Hoai Phuong, also known by his nickname Khoai Lang Thang, owns a YouTube channel of the same name that attracts more than 2.7 million followers. With his charming and humorous speaking ability, the boy born in 1991 makes viewers of his videos experience and immerse themselves in unique scenes.
“Leaving home” to step out into the world
Last year, Hoai Phuong set foot in the US. He did not have high hopes because he was worried about his freelance work and the difficulty of applying for a visa himself. Therefore, getting a visa and being able to admire the diverse nature of the US was a blessing for him.
He confided: “I see many Vietnamese tourists when coming to the US often visit modern cities and crowded states. Our group rented a car to drive ourselves, explore on our own and asked a friend living in the US to guide us.”
He added: “We drove continuously for hours through major roads, highways... Honestly, I was overwhelmed by the majestic natural scenery here.
On the way, we passed through sparsely populated areas, sometimes without phone signal. So suddenly I felt anxiety running through my body. This mixed feeling is rare when I travel to other countries.
From overwhelmed to surprised, he was continuously convinced by the beautiful scenery in Yosemite National Park with its giant sequoia forests, Canyonlands National Park - the land of canyons or the famous arid and wild Death Valley National Park.
As for the trip to Africa, he probably had been planning for more than 10 years. The male YouTuber spent more than a month exploring Madagascar and Kenya.
One of the biggest motivations that motivated him to successfully complete this dream trip was probably the image of the avenue of baobab trees that was imprinted in his mind. This is a type of tree that grows in lowland areas on the continents of Africa, Madagascar and Australia, is huge in size and can live up to 3,000 years old.
“Standing in the middle of the avenue of baobab trees that I had always dreamed of, I felt like I was lost in a strange planet surrounded by giant tree trunks. Along with that scene, there was smoke, dust, the sunset, and the space was hazy. I could no longer utter anything but one word: Excellent!”, Mr. Phuong recalled.
Arriving in Madagascar, the Ben Tre man felt like he was back in Vietnam in the early 2000s when he stepped out onto the streets to explore the daily lives of the locals. He felt the closeness and simplicity in the relationships between people.
Because people here have not had much access to technology and do not have phones to use much. Therefore, it is easy to see many people here sitting in groups to talk to each other. This scene is probably hard to see in modern cities where information technology has developed.
He said: “There are people I meet who are very kind, but there are also people who give me a feeling of danger simply because they do not have a good impression of foreigners. However, almost everywhere I go in Madagascar, I meet lovely people.”
In Kenya, he was most impressed with the Masai Mara National Reserve. Established in 1961, it covers an area of 1,500 square kilometers and is home to 95 species of mammals, amphibians, reptiles and more than 400 species of birds.
Like other tourists, his group booked a tour, sat in a Jeep and drove around the reserve to see lions, leopards, hyenas, giraffes with their own eyes. And, especially, he directly observed the migration of thousands of wildebeest, exactly as the purpose of the trip.
This trip was supposed to be extended to Bangladesh, but due to the unstable political situation in this country, he bought a plane ticket back to Vietnam.
Relaxing Tet after a busy year
Busy as he is, spending a lot of time away from home to devote to work all year round, for YouTuber Khoai Lang Thang, Lunar New Year is the time when he spends the most time at home.
Therefore, although there are days in the year when he can only return to Ben Tre for one or two days, he has never missed a single Tet with his family. He even stays home to “celebrate Tet” with his family until the full moon day. For him, this is the most important moment in a year for the whole family to gather together, to share joys and sorrows.
“A few years ago, I intended to take my whole family out for Tet. I also wanted to take my mother to the places I had been to, enjoy the atmosphere I had enjoyed, taste the food I had experienced. However, because I still wanted to enjoy the atmosphere that “only happens once a year”, my plan could not succeed,” he revealed.
As someone who loves cooking and Vietnamese cuisine, whenever he goes abroad for a long time, he takes his basket to the market to buy food and cook the familiar dishes that his mother used to cook for him. Therefore, for him, there are dishes that can only be enjoyed fully during Tet.
“I always wait for Tet to come to eat familiar dishes even though I eat them every year and can eat them at any time of the year. Although the dishes on the traditional Southern tray are easy to gain weight, I still love them very much.
I can't even name my favorite dish because I like all the dishes on the Tet tray, from banh tet with banana filling, to braised pork and eggs, to bitter melon soup stuffed with meat...", he said.
For Khoai Lang Thang, the Lunar New Year atmosphere is still the only simple reason for him to return home every year when he can wrap banh tet with his family, look after the pot of banh tet and chat happily, take his mother shopping for Tet, try cooking this and that... After the new year, he plans to go further to explore the world, but Tet is still the occasion when Khoai Lang Thang will definitely return home.
(Posted on the special edition of Labor Weekend Spring At Ty)
