Jump to content

Vietnam various videos


Pulci Gorgon

Recommended Posts

  • 1 year later...
  • 4 months later...
  • 1 month later...

Just watched a Bald and Bankrupt video on Vietnam. He travelled with two others from Hanoi to Saigon with a side trip to Laos, on motorbikes and a train. He did acknowledge the influence of the guys from Top Gear who did the trip on motorbikes.

As usual he did a great job. He seems to have a way of conversing with people even though they may not speak English. A very good communicator.

Worth watching. I did want to see a bit more of Saigon but there you go.

He did not hold back on the brutality of the western nations who had tried to control Vietnam over the years. France, the US etc.

The video was called Vietnam: The Nation that would not submit VN

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, Woodie said:

Just watched a Bald and Bankrupt video on Vietnam. He travelled with two others from Hanoi to Saigon with a side trip to Laos, on motorbikes and a train. He did acknowledge the influence of the guys from Top Gear who did the trip on motorbikes.

As usual he did a great job. He seems to have a way of conversing with people even though they may not speak English. A very good communicator.

Worth watching. I did want to see a bit more of Saigon but there you go.

He did not hold back on the brutality of the western nations who had tried to control Vietnam over the years. France, the US etc.

The video was called Vietnam: The Nation that would not submit VN

Do you have a link ? 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's my critical review of the travel videos documenting a trip through Vietnam. I question  its accuracy and portrayal of Vietnamese culture and society. I watched half of the first video then skipped sequences from the middle till the end of the second video. (28 + 41 = 1 hour  9 minutes). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-X1m4dGE9Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-X1m4dGE9Y

In the first video, the travel vlogger starts by asking "how much" in English with a heavy accent, as if assuming that a Vietnamese person would understand. It would have been more appropriate to learn to say "bán bao nhiêu?" His mispronunciation of Nha Trang in the second video was also jarring, as it should actually be pronounced "Nia Tchang." In the end of the second video, he struggled with the name of the ferry company and appeared unaware of what he was saying. I found the words  he was attempting to pronounce were  clearly visible on the next ferry. "công ty tnhh một thành viên" means a limited liability company, completely the opposite of the communist ferry he claims to be traveling on. 

The travel vlogger's fixation on communism and sectarianism was concerning, akin to Putin's anti-Western stance. We have discussed the attitudes of English travelers in both European and Asian countries, and this vlogger exemplifies a chauvinistic and narrow-minded mindset. While I have previously criticized other vloggers, such as Edward Sweeney, it is important to acknowledge that Sweeney delved deeper into the essence of things, rather than relying on value judgments.

The video series begins in Hanoi, but fails to showcase much of the city beyond a friendly scooter driver. While there are temples related to military monuments, there are also many other more beautiful temples to visit, such as those at the top of Ba Na hills, in Đà Lạt, or those visited by Strocube. The vlogger disparages Nha Trang, despite its reputation as a pleasant city with potential for future development (Nha Trang is likely to hold some pleasant surprises in the years to come.) . Similarly, he only shows a T-shirt shop in HCMC, and arrives in Cần Thơ without highlighting the city's beauty. There is also some uncertainty as to whether the suspension bridge was truly financed by the Chinese.

Inaccuracies and cultural insensitivity detract from the overall quality of the production, and the rushed treatment of certain locations such as Hue is disappointing. The only truly authentic moments in the video are the train sequences, which provide an honest glimpse into Vietnamese transportation. (However, I'd recommend to travel by train rather than by bus for medium distances in Vietnam. 
Overall, apart from glimpses of certain neighborhoods that may not be featured in travel agency brochures, there is little of interest in these videos.

 

Edit : forget about communism if you go to Vietnam. You'd be surprised to see that veterans of armies having fought against the Việt Cộng  

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Pulci Gorgon said:

Here's my critical review of the travel videos documenting a trip through Vietnam. I question  its accuracy and portrayal of Vietnamese culture and society. I watched half of the first video then skipped sequences from the middle till the end of the second video. (28 + 41 = 1 hour  9 minutes). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-X1m4dGE9Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-X1m4dGE9Y

In the first video, the travel vlogger starts by asking "how much" in English with a heavy accent, as if assuming that a Vietnamese person would understand. It would have been more appropriate to learn to say "bán bao nhiêu?" His mispronunciation of Nha Trang in the second video was also jarring, as it should actually be pronounced "Nia Tchang." In the end of the second video, he struggled with the name of the ferry company and appeared unaware of what he was saying. I found the words  he was attempting to pronounce were  clearly visible on the next ferry. "công ty tnhh một thành viên" means a limited liability company, completely the opposite of the communist ferry he claims to be traveling on. 

The travel vlogger's fixation on communism and sectarianism was concerning, akin to Putin's anti-Western stance. We have discussed the attitudes of English travelers in both European and Asian countries, and this vlogger exemplifies a chauvinistic and narrow-minded mindset. While I have previously criticized other vloggers, such as Edward Sweeney, it is important to acknowledge that Sweeney delved deeper into the essence of things, rather than relying on value judgments.

The video series begins in Hanoi, but fails to showcase much of the city beyond a friendly scooter driver. While there are temples related to military monuments, there are also many other more beautiful temples to visit, such as those at the top of Ba Na hills, in Đà Lạt, or those visited by Strocube. The vlogger disparages Nha Trang, despite its reputation as a pleasant city with potential for future development (Nha Trang is likely to hold some pleasant surprises in the years to come.) . Similarly, he only shows a T-shirt shop in HCMC, and arrives in Cần Thơ without highlighting the city's beauty. There is also some uncertainty as to whether the suspension bridge was truly financed by the Chinese.

Inaccuracies and cultural insensitivity detract from the overall quality of the production, and the rushed treatment of certain locations such as Hue is disappointing. The only truly authentic moments in the video are the train sequences, which provide an honest glimpse into Vietnamese transportation. (However, I'd recommend to travel by train rather than by bus for medium distances in Vietnam. 
Overall, apart from glimpses of certain neighborhoods that may not be featured in travel agency brochures, there is little of interest in these videos.

 

Edit : forget about communism if you go to Vietnam. You'd be surprised to see that veterans of armies having fought against the Việt Cộng  

I dont think he sets out to do a complete travelogue when he does these videos. He has his own take on things which obviously does not align with the way you think it should be done. A bit tought to expect someone to do an in depth documentary of Vietnam on one trip experience.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's not a question of aligning on the way I think. I don't presume to know how this vlogger should run their blog, but I do believe that they could be more successful if they expressed a more positive and nuanced point of view. Focusing solely on negative stereotypes and biases can turn off potential viewers who are looking for more thoughtful and nuanced content.

This vlogger's behavior starts with what could be called "bigoted" (French-bashing and anti-communism). Then, his anti-communism becomes stronger as he uses it to belittle everything Vietnamese. It ends up being stereotypical. He sees mafia in the city of Nha Trang for the sole reason that he saw Russian inscriptions at the entrance of some restaurants in the city. Finally, he denigrates a ferry solely because it is supposed to be "communist," even though it is operated by a private Vietnamese businessperson who takes their own risks maybe more than in the UK.

In the second video's concluding moments, he gazed out at a new landscape marked by emptiness and communism. As he scans the scenery, a familiar street caught my eye - the very same street I had traveled on during my first visit to Vietnam, heading in the opposite direction on a bus. I had witnessed local ladyboys boarding the bus to sell their food. I then realized that these ladyboys are living and working in this city. What would bald and bankrupt have said if he had witnessed the same ladies and ladyboys working with them ? 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 6 months later...

Here is a video of the Miss International Queen 2023 Vietnam contest Final night. Unfortunately no English caption. What is interesting that it seems to be connected to Huong Giang Entertainment. I believe Huong Giang was the first Vietnamese Miss International Queen winner in 2018.

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@rxpharm you're probably right since Wikipedia says "On the evening of March 30, 2018, Nguyễn Hương Giang held a party to thank everyone for their support during her participation in the Miss International Queen 2018 contest. Accordingly, after the negotiation and working process, she became the copyright owner of Miss Universe Tiffany in Vietnam and the national director of the Miss International Queen Vietnam contest" but I haven't understood everything. As a matter of fact, I haven't read about Hương Giang before, or I don't remember if I did. 

It seems there has been a first contest in 2014 though. 

HMIQ.jpg.9b49d32a3a03df3edb5ba414ced41624.jpg

If I got it well, the contest you mentionned took place in April 2023 this year. What I noticed is that Hà participated in spite of being 32 or 33 years old at the time of the contest. (She's 33 years old now). 

 

Ha.jpg.44eba78f64d8f153f08e3eb22ea53aee.jpg

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...