This week in releasing a video where I tell the full crazy story of how I ended up living in Vietnam and how that eventually led to me doing UA-cam. Thanks for your support!
12 днів тому+2
Modern day Anthony Bourdain. Keep up your wonderful work.
Looking forward to that, I just turned 21 and am planning on doing my first bit of traveling in the spring. I just wanted to say watching your videos help me feel more capable of going out and traveling solo.
The content you are producing is certainly up there with the best of them. Our South East Asia tour starts in Jan, I'll keep a look out for you when we reach Vietnam.
@@mikeokayI’ll try to tip each vid if I remember to, your content hits different. The editing is on point, it’s like you’re on a journey with a friend. Having been lucky enough to travel to Vietnam 4 times, you’re really able bring the vibe Vietnam has to people who have never been. After your China videos I really want to go explore as I’ve only seen Shanghai for work. Looking forward to your next video. 🤙
Love how respectful you are to everyone, saying thank you and hello as often as you can, making jokes to help people feel more comfortable… you’re really cool guy!
@@mikeokay The bits in / around the watchtower were proper slapstick, lol. Great mix of humour, travel, exchanges with locals, and history. Probably your best, so far! Keep on keeping on.
Same for me. Bald and Bankrupt was always my go-to before now, but his not done anything exciting in a while. I wonder if Ull ever do a colab together in the future :O
Okay, so I believe that last few seconds you talked about this short poetry: “Sáng ra bờ suối, tối vào hang, Cháo bẹ, rau măng vẫn sẵn sàng. Bàn đá chông chênh dịch sử Đảng, Cuộc đời cách mạng thật là sang”. I would gladly translate it properly for anyone curious: "Morning going out to the stream, back in the cave at night, Corn soup and bamboo shoots are always alright In an unsteady stone table, translated the Party's history fights Life while revolution is kinda rich right." Just a short piece of poetry he made while living and active in that cave also a satire of the life that he had there. Although any normal kid would have to write an entire essay about each word in that poetry. I'd rather not do that here cuz it is already self-explained to most people. Corn soup and bamboo shoots serve as a kind of meal with the main dish being corn soup and bamboo shoots being vegetables if anyone is curious why are they here. It just tells you that he always has this low-budget meal to keep him up with the work.
Biết thì hãy nói không thì im đi. Dịch vớ vẩn vậy thiên hạ lại tưởng ông là quân bán nước vịt ngan cọng hành. Dịch xuyên tạc vậy chỉ có bọn theo đít Mỹ đế quốc. Và đám thực dân anh 🏴. Thực dân pháp 🇫🇷. Phát xít Đức 🇩🇪 mới làm vậy thôi.
Gotta agree with the other guys in the Comment Section, found your channel like a month ago but I'm always happy seeing a new Vid of you on my Homepage! Keep it up!
Imagine how differently our world would look if everybody acted with the friendliness and respect that you do. I look forward to seeing more of your travels and encounters
A British bloke visiting Pac Bo cave, how refreshing! My English brother-in-law says he's watched the Vietnam War doc series and he now understands Vietnam, and I wanted to tell him 'No, that's not how it was for Vietnamese'. Anyway, my own translation of the last 3 verses of the poem at the end: Rice congee, greens and bamboo for sustenance. Wobbly stone table for workspace. Such luxury for a revolutionary. (Uncle Ho's Humour / sarcasm)
Been to Vietnam 2 years ago, really loved the people and the vibe, pretty interesting country and relatively safe for tourists. Thank You Mike for the fun, safe travels!
Your appreciation for our history is honestly unmatched, visiting Pac Po, and even knows Uncles Ho poem is something I have not seen before. I reckon you would love going up to the central highland where tons of Vietnam war actions happened.
Hands down my favorite travel content on UA-cam. The filming and editing are top notch.. and then mix that with your amazing personality, it makes sense why you're starting to blow up. Not to mention all the history lessons you give us! You're a favorite in our household Mike!! Thanks so much for bringing us along on your journeys, I just wanted to let you know that I'm super proud of all your success! Never change my friend.
@@mikeokay I'm a sound engineer and I dunno what your camera and mic setup is but it's class. I'd love to know. Like, the fact we could hear the reply from the lady on the bicycle, in wind, over the motorbike enginer etc is amazing. I wish every youtuber had the same level of audio quality as you! What mic do you use?
Great content! Seeing how normal and traditionally nice people still are in other countries just makes me think it’s time to leave the UK! See others still patriotic about their country is amazing
wow mike, one of the best videos yet. really enjoyed watching how you explained and showed some history of vietnam! the locals seem like wonderful people, that mechanic was cool af.
Take care dude, just be extra careful about the traffic and scamming when you go to big cities, and you might also want to take note if you have allergies, weak stomach, etc to pack some medicine if needed. Travel safely and enjoy your time!
Another class video man, thank you very much for your awesome content. Currently reading about Vietnamese history through the French occupation and the subsequent hardship under the division between North and South. Truly fascinating. What a beautiful and diverse country. Keep up the great work.
@@peteaskew2323 A History of the Vietnamese - Keith Weller Taylor I’m only introducing you to the book titles, while the part below is me sharing something interesting about my country: An interesting fact about the Quốc ngữ script that Vietnamese people use today is that it was developed by Jesuit missionaries, primarily from Portugal, Italy, and France. By modifying the Latin alphabet and applying spelling rules based on Portuguese, the missionaries created a writing system to record the Vietnamese language. Among them, Francisco de Pina, a Portuguese Jesuit, was the pioneer who laid the foundation. Later, Alexandre de Rhodes refined, standardized, and published materials using the Quốc ngữ script, making it more widely known. However, it should be noted that many other missionaries, such as Gaspar do Amaral and António Barbosa, also played significant roles in this process. Before the Quốc ngữ script, around the 10th century, the Vietnamese created the Chữ Nôm script by borrowing Chinese characters (originally the writing system of China) and adapting them to record the Vietnamese language. Chữ Nôm, also known as "quốc âm" (national sound), was highly complex and required mastery of Chinese characters to read and write. This made learning Chữ Nôm particularly challenging for the Vietnamese, not to mention foreigners unfamiliar with logographic writing systems. For this reason, Western missionaries, especially Jesuits, considered Latinizing the Vietnamese language to facilitate the communication of religious teachings. As a result, they developed a writing system using the Latin alphabet, initially referred to as "Annamese script written with Latin characters." Quốc ngữ gradually gained popularity during the French colonial period when the colonial administration promoted its use in education and governance. Over time, Quốc ngữ completely replaced both Chinese characters and Chữ Nôm, becoming the official writing system of Vietnam. Interestingly, while many East Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, and China continue to use logographic writing systems influenced by Chinese culture, Vietnam has adopted the Latin alphabet. This distinction stems from Vietnam's historical contact with Western culture and unique political and social factors.
I just finished your Vietnam series yesterday and wished there was more. I've wanted to visit that beautiful country ever since my dad spent a couple of weeks there.
Wrapping up this video with that poem which is a prime example of the deep, noble conviction & desire to achieve independence for one's own people devoid of the political fanfare & demagoguery that's poisoning our minds today was a beautiful and honest semantic bullseye brother. Awesome.
The poem is "Tức cảnh Pác Bó" is written to as every word in the vietnamese originals rhyme with each others and have triple entendre meaning. It's both serious about the message of the revolution, satirically saying the life of a revolutionaries is luxury, complaints about the poor conditions and the resolves to consider the cave and hunger to be luxury in war. Hồ Chí Minh is definitely not simple minded, he speak and write fluently in 29 languages, one of the most prolific writters in vietnamese and have poems, literatures, novel, newspapers collum to at peak quality to rival any normal poets. Also spents years with working class blacks in Harlems... He can probably rap better than most mumble rappers today.
@@bachvandals3259 Thanks so much for this information! What you said about the triple entendre behind the meaning of this poem is incredibly interesting and shows the extent of Hồ Chí Minh's intellectual capacity-which I never doubted. I think it's safe to say that his level of writing and his message could never compare to mumble rappers of today where most rap has turned into a mere product for mindless consumption...as a huge fan of hip hop music though, I cant lie, it would be very interesting to know if he did have good rapping skills. Thanks again for the insight!
I just finished watching this video and can't stop saying WOW. The amount of knowledge you have, the respect you gave to the locals, and the road you have traveled. Everything is just spot on. As a Vietnamese, I respect you a lot, my man. The content you bring is just crazy good.
Went to Vietnam in 2008 and had the time of my life, memories forever. Thx Mike for the video, resurrected some of those memories. On a moped in Lau Cai driving around in the boonies was a fond one. So was Hai Phong Bay in a rickety boat also in the middle of nowhere. Cheers
You have lovely heart and I think that's why you are able to travel all over and be accepted by the people of each country. By showing the real side of each culture you can see it brings them so much pride. I absolutely love watching your travels no matter where you are!
The river at Pac Bo Cave is Lenin Stream 😅. It’s also KM Zero of the AH1(?) that runs the length of Vietnam. Really liked what you said about the ‘not in your face religion but a fiercely proud and patriotic nation’ 👍🏻 Also you should’ve carried on to Dien Bien Phu haha. The battle in 1954 was what really kick started the independence and Vietnam War.
Love it Mike🙏🏻 me & my girlfriend have been travelling Vietnam for the last 2 weeks or so, what a place! Wish you’d have released this before we arrived in Sapa, so we’d have a heads up about the weather😆
Love your videos Mike. I’ve been wondering…what initially made you move and live in Vietnam? I’m sure everyone would love a QnA type video hearing your story that takes you to where you are today. Can agree that Vietnam is one of the best countries in the world 🤝
The video should get more view! Your video story telling are masterpiece, very informative even for a vietnamese with true footage, and humorous camera placement 😂 i'm glad i found your video today! You have incredible bike along with army outfit, Love your Dance and Điếu Cày's Skill, PHỞ XÀO is underrated but super delicious. Thank you for coming to Vietnam, though there will be some hateful comments or people, or controversy everywhere, i hope people let the past aside and enjoy the chill moment before new year eve arrive. Have a nice day sir and Good luck on your journey where ever you go.
My only hope for you is that you can feel the love that that there is for you, really a great guy and bringing so much joy to this world. Remember who you are and don't be ashamed of it. I hope you're doing well
Another banger of a video Mike! I always appreciate you trying to speak the language wherever you go! I try to do the same, we’re not all like the brits of the past and it matters to show it!
Love your stuff. Easily the best travel content on UA-cam. Really chill and respectful. Vietnam is probably one of the friendliest and most beautiful countries I've ever been to.
Once your videos started popping off i found this channel very recently, hilarious that this happened to so many other people as well! keep up the dope content brother.
Mike, I absolutely love your videos mate. I just recently discovered your channel and I’ve already watched all of your content. Your videos inspire me to be more adventurous, and to step outside my comfort zone. I’d love to hear about what made you choose to leave your life in London for a more adventurous life on the road. I myself am considering leaving America and filming my adventures, so any insight into what led you on this journey would be amazing. Again, love your videos and am so grateful there’s men like you in the world. Cheers mate
Hi Mike, just stumbled across your video. A very nice surprise. Love the way you tell the story, communicate with locals, sympathy and understand. Also very impressed with your understanding of the history of Vietnam and how you respect it. Really made me tear up. You have a new fan today. Looking forward to your new adventures. Take care ❤️
MIKE! I've been watching your videos for a few months now and one of my favorite parts are the cinematic compilations with cultural lo-fi music in the background ! I wish they lasted a bit longer mate! SUPER glad to see a fresh upload, keep it up man!
Mike, you've set a new benchmark on how I like my travel Vlogs now! I stumbled upon your vids and they're super addicting!! Love how you're always incredibly respectful and polite, learning different languages but also funny as hell! Please keep travelling the world and making awesome videos, i'm gonna finish watching all your vids soon!! You are such a top bloke Mike, and would be such a chill dude to meet in person! Much love & safe travels!! xo
Vietnamese lost millions of human life to kick out French’s colonial & japan’s occupied, American’s invasion, Chinese’s encroachment. But after all, both French, japanese, American, Chinese come to Vietnam as tourists & Vietnam just became a safest country for tourists!
5% return rate, yeah your country is the best in the world with no drawback whatsoever. Even the jap, amerimut, the baguette have to agree with that. Keep sleeping on your victory that happened half a century ago buddy, your country might one day able to become the most powerful nation in the solar system.
This isn’t completely true. America and Japan were enemies. Japan ended up making amazing tech to help the world. Sony, Toshiba, Mitsubishi the list goes on. America helped South Korea. South Korea went to help the world with Samsung, LG, and others. What has north korea done to contribute? I don’t recall iPhones coming from North Korea or everyone in vn driving their Raptors from North Korea 😅 How about Russia? What great stuff do we use daily from them? Their robot vacuums? Vietnam is kind of safe if you are in the right area but you can be scammed and no one does a damn thing to help you. Do go saying crap before you know the truth. Vietnam’s great tech that helped the world is Pho 😂 that’s it. Idk what “resources” the USA stole from you but Japan and South Korea seem fine to me. Quite rich actually. I recall Japan has spend a crap ton of money on infrastructure in vietnam. What has vn spent on Japan’s infrastructure? 😂
Honestly having a pretty sombre time in life at the moment, lost my grandad, a good friend, and my uncle all in the space of about 6 months, shit was really getting to me tonight, but your videos are genuinely so fun, interesting and uplifting, they always put a smile on my face. Much needed tonight, keep doing what you're doing bro. Cheers
Your view of the world is so very captivating! I wish I could have a drop of your love of the world and bravery to plummet into the unknown. It feels so genuine and the human connections are charming. It's a wonder to behold your amazement and your adventures have become a drug I can not get enough of!
You earned my respect for this video. BTW the description on the bed said "touching the object is prohibited" (just FYI) but can't blame you, as our people -even they know our mother language well- yet still touching them very often. And the outro of the video was damn fire! I don't know if you can sense the patriotic flow of the poem as it was translated onto English but your calmness while reading it made me feel so much.
Hey Mike, I just wanted to say how much I love your traveling videos! The way you tell a story through your adventures is incredible-it feels like I’m part of the journey with you. Your videos are so inspiring and creative, and they’ve quickly made you my favorite UA-camr. I always get excited when you upload. Keep doing what you’re doing-it’s amazing!
The poem at last part of your video, they're such a beautiful one that we learn back in highschool and literature exam The original vietnamese should look like this: Sáng ra bờ suối, tối vào hang, Cháo bẹ, rau măng vẫn sẵn sàng. Bàn đá chông chênh dịch sử Đảng, Cuộc đời cách mạng thật là sang Rough translate are: Morning to stream, night to cave, Seedling soup, bamboo shoot were ready to take. Shaky stonetable, wrote our Party's timeline, The revolutionary life were truly luxury pride They were wrote when he was in the cave, fighting for the independent, though i'm not a fan of literature of my own, some quick note can be seen: - opposite thing here are "Day and night", aka meaning for the Length looking for independent is uncertain, where he has to search for it day by day - another opposite thing is "Food" + "Stonetable" versus "Luxury Pride", despite they aren't match the situation where he's in a cave eating nothing but soup from cheap ingredient and only veggies, he still considering it as Luxury Pride, aka meaning he still consider it as better than the vietnamese people who is still being suffer from being colonized and facing unhumanitarian day by day, in conlusion he must quickly progress the rebel to save the country.
Now here i'm not looking for a fight or something, just a random chill person trying to roughly translate a poem, i adore Hochiminh from his chilling perspective.
I love the poem about Hochiminh wrote about moon more, he wrote them during the time he were prisoned by chinese government when attempting to save the country around 1900s. It was because Politics reason.... Kudos to him now we have internet to watch youtube video. unlike other country with either banning it or putting people time in stressful and debt, people who live in vietnam is very chill... Until you drink alcohol or drug or somesort, that's for another story. Bye, thanks again if you read this far, i'm just a kid, dont pick me up for a fight, instead look up for some cat video
@@quannguyenle2330 thank you for your suggestion, in fact that is my 1st original translation when using it with google translate. However the reason i switch it to "ready to take" They were some sort of "tail rhyme" which make the English-reader poem feel much more sensible.
I've just recently stumbled across your channel. Absolutely love your positive outlook and the respect you give to people on your travels. Much love from the UK!
Man, im vietnamese, and just found out your channel with hong kong video yesterday. Im suprised that you lived in Hanoi and cant wait to see your next video.
Thank you for your work Mike. Your content not only makes me happy, but has also given this 54 year old a renewed hope in humanity that I thought I may have been losing. I appreciate it and wish you safe journeys. I will be following all your adventures very closely. Greetings from South Africa. You should have way more subscribers IMO. Cheers!
As a Vietnamese livin in Hanoi, its so nice to see a foreigner get so well known and fascinate about our history and culture haha. And im a skater too, seeing you smoke thuoc lao with the skater guys really hyped me up 🤣
Actually, in Vietnam, we don't usually tip so it's reasonable to return the change first. Though, there are some bad guys who take advantage of foreigners, so he's definitely nice.
@@BlueBirdsProductions Capitalism is pretty evil too, if you think about it. It has always been associated with slavery. And even today, traces of it still exist and affect the lives of minorities.
What a absolute joy watching your videos, so much appreciation you bring exposing the absolute fact that no matter where you are at in the world, people are just that. People.
love the story. love the videos. the casual like just whatever filming and whatever editing is just so... brilliant for some reason haha keep it up.. love it
23:52 The red board says this is the bed Uncle Hồ rested and worked on-he’s definitely one of us, working from bed, lol. Also, the blue board says it’s forbidden to touch items on display, and you just touched it. You probably didn’t have any ill intention, but please be mindful of what is said on the signs next time. Edit: I also want to add some context and translations to the poem Mike read at 24:07. This poem was written by Nguyễn Ái Quốc (Uncle Hồ’s name at the time, literally translated to Nguyễn Patriot) and is taught to every middle schooler in 8th grade. Each and every one of us has this poem imprinted in our minds. The poem is simple yet extremely powerful. Simple in the way that it’s very readable and easy to understand, making him feel closer to the common and illiterate people. Powerful in the fact that this was a testament to Uncle Hồ’s humility and determination. Simplicity and power are very common traits of his poems and messages to our people. You can’t just say big words and expect the people to understand you. Some context was lost in translation for the sake of rhymes and flows, so here’s a rough literal translation by me: “Morning to the bank of the stream, night back in the cave Corn porridge, greens, bamboo are always ready to be served Bumpy table, studying the history of the Communist Party (probably the USSR history to study their way to liberation) Life as a revolutionary is oh so luxurious” One thing about this poem that really stood out to me is that, despite the undeniably rough situation he was in, he took pride in the life he had as a revolutionary, as a man finding his way to free his people. His resourcefulness is shown through the fact that he’s eating things found in the jungle (the bamboo, the porridge, the greens), making use of the bumpy rock table, taking advantage of the cave to live in secret and hide from the French. Truly one of the most, if not the most, important figures in Việt Nam’s history. Thank you, Mike, for making this video. Your style of editing (the rough cuts, the static image,...) is in a way very similar to that poem. It's simple, but straight to point. I also laughed my ass off at the bossa nova dancing session too.
I'm Vietnamese. Just wanna say how great, how cool you are! You've been there only four years but I saw you immersed deeply inside Vietnam culture and well know about our history. Best wishes for you!
This week in releasing a video where I tell the full crazy story of how I ended up living in Vietnam and how that eventually led to me doing UA-cam.
Thanks for your support!
Modern day Anthony Bourdain. Keep up your wonderful work.
Looking forward to that, I just turned 21 and am planning on doing my first bit of traveling in the spring. I just wanted to say watching your videos help me feel more capable of going out and traveling solo.
Taiwan by any chance to visit someday?
The content you are producing is certainly up there with the best of them. Our South East Asia tour starts in Jan, I'll keep a look out for you when we reach Vietnam.
bro come explore indonesia from java to papua by struggling in way
Love Vietnam, can’t wait to go back. Love this dudes content. Absolute legend.
THANK YOU ❤️
@@mikeokayI’ll try to tip each vid if I remember to, your content hits different. The editing is on point, it’s like you’re on a journey with a friend. Having been lucky enough to travel to Vietnam 4 times, you’re really able bring the vibe Vietnam has to people who have never been. After your China videos I really want to go explore as I’ve only seen Shanghai for work. Looking forward to your next video. 🤙
I agree with you @@time-to-pause
bruh did you pay 25 bucks to say this?
@@pastortroy4life 25 Pound is bigger than 25 USD bro 😅😅😅
Love how respectful you are to everyone, saying thank you and hello as often as you can, making jokes to help people feel more comfortable… you’re really cool guy!
Also so knowledgeable and smart thanks for all the cool facts. I had no idea about most of the things you talked about
Tipping the young man with really cool sandals that fixed your flat tire 🥹🥹💖
😏😏nice lookin young white chap will get all heads turning in Asia 😂
😂 to see so many people in that cave was amazing and terrifying
All right, I may have smoked a whole J while watching this video but you reading Ho Chi Minh’s poem in his cave was so cute 🥹
Absolutely in love with your style of casual editing/commentary. Keep em coming!
Thanks mate ❤️🫶🏻
Recently found your channel but it quickly became one of my favorites. Travel, story telling, and a dash of comedy.
Thanks Legend ❤️
@@mikeokaySame here, crazy good content. Thanks for sharing.
@@mikeokay The bits in / around the watchtower were proper slapstick, lol. Great mix of humour, travel, exchanges with locals, and history. Probably your best, so far! Keep on keeping on.
Same for me. Bald and Bankrupt was always my go-to before now, but his not done anything exciting in a while. I wonder if Ull ever do a colab together in the future :O
TOTALLY AGREED 👍 👌 👏 Mikeokay has taken over all my other channels hahaha
Legend mate. Love the banter, comedy and courage.
Doesn't even have the courtesy to say thanks..
Okay, so I believe that last few seconds you talked about this short poetry:
“Sáng ra bờ suối, tối vào hang,
Cháo bẹ, rau măng vẫn sẵn sàng.
Bàn đá chông chênh dịch sử Đảng,
Cuộc đời cách mạng thật là sang”.
I would gladly translate it properly for anyone curious:
"Morning going out to the stream, back in the cave at night,
Corn soup and bamboo shoots are always alright
In an unsteady stone table, translated the Party's history fights
Life while revolution is kinda rich right."
Just a short piece of poetry he made while living and active in that cave also a satire of the life that he had there. Although any normal kid would have to write an entire essay about each word in that poetry. I'd rather not do that here cuz it is already self-explained to most people. Corn soup and bamboo shoots serve as a kind of meal with the main dish being corn soup and bamboo shoots being vegetables if anyone is curious why are they here. It just tells you that he always has this low-budget meal to keep him up with the work.
Các bạn trẻ thật giỏi
Biết thì hãy nói không thì im đi. Dịch vớ vẩn vậy thiên hạ lại tưởng ông là quân bán nước vịt ngan cọng hành. Dịch xuyên tạc vậy chỉ có bọn theo đít Mỹ đế quốc. Và đám thực dân anh 🏴. Thực dân pháp 🇫🇷. Phát xít Đức 🇩🇪 mới làm vậy thôi.
1 vài đoạn dịch hơi thiếu nghĩa nhưng chắc vẫn hiểu được
Chuyển ngữ khá chuẩn á :)
ôi dịch thơ lụa thế bác ơiii
Gotta agree with the other guys in the Comment Section, found your channel like a month ago but I'm always happy seeing a new Vid of you on my Homepage! Keep it up!
Love this. Thank you!
Imagine how differently our world would look if everybody acted with the friendliness and respect that you do. I look forward to seeing more of your travels and encounters
Love this. Thank you 🙏
A British bloke visiting Pac Bo cave, how refreshing! My English brother-in-law says he's watched the Vietnam War doc series and he now understands Vietnam, and I wanted to tell him 'No, that's not how it was for Vietnamese'. Anyway, my own translation of the last 3 verses of the poem at the end: Rice congee, greens and bamboo for sustenance. Wobbly stone table for workspace. Such luxury for a revolutionary. (Uncle Ho's Humour / sarcasm)
We learn that poem at the secondary school.
From the Vietnamese community back here in London, you’re doing awesome stuff bro! Love your passion towards the culture and the history.
LOVE THIS ❤️
Been to Vietnam 2 years ago, really loved the people and the vibe, pretty interesting country and relatively safe for tourists.
Thank You Mike for the fun, safe travels!
Your appreciation for our history is honestly unmatched, visiting Pac Po, and even knows Uncles Ho poem is something I have not seen before. I reckon you would love going up to the central highland where tons of Vietnam war actions happened.
I love your content! They way you do your story telling is awesome! Big fan from Denmark!
Big up Denmark ❤️❤️
I got a bit fed up with "travel vlogging youtube" but your energy and vibes are a breath of fresh air Sir! Liking the adventures!
Awesome, thank you!
Everyone going to worst hoods & danger areas. Always in broad day light!
Hands down my favorite travel content on UA-cam. The filming and editing are top notch.. and then mix that with your amazing personality, it makes sense why you're starting to blow up. Not to mention all the history lessons you give us! You're a favorite in our household Mike!! Thanks so much for bringing us along on your journeys, I just wanted to let you know that I'm super proud of all your success! Never change my friend.
You're the best!
@@mikeokay I'm a sound engineer and I dunno what your camera and mic setup is but it's class. I'd love to know. Like, the fact we could hear the reply from the lady on the bicycle, in wind, over the motorbike enginer etc is amazing. I wish every youtuber had the same level of audio quality as you! What mic do you use?
Great content! Seeing how normal and traditionally nice people still are in other countries just makes me think it’s time to leave the UK! See others still patriotic about their country is amazing
wow mike, one of the best videos yet. really enjoyed watching how you explained and showed some history of vietnam! the locals seem like wonderful people, that mechanic was cool af.
I love Vietnam. I'm hoping to travel there again soon. I also love your videos and can't wait for new ones to come out!
This video is such amazing timing for me... I'm going to Vietnam solo in a week and your video is letting me get less scared about it. Thank you!
Take care dude, just be extra careful about the traffic and scamming when you go to big cities, and you might also want to take note if you have allergies, weak stomach, etc to pack some medicine if needed. Travel safely and enjoy your time!
Welcome to Viet nam...Frend
Legend. Enjoy your travels!
Fun if your English, better for borderland chinese
There is nothing to be afraid of my friend, we welcome guests from all over the world. As long as you are friendly, we will always treat you well.
Another class video man, thank you very much for your awesome content. Currently reading about Vietnamese history through the French occupation and the subsequent hardship under the division between North and South. Truly fascinating. What a beautiful and diverse country. Keep up the great work.
Our ancient history pretty interesting too…
@frankng792000 is there any books you might recommend, preferably in English? Thanks!
@@peteaskew2323 A History of the Vietnamese - Keith Weller Taylor
I’m only introducing you to the book titles, while the part below is me sharing something interesting about my country:
An interesting fact about the Quốc ngữ script that Vietnamese people use today is that it was developed by Jesuit missionaries, primarily from Portugal, Italy, and France. By modifying the Latin alphabet and applying spelling rules based on Portuguese, the missionaries created a writing system to record the Vietnamese language. Among them, Francisco de Pina, a Portuguese Jesuit, was the pioneer who laid the foundation. Later, Alexandre de Rhodes refined, standardized, and published materials using the Quốc ngữ script, making it more widely known. However, it should be noted that many other missionaries, such as Gaspar do Amaral and António Barbosa, also played significant roles in this process.
Before the Quốc ngữ script, around the 10th century, the Vietnamese created the Chữ Nôm script by borrowing Chinese characters (originally the writing system of China) and adapting them to record the Vietnamese language. Chữ Nôm, also known as "quốc âm" (national sound), was highly complex and required mastery of Chinese characters to read and write. This made learning Chữ Nôm particularly challenging for the Vietnamese, not to mention foreigners unfamiliar with logographic writing systems.
For this reason, Western missionaries, especially Jesuits, considered Latinizing the Vietnamese language to facilitate the communication of religious teachings. As a result, they developed a writing system using the Latin alphabet, initially referred to as "Annamese script written with Latin characters."
Quốc ngữ gradually gained popularity during the French colonial period when the colonial administration promoted its use in education and governance. Over time, Quốc ngữ completely replaced both Chinese characters and Chữ Nôm, becoming the official writing system of Vietnam.
Interestingly, while many East Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, and China continue to use logographic writing systems influenced by Chinese culture, Vietnam has adopted the Latin alphabet. This distinction stems from Vietnam's historical contact with Western culture and unique political and social factors.
I just finished your Vietnam series yesterday and wished there was more. I've wanted to visit that beautiful country ever since my dad spent a couple of weeks there.
Wrapping up this video with that poem which is a prime example of the deep, noble conviction & desire to achieve independence for one's own people devoid of the political fanfare & demagoguery that's poisoning our minds today was a beautiful and honest semantic bullseye brother. Awesome.
Lovely insight and well said. Thank you 👌
The poem is "Tức cảnh Pác Bó" is written to as every word in the vietnamese originals rhyme with each others and have triple entendre meaning. It's both serious about the message of the revolution, satirically saying the life of a revolutionaries is luxury, complaints about the poor conditions and the resolves to consider the cave and hunger to be luxury in war.
Hồ Chí Minh is definitely not simple minded, he speak and write fluently in 29 languages, one of the most prolific writters in vietnamese and have poems, literatures, novel, newspapers collum to at peak quality to rival any normal poets. Also spents years with working class blacks in Harlems... He can probably rap better than most mumble rappers today.
@@bachvandals3259 Thanks so much for this information! What you said about the triple entendre behind the meaning of this poem is incredibly interesting and shows the extent of Hồ Chí Minh's intellectual capacity-which I never doubted. I think it's safe to say that his level of writing and his message could never compare to mumble rappers of today where most rap has turned into a mere product for mindless consumption...as a huge fan of hip hop music though, I cant lie, it would be very interesting to know if he did have good rapping skills. Thanks again for the insight!
@@XRNRD4846 I was not expecting to hear that while reading, but I bet he could lol
@@XRNRD4846 and yet this man refused to call himself a writer or an artist, he was just humble like that.
I just finished watching this video and can't stop saying WOW. The amount of knowledge you have, the respect you gave to the locals, and the road you have traveled. Everything is just spot on. As a Vietnamese, I respect you a lot, my man. The content you bring is just crazy good.
Went to Vietnam in 2008 and had the time of my life, memories forever. Thx Mike for the video, resurrected some of those memories. On a moped in Lau Cai driving around in the boonies was a fond one. So was Hai Phong Bay in a rickety boat also in the middle of nowhere.
Cheers
Cảm ơn bạn đã ghé thăm Việt Nam chúng tôi.
You have lovely heart and I think that's why you are able to travel all over and be accepted by the people of each country. By showing the real side of each culture you can see it brings them so much pride. I absolutely love watching your travels no matter where you are!
The river at Pac Bo Cave is Lenin Stream 😅. It’s also KM Zero of the AH1(?) that runs the length of Vietnam. Really liked what you said about the ‘not in your face religion but a fiercely proud and patriotic nation’ 👍🏻
Also you should’ve carried on to Dien Bien Phu haha. The battle in 1954 was what really kick started the independence and Vietnam War.
From China to India to Indonesia to Hongkong and now Vietnam! I'm almost done! So happy to watch your new upload now.🥰
Love it Mike🙏🏻 me & my girlfriend have been travelling Vietnam for the last 2 weeks or so, what a place! Wish you’d have released this before we arrived in Sapa, so we’d have a heads up about the weather😆
Good stuff my brother, keep more Vietnam coming, God bless brother
Thanks! Will do!
God damn I fucking love Vietnam. My 1 month there almost ended up being 6 and then another 6. It’s just too good. Good shit mate!
Love your videos Mike. I’ve been wondering…what initially made you move and live in Vietnam? I’m sure everyone would love a QnA type video hearing your story that takes you to where you are today. Can agree that Vietnam is one of the best countries in the world 🤝
Hey mate. My next video will actually be the story of the exact question you answered!!
haha unreal, perfect timing!
i have just fallen in love with the way you make your vlogs educative yet immensely enjoyable. Keep it up!
Nice man! I lived there for 5 months, on the other side of lake ho Tay. Super cool, amazing country.
15:48 As a German I find this really funny! Great guy, absolute legend!
The video should get more view! Your video story telling are masterpiece, very informative even for a vietnamese with true footage, and humorous camera placement 😂
i'm glad i found your video today! You have incredible bike along with army outfit, Love your Dance and Điếu Cày's Skill, PHỞ XÀO is underrated but super delicious.
Thank you for coming to Vietnam, though there will be some hateful comments or people, or controversy everywhere, i hope people let the past aside and enjoy the chill moment before new year eve arrive.
Have a nice day sir and Good luck on your journey where ever you go.
My only hope for you is that you can feel the love that that there is for you, really a great guy and bringing so much joy to this world. Remember who you are and don't be ashamed of it. I hope you're doing well
Another banger of a video Mike! I always appreciate you trying to speak the language wherever you go! I try to do the same, we’re not all like the brits of the past and it matters to show it!
Lovely video. Will be visiting Vietnam in January so it is really cool to see your perspective of it before I land!
Have fun!
Love your stuff. Easily the best travel content on UA-cam. Really chill and respectful.
Vietnam is probably one of the friendliest and most beautiful countries I've ever been to.
I love your videos man. They are the perfect middle ground between a vice documentary and a reliable source.
I appreciate that!
Nice Sunday morning surprise. Cup of coffee, sat in the warm with my latest fav UA-camr. Top work Mikey. Unreal content
Legend!
Mike, you absolute legend! Watching your awesome videos is just like travelling around with a mate. Thank you so much for letting us tag along! 🙏
You sir are quickly becoming a new favorite channel of mine to watch. Keep doing what you're doing!
Once your videos started popping off i found this channel very recently, hilarious that this happened to so many other people as well! keep up the dope content brother.
Keep it going bro. Love your content! You’re very authentic!
Mike, I absolutely love your videos mate. I just recently discovered your channel and I’ve already watched all of your content. Your videos inspire me to be more adventurous, and to step outside my comfort zone. I’d love to hear about what made you choose to leave your life in London for a more adventurous life on the road. I myself am considering leaving America and filming my adventures, so any insight into what led you on this journey would be amazing. Again, love your videos and am so grateful there’s men like you in the world. Cheers mate
Recent watcher for a few weeks now and have already watched all your videos and find myself checking every day. Keep it going Mike
Most underrated travel youtuber out there 🙌 awesome content lad 👍
Hi Mike, just stumbled across your video. A very nice surprise. Love the way you tell the story, communicate with locals, sympathy and understand. Also very impressed with your understanding of the history of Vietnam and how you respect it. Really made me tear up. You have a new fan today. Looking forward to your new adventures. Take care ❤️
Keep doing what youre doing Mike, awesome videos. You have a natural spark with people which is highly commendable.
Stay safe brother.
MIKE! I've been watching your videos for a few months now and one of my favorite parts are the cinematic compilations with cultural lo-fi music in the background ! I wish they lasted a bit longer mate! SUPER glad to see a fresh upload, keep it up man!
Love these kinds of vlogs, please keep uploading!! Vietnam is truly a place to be! 🙏😄
Mike, you've set a new benchmark on how I like my travel Vlogs now! I stumbled upon your vids and they're super addicting!! Love how you're always incredibly respectful and polite, learning different languages but also funny as hell! Please keep travelling the world and making awesome videos, i'm gonna finish watching all your vids soon!! You are such a top bloke Mike, and would be such a chill dude to meet in person! Much love & safe travels!! xo
I'm still recovering from last week. After I found your channel I binged until 4am, had to wake up at 8 😭
Vietnamese lost millions of human life to kick out French’s colonial & japan’s occupied, American’s invasion, Chinese’s encroachment. But after all, both French, japanese, American, Chinese come to Vietnam as tourists & Vietnam just became a safest country for tourists!
5% return rate, yeah your country is the best in the world with no drawback whatsoever. Even the jap, amerimut, the baguette have to agree with that. Keep sleeping on your victory that happened half a century ago buddy, your country might one day able to become the most powerful nation in the solar system.
This isn’t completely true.
America and Japan were enemies. Japan ended up making amazing tech to help the world. Sony, Toshiba, Mitsubishi the list goes on.
America helped South Korea. South Korea went to help the world with Samsung, LG, and others.
What has north korea done to contribute? I don’t recall iPhones coming from North Korea or everyone in vn driving their Raptors from North Korea 😅
How about Russia? What great stuff do we use daily from them? Their robot vacuums?
Vietnam is kind of safe if you are in the right area but you can be scammed and no one does a damn thing to help you.
Do go saying crap before you know the truth.
Vietnam’s great tech that helped the world is Pho 😂 that’s it.
Idk what “resources” the USA stole from you but Japan and South Korea seem fine to me. Quite rich actually.
I recall Japan has spend a crap ton of money on infrastructure in vietnam. What has vn spent on Japan’s infrastructure? 😂
Honestly having a pretty sombre time in life at the moment, lost my grandad, a good friend, and my uncle all in the space of about 6 months, shit was really getting to me tonight, but your videos are genuinely so fun, interesting and uplifting, they always put a smile on my face. Much needed tonight, keep doing what you're doing bro. Cheers
So sorry to hear that ❤️❤️
Sup Mike! Vietnamese here. I love the videos you make and the experiences you share with us!
Your view of the world is so very captivating! I wish I could have a drop of your love of the world and bravery to plummet into the unknown. It feels so genuine and the human connections are charming. It's a wonder to behold your amazement and your adventures have become a drug I can not get enough of!
You earned my respect for this video.
BTW the description on the bed said "touching the object is prohibited" (just FYI) but can't blame you, as our people -even they know our mother language well- yet still touching them very often.
And the outro of the video was damn fire! I don't know if you can sense the patriotic flow of the poem as it was translated onto English but your calmness while reading it made me feel so much.
You remind me so strongly of Anthony Bourdain. So nostalgic to watch you thoroughly experience these countries
Hey Mike, I just wanted to say how much I love your traveling videos! The way you tell a story through your adventures is incredible-it feels like I’m part of the journey with you. Your videos are so inspiring and creative, and they’ve quickly made you my favorite UA-camr. I always get excited when you upload. Keep doing what you’re doing-it’s amazing!
Wow, thank you!
The poem at last part of your video, they're such a beautiful one that we learn back in highschool and literature exam
The original vietnamese should look like this:
Sáng ra bờ suối, tối vào hang,
Cháo bẹ, rau măng vẫn sẵn sàng.
Bàn đá chông chênh dịch sử Đảng,
Cuộc đời cách mạng thật là sang
Rough translate are:
Morning to stream, night to cave,
Seedling soup, bamboo shoot were ready to take.
Shaky stonetable, wrote our Party's timeline,
The revolutionary life were truly luxury pride
They were wrote when he was in the cave, fighting for the independent, though i'm not a fan of literature of my own, some quick note can be seen:
- opposite thing here are "Day and night", aka meaning for the Length looking for independent is uncertain, where he has to search for it day by day
- another opposite thing is "Food" + "Stonetable" versus "Luxury Pride", despite they aren't match the situation where he's in a cave eating nothing but soup from cheap ingredient and only veggies, he still considering it as Luxury Pride, aka meaning he still consider it as better than the vietnamese people who is still being suffer from being colonized and facing unhumanitarian day by day, in conlusion he must quickly progress the rebel to save the country.
Now here i'm not looking for a fight or something, just a random chill person trying to roughly translate a poem, i adore Hochiminh from his chilling perspective.
I love the poem about Hochiminh wrote about moon more, he wrote them during the time he were prisoned by chinese government when attempting to save the country around 1900s. It was because Politics reason.... Kudos to him now we have internet to watch youtube video. unlike other country with either banning it or putting people time in stressful and debt, people who live in vietnam is very chill...
Until you drink alcohol or drug or somesort, that's for another story.
Bye, thanks again if you read this far, i'm just a kid, dont pick me up for a fight, instead look up for some cat video
I think it will sound better if we change "ready to take" to "always ready"
@@quannguyenle2330 thank you for your suggestion, in fact that is my 1st original translation when using it with google translate. However the reason i switch it to "ready to take"
They were some sort of "tail rhyme" which make the English-reader poem feel much more sensible.
@@anhtphung4666 Ohh, I understand now, your translation is really good bro
Amazing Video! I really enjoy theses video. Not only about travel and help us understand about local culture and history. You are the Real GOAT!
You are my favorite UA-camr ❤️ Your videos have so much passion and shows your true devotion and love for what you do. Keep up the amazing work!
Thank you so much!!
I've just recently stumbled across your channel. Absolutely love your positive outlook and the respect you give to people on your travels. Much love from the UK!
Loved it, Vietnam is such a beautiful country
Mike, when I am having a bad day I can watch one of your videos and escape - means a lot to me, thank you.
8:28 - The one kid wearing a Kansas sweater (aka jumper) was such a trip. I live near Kansas, in Texas.
Brilliant video, Mike. Loving your content!
Better than Netflix Docs Mikey bravo!
Man, im vietnamese, and just found out your channel with hong kong video yesterday. Im suprised that you lived in Hanoi and cant wait to see your next video.
Thank you for your work Mike.
Your content not only makes me happy, but has also given this 54 year old a renewed hope in humanity that I thought I may have been losing.
I appreciate it and wish you safe journeys.
I will be following all your adventures very closely.
Greetings from South Africa.
You should have way more subscribers IMO. Cheers!
You got yourself a new subscriber ! Keep up your good work, we Vietnamese all love you big man !!!
As a Vietnamese livin in Hanoi, its so nice to see a foreigner get so well known and fascinate about our history and culture haha. And im a skater too, seeing you smoke thuoc lao with the skater guys really hyped me up 🤣
I really appreciate this video, I lived in Thailand and the Philippines for about 5 year and this makes me want to go back even more. Ooorah man!
I love how the mechanic tried to give you change for your tip. Awesome people!
@ 😂
Actually, in Vietnam, we don't usually tip so it's reasonable to return the change first. Though, there are some bad guys who take advantage of foreigners, so he's definitely nice.
Hell yeah, glad I get to catch one of these on upload day 💪🥳
08:10 , Mike's got some moves 🎉.
And the music fits perfectly 😂
This is the absolute best new channel I’ve found in a long time.
Legend ❤️
Glad to find a channel that isn't filled with anti-Asian/anti-Communist scaremongering. Keep up the good work!
Bro shut up 😂 scare mongering about communism doesn't exist, communism is an evil concept.
@@BlueBirdsProductions Capitalism is pretty evil too, if you think about it. It has always been associated with slavery. And even today, traces of it still exist and affect the lives of minorities.
Thanks!
Mike, I must say that bike is BEAUTIFUL. Thank you again for taking us along with you on your journey! This is my favorite traveling channel BY FAR!
My pleasure!
Always my favorite channel to watch after working 12hrs in the ER. Never stop uploading and keep up the amazing adventures!!🤟🏽🤟🏽
It’s a wonderful day when MikeOkay drops a new video.
The best travel adventurer by far 🙏🏻
I love this guy. It's nice to read so many comments that love my country.❤
This will be the next major traveling channel but your videos are so good they're only getting better better
What a absolute joy watching your videos, so much appreciation you bring exposing the absolute fact that no matter where you are at in the world, people are just that. People.
love the story. love the videos. the casual like just whatever filming and whatever editing is just so... brilliant for some reason haha
keep it up.. love it
Thanks a ton!
One of my favorite UA-camr this makes me wanna go out and travel
23:52
The red board says this is the bed Uncle Hồ rested and worked on-he’s definitely one of us, working from bed, lol.
Also, the blue board says it’s forbidden to touch items on display, and you just touched it. You probably didn’t have any ill intention, but please be mindful of what is said on the signs next time.
Edit:
I also want to add some context and translations to the poem Mike read at 24:07.
This poem was written by Nguyễn Ái Quốc (Uncle Hồ’s name at the time, literally translated to Nguyễn Patriot) and is taught to every middle schooler in 8th grade. Each and every one of us has this poem imprinted in our minds.
The poem is simple yet extremely powerful. Simple in the way that it’s very readable and easy to understand, making him feel closer to the common and illiterate people. Powerful in the fact that this was a testament to Uncle Hồ’s humility and determination. Simplicity and power are very common traits of his poems and messages to our people. You can’t just say big words and expect the people to understand you.
Some context was lost in translation for the sake of rhymes and flows, so here’s a rough literal translation by me:
“Morning to the bank of the stream, night back in the cave
Corn porridge, greens, bamboo are always ready to be served
Bumpy table, studying the history of the Communist Party (probably the USSR history to study their way to liberation)
Life as a revolutionary is oh so luxurious”
One thing about this poem that really stood out to me is that, despite the undeniably rough situation he was in, he took pride in the life he had as a revolutionary, as a man finding his way to free his people. His resourcefulness is shown through the fact that he’s eating things found in the jungle (the bamboo, the porridge, the greens), making use of the bumpy rock table, taking advantage of the cave to live in secret and hide from the French.
Truly one of the most, if not the most, important figures in Việt Nam’s history.
Thank you, Mike, for making this video. Your style of editing (the rough cuts, the static image,...) is in a way very similar to that poem. It's simple, but straight to point. I also laughed my ass off at the bossa nova dancing session too.
Mike, your storytelling is always amazing. Love your videos!!
Perfect way to end my weekend. Thank you for uploading! I’m on a Mike Okay bender right now
I'm Vietnamese. Just wanna say how great, how cool you are! You've been there only four years but I saw you immersed deeply inside Vietnam culture and well know about our history. Best wishes for you!
I love your videos, great blend of exploration and history!
5 minutes into the video and I can already see your passion for Vietnam. Amazing video
You're a funny man, cheers bro, keep it up
8:10
Bro, your videos are so great. So enjoying to watch.
This was such a creative way to still use the footage and get around the copyright issues 🫡
By the way, the song is
September by Earth, Wind and Fire
( 8:18 should be 3:16-ish on the Spotify version itself)
mark on my words this man will be top 100 youtubers soon
Hooray! Love your videos and will be following your journey. Thank you for sharing!