As they say: “ When in Rome, Do as the Romans do”… I’d like to share some things I’ve heard from other people who have come to Vietnam for vacation. We should know these bad habits and limit them as much as possible. 1. -Tourists always feel like they’re being tormented by sellers and beggers. Other countries have this same problem but on a much less scale or not at all. 2. -Tourists feel like they’re being teased rather than being welcome because of the way some locals greet tourists. For example: Hello Westerner, You you…whereas in other countries near Vietnam they feel very warmly welcome and respected. Especially from Thai and Lao people. 3. -Tourists often share that they feel they’re always being followed in shops, markets and stores. This feeling of being followed makes tourists feel uncomfortable and forced into buying things rather than feeling comfortable just browsing. 4. -Tourists have come up with a new catch phrase for shopping in Vietnam “don’t buy- not welcome.” 5. -The world has a very popular phrase, “window shopping.” For example, Thailand is a shopping paradise because they have hundreds of shopping malls very near to each other, and yet every mall is full of people shopping or just browsing. This is probably because tourists and locals feel comfortable tearing apart a clothes store, not finding anything they like, and still get greeted with a warm smile and thank you for looking. 6. -Tourists are always seen as strangers. They’re appearance is followed by awkward stares or being judged when they turn their back whereas a lot of other countries view tourists as friends and family, especially in public places. 7. -Overcharging happens worldwide. But in most countries, the overcharged price being charged applies to all people who are in the tourist area, not just foreigners. 8. -Vietnamese tourism always sees backpackers as people who are traveling cheaply or poorly whereas backpackers are very knowledgeable travelers and are very eager to share their experiences when they have good or bad ones. They can’t be that poor if they’re traveling, that’s for sure. 9. -Surely there are many other countries very less clean than Vietnam, but it seems almost every tourist has something to say about cleanliness and the lack thereof in Vietnam. 10. -Traffic is a very interesting and disturbing thing for tourists who come to Vietnam. 11. -Tourists are always surprised to hear that children in school must line up before entering the classroom especially when nobody in real life Vietnam ever waits for anything in a line. That includes elderly people at the airport as well. 12. -Tourists and foreigners in general feel it is impolite to be pushed in general. They’re even more surprised when they’re shoved out of the way in a crowded area without someone saying “excuse me” first. It’s considered really impolite to touch other people. 13. -Everyone likes to have a nice talk over dinner. Restaurants in Vietnam are rather noisy always leaving tourists unsatisfied with their meal. Only some people use six inch voices in Vietnam. They’re especially surprised to see children climbing, crawling, singing, running and playing in a public place like a restaurant. The truth is sometimes better left unsaid….oops!
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 09:00:18 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015