Vietnam Vignette: "Annoy?"

Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, 21st March 2011 - More on language gaffes, this time dealing with Vietnamese and English.


Vietnamese people are accommodating and hospitable. We got a couple of dinner treats c/o Che's friend (and our new acquaintance), the gallant Dinh. This time it was at a seafood restaurant which served in a different manner seafood that is usually familiar to us Filipinos.

LeThuy was kind enough to also show up even though she wasn't feeling very well (probably due to the tiring trip to Dalat) and between her and Dinh, they chose carefully for us what dishes to order and eat.

What we heard when they called the waiter was something which sounded like "ahn-noi" to our unaccustomed ears. I thought it sounded similar to the English "annoy" although pronounced with a more nasal emphasis.

After a while, and wanting to be sure, Leila turned to LeThuy and asked what it meant.

"Thuy, so what does 'aahn-noi' mean?", queried Leila while trying to pronounce it the best way she could. She was leaning close to me as I was sandwiched between her and Thuy, and speaking over the sound of other diners talking over our heads.

Thuy, who was absorbed in her dish, turned around and answered, "Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam, in the northern..."

Before she could launch into a more detailed explanation, I had to interrupt as I was grinning madly by that time.

Good thing LeThuy and Leila weren't annoyed ...hehehe...

Vietnam Vignette: "Vegetables"

Dalat, Vietnam, 19th of March, 2011 - I thought it was only in Beijing, China that our hilarious adventures with language differences would happen (you can refer to my previous blog entries entitled "Once Upon a Time in Beijing" if you are so inclined to read about our language gaffes).

I should have known better. 

While Chinese is indeed a language easy to muck up due to untrained ears,  Vietnamese is also a trap for the unwary visitor, especially with so many tones to watch out for. 

But would you believe, the worst is actually English? 

Over a hearty breakfast in the refreshing bite of cold Dalat air, our usual Asian practice is to share the food between us.

Along with plates of warm baguettes, simple omelet, fried eggs, fresh fruits and such breakfast fare, there were two big bowls of fragrant and hot pho on the table.

There were six of us, and the soup needed distribution but we had no extra containers for individual soup servings.

One of us called the server.

"Could you please bring more soup bowls?" quickly asks one of our companions, gesturing to the soup and to us gathered hungrily around the food.

The hotel server declined with a gentle shake of her head. "I'm sorry but you didn't order any vegetables."

{Well, yeah...that's right we didn't actually pre-order any vegete-bowls...}

Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), Yunnan - Mekong Region

http://www.visit-mekong.com/
For the Vietnam trip...bookmarked for reference...

Seeing Saigon (2011)

Start:	Mar 17, '11
End:	Mar 22, '11
Location:	Vietnam

...and maybe Hanoi too.
Che, Loo and Leila - will be my travel buds for this :-)

Kayus and friends are welcome to join us if they wish for a wacky time....


I wish we could try for Borobodur (Indonesia), but have to put that off for another time when we have researched it well. For now though...*cross fingers* hope this goes well.