Wrong impression of Southeast Asia





In the Aug. 23 Acorn you carried a story of a local resident who spent four months exploring Southeast Asia. Among his cherished adventures he cites a street vendor in Vietnam threatening to kill him if he doesn’t purchase a cigarette lighter.

I find this encounter very hard to believe. I had the opportunity to work for my father in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam (it is not spelled as one word) between June 2004 and November 2005. I have been in most neighborhoods and walked most of the main streets, as well as traveled into “local” neighborhoods, in all of the downtown districts except the Chinatown district of HCMC, as well as Thu Duc in the Binh Chieu Ward where we worked, the opposite end of the city from Tan Son Nhat.

I can only say that the people of HCMC were at all times very friendly to me, my father and anyone else, westerner or other Asian, wherever we went. This also applies to Ha Noi as well, where the people are even more peaceful and engaging than in HCMC.

The street vendors can be aggressive trying to sell their items, but they are not threatening in their behavior or their words. Gary Morris Oak Park


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