This is such an interesting point of view and a refreshing article to read. I'm visiting North Vietnam soon and all I am reading online is how much petty crime there are. Has me a bit worried. This article actually put me a bit at ease. Reminding me that not everyone on one side is bad.
This is such an interesting point of view and a refreshing article to read. I'm visiting North Vietnam soon and all I am reading online is how much petty crime there are. Has me a bit worried. This article actually put me a bit at ease. Reminding me that not everyone on one side is bad.
Thank you for the comment Jojo. :) Yes, that is the point of the article. Tourists can be as bad, sometimes worse than the bad locals.
But don't worry about North Vietnam, there are some but if you watch your stuff and stand your ground when someone tries to scam you, you will be alright. I had zero problems there. :) Vietnam is an amazing country, the food, nature, the people are just phenomenal. Be sure to check out Sapa. :)
Soloist
Pete, thank you for writing this blog to provide the rarely-told local's perspective. I'd also like to provide my "local's perspective" as a local living in areas in San Francisco, London, Paris, and Vienna where I encountered tourists on a daily basis. When I read travelers' blogs about their unpleasant encounters with the locals, I can often guess what the travelers might have done (likely inadvertently) to annoy the locals in the cities I had lived in. In Paris, where I currently live, I see everyday the tourists violating our public transport usage rules, blatantly ignoring polite social conventions, causing inconvenience and problems for locals, and badly behaving in ways they surely would not have back home. The jovial backpacker groups with their huge backpacks smacking against everybody and blocking the metro doorway during the rush hour metro ride annoys the locals to no end. I had the same experience as a local in San Francisco, London, and Vienna as well. The mass tourism which includes large number of badly-behaving rule-ignoring tour groups had literately "worn out the welcome mat". I can understand why locals have their preconceived notion of backpackers or tourists of certain ethnicity, after seeing the same bad behaviors exhibited by the same community/ethnicity time and time again. The bad conduct of a few bad apples can really ruin the future travel experience for others of the same community/ethnicity. It's not that hard to figure out what the socially-acceptable conducts are at any given location, just observe the locals -- do they walk and eat at the same time? do they sit on church steps? do they queue for bus? do they talk loudly in museums? do they greet the shopkeepers?....etc. Not dressing like a backpacker and not carrying a backpack would likely afford the backpackers a more pleasant travel experience when visiting a big city (many places don't allow luggage and big backpack). Happy travels!
Best blog, really good knowledge to read this article
This is such an interesting point of view and a refreshing article to read. I'm visiting North Vietnam soon and all I am reading online is how much petty crime there are. Has me a bit worried. This article actually put me a bit at ease. Reminding me that not everyone on one side is bad.
Thank you for the comment Jojo. :) Yes, that is the point of the article. Tourists can be as bad, sometimes worse than the bad locals.
But don't worry about North Vietnam, there are some but if you watch your stuff and stand your ground when someone tries to scam you, you will be alright. I had zero problems there. :) Vietnam is an amazing country, the food, nature, the people are just phenomenal. Be sure to check out Sapa. :)
Pete, thank you for writing this blog to provide the rarely-told local's perspective. I'd also like to provide my "local's perspective" as a local living in areas in San Francisco, London, Paris, and Vienna where I encountered tourists on a daily basis. When I read travelers' blogs about their unpleasant encounters with the locals, I can often guess what the travelers might have done (likely inadvertently) to annoy the locals in the cities I had lived in. In Paris, where I currently live, I see everyday the tourists violating our public transport usage rules, blatantly ignoring polite social conventions, causing inconvenience and problems for locals, and badly behaving in ways they surely would not have back home. The jovial backpacker groups with their huge backpacks smacking against everybody and blocking the metro doorway during the rush hour metro ride annoys the locals to no end. I had the same experience as a local in San Francisco, London, and Vienna as well. The mass tourism which includes large number of badly-behaving rule-ignoring tour groups had literately "worn out the welcome mat". I can understand why locals have their preconceived notion of backpackers or tourists of certain ethnicity, after seeing the same bad behaviors exhibited by the same community/ethnicity time and time again. The bad conduct of a few bad apples can really ruin the future travel experience for others of the same community/ethnicity. It's not that hard to figure out what the socially-acceptable conducts are at any given location, just observe the locals -- do they walk and eat at the same time? do they sit on church steps? do they queue for bus? do they talk loudly in museums? do they greet the shopkeepers?....etc. Not dressing like a backpacker and not carrying a backpack would likely afford the backpackers a more pleasant travel experience when visiting a big city (many places don't allow luggage and big backpack). Happy travels!