Discuss the most annoying thing(s) people do in Vietnam

You're right Vietnam is a wonderful place.
I am from England & Australia, half & half I guess.
The one thing that have noticed in the 6 years I have been coming here, and now almost live here in Ho Chi Minh city,  is that everyone seems to do everything the hard way, and not the simple easy way.
I think it stems from mostly never being able to do things  the easy way because of the cost, so the hard way has been passed down from their previous generation.
For instance mixing concrete by hand, wearing thongs to cover a path measuring 80 meters long X 4 meters wide, then a guy on a 80cc older motor bike going to pick up the bags of cement 3 bags at a time.
I recently priced a good working petrol second hand mixer for myself for about 3.000.000 dong.
Plus the fact that not many of these workers can afford to go to the doctors or the hospital.
And they are so humble about it all,  bless 'em, they have all my respect.
That's just 1 for instance, there are heaps more, it's not really annoying, but frustrating.
Wish I could help them more.
Young Douglas 😎

I think the pushing and trying to cut into the front of the line is very annoying to me. If you give them a fraction of an inch they will try to get in front of you every time. My wife and I were standing in line the other day to buy a ticket for the movie and this guy just walks over tries to push me out of the way and get in front of me and between me and my wife. Like I said he tried I pushed him back and told him that the line starts at the rear and he backed off. I don't know why everyone thinks they have to be first. Like Mariner42 that's just one of many things, thanks for letting me vent

The most annoying thing to me is that I've come to accept the  dishonesty and inconsiderate behaviour of people here as normal everyday procedure.

Trying to get honest and  reliable people to deal with isn't easy.  But that's life in a poor and developing country.   If your a digital nomad like me, and don't need anything other than a good Wi Fi connection to manage business back home , alls good.

It's the people with small business here that have to deal with local scammers on a daily basis I feel sorry for.

When dealing with government officials, it's bit more in Vietnam 

Expats who say you have to accept the way things are,most of them are usually office Jonnies living in apartments or gated communuties like the BP compound and never lived in an actual VN neighbourhood.

Mariner42 wrote:

You're right Vietnam is a wonderful place.
I am from England & Australia, half & half I guess.
The one thing that have noticed in the 6 years I have been coming here, and now almost live here in Ho Chi Minh city,  is that everyone seems to do everything the hard way, and not the simple easy way.
I think it stems from mostly never being able to do things  the easy way because of the cost, so the hard way has been passed down from their previous generation.
For instance mixing concrete by hand, wearing thongs to cover a path measuring 80 meters long X 4 meters wide, then a guy on a 80cc older motor bike going to pick up the bags of cement 3 bags at a time.
I recently priced a good working petrol second hand mixer for myself for about 3.000.000 dong.
Plus the fact that not many of these workers can afford to go to the doctors or the hospital.
And they are so humble about it all,  bless 'em, they have all my respect.
That's just 1 for instance, there are heaps more, it's not really annoying, but frustrating.
Wish I could help them more.
Young Douglas 😎

Things are changing on the building front, I'm having to endure another 3 months torture as another neighbour's building a new house, ( " poor " farmers ), but after the new cement mixer arrived, i was amazed to see them actually tipping the concrete INTO their wheelbarrows, ( not on the ground as usual and then shoveling it up ), pity the wheelbarrows are so tiny though, ( but then they would be too heavy for the little women ), then even more amazing, after they'd finished the foundations, the concreted at least 50mm of the entire floor, ( maybe the owner remembered when I did my workshop?? ).  The bags of cement arrived 100 at a time, 3 trips, as when needed, so it's only the gravel and sand blocking the road now.
  PS, Never offer to help, they will all sit back and watch YOU work then. ( VN's national pastime, watching others work ).

Hey Blue,

I've noticed that too, they will leave you with it.   Ha ha
I offered to help collect bush rock and boulders from the outskirts of town. Took 4 hours of lugging rocks up onto the road, then they took off and left me to guard the rocks while they found a guy with a truck to cart it.   

Didn't think they'd ever come back.😄

Yogi007 wrote:

Hey Blue,

I've noticed that too, they will leave you with it.   Ha ha
I offered to help collect bush rock and boulders from the outskirts of town. Took 4 hours of lugging rocks up onto the road, then they took off and left me to guard the rocks while they found a guy with a truck to cart it.   

Didn't think they'd ever come back.😄

I try and hide just before TET, they come and " recruit " me to help clean up the sides of the road, ( which really pisses me off, because I concreted the side of my road in front of my house so I wouldn't have that problem ), so off we go cleaning, many of the road side frontages are owned by farmers, but of course no sign of them, so last year I thought I'd  get worksmarter, I would go out every few months and SPRAY the weeds, much to the disgust of the farmers who USED to graze their cattle there.

They're quick to grab an opportunity.
I've learnt not to pump my bicycle tyres up out the front of my place.  Once the local kids see the pump they'll arrive with every kid they can find with a bicycle  for me to inflate their tyres. 

I don't mind , but 5or 6 bikes slows down your getaway in a hurry plan.

Saves them 10cents at the servo . 😄
Maybe if Yogi charges them 5 cents ..........they're still front.     
This could be Yogi's next career move.

PS, Never offer to help, they will all sit back and watch YOU work then. ( VN's national pastime, watching others work ).
Good tip. I'm always willing to lend a helping hand but I guess I'll play my role as a visitor and will not give a crap about what they do.

I USED to always try and help them when I could, ( but i refuse to do something the ( VN ), hard way, when i know there is a much easier/quicker way to do it, ( which of course they usually refuse to want to learn ),  I can't stand being watched as much as I can't stand watching someone else working.
But do they ever offer to help me???, hahaha, ( unless they want payment of course, made that mistake once ).

Don't even get me started on them borrowing things. ( including millions VND ).

Sitting next to people on buses. The men will man spread and the ladies will sleep on me.

Giving the locals some ideas. They will always reply this is how it is done in Vietnam or traditions dictate that it has to be done this way. Is it any wonder that Vietnam's growth is at snail pace.

bluenz wrote:

But do they ever offer to help me???, hahaha, ( unless they want payment of course, made that mistake once ).
.

Blue,
When you travel to Saigon, and if you need help, dont hesitate contact me. I will try as much as I can. At least, you will know, there are a Vietnamese is willing help you, hehe .

ngattt wrote:

bluenz wrote:

But do they ever offer to help me???, hahaha, ( unless they want payment of course, made that mistake once ).
.

Blue,
When you travel to Saigon, and if you need help, dont hesitate contact me. I will try as much as I can. At least, you will know, there are a Vietnamese is willing help you, hehe .

What then? Are you going to ask for payment, too?

khanh44 wrote:

Sitting next to people on buses. The men will man spread and the ladies will sleep on me.

Giving the locals some ideas. They will always reply this is how it is done in Vietnam or traditions dictate that it has to be done this way. Is it any wonder that Vietnam's growth is at snail pace.

The ladies do what.....

Yogi would like to know the number of that bus. 😄

I think the same bus from some foreigner ousted 

Yogi007 wrote:

The ladies do what.....
Yogi would like to know the number of that bus. 😄

Cloud9 wrote:

What then? Are you going to ask for payment, too?

No, Cloud,
Its not easy to pay money for me. Money is nothing with me sometimes !
But if I know someone is good, worth for me to help; I will help as much as I can. Never mind.

ngattt wrote:

Cloud9 wrote:

What then? Are you going to ask for payment, too?

No, Cloud,
Its not easy to pay money for me. Money is nothing with me sometimes !
But if I know someone is good, worth for me to help; I will help as much as I can. Never mind.

And BTW, Ngatt is smart and single, ( and 950kms away, unfortunately ).

bluenz wrote:

And BTW, Ngatt is smart and single, ( and 950kms away, unfortunately ).

Trời ơi, do you need to "advertise" me like this ?
BTW, if you still remember my story, my ex-husband just has a child, I felt happy because I just did a good job .
I will always be a good girl to have a good life then !

ngattt wrote:

bluenz wrote:

And BTW, Ngatt is smart and single, ( and 950kms away, unfortunately ).

Trời ơi, do you need to "advertise" me like this ?
BTW, if you still remember my story, my ex-husband just has a child, I felt happy because I just did a good job .
I will always be a good girl to have a good life then !

Yes, i hope your ex appreciates your sacrifice. A pity there wasn't more VN women like you around.

Reading some of the comments here i can add my part by saying, not all VN are the same! i think is this pretty much the same in other parts of the world.

When i visited VN i found them to be friendly towards me. I asked for help and they helped..no payment requested.
The hotel i stayed at, the staff there extremely helpful and went out of their way to help. There are some genuine people out there and some not so genuine. As i say, its not in VN but all over the world!

Its bad to put the good ones in the same bad category as the rest. 

The most annoying thing i found in VN was walking towards my hotel at night and some dude will always approach me and ask me if im interested in going for massage with good services! ...ya i think i understand what he meant....but no thank-you. Not all foreigners want 'massages'.. 

I think as a foreigner, you stand out and catch their attention so they will come over and ask ...they eventually get the message you're not interested.! 

@Cloud: sure I don't need to prove myself with you, whatever you think, its your, not mine. And I really sympathy with person who never meet good people before, so he always thinks everyone is the same .
I met many good Vietnamese people, enough for me to love this life still, even God is not fair with me .

BTW, I have many tricks to make men are not easy to forget me !

jazzy851 wrote:

Reading some of the comments here i can add my part by saying, not all VN are the same! i think is this pretty much the same in other parts of the world.

When i visited VN i found them to be friendly towards me. I asked for help and they helped..no payment requested.
The hotel i stayed at, the staff there extremely helpful and went out of their way to help. There are some genuine people out there and some not so genuine. As i say, its not in VN but all over the world!

Its bad to put the good ones in the same bad category as the rest. 

The most annoying thing i found in VN was walking towards my hotel at night and some dude will always approach me and ask me if im interested in going for massage with good services! ...ya i think i understand what he meant....but no thank-you. Not all foreigners want 'massages'.. 

I think as a foreigner, you stand out and catch their attention so they will come over and ask ...they eventually get the message you're not interested.! 

When i visited VN .......................lol.

When i visited VN .......................lol.

I know I don't live there and that's why I said.. When I visited ..

Oh! I've got one.
When folks drive on the street like motoGP,going as fast and as reckless to get to the destination.
BUT when it's time to meet up somewhere,they're always bloody late!

I am here for more than a year and I think few things that really annoy me is seeing people peeing at the road side.....and many Vietnamese just nod their head even they do not understand  you.. omg....but now I got used to it. Just live with it and ignore what you do not like. There are many other positive things here.....enjoy expats

jimbream wrote:

Oh! I've got one.
When folks drive on the street like motoGP,going as fast and as reckless to get to the destination.
BUT when it's time to meet up somewhere,they're always bloody late!

That's if they even show up.
Where's the m/bike?????

Just live with it and ignore what you do not like. There are many other positive things here.....enjoy expats

Well said Richard 

Richard Loo wrote:

There are many other positive things here.....enjoy expats

And one of positive things is meeting me and some girls who always support you "ăn chơi" (ăn = "eat", chơi = "hang out") huh ?

Richard Loo wrote:

I am here for more than a year and I think few things that really annoy me is seeing people peeing at the road side.....and many Vietnamese just nod their head even they do not understand  you.. omg....but now I got used to it. Just live with it and ignore what you do not like. There are many other positive things here.....enjoy expats

Only peeing?? Welcome to my beach.

ngattt wrote:

@Cloud: sure I don't need to prove myself with you, whatever you think, its your, not mine. And I really sympathy with person who never meet good people before, so he always thinks everyone is the same .
I met many good Vietnamese people, enough for me to love this life still, even God is not fair with me .

BTW, I have many tricks to make men are not easy to forget me !

You know what they say about women turning tricks here in the U.S?😂😂😂

ngattt wrote:

Richard Loo wrote:

There are many other positive things here.....enjoy expats

And one of positive things is meeting me and some girls who always support you "ăn chơi" (ăn = "eat", chơi = "hang out") huh ?

Of course, I have so many good friends and supporting our events and gathering.  There will never be a perfect place anywhere . That's why we expats just ignore   the bad and look for the positive side in everything. Maybe it's just the culture and the way it is.........that is what Vietnam is all about. We embrace what we have here and we do love this country! Thank you Vietnam

Cloud9 wrote:

You know what they say about women turning tricks here in the U.S?😂😂😂

I really don't care about people in the US .
I know who I am, how important I am with people who love/like me.
And you know, I didn't go back to my hometown for 3 years, just because I don't want to hear people give me so many advices or something like "you are stupid, you have everything and now you have nothing"... hahaha.

bluenz wrote:

Richard Loo wrote:

I am here for more than a year and I think few things that really annoy me is seeing people peeing at the road side.....and many Vietnamese just nod their head even they do not understand  you.. omg....but now I got used to it. Just live with it and ignore what you do not like. There are many other positive things here.....enjoy expats

Only peeing?? Welcome to my beach.[img align=c]https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xlf1/v/t1.0-9/11951904_910995615639264_6850595556718650162_n.jpg?oh=a14c8a9a02d0b3f7bdd663b5157e35fe&oe=566CDFC5[/url]

This pic is great!
Very environmentally friendly.
No dirty sewage system and no need to kill trees for toilet paper. Water washes your behind.
Although not very conducive for swimming.

People who speed up to get past you, only to turn as soon as they get in front of you.