Shadowing Practice: I Let Strangers in Vietnam Decide My Day - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Today I'm letting locals in Saigon decide how I spend my day.

They choose what I eat, where I go, and what I do next. Where even am I?

And we're starting here outside my column building and I just booked a grab to the heart of District 1, right?

So I'm just gonna let my grab driver decide what I do there.

You speak English?

What do you think best thing to do, District 1?

No English?

No, no. This might be a bit of a challenge, but let's see if we can sort it out.

Okay, thank you.

A small tip for you? For you?

Okay, come on.

Yeah, come on.

Okay. Can I?

Wait, wait.

great my zipper is locked how convenient wow can you hold thank you thank you okay

oh no it's stuck translate you have translate talk oh Oh,

okay, okay, okay, okay, I give up, I give up, okay, okay,

have a good day, bye -bye. Are we serious?

Like, it's stuck.

The zipper is completely stuck.

I really tried to translate with the guy

but without the phone that's kind of mission impossible all right

so like first order of business here try to open my pants great fix the zipper amazing

and then i guess we have to find the local around

this area now instead of the grab driver thing is i think i completely

my zipper here it's like super hot here as well i feel like it might be easier

if i stand up as we'll do up

and down tactic here me man why did this have to happen now like i'm burning

so much camera battery guys i think we oh my god okay it's open

but but the pants well they're completely now

but i can access my phone there we go oh my god let's go right

so we're up on the move

and we're kicking it off here again in front of the ho shimin statue

but right here there's quite a lot tourists i just have

to kind of like walk out on any other street to

get some proper local advice hello are you from ho chi min city i make a video

and i ask people here what to do in this area

district one what should i do around here best thing i translate

okay you know a little bit what do you think is

the best thing to do in this area maybe you know some food around here

or something yeah what come thumb you know a good restaurant for that No. No?

Komtam?

Can you spell Komtam?

This is good food.

Okay, perfect.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Have a good day.

Okay.

We got a spot actually.

Great.

I'm actually kind of hungry, so we're off to a great start.

Okay, so I think like Google Maps went to auto -search for like popular spots

and the place that popped up is Komtamdetam.

I have no idea what type of food this is.

I guess there's only one way to find out hello no

no i go i go here no no can you put it on actually thank you

thank you so much enjoy your day oh all right hello this is com tam de tam

com tam de tam this restaurant oh okay i'm sorry sorry

wow okay that was the wrong spot that's awkward ah okay is it in here i'm not sure okay

which is your most popular order here yeah number four and six yeah okay okay sit down there

wow this was quite a local alley

so the number four is grilled pork ribs with steamed rice

and steamed egg meatloaf and number six is grilled pork ribs with steamed rice

and shredded pork skin and steamed egg meatloaf choice number two sounded like a mouthful

so let's go for that I guess by the way I love these like classic

red chairs she's talking about it hello can i have um number six uh this comes some bing 70.

okay what you have water water it's a yes small yes

i kind of want to see how they cook the food let's see

if that's possible hello you cook everything here this is every where everything is cooked

or this is the whole kitchen or

you make food here yeah yeah yeah yeah okay wow look at all of this yeah tick tock tick tock yes

wow very nice good for me yes okay

so i know i read the whole list of ingredients here

but i can't remember that's how good my memory is and let's do this with like spoon and

fork right so i always get called out for eating like this okay i eat like this naturally

because have a fork and a knife naturally but here you're supposed to eat like this all right with the spoon

let's do that and take a good bite of this

that was really good let's do a bit of the egg here with this uh other uh is

that onion i have no idea I can't answer what that was, but it was good.

I've only been here for a few days, but this is like hands down the best meal I've had here so far.

This was delicious.

I'm not sure about this sauce.

Hello?

This sauce?

Okay.

This sauce I put...

How I put...

I think I'm supposed to make my own sauce here

or something with this in here maybe I'm just freestyling it

at this point let's let's do this you guys let me know

if this is how you do it or not but we'll do

that and then we take some chopsticks mix it around a bit like

that I guess and then we just pour this over whoop

that was a lot now it's all drenched in the pork here oh my god that was spicy

ah it was good just like it spicy so i'll probably try it a little bit less next time

I guess this is, what's this rib bone?

I don't know.

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I feel like it's important that I try, alright.

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Good.

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I mean, definitely come here.

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This was worth the visit, for sure.

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Yeah, drink water.

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You can keep the, it's okay.

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You keep the chance, it's okay.

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Thank you, bro.

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It's around 75k, 80k, I think, for that meal.

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That was delicious, so we're off to a great start.

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Wow, that was really good.

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Happy with that experience.

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Let's do something else with this area.

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Okay, an activity would be great now.

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And now you just realize I'm walking into a Boivian walking street.

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That's like the Khao San Road of Vietnam as far as I'm aware.

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And if you don't know Khao San Road, well, it's essentially this huge party street in Thailand.

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does it start to rain as well that sucks hello you guys from here you guys from here

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i'm i'm making a video yeah

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and i'm wondering like i'm looking for activities to do within

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this area yeah do you get you guys here from here

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by the way oh you're not locals no no okay okay thank you i have a feeling

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that this might not be the best spot to find locals

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I'm not too sure I see these people here though they have a motorbike

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and stuff maybe I can ask them without getting run over

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hello you speak English a little bit I'm just making a video I asked people here what to do in this area

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I'm looking for an activity in this area Here I'm looking for activities right now

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Okay, okay, okay.

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Thank you.

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Thank you

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you know what i gave it a shot i tried you

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know i tried before leaving i kind of have to show you one thing without getting ran over lucky bar

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but with the planet fitness logo i'm pretty sure correct me

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if i'm wrong but isn't that the planet's fitness logo a lot of the fact

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that you think like a gym brand

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and then you slap bar on it oh well welcome to vietnam baby okay i have a crazy idea right

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so what happens if i just go into family mark buy a water

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or something whatever right they just ask the staff what to do around here let's do that oh hello

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can i ask you do you know any good activities in

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this area no activity you don't know thing to do maybe thing to see nothing in this area

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seven seven seven i go seven oh

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and ask them at 7 11 then okay okay ah okay

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when you try your best but you don't succeed when you get what you want

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but not what you need hello what do i do what

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do i do do i go to another convenience store i'm not sure

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if that's the play to be honest ah and

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if things couldn't get any better it's also started to rain

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so i feel like the only reasonable thing i can kind

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of do here is take this activity thing upon myself i'm standing outside the coffee

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and cocktail bar like what happens if i order coffee

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and maybe sit down and chat with locals maybe that is a good idea

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whoa mind your head thank you oh what is this like a secret cafe

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like super cool stairs am i meant to kind of order at the bottom floor i'm not so sure

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god damn this was like low ceiling ah okay

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but this is just to sit down so i guess you order downstairs

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unless you have to go up these stairs i guess there's only one way to find out

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oh my god oh hello are you sir coffee here wow what a view

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i make video is okay what's your name nice to meet you you do you have iced coffee

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iced coffee one black iced coffee no sugar can i also ask you i'm making video

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and i look for fun thing um i i'm looking for fun things to do in this area

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of this translation okay but coffee okay okay i'm gonna try to figure this translation out it's

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so unreliable because every time like if you want to do it quick you just do this week

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but now it says i'm looking for a fine things to

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do in this area it's like it doesn't it's not

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that helpful right it's not even close to what i said

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so i'm gonna write it in once i get my coffee maybe she can help me out all right

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but look at this view though bro damn right

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so written in my message here in the translation app right

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so I'm looking for an activity to do in this area

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do you have any suggestions it could really be anything things to see

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or things to do I feel like that's quite straightforward right but first let's enjoy this coffee all right

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wow very nice this yes

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okay i think she's coming back Baotangshan War Museum,

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okay okay thank you so much thank you okay let's try her iced coffee to begin with

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that was some good iced coffee she also brought some tea for me that's very kind of her ah

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thank you let's try the tea it's raining sideways my god i think the plan here is like i'll finish this coffee

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then i'll see you guys at the warmest here let's go

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for you 45 you can keep change oh my god how do i walk down this this is scary

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jesus christ what a lovely cafe it's quite challenging when you're six four oh

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humble flex let's book a grab ah hello bro So,

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oh, I'll log it, it's okay, okay, okay, yeah, it's not gonna lie,

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I don't know that much about the Vietnam War, right, you know, we never learned about it in school, in Sweden, right, but I am very curious to learn more,

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not gonna lie, so I'm happy she sent me here, you know, okay, bye -bye, excuse me, do you need the booking for this,

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or you can buy ticket no booking body ticket here okay perfect thank you

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why two two tickets there's one one one yeah

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i just purchased two tickets ah okay thank you that's kind got the money back i think we scan

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and we're in

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and whoa okay that's insane main battle tank weight 47 tons

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maximum speed 48 kilometers an hour 90 millimeter gun with coaxial seven i don't know what

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that means i don't know weapons like

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that let's see here a jet fighter i'm just mostly curious

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about the maximum speed here 1 .269 k kilometers an hour i i didn't know planes could move

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that fast to be honest

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okay so i saw a sign that said like no video recording indoors

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so you know i'll enjoy this a little bit off camera hopefully learn a little bit

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and i'll be back to you guys in just a moment

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Okay so I just finished my visit to the war museum and yeah it was it was a lot to learn

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about all the victims from the war crimes and all that

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so if my energy is still a bit off right now

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that's why it was a lot to take in to be

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honest you know I wasn't sure kind of what I was expecting Of course,

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I had prior little knowledge to this, but, yeah, I don't know,

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man, it's horrible to learn about, I'm not gonna lie, you know,

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so, currently, I'm waiting for the rain to pass

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so i think i'll sit here for a while and reflect a little bit and

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just pick it up you know when i kind of gather my thoughts a little bit

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the rain eventually stopped but it was getting kind of late

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and honestly my energy still felt way off

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so i decided to call it for the day and pick things back up the next day thank you

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all right day two we're back new energy new shorts and we're here with bro so

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we are in more of the modern area of

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Ho Chi Minh City right now essentially

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and here's the thing right I asked the cab driver off camera yeah I'm stupid all right

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but he told us to kind of like check out the view of the

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skyscrapers so that's kind of how we're kicking off the day

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and then I figure just take it from there are you excited?

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I'm very excited you know there are always different kind of skylines I'm I'm wondering and excited to see what Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City is gonna offer.

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Let's go!

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Why are we here?

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Well, this dude here, well he's making a video about like the modern part of Ho Chi Minh City, right?

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And I figured let's, I want to see it too, you know?

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I don't want to be the guy who's sitting in the condolator hearing about these amazing stories, how cool this area the city was i figured you know

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what let's just start here you feel me does feel very dubai coded if

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that makes sense you know it's like very modern vibes you

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have this riverside in front of us barely no people outside

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though i really hope i can run into some locals here right for activities later

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but yeah let's kick it off first here with some pictures

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right all right i'm sweating balls right now i'm on tick

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tock trying to find like where you take the actual picture

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because i think it's right here it looks sick during the night time essentially

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so i guess this is the spot let's take some pictures

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and work with what we got all right i'm throwing gang

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signs i don't even know what this means a thumbs up

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is kind of safe always you know hello excuse me do

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you live in this area do you live in this area i make like a vlog

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and i'm asking people what to do around here here in the modern part of Ho Chi Minh.

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Hello.

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Yeah, so I'm just wondering, I make a video, like a YouTube video, and I'm asking people kind of what to do around this area,

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whether it's like things to do or things to eat or something.

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Oh, you want to interview me?

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You want to interview, it's like an interview, right?

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Yeah, kind of, yeah, yeah, yeah.

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I'm actually not good in English.

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I think it's fine, I think it's fine.

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Fine?

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You want to do YouTube video?

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Yeah, I'm recording right now.

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Oh my god.

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I think it's fine, bro.

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Yeah, you can record a video inside.

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Okay, thank you so much.

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I don't have to do it in the application.

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No, no, no, it's okay.

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Just record a video.

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It's okay?

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If I want to go somewhere super local, yeah

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and it's like look it doesn't matter like language no problem

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I got I gotta comment you one place you should go sure about to try a local because I

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think you should go to district 5 district 5 yeah

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because you know Chinese people yeah yeah it's like ah perfect thank you

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so much the Chinese the tradition is there like a Chinatown

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or something oh yeah yeah they have they have i also live there

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because i'm oh you live there i'm original from my tennis you know

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wow okay that was

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that was great all right take care thank you sir peace

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yeah see you soon bro bye we are going to district five sounds fun apparently more local

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so now i got a glimpse of the uh modern part of ocean in

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which i'm happy for i'm energized got the coffee in me

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and yeah let's poke a grab let's go okay

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so it was kind of far to district 5 from here right

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so it's like up to 10 kilometers depending on where i drop off right

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but the chinatown that's in district 5 is around 7 kilometers away give or take

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so i think that's a pretty solid drop off i kind

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of want to see the china time you feel me china time chinatown so let's drop off there

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we have arrived in Chinatown and

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if I'm not mistaken I think I've been here like the second day I can't be too sure though

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because like down there I see some pink shirt is

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that the same church I'm not sure I kind of have

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to check it out first all right okay are you check the maps

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that is definitely not the same place

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but it looks kind of cool let's go there

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and check it out i also kind of want to find out where chinatown is is this chinatown

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i don't know bro nato panchico javier hello hello hello yeah i probably butchered that name so hard

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um but i do see some uh westerners around right

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so this must be some type of popular landmark i guess

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uh yes i i is it paid paid to entry

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or something it's a church but i'm not sure

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if you're like supposed to pay to entry or not free to entry okay okay thank you

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Wow what a beautiful place it's a lot of people in

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the church right now actually they're having a wow what's the word for

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that good chance is how we say it in Swedish I'll put it on the screen right now

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so yeah I'm not gonna enter obviously but a beautiful area nonetheless right

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saint francis clavier church is what it's called in english

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if you're curious

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and want to find it on google maps the chinatown is apparently very close to here

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so um let's go there okay this made me slightly curious there's like chickens roaming the street here is

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that a goose i so badly want like an intro shot here

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but it's kind of risky you know it's a lot of motorbikes riding here but

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you gotta do what you gotta do

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oh if she can't be in the background that was so cool all right it i'm risking it where even am i

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that should be such a good intro i'm not gonna lie

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wow okay i'm happy here i'm happy here let's go to

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chinatown some kids playing ball here what a vibe i used to play soccer

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when uh when i was younger up to when i was 17.

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that's 10 years ago almost 11 crazy yo cute whoa hello oh the fast meter ball look

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whoa 193 you from here yes yes what do you think is the best thing to do in this area

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best thing uh active activity here um maybe play football can i join can i join okay okay

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can i show i'll try i played soccer

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when i was younger like this

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if you hold can you hold my camera you hold this

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okay oh you have to hold steady hold steady have to very steady okay

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okay be careful okay okay we got a new uh let's see if we can do this still

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oh my god i'm kind of afraid of the camera let's see

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if i can i need to let's do like this

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okay you ready look whoa there we go okay thank you thank you you guys enjoy your day okay

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still got it after all these years bye bye enjoy bye bye

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so this is yeah right here is chinatown great i see two photographers they usually know their business right

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so i'm gonna ask them if they're done shooting here hello are you from ho shimin

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what are you here from ho shimin yes i'm wondering what do you think is the best food in Chinatown.

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Best food?

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Yes, best food in Chinatown.

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Is there any of them like in here somewhere like a restaurant in here?

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It's like fur It's like fur But it's very delicious If you know that Oh yeah,

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fur It's bun riu, not fur Oh okay, bun riu Do you want to eat it?

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I can eat I can try that.

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Oh, yes, follow me.

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Okay, sure Where you from Sweden,

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yes, you know Sweden yes yes yes yes oh nice i

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make a video it's okay no sorry it's okay it's okay it's okay great

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so i mean i'm a i'm a vlogger

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so i'm going to take a picture in uh it's my exercise sure absolutely

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are you photographer are you a photographer are you you take photos yes yes i'm not a I'm a photographer, I'm a student.

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Are you a student?

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I do exercise.

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Ah, exercise.

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Yes.

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So do you want to be a cameraman or a photographer or...

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What type of exercise?

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For company or...

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It's my exercise for my school. For school?

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Ah, okay, I see, I see.

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Oh, it's like there.

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Right, okay.

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Sorry, my...

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No, I think it's completely fine thank you

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so much for helping me oh this okay I'll try this great okay sure sure do where should I sit

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should i sit down here you sit there and we will take a picture of yep absolutely

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you sit there you sit there it's a table oh that's table oh i'm

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so sorry oh i'm sorry i'm sorry yep

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can i see what it looks like it's like this no that's cool great thank you so much yeah

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okay thank you so good luck thank you what's your name my name is han han yes

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hi nice to meet you guys thank you okay great i'll try this she was fast

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it's boom grill boom real yeah okay good okay thank you bye let's have a look at the bowl here

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so we have the soup base of course we have the

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noodles we have the mighty pork i'm not completely sure could

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be um yeah there's only one way to find out tomato this tofu maybe i don't know i don't know

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more pork and i guess that's liver

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so you know what let's just have a sip of the soup base first to get a feel of this

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that's good that's good okay that's very promising all right

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let's try some noodles here with with the leaf stuff that's very fresh Is this spearmint?

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Like, oh, maybe I sound so stupid.

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Like, I am so bad with food names, but it's like, it was good.

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Made it feel very fresh, like you chew gum or something.

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I don't know.

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Let's have a bite of whatever this is. Was that pork?

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Yeah, it was pork.

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Pretty sure.

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90 % sure that was pork.

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Tofu?

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Maybe?

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I'm not sure.

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All right, like windy.

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Oh my god.

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I'm sorry.

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Thing is, I never have tofu, so I can't be too sure.

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Maybe you guys let me know in the comments.

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What's right?

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Let's save the liver for last, all right?

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I'm kind of scared.

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Like, I'm not a liver type of guy.

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But let's have a bite of whatever this is.

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Is it more pork?

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Maybe.

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i think so yeah they do eat a lot of pork here and finally the liver

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i'm not sure if that was either yeah i can't tell no no it shouldn't taste like that right

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I don't think so.

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Oh my god, it's so windy, bro.

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It's like whenever it blows, she's like cooking on an open fire.

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So it kind of blows ashes on my camera.

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It's like quite hectic right now, I feel like.

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And windy as well, I'm getting like ashes in my eyes here.

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So I'll finish this, and we'll find a drink as well.

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This, how much?

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you can keep the change you keep for you for you bye bye the locals here are

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so friendly i mean sure the guy in the coffee shop earlier he said like yeah not

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that much english but you know

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the intention counts you know i feel like you come a

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long way with a smile it makes me happy you know

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to feel like i'm i'm not like in the way for

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people that's like they can maybe even appreciate my presence here you know

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and i can kind of bring some vibes here as well

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i hope i hope you know i'm trying my best here

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this store seems to have some drinks i guess hello hello you have water water water over there okay great

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water oh yes yes uh okay 10 000 sure do we

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have 10 000 will be a nice 100k that's a lot for water i would say i have

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so many big bills it's like ah okay okay yeah ah

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you can keep it's okay for you enjoy ah okay no

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i forgot my water there you go okay right actually maybe i can just sit here

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and drink my water i don't want to walk around with a bottle i'll stand here i'll stand here

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and drink my water oh okay what should we do now is the big question you know i'm not

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hungry right now that was that was very filling

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that meal i am kind of keen to find another activity

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that would be sick let's see

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if we can find some recommendations around i was very lucky

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with those two dudes earlier you know who spoke english hello this here okay thank you i'm looking

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If you're looking for an activity in this area, do you have any suggestions?

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I'm looking for an activity in this area.

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No?

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Okay.

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I mean, since we are in the area, might as well roam around a little bit and see what it's like.

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You feel me?

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kind of need to whoa walk the food down a little bit and yeah wow okay

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i don't want to be disrespectful or anything but i'm not sure

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if this is like the slum area i wonder what my mom would think hello how are you guys doing

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you speak english no okay okay

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so far the only word i know is chinchow i think

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that's how you say hello in vietnamese i should probably learn more you know

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but i'm um ah i don't find

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that time to you know i guess it does it comes down to prioritizations right

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but uh yeah i haven't learn shit holy god yeah okay where are we right now

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you have to be a bit careful with how i phrase myself here but i think it's interesting that

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a chinatown area that it looks like this essentially you know

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because it usually caters a lot to tourists right so

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if you're in Chinatown in Bangkok for an example like it's

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extremely touristy right it's just a lot of westerners running around

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here there's not many westerners you know I've seen maybe five westerners tops like in this area right

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so it's not like it's the biggest tourist hotspot

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which I kind of assumed initially when I traveled here right Before I leave this area,

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I kind of want to check out the like main complex right inside the building Might be more food in there, right?

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Tired, hello Okay, I'll include that.

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That was too fun.

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Yeah, there's quite a lot this market actually.

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So see inside here We have like a whole alleyway

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it's just market stuff

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but anyway it's like let's go inside like hey i feel

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like i'm i've seen enough here already you know ah okay

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so it's more like clothing and stuff like that it is sunday

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so i think a lot of the shops are closed today

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you see a lot of closed stores it's not everyone is operating today.

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Some are, some don't.

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I respect the grind.

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Sunday hustlers, that's crazy.

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I wonder what, like, the prices are here.

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Check this brand.

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What's this, how much?

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$60 ,000.

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$60 ,000.

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Okay, okay.

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Okay, I'll come back.

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Okay, thank you.

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I just want to know the price reference here.

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$60 ,000.

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I doubt it's real, but hey. Who knows? Who knows?

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okay so we got like the second level here and

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yeah it's mostly closed stalls

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but um it's not food that's what i thought initially you know

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because this reminds me of oh singapore's uh blah singapore's

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um chinatown all right hey bro what's your name huh sorry you speak english no english

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no no vietnamese i don't speak Huh?

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I don't know your language.

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I'm sorry.

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I don't know.

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I'm sorry.

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Okay.

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Bye -bye.

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What the hell was that about?

477

So the way my energy works is that once I kind of tap out of the recording for just 5 -10 minutes,

478

I start to become more mindful in a sense, you know?

479

Start to be more aware of my surroundings and it's just one of those moments where you think a lot, I guess, you know?

480

I'm in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City, and what a video this has been and what a week this has been, to be honest.

481

I'm not sure where I'm going with this.

482

It's just when all the feelings are like hitting at once.

483

Does that make sense?

484

I don't know.

485

night time is approaching though so and my camera is almost falling over so

486

let's cut back right to the chase is

487

that how he say let's find a local there's a family eating

488

so maybe i can ask them oh my god scared me bro okay oh jesus christ man Don't bite me please.

489

Thank you.

490

I'm a first time visitor in Ho Chi Minh City.

491

What area should I visit?

492

Hello!

493

Hello!

494

Where you come?

495

Hello!

496

What's your name?

497

What's your name?

498

What's your name?

499

What's your name?

500

What's your name?

501

What's your name?

502

What's your name?

503

I should go to the area where are we going to

504

go to the area where are we going to the area

505

where are we going to the area where are we going

506

to the area where are we going to the area where

507

are we going to the area where are we going to

508

the area where are we going to the area where are

509

we going to the area where are we going to the

510

area where are we going to the area where are we

511

going to the area where are we going to the area

512

where are we going to the area where are we going

513

to the area where are we going to the area where

514

are we going to the area where are we going to

515

the area where are we going to the area where are

516

we going to the area where are we going to the

517

area where are we going to the area where are we

518

going to the area where are we going to the area

519

where are we going to the area where are we going

520

to the area where are we going to the area where

521

are we going to the area where are we going to

522

the area where are we going to the area where are we going to Thank you.

523

Go down, not come here.

524

Oh yeah, go down, now go down.

525

Downside.

526

Where you from?

527

Sweden.

528

Sweden?

529

Yes.

530

Oh, very handsome man.

531

Ah, thank you.

532

Okay.

533

Bye -bye.

534

Bye -bye.

535

I checked the maps, and I think I am in district six already.

536

I thought I was in district five, you know?

537

That's kind of where I dropped off, I guess.

538

but maybe I just walked into district 6

539

and Chinatown is in district 6 okay

540

so I just asked my friend chat GPT here for you know pointers what Goncao is

541

and the answer I got here was I couldn't find any

542

place called Goncao in district 6 Ho Chi Minh City might be one of these situations

543

and they just listed stuff that is widely inaccurate

544

so i guess i find new locals to ask it's green for me i can walk over

545

oh where do i go you know what i'll just enter this restaurant and ask

546

hello this is my first time here in ho chi minh city and i'm wondering what district i should visit

547

No, it sucks.

548

Hello, do you speak English?

549

I'm wondering, so this is my first time here in Ho Chi Minh City.

550

I want to go to any district.

551

You can tell me what district, and I go there.

552

Any district.

553

At this street, tonight, 7 p .m to 11 p .m. Where?

554

Around here? yeah yeah okay okay i'll go and try street food here okay all right

555

thank you so much bye i guess we're staying in this area right apparently there's street food here

556

you know what let's go for a final meal and i see some banhmi that's perfect hello

557

one one by me for me one by me

558

yes yes i don't know what she's putting in but i let her freestyle a little bit we'll go with everything here

559

uh okay

560

that means spicy as far as i'm aware and soy sauce on top and there we go how much

561

25 okay i'm gonna pay her first so let's do that

562

the table for me really Wow oh thank you perfect how nice okay I really need to pay here first.

563

Oh thank you.

564

What a service.

565

This, for you.

566

No, it's okay.

567

For you, for you.

568

No, no, no. For you.

569

Okay, okay. Do you have water?

570

oh that's water i can see it in the far distance that's uh that's great how much

571

12 000 for you for you keep the changes okay bond me in district six to round up the night

572

Everyone's really good now.

573

Beautiful sandwich.

574

Oh my god.

575

It's always like, why do I ask for spicy?

576

Very good.

577

Yes.

578

I wish I could make like a proper outro for this video where I'm all reflective

579

and I've come to new conclusions about life or something.

580

But in reality, I'm overstimulated.

581

I'm washing my hands here after the banh mi

582

and my camera has like 7 % battery

583

so I think this is where we'll call it for today

584

always a lovely time interacting with the locals though that's all

585

I'm gonna say on screen right now you'll find another Ho Chi Minh City video alright

586

so click this video right here and I'll see you in that video alright peace out

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “I Let Strangers in Vietnam Decide My Day”. This video has 582 sentences and 6092 words to shadow. The speech runs for 48:40. The speaker talks at a steady 125 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
whoa	/woʊ/	Stop (especially when commanding a horse or imitative thereof); calm down; slow down.
photographer noun	/fəˈtɑ.ɡɹə.fɚ/	One who takes photographs, typically as an occupation.
meal noun	/ˈmiːl/	Food that is prepared and eaten, usually at a specific time, and usually in a comparatively large quantity.
curious adjective	/ˈkjʊɹ.i.əs/	Tending to ask questions, or to want to explore or investigate; inquisitive; (with a negative connotation) nosy, prying.
essentially adverb	/ɪˈsɛnʃəli/	In essence: by nature.
bite verb	/baɪt/	To cut into something by clamping the teeth.
translate verb	/tɹænzˈleɪt/	To change spoken words or written text (of a book, document, movie, etc.) from one language to another.
spicy adjective	/ˈspaɪsi/	Of, pertaining to, or containing spice.
translation noun	/tɹænzˈleɪʃən/	The conversion of text from one language to another.
delicious adjective	/dɪˈlɪ.ʃəs/	Pleasing to the sense of taste; tasty.
steady adjective	/ˈstɪdi/	Firm in standing or position; not tottering or shaking; fixed; firm.
vibe noun	/vaɪb/	An atmosphere or aura felt to belong to a person, place or thing.
grill noun	/ɡɹɪl/	A grating; a grid of wire or a sheet of material with a pattern of holes or slots, usually used to protect something while allowing the passage of air and…
tick noun	/tɪk/	A tiny woodland arachnid of the suborder Ixodida.
windy adjective	/ˈwɪn.di/	Accompanied by wind.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
drop off verb	To fall asleep.
find out verb	To discover, as by asking or investigating.
sit down verb	To assume a sitting position from a standing position.
go down verb	To descend; to move from a higher place to a lower one.
check out verb	To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
come back verb	To return to a place.
give up verb	To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone).
run over verb	To exceed the allotted time.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

A small tip for you?
I guess this is, what's this rib bone?
Let's save the liver for last, all right?
What area should I visit?
It's always like, why do I ask for spicy?

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	I've only been · have arrived · I've been
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	is locked · is grilled · is cooked

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 207 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, I'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: thumb /ˈθʌm/, clothing /ˈkloʊðɪŋ/, gather /ˈɡæðɚ/, nonetheless /ˌnʌnðəˈlɛs/, mouthful /ˈmaʊθfʊl/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, translation /tɹænzˈleɪʃən/, delicious /dɪˈlɪ.ʃəs/, suggestion /səˈd͡ʒɛst.ʃən/, ash /ˈæʃ/
Long words — get the stress right: photographer /fəˈtɑ.ɡɹə.fɚ/, essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, recommendation /ˌɹɛkəmɛnˈdeɪʃən/, automobile /ˈɔː.tə.məˌbil/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like whoa, photographer, meal.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: I Let Strangers in Vietnam Decide My Day - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?