VietNamNet Bridge – Bui Quang Binh, a 26-year-old boy in Danang City, central Vietnam, recently spent nearly a month touring a number of Southeast Asian countries to find out how foreigners think about Vietnam.

Prior to the tour to obtain firsthand knowledge of Vietnam’s image in the region, Binh jotted down notes in meticulous fashion of questions he was seeking answers.

He chose to travel to the capital city of each ASEAN country, specifically targeting young foreigners to inquire about their opinion of all aspects of Vietnamese society and culture.

He used a small camera recorder and carefully maintained a complete and accurate log of his travels and conversations.

Binh was pleasantly surprised to learn the overwhelming majority of those questioned responded favourably, speaking of Vietnam as a friendly, hospitable nation with peace-loving people.

However, he did not expect to hear that far too many, have an image of Vietnamese youth as  overly noisy, always speaking at the top of their lungs in public places, and most definitely blasting music excessively loud.

Upon hearing a Cambodian student describe Vietnamese as people who like drinking beer 4-5 times per week, always blaring music at a volume that disturbs others and speaking too loudly Binh felt somewhat ashamed.

After travelling through nine different ASEAN countries, Binh came to the stark realisation that not one of the countries had as many pubs as Vietnam.

Likewise, young people in other ASEAN countries spend far less time partying, playing cards and drinking alcoholic beverages as Vietnamese youth.

Binh said that as his travels progressed it became increasingly clearer to him, that Vietnamese youth waste far too much time on useless trivialities, failing to cherish the more important aspects of life and all it has to offer.

During the journey, the guy promoted Vietnamese culture by inviting friends to eat coconut candy, green bean cakes, and shrimp paste, watch photos on traditional dress (Ao Dai, Ao Ba Ba) and listen to Vietnamese music.

“When I passed around Vietnamese currency, citizens of ASEAN countries immediately recognized the image of president Ho Chi Minh”, Binh said. “I am very proud of this as our great leader – President Ho – is well-known and respected by people everywhere.”

When the journey began, Binh was fully aware that China had illegally deployed the Haiyang Shiyou-981 oilrig in Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone and continental shelf.

He was anxious to know how ASEAN people think of China’s actions and was somewhat surprised by the differing opinions. Most everyone expressed a strong desire that the dispute be resolved peacefully.

Many Chinese young people were shocked to learn the truth of China’s aggression as it directly opposite from what they had been taught at school.

“I am Chinese and our books teach us that the Hoang Sa [Paracel] and Truong Sa [Spratly] islands are part of China’s territory and I think it is right,” said a Chinese student in Singapore. “I am not aware that the world has different view”.

Binh plans to produce 10 video clips of his journey and release them over the next two months. He hopes that the videos will serve as an educational tool for Vietnamese youth, providing a motivation for them to manage a healthy and good lifestyle.

VOV/VNN