The Ugly Truth: Selfish Foreigners’ Behavior at Vietnamese Airports Exposed

Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper readers engaged in a spirited online debate following an op-ed by Nguyen Van My of Lua Viet Tours, detailing some unsavory behaviors observed at Vietnamese airports over recent years.

My’s article shed light on passengers’ lack of etiquette, including treating airport benches as beds, using suitcases to reserve seats, and displaying little regard for fellow travelers’ comfort.

He described passengers sprawled across benches, oblivious to others, with their shirts lifted above their bellies as they napped. Others, he noted, engaged in personal grooming habits like pimple-popping or hair-plucking, to the discomfort of onlookers.

Comments on the Tuoi Tre News story echoed a similar sentiment, with readers expressing their dismay. “No way,” wrote Adam Halliday, while Rick Ellis simply stated, “Pimple poppers ugh.”

Alan Robins agreed, particularly annoyed by those who put their feet on chairs and picked at them in public, deeming it “so disrespectful.”

Steven Johnson, an Australian tourist, reached out to Tuoi Tre News after reading the article. He shared his own experience of a flight from Hue to Ho Chi Minh City during the Lunar New Year holiday, where a fellow passenger coughed incessantly without covering his mouth, ultimately leading to Johnson’s illness the next day.

Johnson highlighted the lack of personal hygiene and etiquette as a memorable, albeit negative, aspect of his visit to Vietnam.

However, some readers offered a more neutral perspective, attributing these behaviors to flight delays and long waits, rather than a reflection of Vietnam’s cultural norms. Russ Harvey, for instance, pointed out the lack of seating and inadequate amenities in the domestic terminal of Ho Chi Minh City’s airport, empathizing with tired and hot passengers.

The discussion sparked by My’s article sheds light on the varying experiences and perspectives of travelers in Vietnam, inviting further conversation and potential improvements to enhance everyone’s journey.

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