Foreigner stranded in Vietnam got support from old poor Vietnamese couple
Stranded in Vietnam while facing financial problems, Andrey A, a retired Czech-Russian geologist didn’t have any place to stay. Wandering around a poor coastal village in Mui Ne beach, Andrey was “adopted” by an old kind couple.
Andrey A got stuck in Mui Ne, southern Vietnam during his trip (Photo: Travelmag)
Mr. Andrey traveled to Vietnam in late 2019. His travel plan was somehow disrupted with the advent of the coronavirus shortly afterward, given the stringent stay-at-home order, numbers of tourist sites to be closed and international flight came to a halt. The 65-year-old, thus, got stuck in a foreign country with just a small sum of money left in his pocket. Things went worse as Andrey got into an accident in March and was under lengthy hospitalization.
“Because of this, I struggled a lot, both physically and financially. A monthly VND 5 million pensions (US $216) could not afford me both a stable accommodation in a hotel and daily meals”, he said. “Thus, I just wandered along the beach, asking for people to let me in”.
He moved in with a poor old couple (Photo: Travelmag)
(Photo: Travelmag)
Andrey was fortunate enough to meet Mr. Do and Mrs. Chin, who nodded to his request. It’s been 6 months since Andrey moved in with Do’s family. Do and Chin are both fishermen who also scrape by day by day though, they still give a strange foreigner free accommodation and feed him three meals a day.
Nearby neighbors occasionally bring the family freshly-caught seafood “to treat the unfortunate Russian man”. Despite all the language and cultural differences, Andrey, Do, Chin, and the locals get on very well and are always willing to support each other.
“I also chip in some money for daily food”, Andrey said. “I have no clue when I could fly back to Russia. They are no doubt my lucky stars in Vietnam. This will probably one of the most unforgettable trips in my life”.
Andrey jotted down a long list of needed items during his stay in Mui Ne (Photo: Travelmag)
Mauricio Osaki, the Brazilian director behind a new Vietnamese tourism promotion music video said he was impressed by how the Vietnamese government and its residents ...
With the love for the mountainous landscapes of Vietnam, the American artist Alex Hagendorf chose to reside in Cao Bang, northern Vietnam. Here, he can ...
Simon Gong, 61, who has been spending years traveling and taking photos of stunning landscapes in Vietnam, says the sheer beauty of the S-shaped country ...
For Park Seo-yun, Gwak Bong-su, Kim Dong-wook, Hwang Se-hwan, Mun Ye-ji and Yoon Ji-eun from the Korean band "Art1st", capturing the ups and downs of life in Hanoi is the driving force behind many of their self-composed songs.
Since arriving in Vietnam in August 2022, Haruna Ishimaru, coordinator of Plan International’s project “Better livelihood for ethnic minority youth in Ha Giang and Lai Chau,” continues to provide love and support for the northern regions' ethnic minority youth.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has decided to organize Vietnamese Film Week in Poland in 2024, where the movie “Peach Blossom, Pho And Piano” will be shown during the week.
In addition to the famous Banh mi, there are many Vietnamese dishes that are honored around the world in prestigious articles, magazines, and television channels.
Vietnamese famous conductor Tran Nhat Minh conducted the World Youth Symphony Orchestra, performing many works with Vietnamese folk music influences on April 6.
Amanda Nguyen, a businesswoman and civil rights activist, is about to become the first Vietnamese woman to fly into space, according to Next Shark on March 28.