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Published: July 13th 2009
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A bar in the Old Quarter of Hanoi
It's closed in the morning. As in the ad, it also sells Vietnamese wine. This is an interesting article published in the Lao Động (Labor) newspaper a few years ago. It was about Vietnamese views on the Western backpackers travelling in Vietnam. When I posted this article in the Thorn Tree travel forum of Lonely Planet website, Ralph, who is an Australian member in the forum, translated it into English. My photos in this blog were taken in the Old Quarter of Hanoi capital, where you can find various services relating to the backpackers. Below is the article in both English and Vietnamese. I would like to thank Ralph for his excellent translation. I only changed a few words to avoid possible misunderstanding.
Western backpackers in whose eyes Young men and women, either alone or several together, lanky, untidily dressed, walking in a daze and gazing about, map in hand, bent under an enormous backpack past their heads, with dirty shoes and sandals. Characters such as this can be seen all over the place, from bustling city streets to the out of the way countryside. Who are they, we natives do not know, but they are called by the general name of Western backpackers.
It is not possible to know who first
called them Western backpackers, but now everyone knows what a Western backpacker is. At first, right in the middle of Saigon, every time a Western backpacker appeared, hundreds of eyes followed, old men and women were overly inquisitive, young children were afraid, young people revered them. Where ever one backpack went, dozens of cyclos and motorbike taxis fell headlong after, food saleswomen scurried in all directions to greet them, children begged and cleaned shoes for reward, completely filling a section of the street.
That was a long, long time ago. Now when we see a Western backpacker, then everyone is as if there is nothing there. So is the Western backpacker of the past any different from the Western backpacker now? I would say, No. They haven’t changed a bit, it is only we who have changed. By observation over the months and years, we have come to the agreed realisation that there are no dollars in those huge backpacks. They are just full of smelly bedding and clothes, of books, and tattered footwear that nobody wants.
And so Western backpackers have lost their value in the eyes of Vietnamese in hospitality. But regardless of the change in
In front of a travel agent
Paper-made model of Vietnam Airlines wearing traditional dress in front of a travel agent in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. the feelings of Vietnamese, the backpackers continue to stride out along the streets and roads. When they get bored, they leave, and others silently arrive. Every day more and more new roads are found to move around and make the map of Vietnam all the more intertwined.
Tây ba lô trong mắt ai (Bài viết đăng trên Báo Lao Động)
Một hay vài anh chàng, cô nàng cao lêu nghêu, ăn mặc nhếch nhác, vừa đi vừa ngơ ngác ngó nhìn, tay lăm lăm một tấm bản đồ, oằn trên lưng một chiếc ba lô khổng lồ cao quá đầu, giầy dép lấm lem. Những nhân vật như thế có thể thấy ở bất cứ nơi nào, từ giữa đường phố nhộn nhịp đến nông thôn hẻo lánh. Họ là ai, người ta không cần biết, nhưng họ được gọi bằng một cái tên chung là Tây ba lô.
Không thể biết được ai là người đầu tiên đã gọi họ là Tây ba lô, nhưng bây giờ bất cứ ai cũng có thể hiểu Tây ba lô là ai. Lúc đầu ngay cả giữa Sài Gòn, mỗi khi Tây ba lô xuất hiện là hàng trăm
Various advertisements
Laundry, train ticket, tours and fake Sinh cafe at a hotel on Lương Ngọc Quyến street. The real Sinh cafe office is just opposite this hotel. con mắt dõi theo, ông bà già thì tò mò, trẻ con thì sợ sệt, thanh niên thì ngưỡng mộ. Một cái ba lô đi đến đâu là cả chục xích lô, xe ôm nhào tới, các bà bán hàng ăn nhao nhác mời chào, trẻ con ăn xin, đánh giày bu lại, nhộn nhịp cả một khúc đường.
Nhưng đấy là chuyện của ngày xưa. Còn bây giờ thấy Tây ba lô đi qua, người ta coi như không thấy gì. Vậy ra Tây ba lô khi xưa khác với Tây ba lô khi nay dữ vậy sao? Thưa rằng không. Họ chẳng có gì thay đổi, chỉ có dân ta thay đổi. Bởi vì qua năm tháng xăm xoi các kiểu, dân ta mới đồng tình phát hiện ra rằng trong cái ba lô kếch xù kia chẳng có đô la chi mô hết cả. Toàn là chăn màn quần áo hôi hám, là sách vở giày dép cũ nát cho không ai thèm lấy.
Thế là dần dần Tây ba lô bị mất giá trong con mắt người dân Việt hiếu khách. Nhưng bất chấp sự thay lòng của người dân Việt, các Tây ba
lô vẫn cứ lầm lũi rảo bước trên khắp các nẻo đường. Đi chán thì họ về và người khác lại lặng lẽ đến. Càng ngày người ta càng tìm thêm được nhiều con đường mới để mà đi và làm cho bản đồ Việt Nam ngày càng chằng chịt thêm mãi.
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John Strathearn
non-member comment
Western backpackers
I think this raises some interesting questions. Speaking as an older person, I would first mention that there is now a second category of 'Western Backpacker': the 'grey-haired Western Backpacker!'. Now these backpackers share some of the features of the ones described in this contribution (large backpack) but probably not smelly washing?! However, one key difference is probably that despite their appearance, they probably have nice bank balances and secure pensions, so the question arises as to whether we older ones are actually 'wolves in sheep's clothing'. I love travelling, but most of it has been done in connection with business. A friend recently told me about another retired man who regularly goes backpacking alone in SE Asia. I must admit the idea has occurred to me, but in some ways I feel that to travel encumbered with a huge backpack is a bit like caravanning, which has never appealed to me because in effect you are carrying your 'kitchen sink' around with you. I prefer to be as anonymous as possible when travelling (admittedly rather difficult for a white haired tall Westerner in SE Asia!). I am beginning to think that ideally I would like to travel as lightly as possible and not to have a mobile phone or camera with me. I have read accounts by distinguished travel writiers who prefer to do it that way. I also feel that we older travellers should contribute to local economies by paying our way in normal hotels etc rather than trying to 'do it on the cheap'.