Hanoi is Vietnam’s capital city and one of the must-see travel destinations one everyone’s list. Nam Nguyen is one of our guides who loves showing guests everything Hanoi has to offer. Here he talks about his guiding inspirations and getting his start …
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Name: Nam Nguyen
Age: 30 years old, recently married.
History: Guiding for 8 years, working with JW since last year.
How did you become a guide?
When I was a little boy, every day I joined my friends for a sports game in my front yard which happened to be located beside the main road between Hanoi to Halong Bay. I still remember that during that time we saw many tourist buses pass by — we always felt happy and put our hands up to let foreigners know we want to say hello to them. It would make us so happy when they would answer us in the same way! I had really hoped some day in the future I would get a chance to talk to them. My father was a business man in the Soviet Union and we often got his picture with Russian friends when he sent them back home — that made me more curious about Westerners. After high school, all of these reasons pushed me to apply to the Tourism University to work in this business.
What do you like about being a guide?
My major at University was Tourism Business and Administration. I had a part time job at a travel agency during the last year of school and the company was focused on the French market. One day the boss got a booking from two Americans and she immediately requested I arranged the trip for them and then became their English guide for their tour. For 22 days I traveled from the North to the South Vietnam with my two clients, who became my new friends and also my teachers. One of them was a soldier during the Vietnam War and they told me a lot of stories I had never heard. This first challenge made me decided to follow the path to be a tour guide.
What is your favourite part about being a guide?
Meeting many people and talking to them. I am so proud when I can help them understand any small thing or new aspects of the culture of my country.
What is the most challenging part about being a guide?
When I was a single man, there was not many things that made me feel too challenged in this job, but after got married, to balance the time for family and my job is real challenge, especially when I think about having a child in future.
What is your favourite thing to show guests?
Any of the things which I know.
What kind of things do guests ask you/ want to talk about?
Every one has different personalities and different demands — to quickly understand what a guest wants and to show them what they want to know is the most important thing.
What food / restaurants should guests try?
It depends on each guest. A guide has to get information from the our guests at first about their favorite food or any kind of food they can’t eat to help them choose the good restaurant for Vietnamese food or for other available restaurants like Italian food, French food, Halah food or vegetarian, etc.
What should guests coming to Hanoi know?
For all the trips, I often have a brief chat with them at the first, for example: the time zone, the weather and what they need for the tour like sun-glasses or a hat. I also like to talk about the population of the city and country, hotel location and some interesting thing around their hotel. Security in the city, local traffic and the country’s political systems are also of interest. I often remind guests of the details of their trip itinerary and discuss what they want to do or when they want to do things, then I can arrange a flexible trip to make them feel more comfortable. I also let them know the details of local culture so they can be respectful, like wearing a long dress when visiting the local temple. I never forget to give them my contact number and local map in case the need to contact to me at any time!
Most memorable guest?
I still remember any guests face who already was been on the tours with me, I never forget any body. But the most memorable guests are the 2 Americans who were my first guests on this job.