeeper at my friend Eric's hotel. She was with him for 18 years.  She was his favorite, and the one who trained his staff.  One day Eric came to me and asked me to please lock all my valuables in his safe for the night.  He then marked a couple hundred bucks very carefully with a pencil and had me leave it wadded up in the pocket of a pair of jeans on the floor of my room.   The next morning after breakfast, I went back to my perfectly clean room and I was down $40.  I gave Eric his marked cash back, and he sobbed at the thought of this long trusted person having been peeling his customers back for many years.  He had heard of folks losing money before but refused to believe it would be his best worker.  He saw Suun in the dining room a few minutes later, and asked her if he could borrow a fast $20 for change for a customer,  and of course, she was willing to help...with his marked $20. I've never seen someone so sad about firing a thief.

We never know what motivates folks, and she probably needed it more than we know, but that scene still haunts me a little. Sad.

I look at the Vietnamese culture from my odd frozen north perspective.  I see the humor, the inventive spirit, the hard working nature, the warm demeanor and I am forever charmed by these people.  I see people who will make do without complaint.  People who innovate and use great inner strength to succeed against considerable odds.

Vietnamese men that I know have great integrity and the desire to be the best they can. I do not know if this is the norm, but I have yet to know one who wouldn't outwork about every American we ever hired.

The Vietnamese women I know are strong willed!  They often make my heart beat a little faster, and to be perfectly honest, I am always dazzled by long silky dark hair and warm feminine voices.  Further, I LOVE the way Vietnamese women treat their men.  This is an art long extinct in the USA and if I ever found the right one, you would probably see Alaska thaw...but I digress...

Any American would be an idiot not to marvel at the spirit of the Vietnamese people.  How this country has rebounded from the challenges of the past is an epic win in world history. 

When I was a little boy, our President sent all our older brothers to Vietnam, and apparently our politicians thought blowing up the countryside and wrong colored uniforms on your behalf would be some kind of solution.  I think the jury is still out on that one, as I know one hell of a lot of folks who went to Vietnam, yet not a one who thinks anything was won there.  Lot's of our brothers died for a fight we didn't even understand, because they were loyal to our flag and our President told them to GO! Heck, Americans never had any problems with Vietnamese folks before all that, or since then for that matter.  I can tell you with complete certainty that the LAST thing our older brothers wanted to do was fight anyone in Vietnam. I think we share collective sorrow about the whole political mess of war, and I think we collectively wish all that was handled differently.

Today, when elderly Americans think of Vietnam, they carry a good deal of deep seated sorrow, for so many loved ones were lost there.  I can remember a conversation with my friends Father, a C130 Pilot and a high ranking Airforce muckymuck.  We were talking about all the new resorts and beautiful coastal developments beginning in Vietnam.  Together, we were talking about making a plan for some fun in the sun, some relaxation and some pina coladas on the beach...  His reply was~  "No...I've been there and Vietnam is not the place we laugh, it is the place we cry"  He had left too much behind to go back. 

Younger Americans do not carry this burden of sadness and most have no memory of the war.  We see the beaches, the smiling people, the great diving, the strong dollar against the Dong and we start thinking about spending money in Vietnam. 

The rumor here is that Vietnamese folks are super friendly to American people, and they want to learn to speak English~

The other rumor here is that you folks are smart as can be in developing these beach areas with things like underground utilities and the kind of thing that invites outside investment.  It appears from the outside that you have seen all the mistakes made in Thailand, and decided to learn from their mistakes...very smart indeed.

Some have said that the Vietnamese are only warm to foreigners because they WANT something...but I think that is kind of short sighted and reactionary.  First off WE ALL are nicer to people who can do good things for us, so what?  Second off, my experience was that once you break through the ice a little, the Vietnamese are some of the warmest, most thoughtful and sincere folks you will ever meet.

Every culture has their winners and their losers.  I ought to know, because in Alaska we have our share of both.  I think the Vietnamese people generally make good Alaskans, because they fit in well here.  In Alaska they find a tight community that is much like home.  We work together, we have a big fishing community, we love to celebrate and we love to make the most of opportunity.

The Vietnamese have a superb reputation here and that is the fact.

This growing fondness between Americans and the Vietnamese certainly has me personally fired up.  As for me, I am looking to develop a very special assisted living resort for Elders and we are pretty high on doing this in Vietnam.  We have looked up and down coastal areas and are genuinely searching for the ideal location. A small, ultra clean waterfront resort with a medical structure behind it.  This would be quite attractive to Americans, particularly those who have recently looked at our economy and come to the conclusion that they can no longer afford to retire in the USA.  The level of care and comfort they can receive in Vietnam dwarfs what can be done on the same dollar in the States.

So I hope that helps...In general, we love the Vietnamese culture  and people.  Some of us even look for our own opportunity to be as thoughtful and appreciative within Vietnam, as Vietnamese have been on our shores.

Great respect and peace to the Vietnamese people.  Warmest wishes from Alaska~


PS~
If anyone has the ideal location for a very special, very small waterfront resort, I am all ears~ Please do let me know.  Cheers~

"China beach", sure many people first hear it will think that it's a beach that belongs to China. You know the reason that made them call that beach "China beach"? I have some reasons but I don't know which one is the correct one.
     

1LostAlaskan wrote:

I am in Alaska.

I found your topic very interesting. Please pardon my long post.

Probably, I am not the expert on Vietnamese people you seek, but I have been to S.E. Asia 16 times and owned a small telephone company in Thailand for a while.  In my travels, I have had some exposure to the kind people of Vietnam.

Let me tell you what I see as an inexperienced Alaskan about as far away from your tropical paradise as one can be.  Maybe in my ignorance, you might see some clarity of the raw outside opinion I think you are looking for.

Let me tell you first that I work dang hard. I work long hours and I think I do more than most of my friends to make a buck.

My friend Madison beats me to work every single day...and he is there after I leave. He is from just outside HoChiMin city. 

Madison is about as trustworthy and dependable as anyone you could meet.  He is perhaps the hardest, most consistent worker I know.  He is helpful to his family, good to his bride, he is a funloving guy.  He came to America with NOTHING..NADA...ZERO.  Now he owns 2 beauty shops and teaches classes in his off time.   The guy has a nicer boat than mine and uses it well to feed his family during salmon season.   He takes care of his elders and the children of his brother.   He has old fashioned integrity.  I am honored to have him as a friend.  He may be Vietnamese, but he makes one superb Alaskan.

I have a Vietnamese divemaster friend named Ton.   Ton is an expert in SCUBA.  He hardly uses much air...little dang bubbles like champagne come out of the guys regulator...he can stay down longer on one tank than ANY of us. The guy is observant as can be, and natural in the water like some kind of neoprene coated sea mammal.   We ALWAYS see the coolest stuff when Ton is on the dive, and that is a coincidence that makes me not believe in coincidences.  He is another never stop, hard working, dependable Vietnamese guy.  His laughter will make everyone around him chime in.  He gave CPR to a diver from another boat two years ago and saved his life. 

My former Chef Sommy was from NhaTrang before anybody gave a dang.  He was another guy who worked his hind quarters off and would not stop.  He was quick on the knives, skilled in presentation and demanding of himself and his crew.  He raised the bar for the chefs around him.  He spent a good deal of his income taking care of family back in Vietnam.

In the past 10 years, I have probably hired 20 or so Vietnamese staffers for the hotels we manage here in Alaska.  While I wish I had the chance to have gotten to know them better, their ability to come and do the job asked of them with great skill and commitment has never been lost on us.  What really hard workers!  We promote from within, and the speed in which the Vietnamese staff were promoted was about twice the speed of our other workers.  Why?  They WANT to work!  They WANT to make more money!  They are not afraid to work for it.

Suun was a Vietnamese housekeeper at my friend Eric's hotel. She was with him for 18 years.  She was his favorite, and the one who trained his staff.  One day Eric came to me and asked me to please lock all my valuables in his safe for the night.  He then marked a couple hundred bucks very carefully with a pencil and had me leave it wadded up in the pocket of a pair of jeans on the floor of my room.   The next morning after breakfast, I went back to my perfectly clean room and I was down $40.  I gave Eric his marked cash back, and he sobbed at the thought of this long trusted person having been peeling his customers back for many years.  He had heard of folks losing money before but refused to believe it would be his best worker.  He saw Suun in the dining room a few minutes later, and asked her if he could borrow a fast $20 for change for a customer,  and of course, she was willing to help...with his marked $20. I've never seen someone so sad about firing a thief.

We never know what motivates folks, and she probably needed it more than we know, but that scene still haunts me a little. Sad.

I look at the Vietnamese culture from my odd frozen north perspective.  I see the humor, the inventive spirit, the hard working nature, the warm demeanor and I am forever charmed by these people.  I see people who will make do without complaint.  People who innovate and use great inner strength to succeed against considerable odds.

Vietnamese men that I know have great integrity and the desire to be the best they can. I do not know if this is the norm, but I have yet to know one who wouldn't outwork about every American we ever hired.

The Vietnamese women I know are strong willed!  They often make my heart beat a little faster, and to be perfectly honest, I am always dazzled by long silky dark hair and warm feminine voices.  Further, I LOVE the way Vietnamese women treat their men.  This is an art long extinct in the USA and if I ever found the right one, you would probably see Alaska thaw...but I digress...

Any American would be an idiot not to marvel at the spirit of the Vietnamese people.  How this country has rebounded from the challenges of the past is an epic win in world history. 

When I was a little boy, our President sent all our older brothers to Vietnam, and apparently our politicians thought blowing up the countryside and wrong colored uniforms on your behalf would be some kind of solution.  I think the jury is still out on that one, as I know one hell of a lot of folks who went to Vietnam, yet not a one who thinks anything was won there.  Lot's of our brothers died for a fight we didn't even understand, because they were loyal to our flag and our President told them to GO! Heck, Americans never had any problems with Vietnamese folks before all that, or since then for that matter.  I can tell you with complete certainty that the LAST thing our older brothers wanted to do was fight anyone in Vietnam. I think we share collective sorrow about the whole political mess of war, and I think we collectively wish all that was handled differently.

Today, when elderly Americans think of Vietnam, they carry a good deal of deep seated sorrow, for so many loved ones were lost there.  I can remember a conversation with my friends Father, a C130 Pilot and a high ranking Airforce muckymuck.  We were talking about all the new resorts and beautiful coastal developments beginning in Vietnam.  Together, we were talking about making a plan for some fun in the sun, some relaxation and some pina coladas on the beach...  His reply was~  "No...I've been there and Vietnam is not the place we laugh, it is the place we cry"  He had left too much behind to go back. 

Younger Americans do not carry this burden of sadness and most have no memory of the war.  We see the beaches, the smiling people, the great diving, the strong dollar against the Dong and we start thinking about spending money in Vietnam. 

The rumor here is that Vietnamese folks are super friendly to American people, and they want to learn to speak English~

The other rumor here is that you folks are smart as can be in developing these beach areas with things like underground utilities and the kind of thing that invites outside investment.  It appears from the outside that you have seen all the mistakes made in Thailand, and decided to learn from their mistakes...very smart indeed.

Some have said that the Vietnamese are only warm to foreigners because they WANT something...but I think that is kind of short sighted and reactionary.  First off WE ALL are nicer to people who can do good things for us, so what?  Second off, my experience was that once you break through the ice a little, the Vietnamese are some of the warmest, most thoughtful and sincere folks you will ever meet.

Every culture has their winners and their losers.  I ought to know, because in Alaska we have our share of both.  I think the Vietnamese people generally make good Alaskans, because they fit in well here.  In Alaska they find a tight community that is much like home.  We work together, we have a big fishing community, we love to celebrate and we love to make the most of opportunity.

The Vietnamese have a superb reputation here and that is the fact.

This growing fondness between Americans and the Vietnamese certainly has me personally fired up.  As for me, I am looking to develop a very special assisted living resort for Elders and we are pretty high on doing this in Vietnam.  We have looked up and down coastal areas and are genuinely searching for the ideal location. A small, ultra clean waterfront resort with a medical structure behind it.  This would be quite attractive to Americans, particularly those who have recently looked at our economy and come to the conclusion that they can no longer afford to retire in the USA.  The level of care and comfort they can receive in Vietnam dwarfs what can be done on the same dollar in the States.

So I hope that helps...In general, we love the Vietnamese culture  and people.  Some of us even look for our own opportunity to be as thoughtful and appreciative within Vietnam, as Vietnamese have been on our shores.

Great respect and peace to the Vietnamese people.  Warmest wishes from Alaska~


PS~
If anyone has the ideal location for a very special, very small waterfront resort, I am all ears~ Please do let me know.  Cheers~

I like how stores selling the same products line up on streets next to each other - easy for us to check the cheapest prices.

LoveLife wrote:

"China beach", sure many people first hear it will think that it's a beach that belongs to China. You know the reason that made them call that beach "China beach"? I have some reasons but I don't know which one is the correct one.
     

1LostAlaskan wrote:

I am in Alaska.

I found your topic very interesting. Please pardon my long post.

Probably, I am not the expert on Vietnamese people you seek, but I have been to S.E. Asia 16 times and owned a small telephone company in Thailand for a while.  In my travels, I have had some exposure to the kind people of Vietnam.

Let me tell you what I see as an inexperienced Alaskan about as far away from your tropical paradise as one can be.  Maybe in my ignorance, you might see some clarity of the raw outside opinion I think you are looking for.

Let me tell you first that I work dang hard. I work long hours and I think I do more than most of my friends to make a buck.

My friend Madison beats me to work every single day...and he is there after I leave. He is from just outside HoChiMin city. 

Madison is about as trustworthy and dependable as anyone you could meet.  He is perhaps the hardest, most consistent worker I know.  He is helpful to his family, good to his bride, he is a funloving guy.  He came to America with NOTHING..NADA...ZERO.  Now he owns 2 beauty shops and teaches classes in his off time.   The guy has a nicer boat than mine and uses it well to feed his family during salmon season.   He takes care of his elders and the children of his brother.   He has old fashioned integrity.  I am honored to have him as a friend.  He may be Vietnamese, but he makes one superb Alaskan.

I have a Vietnamese divemaster friend named Ton.   Ton is an expert in SCUBA.  He hardly uses much air...little dang bubbles like champagne come out of the guys regulator...he can stay down longer on one tank than ANY of us. The guy is observant as can be, and natural in the water like some kind of neoprene coated sea mammal.   We ALWAYS see the coolest stuff when Ton is on the dive, and that is a coincidence that makes me not believe in coincidences.  He is another never stop, hard working, dependable Vietnamese guy.  His laughter will make everyone around him chime in.  He gave CPR to a diver from another boat two years ago and saved his life. 

My former Chef Sommy was from NhaTrang before anybody gave a dang.  He was another guy who worked his hind quarters off and would not stop.  He was quick on the knives, skilled in presentation and demanding of himself and his crew.  He raised the bar for the chefs around him.  He spent a good deal of his income taking care of family back in Vietnam.

In the past 10 years, I have probably hired 20 or so Vietnamese staffers for the hotels we manage here in Alaska.  While I wish I had the chance to have gotten to know them better, their ability to come and do the job asked of them with great skill and commitment has never been lost on us.  What really hard workers!  We promote from within, and the speed in which the Vietnamese staff were promoted was about twice the speed of our other workers.  Why?  They WANT to work!  They WANT to make more money!  They are not afraid to work for it.

Suun was a Vietnamese housekeeper at my friend Eric's hotel. She was with him for 18 years.  She was his favorite, and the one who trained his staff.  One day Eric came to me and asked me to please lock all my valuables in his safe for the night.  He then marked a couple hundred bucks very carefully with a pencil and had me leave it wadded up in the pocket of a pair of jeans on the floor of my room.   The next morning after breakfast, I went back to my perfectly clean room and I was down $40.  I gave Eric his marked cash back, and he sobbed at the thought of this long trusted person having been peeling his customers back for many years.  He had heard of folks losing money before but refused to believe it would be his best worker.  He saw Suun in the dining room a few minutes later, and asked her if he could borrow a fast $20 for change for a customer,  and of course, she was willing to help...with his marked $20. I've never seen someone so sad about firing a thief.

We never know what motivates folks, and she probably needed it more than we know, but that scene still haunts me a little. Sad.

I look at the Vietnamese culture from my odd frozen north perspective.  I see the humor, the inventive spirit, the hard working nature, the warm demeanor and I am forever charmed by these people.  I see people who will make do without complaint.  People who innovate and use great inner strength to succeed against considerable odds.

Vietnamese men that I know have great integrity and the desire to be the best they can. I do not know if this is the norm, but I have yet to know one who wouldn't outwork about every American we ever hired.

The Vietnamese women I know are strong willed!  They often make my heart beat a little faster, and to be perfectly honest, I am always dazzled by long silky dark hair and warm feminine voices.  Further, I LOVE the way Vietnamese women treat their men.  This is an art long extinct in the USA and if I ever found the right one, you would probably see Alaska thaw...but I digress...

Any American would be an idiot not to marvel at the spirit of the Vietnamese people.  How this country has rebounded from the challenges of the past is an epic win in world history. 

When I was a little boy, our President sent all our older brothers to Vietnam, and apparently our politicians thought blowing up the countryside and wrong colored uniforms on your behalf would be some kind of solution.  I think the jury is still out on that one, as I know one hell of a lot of folks who went to Vietnam, yet not a one who thinks anything was won there.  Lot's of our brothers died for a fight we didn't even understand, because they were loyal to our flag and our President told them to GO! Heck, Americans never had any problems with Vietnamese folks before all that, or since then for that matter.  I can tell you with complete certainty that the LAST thing our older brothers wanted to do was fight anyone in Vietnam. I think we share collective sorrow about the whole political mess of war, and I think we collectively wish all that was handled differently.

Today, when elderly Americans think of Vietnam, they carry a good deal of deep seated sorrow, for so many loved ones were lost there.  I can remember a conversation with my friends Father, a C130 Pilot and a high ranking Airforce muckymuck.  We were talking about all the new resorts and beautiful coastal developments beginning in Vietnam.  Together, we were talking about making a plan for some fun in the sun, some relaxation and some pina coladas on the beach...  His reply was~  "No...I've been there and Vietnam is not the place we laugh, it is the place we cry"  He had left too much behind to go back. 

Younger Americans do not carry this burden of sadness and most have no memory of the war.  We see the beaches, the smiling people, the great diving, the strong dollar against the Dong and we start thinking about spending money in Vietnam. 

The rumor here is that Vietnamese folks are super friendly to American people, and they want to learn to speak English~

The other rumor here is that you folks are smart as can be in developing these beach areas with things like underground utilities and the kind of thing that invites outside investment.  It appears from the outside that you have seen all the mistakes made in Thailand, and decided to learn from their mistakes...very smart indeed.

Some have said that the Vietnamese are only warm to foreigners because they WANT something...but I think that is kind of short sighted and reactionary.  First off WE ALL are nicer to people who can do good things for us, so what?  Second off, my experience was that once you break through the ice a little, the Vietnamese are some of the warmest, most thoughtful and sincere folks you will ever meet.

Every culture has their winners and their losers.  I ought to know, because in Alaska we have our share of both.  I think the Vietnamese people generally make good Alaskans, because they fit in well here.  In Alaska they find a tight community that is much like home.  We work together, we have a big fishing community, we love to celebrate and we love to make the most of opportunity.

The Vietnamese have a superb reputation here and that is the fact.

This growing fondness between Americans and the Vietnamese certainly has me personally fired up.  As for me, I am looking to develop a very special assisted living resort for Elders and we are pretty high on doing this in Vietnam.  We have looked up and down coastal areas and are genuinely searching for the ideal location. A small, ultra clean waterfront resort with a medical structure behind it.  This would be quite attractive to Americans, particularly those who have recently looked at our economy and come to the conclusion that they can no longer afford to retire in the USA.  The level of care and comfort they can receive in Vietnam dwarfs what can be done on the same dollar in the States.

So I hope that helps...In general, we love the Vietnamese culture  and people.  Some of us even look for our own opportunity to be as thoughtful and appreciative within Vietnam, as Vietnamese have been on our shores.

Great respect and peace to the Vietnamese people.  Warmest wishes from Alaska~


PS~
If anyone has the ideal location for a very special, very small waterfront resort, I am all ears~ Please do let me know.  Cheers~

I am a vietnamese. Thanks for your understanding about my country and people. We got many damages in the past. And Vn is still a developing country so it is adherent to many defects. But i am proud of my coutry by its people and history. As you can see we are trying to pace out too. You folks can call us as  poeple of warmest, most sincere, most aggresive, hardest working, most cheatable, most generous  that all depend on circumstances. Btw, i am working in real estate industry. As i heard some Americans and Japaneses have the same intention with you to make resorts for their elders. It seems that their elders do not stay with their sons, they are alone . I can show you some locations and give you some tips about that.
Break a leg!

Thank you.  I concur that just like anywhere, you can find a wide variety of people.  I was just sharing my personal impressions.   By all means, I would be pleased to hear of any potentially interesting waterfront site locations for a very special, small Elder care resort.   

Your comment that it "seems like elders do not stay with their sons" is sadly true.  In the USA, it appears our culture has lost certain core values which we see more prevalent in Asian cultures.  The commitment to elders and their care is always appreciated when I am overseas.  Indeed it reminded me how lucky I was to be able to take care of my own Father until he passed away.  However, we also have a good number of elders who CHOOSE not to live with their children in their later years, and a resort in Vietnam, with great nursing care and assistance would be of great value to them.  We intend to create a place so inviting that people will WANT to get old, just so they can come and live here. 

China Beach and any other recommendations are much appreciated.  Thank you.

dinhHien2006 wrote:

LoveLife wrote:

"China beach", sure many people first hear it will think that it's a beach that belongs to China. You know the reason that made them call that beach "China beach"? I have some reasons but I don't know which one is the correct one.
     

1LostAlaskan wrote:

I am in Alaska.

I found your topic very interesting. Please pardon my long post.

Probably, I am not the expert on Vietnamese people you seek, but I have been to S.E. Asia 16 times and owned a small telephone company in Thailand for a while.  In my travels, I have had some exposure to the kind people of Vietnam.

Let me tell you what I see as an inexperienced Alaskan about as far away from your tropical paradise as one can be.  Maybe in my ignorance, you might see some clarity of the raw outside opinion I think you are looking for.

Let me tell you first that I work dang hard. I work long hours and I think I do more than most of my friends to make a buck.

My friend Madison beats me to work every single day...and he is there after I leave. He is from just outside HoChiMin city. 

Madison is about as trustworthy and dependable as anyone you could meet.  He is perhaps the hardest, most consistent worker I know.  He is helpful to his family, good to his bride, he is a funloving guy.  He came to America with NOTHING..NADA...ZERO.  Now he owns 2 beauty shops and teaches classes in his off time.   The guy has a nicer boat than mine and uses it well to feed his family during salmon season.   He takes care of his elders and the children of his brother.   He has old fashioned integrity.  I am honored to have him as a friend.  He may be Vietnamese, but he makes one superb Alaskan.

I have a Vietnamese divemaster friend named Ton.   Ton is an expert in SCUBA.  He hardly uses much air...little dang bubbles like champagne come out of the guys regulator...he can stay down longer on one tank than ANY of us. The guy is observant as can be, and natural in the water like some kind of neoprene coated sea mammal.   We ALWAYS see the coolest stuff when Ton is on the dive, and that is a coincidence that makes me not believe in coincidences.  He is another never stop, hard working, dependable Vietnamese guy.  His laughter will make everyone around him chime in.  He gave CPR to a diver from another boat two years ago and saved his life. 

My former Chef Sommy was from NhaTrang before anybody gave a dang.  He was another guy who worked his hind quarters off and would not stop.  He was quick on the knives, skilled in presentation and demanding of himself and his crew.  He raised the bar for the chefs around him.  He spent a good deal of his income taking care of family back in Vietnam.

In the past 10 years, I have probably hired 20 or so Vietnamese staffers for the hotels we manage here in Alaska.  While I wish I had the chance to have gotten to know them better, their ability to come and do the job asked of them with great skill and commitment has never been lost on us.  What really hard workers!  We promote from within, and the speed in which the Vietnamese staff were promoted was about twice the speed of our other workers.  Why?  They WANT to work!  They WANT to make more money!  They are not afraid to work for it.

Suun was a Vietnamese housekeeper at my friend Eric's hotel. She was with him for 18 years.  She was his favorite, and the one who trained his staff.  One day Eric came to me and asked me to please lock all my valuables in his safe for the night.  He then marked a couple hundred bucks very carefully with a pencil and had me leave it wadded up in the pocket of a pair of jeans on the floor of my room.   The next morning after breakfast, I went back to my perfectly clean room and I was down $40.  I gave Eric his marked cash back, and he sobbed at the thought of this long trusted person having been peeling his customers back for many years.  He had heard of folks losing money before but refused to believe it would be his best worker.  He saw Suun in the dining room a few minutes later, and asked her if he could borrow a fast $20 for change for a customer,  and of course, she was willing to help...with his marked $20. I've never seen someone so sad about firing a thief.

We never know what motivates folks, and she probably needed it more than we know, but that scene still haunts me a little. Sad.

I look at the Vietnamese culture from my odd frozen north perspective.  I see the humor, the inventive spirit, the hard working nature, the warm demeanor and I am forever charmed by these people.  I see people who will make do without complaint.  People who innovate and use great inner strength to succeed against considerable odds.

Vietnamese men that I know have great integrity and the desire to be the best they can. I do not know if this is the norm, but I have yet to know one who wouldn't outwork about every American we ever hired.

The Vietnamese women I know are strong willed!  They often make my heart beat a little faster, and to be perfectly honest, I am always dazzled by long silky dark hair and warm feminine voices.  Further, I LOVE the way Vietnamese women treat their men.  This is an art long extinct in the USA and if I ever found the right one, you would probably see Alaska thaw...but I digress...

Any American would be an idiot not to marvel at the spirit of the Vietnamese people.  How this country has rebounded from the challenges of the past is an epic win in world history. 

When I was a little boy, our President sent all our older brothers to Vietnam, and apparently our politicians thought blowing up the countryside and wrong colored uniforms on your behalf would be some kind of solution.  I think the jury is still out on that one, as I know one hell of a lot of folks who went to Vietnam, yet not a one who thinks anything was won there.  Lot's of our brothers died for a fight we didn't even understand, because they were loyal to our flag and our President told them to GO! Heck, Americans never had any problems with Vietnamese folks before all that, or since then for that matter.  I can tell you with complete certainty that the LAST thing our older brothers wanted to do was fight anyone in Vietnam. I think we share collective sorrow about the whole political mess of war, and I think we collectively wish all that was handled differently.

Today, when elderly Americans think of Vietnam, they carry a good deal of deep seated sorrow, for so many loved ones were lost there.  I can remember a conversation with my friends Father, a C130 Pilot and a high ranking Airforce muckymuck.  We were talking about all the new resorts and beautiful coastal developments beginning in Vietnam.  Together, we were talking about making a plan for some fun in the sun, some relaxation and some pina coladas on the beach...  His reply was~  "No...I've been there and Vietnam is not the place we laugh, it is the place we cry"  He had left too much behind to go back. 

Younger Americans do not carry this burden of sadness and most have no memory of the war.  We see the beaches, the smiling people, the great diving, the strong dollar against the Dong and we start thinking about spending money in Vietnam. 

The rumor here is that Vietnamese folks are super friendly to American people, and they want to learn to speak English~

The other rumor here is that you folks are smart as can be in developing these beach areas with things like underground utilities and the kind of thing that invites outside investment.  It appears from the outside that you have seen all the mistakes made in Thailand, and decided to learn from their mistakes...very smart indeed.

Some have said that the Vietnamese are only warm to foreigners because they WANT something...but I think that is kind of short sighted and reactionary.  First off WE ALL are nicer to people who can do good things for us, so what?  Second off, my experience was that once you break through the ice a little, the Vietnamese are some of the warmest, most thoughtful and sincere folks you will ever meet.

Every culture has their winners and their losers.  I ought to know, because in Alaska we have our share of both.  I think the Vietnamese people generally make good Alaskans, because they fit in well here.  In Alaska they find a tight community that is much like home.  We work together, we have a big fishing community, we love to celebrate and we love to make the most of opportunity.

The Vietnamese have a superb reputation here and that is the fact.

This growing fondness between Americans and the Vietnamese certainly has me personally fired up.  As for me, I am looking to develop a very special assisted living resort for Elders and we are pretty high on doing this in Vietnam.  We have looked up and down coastal areas and are genuinely searching for the ideal location. A small, ultra clean waterfront resort with a medical structure behind it.  This would be quite attractive to Americans, particularly those who have recently looked at our economy and come to the conclusion that they can no longer afford to retire in the USA.  The level of care and comfort they can receive in Vietnam dwarfs what can be done on the same dollar in the States.

So I hope that helps...In general, we love the Vietnamese culture  and people.  Some of us even look for our own opportunity to be as thoughtful and appreciative within Vietnam, as Vietnamese have been on our shores.

Great respect and peace to the Vietnamese people.  Warmest wishes from Alaska~


PS~
If anyone has the ideal location for a very special, very small waterfront resort, I am all ears~ Please do let me know.  Cheers~

I am a vietnamese. Thanks for your understanding about my country and people. We got many damages in the past. And Vn is still a developing country so it is adherent to many defects. But i am proud of my coutry by its people and history. As you can see we are trying to pace out too. You folks can call us as  poeple of warmest, most sincere, most aggresive, hardest working, most cheatable, most generous  that all depend on circumstances. Btw, i am working in real estate industry. As i heard some Americans and Japaneses have the same intention with you to make resorts for their elders. It seems that their elders do not stay with their sons, they are alone . I can show you some locations and give you some tips about that.
Break a leg!

I read you mentioned "China beach" in other thread. I want to have more knowledge. I make no recommendation.

1LostAlaskan wrote:

China Beach and any other recommendations are much appreciated.  Thank you.

Please no "china beach" or anything that is related to china. 1LostAlaskan -i'm a VK myself, but a different one from the good people you described in your thread.  i came to the US under different circumstances and totally understand what you are saying.

hmm.. it's so funny that you are the only one that responded about VK.

Chrisauw,
I learned very soon after I moved here to NEVER call a Vietnamese female "girl". (Implies very young, like primary school-age) They also don't like "woman". (Implies old, like their mother or grandmother) "Lady" is preferred. So an example of a nice complement would be, "(Insert her name here), you are a lovely lady".

Not sure if I actually qualify as an expat in the eyes of the Forum ........ I haven't lived or worked in HCMC or Hanoi, although I did spend a month as a volunteer editor for the Vietnamese Cultural Journal while residing in Hai Ba Trung Street in September 09 ......... but I am an Australian and I have spent more than year in-country visiting Vietnam on tourist visas since May 2009, living mostly in Dien Bien Phu, and I did hold a rural post while working for the Australian Government in what is now Vung Tau -Baria Province for a year spanning 1967-68........ however, regardless of that, even if I was a bona-fide expat working for a corporation in Vietnam, at the age of 67 and with my particular mould of life's experiences, I acknowledge that my response to your question could hardly be categorized as representative of younger, more qualified Expat.comgers who work and live beside nationals on a day to day basis........ nor do I think my observations would necessarily be mirrored by those of the casual visitor who are directed only to developed destinations and tourist attractions....... mine is a road less traveled ..... but it is based on first hand encounters with ordinary Vietnamese people of all ages and includes considerable contact with the wonderful, yet tragic, ethnic minority people of Dien Bien Province.  So your readers, if they haven't already moved on to a shorter entry, should accept my little offering for what it is ..... just an opinion.  On the assumption of credibility (acceptance of my post) I will take the liberty of assuming expat status, if only for the purpose of this entry on your blog.

And so to begin: Before one even gets to meet a Vietnamese person, one has to engage the role of pedestrian and actually survive a street crossing.  Now while making an observation of the traffic chaos in HCMC or Hanoi seems an obscure way to form an opinion of the country or its people ..... it really provides an excellent window in which to glimpse the patience, tolerance, understanding and passive nature of the average Vietnamese...... qualities that have somehow survived the most troubling of pasts, and go a long way to explaining the indomitable will that has 'seen off' every invader since the marauding Mongols of centuries long gone, despite the reluctance of many to go.  To my sheer amazement, while there is an incessant blaring of horns, there is no "road rage" as we know it in the west..... nobody jumping out of their car or off their bike to bang the perpetrator of his affront with a stick, a brick or weapon of mass destruction, as one might regularly observe in Oz or the US of A in similar circumstances.  I found it summed up beautifully by the English writer Norman Lewis in his marvelous 1951 best seller "a Dragon Apparent" when he wrote... 'a bus sweeping out of a side-street ... caught a cyclist, knocked him off and crushed his machine... the bus driver rushed over to congratulate the cyclist on his lucky escape.  Both men were delighted.'   60 years on..... nothing has changed.
Adding further to the observation of those endearing traffic qualities, I have found people in general to be humble, gracious in hospitality, and excessively forgiving..... particular in regard to the wars with the Americans et el and their previous colonial oppressors ... never have I experienced even the slightest hint of antagonism or disrespect (undeserving though that might be given I was once, what vietnamese politely call, a “foreign aggressor”, in part responsible for heaping decades, if not generations of grief and suffering on their not too distant ancestors.
One unforgettable moment came when I met a woman whose father had been killed, before she had even met him, but during the time of my service ........ despite the knowledge that I was once a soldier on the opposite side, her warmth, friendship .... and yes 'respect', was obvious and sincere when she invited me to join her family for their TET celebrations...... a request I gladly accepted......... and another when I first met Binh, a tiny old man who had fought the French in the battle of Dien Bien Phu as a 17 year old, who took me to his home on the outskirts of the city to celebrate the 8th anniversary of his wife's passing.  He went to great expense, ensuring my comfort and palate were both attended to.  His breeding dog was not so accepting and ambushed me from behind with a nasty bite to the knee that took weeks to recover from, but during which time the old gentleman came regularly to my hotel room to administer a variety of native herbal remedies to hasten my tardy recovery.  And the women in the street-market who, once they knew I was buying food for the children of the local SOS village, vigilantly watched what I was being charged to make sure I got the right price, sometimes scolding a vender for overpricing in a way that made them reimburse me and seek redemption by adding a little extra to my purchase. And the bestowing on me of such grand titles as Grandfather or Dad (Ong Tay Oi) ...... has not been an uncommon experience, nor the never-ending invitations to share a drink, attend a wedding or funeral, or just come to dinner.   So in answer to the Forum question "what do Expats think of Vietnamese"  I s'pose I could have said it in 3 words ...... I love them!

Nev1945 wrote:

Not sure if I actually qualify as an expat in the eyes of the Forum ........ I haven't lived or worked in HCMC or Hanoi, although I did spend a month as a volunteer editor for the Vietnamese Cultural Journal while residing in Hai Ba Trung Street in September 09 ......... but I am an Australian and I have spent more than year in-country visiting Vietnam on tourist visas since May 2009, living mostly in Dien Bien Phu, and I did hold a rural post while working for the Australian Government in what is now Vung Tau -Baria Province for a year spanning 1967-68........ however, regardless of that, even if I was a bona-fide expat working for a corporation in Vietnam, at the age of 67 and with my particular mould of life's experiences, I acknowledge that my response to your question could hardly be categorized as representative of younger, more qualified Expat.comgers who work and live beside nationals on a day to day basis........ nor do I think my observations would necessarily be mirrored by those of the casual visitor who are directed only to developed destinations and tourist attractions....... mine is a road less traveled ..... but it is based on first hand encounters with ordinary Vietnamese people of all ages and includes considerable contact with the wonderful, yet tragic, ethnic minority people of Dien Bien Province.  So your readers, if they haven't already moved on to a shorter entry, should accept my little offering for what it is ..... just an opinion.  On the assumption of credibility (acceptance of my post) I will take the liberty of assuming expat status, if only for the purpose of this entry on your blog.

And so to begin: Before one even gets to meet a Vietnamese person, one has to engage the role of pedestrian and actually survive a street crossing.  Now while making an observation of the traffic chaos in HCMC or Hanoi seems an obscure way to form an opinion of the country or its people ..... it really provides an excellent window in which to glimpse the patience, tolerance, understanding and passive nature of the average Vietnamese...... qualities that have somehow survived the most troubling of pasts, and go a long way to explaining the indomitable will that has 'seen off' every invader since the marauding Mongols of centuries long gone, despite the reluctance of many to go.  To my sheer amazement, while there is an incessant blaring of horns, there is no "road rage" as we know it in the west..... nobody jumping out of their car or off their bike to bang the perpetrator of his affront with a stick, a brick or weapon of mass destruction, as one might regularly observe in Oz or the US of A in similar circumstances.  I found it summed up beautifully by the English writer Norman Lewis in his marvelous 1951 best seller "a Dragon Apparent" when he wrote... 'a bus sweeping out of a side-street ... caught a cyclist, knocked him off and crushed his machine... the bus driver rushed over to congratulate the cyclist on his lucky escape.  Both men were delighted.'   60 years on..... nothing has changed.
Adding further to the observation of those endearing traffic qualities, I have found people in general to be humble, gracious in hospitality, and excessively forgiving..... particular in regard to the wars with the Americans et el and their previous colonial oppressors ... never have I experienced even the slightest hint of antagonism or disrespect (undeserving though that might be given I was once, what vietnamese politely call, a “foreign aggressor”, in part responsible for heaping decades, if not generations of grief and suffering on their not too distant ancestors.
One unforgettable moment came when I met a woman whose father had been killed, before she had even met him, but during the time of my service ........ despite the knowledge that I was once a soldier on the opposite side, her warmth, friendship .... and yes 'respect', was obvious and sincere when she invited me to join her family for their TET celebrations...... a request I gladly accepted......... and another when I first met Binh, a tiny old man who had fought the French in the battle of Dien Bien Phu as a 17 year old, who took me to his home on the outskirts of the city to celebrate the 8th anniversary of his wife's passing.  He went to great expense, ensuring my comfort and palate were both attended to.  His breeding dog was not so accepting and ambushed me from behind with a nasty bite to the knee that took weeks to recover from, but during which time the old gentleman came regularly to my hotel room to administer a variety of native herbal remedies to hasten my tardy recovery.  And the women in the street-market who, once they knew I was buying food for the children of the local SOS village, vigilantly watched what I was being charged to make sure I got the right price, sometimes scolding a vender for overpricing in a way that made them reimburse me and seek redemption by adding a little extra to my purchase. And the bestowing on me of such grand titles as Grandfather or Dad (Ong Tay Oi) ...... has not been an uncommon experience, nor the never-ending invitations to share a drink, attend a wedding or funeral, or just come to dinner.   So in answer to the Forum question "what do Expats think of Vietnamese"  I s'pose I could have said it in 3 words ...... I love them!

i like the way you described, it is very normal life but it's true, i miss those days. However, nowadays, there are some changes in our social. Many things are better and better such as  education, health care, entertainment, jobs, telecommunications,... But somethings are going to the dog too. ex: the way vietnameses treat together has got some changes, not much but i still do not like this.  Otherwise, I hate the traffic in my city now , many vehicles.

Hi Ms. ,

I have been working in Malaysia, Thailand and now I am in Vietnam. My impression is Vietnamese people are having true Asian culture similar to India. I am Indian working at VungTau.

My phone is ***

Thanks

Rashesh

i just read overall the topic. I have something to say. I agree that if u speak english (whatever u are asian or Europe countries) to buy something and try to discount at the market or some shops which seller can communicate in english,u always get the wrong price for the quality if u dont know about the price . And i hate that too.
So,ladies, how about the way Vietnamese ladies think about foreigners men ???

For example...One time I was talking on yahoo with my VN friend. She is only 23, she speaks perfect English, has a very nice University degree, has a very nice job as well, all-in-all a well-educated girl and very smart too. At that time we had known each other for a while, and we had talked on Yahoo for several times already, always happy conversation, never had any problem.
One day morning I saw her on Yahoo, so I said:" Morning girl, how are you?"
And she replied immediately:"Who is girl? I am not girl. I have a name, ok? My name is Thao, not girl"  This is exactly the way she replied to me. You can see, she was very very serious about it.
I was shock....She never talked like this before. I did not know whats going on, but its ok, I would tried to understand, so I ask:"Is girl a bad nickname in VN? I didnt mean anything else....it is just, you are very young girl, so I say girl to you."
She was still serious:"No, I want you to call my name Thao. You call me girl, I feel you not respect me."
Now I know she didnt like it, so I said:"Ok, no problem, Im sorry, I dont know you dont like it...I never have this problem before with other people..."
And she kept going:"No one wants to be called girl, all right? If I just call you boy or man, will you be happy?"  I was shock for the 3rd time....Thats why I can remember all these talks...

i can relate to what this guy is saying...many vn girls have their head up their arse and are too quick to get angry about small silly things, which just creates a bad atmosphere...you dont see this in laos or cambodia or even thaiand..its a vietnamese thing. Maybe china too ,,,dunno never been there.

Vietnamese people are always shouting at each other in the street..again you only see this in vietnam (not that you are likely to see vietnemse people shouting at each other in say  bangkok)

sorry....ive been here 6 years and speak good vietnamese so im entitled to an opinion

vietnamese people are okay in general...i do have a problem with people borrowing money and not paying it back..i am owed over 100 million in total and even now people ask me to borrow money and get angry when i explain that i am already owed 100 million so i dont want to lend any more....just people you have met 4 or 5 times can ask to borrow a grand or 2 grand USD and get very disgruntled when refused. In my country, UK, only a very good long term friend would ask to borrow such a large sum of money.

I like the way vietnamese are always willing to help if something happens in the street or an accident or some dificult situation...last week the horn on my bike wouldnt turn off and after about 20 minutes about 10 people had come and with some tools fixed the problem.....that was nice.

as for the taiwan guy saying beautiful vn girls are "proud" and haughty....I suggest you dont go near them, let them mix with the rich idiot guys who are shallow enough to lust after a woman just cos of the way she looks. Start chasing fit vietnam girls and you are asking for trouble in my opinion....find yourselfa normal looking one, they are warmer and have a better character and sense of humour.

kelly_middlenice wrote:

I agree with you guys about this and feel very ashamed.

You should understand that Vietnam is a developing country and these people you met are not very well-educated. They don't even see long-run business. That is totally true. All they know is take as much as money because foreigners never get back. They are too poor to think of other factors.

All I want to say is that just let it go. If you know the prize there doesn't make sense, so just go to another place. You never have this kind of experience like this anywhere except Vietnam.

We are the young generation and I hope young Vietnamese can change it but it takes time.

Cheer

I intended to read all the commends but I don't have much time to do that. I want to tell you my thinking that I feel sad every time I hear someone need known the opinions of foreigners about our country,because I feel they are not proud of this country. There are many young Vietnamese being eager to heart that. It's not matter unless you feel ashamed about our country. You make my heart tears blood ,although I know our country have some bad things we don't like.

Every country has its value and problems. We should know what is our value that needs kept and require for respectful. Bad things will be disappeared when they are not suitable any more.

HongLoan wrote:

kelly_middlenice wrote:

I agree with you guys about this and feel very ashamed.

You should understand that Vietnam is a developing country and these people you met are not very well-educated. They don't even see long-run business. That is totally true. All they know is take as much as money because foreigners never get back. They are too poor to think of other factors.

All I want to say is that just let it go. If you know the prize there doesn't make sense, so just go to another place. You never have this kind of experience like this anywhere except Vietnam.

We are the young generation and I hope young Vietnamese can change it but it takes time.

Cheer

I intended to read all the commends but I don't have much time to do that. I want to tell you my thinking that I feel sad every time I hear someone need known the opinions of foreigners about our country,because I feel they are not proud of this country. There are many young Vietnamese being eager to heart that. It's not matter unless you feel ashamed about our country. You make my heart tears blood ,although I know our country have some bad things we don't like.

Every country has its value and problems. We should know what is our value that needs kept and require for respectful. Bad things will be disappeared when they are not suitable any more.

Don't ever feel ashame on who you are or where you are from, unless you don't like who you are or have become.  HongLoan, i don't think think the intent of this thread is to feel ashame or make excuses for Vietnam. Just look at one reason and it explains everything.  Why are westerns here or VK's that choose to be in VN as oppose to the country of their citizenship. Here's a few of my opinions:

1. Because VN is great!

2. Something about VN that makes different people choose it here as oppose to 1000 different countries where they can choose from. (And, yes foreigners, including myself, could of chosen any country in the world to be in, but yet we choose 1 small country call VN)

3. The Vietnamese Cuisine here is amazing and as a guy the women here are near perfect, in beauty and many other ways that's been lost in other countries.

4. Nguoi Viet, don't see this but, Xe Honda is awesome. Nothing like taking a long road trip on your Xe Honda. Nguoi Viet, think about this why would people create a whole tourism company around renting a xe honda or creating a tour where people drive a cross VN with a xe moto? 

Yes, there are foreigners in VN that don't want to be here. But, i think i'm safe for saying this, about 95% of the people either touring or living in VN, choose to be here. As much as they complain, there are beauties here that makes them choose to spend so much damn money taking a plane here, as oppose to going to the country next to them.

ktnguyen wrote:

HongLoan wrote:

kelly_middlenice wrote:

I agree with you guys about this and feel very ashamed.

You should understand that Vietnam is a developing country and these people you met are not very well-educated. They don't even see long-run business. That is totally true. All they know is take as much as money because foreigners never get back. They are too poor to think of other factors.

All I want to say is that just let it go. If you know the prize there doesn't make sense, so just go to another place. You never have this kind of experience like this anywhere except Vietnam.

We are the young generation and I hope young Vietnamese can change it but it takes time.

Cheer

I intended to read all the commends but I don't have much time to do that. I want to tell you my thinking that I feel sad every time I hear someone need known the opinions of foreigners about our country,because I feel they are not proud of this country. There are many young Vietnamese being eager to heart that. It's not matter unless you feel ashamed about our country. You make my heart tears blood ,although I know our country have some bad things we don't like.

Every country has its value and problems. We should know what is our value that needs kept and require for respectful. Bad things will be disappeared when they are not suitable any more.

Don't ever feel ashame on who you are or where you are from, unless you don't like who you are or have become.  HongLoan, i don't think think the intent of this thread is to feel ashame or make excuses for Vietnam. Just look at one reason and it explains everything.  Why are westerns here or VK's that choose to be in VN as oppose to the country of their citizenship. Here's a few of my opinions:

1. Because VN is great!

2. Something about VN that makes different people choose it here as oppose to 1000 different countries where they can choose from. (And, yes foreigners, including myself, could of chosen any country in the world to be in, but yet we choose 1 small country call VN)

3. The Vietnamese Cuisine here is amazing and as a guy the women here are near perfect, in beauty and many other ways that's been lost in other countries.

4. Nguoi Viet, don't see this but, Xe Honda is awesome. Nothing like taking a long road trip on your Xe Honda. Nguoi Viet, think about this why would people create a whole tourism company around renting a xe honda or creating a tour where people drive a cross VN with a xe moto? 

Yes, there are foreigners in VN that don't want to be here. But, i think i'm safe for saying this, about 95% of the people either touring or living in VN, choose to be here. As much as they complain, there are beauties here that makes them choose to spend so much damn money taking a plane here, as oppose to going to the country next to them.

Sorry to ask you whether you thought I was ashamed my country or not?. I'm not good English enough to explain my thinking but I'm not ashamed my country. I just wanted to talk with Vietnamese that asking how foreigners think of Vietnam and then they show the shame of their own country make me very very sad.. I know they are young and want to improve a lot but I don't agree with them. I feel sorry for them.

Nationalism and hasty generalization are vices, not virtues.  Don't drell on them too long; for they will lead to nothing but seperation and destruction.

I been living here since 2 years, i had good and bad experiences, that is part of life. It would be irrealistic to expect only good experience when you travel in a developping country. Life is more difficult here than in developped countrys.

I don't think it's a bad thing to generelize if it is a real caracteristic. But a single experience can surely not be considered as one.

Vietnamese people are in general very friendly and honest, devoted if you become truthful friend, they will never let you down and help you anytime you need, without expecting something in return. But you wont find much friends on Pham Ngu Lao.

Vietnam is relatively safe compare to many other country, that proove that they do have a good conscience.

They are sometime difficult to understand for foreigner, since we are so different, and i beleive they dont always understand us as well neither. That can create a lot of frustration on both side.

I hope that most of us can understand that nobody is perfect and learn to forgive each other for our human reaction and perception.

I sometime feel it difficult for me because Vietnam doesn't have the same multiethnic policy than western countrys, I dont always feel welcome. People are not always polite, ecxept when I pay a little extra, then I always get a smile, hehe!

Vietnamese don't like to be criticise, they are very sensible to comments, more if it comes from a foreigner. They are very proud and sensible to the image we have of them. Even constructive comments can irritate them, so i need to take extra care, they are not as straighforward then us, i think that beeing direct is impolite for them.

I really dont think that I am better than anyone because I am a westerner, but sometime they think I do think that, from what i ear.

My worst experience is about the hotel, they want to keep my passport forever and that make me feel unsafe, they never want to give an official receive of my payment. One time the police ask me to justify my stay, i show them my receive but they fine me for 250 $ because if was not official, i was very upset and i think its unfair, but i had to pay. The touristic authority should do someting about that. I dont think it help their cause!

However, i do like vietnam, it was a wonderfull experience in general, but there could be some improovment.

I have problems with wait staff in restaurants and bars who stand around, waiting to serve someone who pick their noses, scratch their hair and 'wind their brains up' by sticking a finger in their ears.

I've seen worse, like a hand under the clothing to scratch an armpit, but that was an extreme.

THEN they pick up your food serving, with bare hands and fingers all over the top of the plate! No washing of hands.

Yuk!

Very good question

hi Trang and every body in this forum
i'm vietnamese and i meet, talk and work with many foreigner, i understand why does Trang create this topic. when i asked my friends about vietnam, what do they think about vietnam and vietnamese, i recieved many answers. some of them told, they was not impress by vietnam and vietnamese, why? beacause impolite, fraud, traffic jam..., some of them said vietnam is beatiful, vietnamese is friendly...
beacause when talk with poeple who is not vietnamese, you have natinally sense, when heard they bad things about vietnam, i felt...so bad, sad, moreover...i'was angry ( did you feel like me, Trang?)
but i think, it's the truth, each country have bad culture and good culture, vietnam also is a poor country, many poelpe not well-educated
but i think when you go and live in vietnam,my country always welcome you and many poeple like TRANG, like me want to change your think about vietnam, each country have many poeple, many behavior...so when you're unlucky meet bad things in vietnam, dont think all vietnamese is bad. ok?
nice to meet alll, hope you have a beatiful time in vietnam

I agree with what you said, Miss Nguyen.  There are also good and bad (maybe not bad but difficult) people in the US.  Please do not judge us foreigners by everyone you meet.

Alllgooduntil wrote:

Vietnamese are very friendly with foreigners...without a doubt. But does it make them friendly people in general...nop! You just have to look the way they are with each other and you'll understand. The only reason they are nice to us expat or tourist is because they want something from us.Saying that, they may get out of their way to "help" you but you'll have to pay back one way or an other, trust me....human nature I guess.

[Moderated]

Teacher Mark wrote:

Alllgooduntil wrote:

Vietnamese are very friendly with foreigners...without a doubt. But does it make them friendly people in general...nop! You just have to look the way they are with each other and you'll understand. The only reason they are nice to us expat or tourist is because they want something from us.Saying that, they may get out of their way to "help" you but you'll have to pay back one way or an other, trust me....human nature I guess.

[Moderated]

Teacher Mark , you said what I didnt dare to say! Thanks!!!!!!

I was standing outside of my house the other night, waiting for my landord to oipen the door, when an expat (French) came out of the bar next door screaming about being ripped off.  That was midly entertaining, but becaame more entertaining when he turned his ire to any and all things Vietnamese.  That's when I stepped in.  To paraphrase I told him tto get his a** to the airport and don't come back, among other things.  The funny thing is that he seemed to be deaf when I spoke, because he didn't respond.  Instead, he waited until I was in my house and then punched a woman in the face.  That is a perfect example of a weak minded coward.

Vietnam is a fine country; the best in my opinion.  Any expat that doesn't like it that much can do what I suggested to Frenchie and get to the airport as soon as possible.  In America the saying is "America, love it or leave it!".  I always hated that sayingg, but I think it's appropriate in Vietnam at this time.  Love it or leave it disgruntled expats.

I'm a native of Vietnam. I love my country so I'm proud of being Vietnamese of course. As many others countries, Vietnam isn't a heaven tho there are lotsa things which are bad exist : Robbing, Defrauding, Stealing ...
But, when you had dicided to move to some where, you should research about it, so you may know it to be aware with it. Even us the local people, we always pay attention when we get out of the house ya know. When I lived there, I didnt ever dare to pick up the phone on the crowded street, never let my helmet out of the motobike, never carry a bag with a thin strap, never carry a bag in my hand without watching carefully...
But, don't tell me these thing happening only in Vietnam. My bf's family rent a house in Krabi-Thailand last February. One night some one came in and stole our stuffs (quite a lot) . We just came to the police and said tu ourself that we were unlucky. We dont hate Thailand and we stil wanna go back.
Last August we went to Normandy-France to attend a wedding. At noon, after having lunch in the restaurant, we saw our car class broken and 3 back-bags disappear. Don't ask me how were I feel that time coz we had sthing like : 3 laptops, 1 ipad, 1 HTC phone, 2 cameras, and "some" usd! We told each other that we were so careless and we should havent let the things inside the car like that. We promised each other to not let it happen again. We stil love France. We stil wanna go back.
On the train in Paris, you always have to be careful with your stuffs in your pocket as your bags. I knew it and I always pay attention.
What I wanna say is : no matter where you go where you live, know well and understand well and aceept them, you will be fine. Otherwise, come back and live peaceful (not sure there is a place like this exist in the world) in your country...

I think the Vietnamese are very nice gentle people. I just have one beef though and that is in general I find that they don't exercise their dogs. Maybe because the dogs here are very small but still all dogs need exercise and if they don't get it they become very sensitive to outside noise and have a lot of pent up energy and hence they never stop YAPPING or BARKING !!!!! please spread the word to the Vietnamese, take your dogs for a walk !

panda7 wrote:

I think the Vietnamese are very nice gentle people. I just have one beef though and that is in general I find that they don't exercise their dogs. Maybe because the dogs here are very small but still all dogs need exercise and if they don't get it they become very sensitive to outside noise and have a lot of pent up energy and hence they never stop YAPPING or BARKING !!!!! please spread the word to the Vietnamese, take your dogs for a walk !

Take the dogs for a walk if they can get them off the grill! LOL

saigon1303 wrote:

I'm a native of Vietnam. I love my country so I'm proud of being Vietnamese of course. As many others countries, Vietnam isn't a heaven tho there are lotsa things which are bad exist : Robbing, Defrauding, Stealing ...
But, when you had dicided to move to some where, you should research about it, so you may know it to be aware with it. Even us the local people, we always pay attention when we get out of the house ya know. When I lived there, I didnt ever dare to pick up the phone on the crowded street, never let my helmet out of the motobike, never carry a bag with a thin strap, never carry a bag in my hand without watching carefully...
But, don't tell me these thing happening only in Vietnam. My bf's family rent a house in Krabi-Thailand last February. One night some one came in and stole our stuffs (quite a lot) . We just came to the police and said tu ourself that we were unlucky. We dont hate Thailand and we stil wanna go back.
Last August we went to Normandy-France to attend a wedding. At noon, after having lunch in the restaurant, we saw our car class broken and 3 back-bags disappear. Don't ask me how were I feel that time coz we had sthing like : 3 laptops, 1 ipad, 1 HTC phone, 2 cameras, and "some" usd! We told each other that we were so careless and we should havent let the things inside the car like that. We promised each other to not let it happen again. We stil love France. We stil wanna go back.
On the train in Paris, you always have to be careful with your stuffs in your pocket as your bags. I knew it and I always pay attention.
What I wanna say is : no matter where you go where you live, know well and understand well and aceept them, you will be fine. Otherwise, come back and live peaceful (not sure there is a place like this exist in the world) in your country...

Yes, you're right.  Thailand is also a 3rd world country, France is not of course.  Yes, these things happen everywhere, and if you create an opportunity for someone, someone will take it!  Always be careful with your things.

Teacher Mark wrote:

I was standing outside of my house the other night, waiting for my landord to oipen the door, when an expat (French) came out of the bar next door screaming about being ripped off.  That was midly entertaining, but becaame more entertaining when he turned his ire to any and all things Vietnamese.  That's when I stepped in.  To paraphrase I told him tto get his a** to the airport and don't come back, among other things.  The funny thing is that he seemed to be deaf when I spoke, because he didn't respond.  Instead, he waited until I was in my house and then punched a woman in the face.  That is a perfect example of a weak minded coward.

Vietnam is a fine country; the best in my opinion.  Any expat that doesn't like it that much can do what I suggested to Frenchie and get to the airport as soon as possible.  In America the saying is "America, love it or leave it!".  I always hated that sayingg, but I think it's appropriate in Vietnam at this time.  Love it or leave it disgruntled expats.

Wow, teacher Mark, that's a terrible situation.  Unacceptable I agree.  It brings up another point that hasn't yet been discussed in much detail.  (Very angry foreigners)  If you get out of the house much and are an observant person, it's easy to see situations happen quite often in which foreigners just go ballistic and are about to "lose it".  I've been caught off guard more than once when directly in front of me a foreigner is acting in a way that is completely unacceptable, in VN, or anywhere else. Rude to the extreme and bordering on "fighting words"  I don't know the reason, or the problem, but some foreigners are about to "snap" at any moment.  It embarrasses me when I see this behavior.

Jaitch wrote:

I have problems with wait staff in restaurants and bars who stand around, waiting to serve someone who pick their noses, scratch their hair and 'wind their brains up' by sticking a finger in their ears.

I've seen worse, like a hand under the clothing to scratch an armpit, but that was an extreme.

THEN they pick up your food serving, with bare hands and fingers all over the top of the plate! No washing of hands.

Yuk!

A worker at Lotteria sneezed directly over the french fry frying machine. (the fryer)  I couldn't believe what I had seen!  He then wiped his nose with his bare hand and went back to preparing food in the back. I was told that the fryer was very hot and that it would kill any bacteria.    True story.

chalface wrote:

vietnamese people are okay in general...i do have a problem with people borrowing money and not paying it back..i am owed over 100 million in total and even now people ask me to borrow money and get angry when i explain that i am already owed 100 million so i dont want to lend any more....just people you have met 4 or 5 times can ask to borrow a grand or 2 grand USD and get very disgruntled when refused. In my country, UK, only a very good long term friend would ask to borrow such a large sum of money.

I like the way vietnamese are always willing to help if something happens in the street or an accident or some dificult situation...last week the horn on my bike wouldnt turn off and after about 20 minutes about 10 people had come and with some tools fixed the problem.....that was nice.

as for the taiwan guy saying beautiful vn girls are "proud" and haughty....I suggest you dont go near them, let them mix with the rich idiot guys who are shallow enough to lust after a woman just cos of the way she looks. Start chasing fit vietnam girls and you are asking for trouble in my opinion....find yourselfa normal looking one, they are warmer and have a better character and sense of humour.

Can I borrow some money? Just 2k.

I will let you borrow. In fact, I can give you 2K VND to you for free.