General Vietnamese attitude towards foreigners is usually inviting and friendly but here are more details on how they interact.
Generally, Vietnamese attitude towards foreigners is hospitable and warm-hearted.
A random question in Quora was “are Vietnamese people friendly?” This question garnered positive answers from people saying they are hospitable and helpful.
Among these replies, one stands out by proving it through her actual experience sharing her heart-warming stories about how she received help without having to ask for it from the locals – who were all strangers to her.
Accordingly, every time she met a Vietnamese, she received a broad smile and every time she had troubles, they used all the English they had at their disposal to be of help to her.
They all saw the genuine kindness and warmth Vietnamese had for tourists.
When visiting the main cities like Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh city, young adults would try to approach trying to hone their skills in speaking English.
Nevertheless, they still appear to be reserved
Vietnamese people are generally observant and non-confrontational. This is a typical attitude towards strangers or someone they are not close to.
They are friendly in an effort to maintain harmony and impression, yet hesitant to open up about themselves.
This hesitation is likely to grow when approaching someone from a totally different culture like you.
Another main reason for such hesitation from Vietnamese is because of the language barrier and cultural distinction. It’s not everyday that you get to meet a Vietnamese who is eloquent and fluently speaks English.
Thus they are afraid to make mistakes in front of people and lose face.
As for cultural differences, locals don’t have the full knowledge of tourists’ culture thus this results in momentary conversations and a bit of awkwardness.
Regarding cultural differences, many Vietnamese also find it hard to seek the suitable topics to prolong the conversations with foreigners. In addition, these substantial differences will become an obstacle in their effort to understand foreigners, not to mention to establish mutual trust and respect. That is why they are hospitable, yet reserved in their attitude towards foreign tourists. Therefore, an important tip you need to remember if you want to build a relationship with the Vietnamese is to be patient. It might take them some time to be comfortable around you.
General Vietnamese attitude towards foreigners be careful: you might be taken advantage of!
One of the common scams in Vietnam is over pricing. Be it on random taxis, motorbikes, markets or even on the streets.
One reason behind these scams is they know that you are not acquainted with things in the country thus you are an easy target for deception.
Plus, generally, some Vietnamese just think tourists are wealthier with an extravagant lifestyle on their motherlands.
That is why most of the complaints about the attitude of Vietnamese people towards foreign tourists are concerned with the business side of the locals – who are simply trying to make a living.
But once you break that local-tourist paradigm and make an effort to understand other locals you come into contact with, you will discover how warm and friendly they are.
