Arnaud, 44, received the special gift – a votive paper horse, after one month of waiting.

He said he was very surprised and touched. The senders were Vietnamese he has never met, but they spent time and effort to bring joy to him. 

The gift was sent to Pont d’Ain in the eastern part of France, where he lives.

Arnaud said that he will bring the paper horse and fly to his home in Mexico. He will display the paper horse next to a pinata, an interesting Mexican handicraft which has similarities with the paper horse.

In early August, Arnaud became famous after a photo showing him holding a paper horse at Noi Bai International Airport was posted on social networks.

Arnaud said he is an artist, architect and restaurant owner who lives and works in France and Mexico. He has a great passion for travel to learn about the cultural values of many countries. Vietnam is the 25th country he has visited.

He bought the paper horse in Hanoi for VND100,000 as he found it beautiful and thought it might be attached to certain Vietnamese rites. However, the airline refused to carry the paper horse and he had to leave it in Vietnam.

Son Dang, an architect in Nha Trang, when reading an article about the horse, and his friends decided to send another paper horse to Arnaud by post. The package was sent from Vietnam on August 15 and arrived in France on August 29.

“I spent three weeks in Hanoi,” Arnaud related his story. “I bought the paper horse at VND100,000 and I guessed it could be used for some ritual."

Later, he realized that the paper horse, like other items made of paper, is burnt to send to descendants. He commented that this is a wonderful tradition of the Vietnamese people.

During the three weeks of living like a native in Hanoi, Arnaud also collected many special items, such as a soldier’s hat, farmer’s pipe, sedge mat, glass cup, bamboo-made products and coffee filter. He bought some food such as green bean cakes, green rice cakes and green tea. He also roamed around Hanoi and experienced sidewalk coffee shops where he enjoyed watching people drink coffee together.

Linh Trang