New travel inspiration
I don't know what it's like for the middle-aged or the elders, still, we young people can be immersed for hours in Reel posts - a new section dedicated to sharing short videos across popular social networking platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and especially TikTok. Our fingers quickly scrolled up, sliding down, pressing Like, and following endlessly.
But that's not all; in recent months, as many places have lifted restrictions, "those fingers" often stopped for a while, or maybe longer, before vivid posts about various experiences of many acquaintances and strangers uploaded on these platforms.
"Action" for their own videos. Photo: HA AN
It's no exaggeration to say, but when animations are more attractive than static shares, many trends such as thrifty travel, train travel, delicious food, and cheap food... mostly came from here and spread widely through people sharing and downloading.
In the many trips that I follow, besides the long sunny and windy beach shots in Phu Quoc, Phan Thiet, or a certain particular destination in Vietnam, I have many times caught the golden afternoon light passing through the spans of the Truong Tien bridge, "flamboyant flowers road" Doan Thi Diem, or a cup of tofu that Southerners call hot ginger sugar tofu with a view of the Perfume River on the bend of the road nearby Thien Mu Pagoda.
I also often see scenes of gentle Hueish laughter in Hue of the street female corn vendors on Gia Hoi bridge and the voiceovers in the Southern or Northern accents of many young people. Through a few clips like that, I know that many people have chosen to come to our Hue city.
Real discovery and “virtual” sharing
Tapping into the psychology of wanting to see pictures and listen to music simultaneously, with the explanations concisely within 1 minute, travel clips on TikTok often have dizzyingly high views.
Anyone come to Hue City with TikTok? Photo: TikTok "Passion for travel"
There is no need to wait from the main interface; "tap" a few words "Hue tourism review" on TikTok, and there are countless top videos with millions of views and thousands of likes about trips to the rainy country created by many friends from North to South.
For example, thanks to Dinh Huy's account with excellent photos, he has gently portrayed a very poetic Hue city through many suggestions of destinations such as Thuy Tien lake, An Hien garden house, Khai Dinh mausoleum...
In fact, watching Dinh Huy’s and some other experiences, being a child of Hue city, I now know that there is Aunt Tuyet in Huong village near my house, who opens a stall selling incense, using her own fund to support children having cancer at Hue Central Hospital.
Aunt Tuyet still needs to earn income and savings but is willing to lend props and take free pictures for many tourists. Even though they may only come for some photographs and then leave, she showed no hesitation or felt uncomfortable.
These small details are new, dear to many people from far away, and also to many people and me in Hue. Therefore, whether TikTok attracts visitors to discover Hue or to help Hue people explore Hue, I could not come to a clear conclusion.
I met My An (Ho Chi Minh City) during a stay at a homestay in Hue. My An was editing the video and then smiled gently with a soft Southern accent, "I chose Hue after seeing the clips, so I wanted to try visiting it, then record the video to share it with more people. Hue people are amiable, but it's quite difficult to catch their accents; clearly, I have to listen carefully to understand them.”
I was immediately feeling satisfied, and in love with the Southern accent and how My An invited many unfamiliar people to Hue. I liked My An's black eyes and my Hue City more since that occasion.
There is a very poetic Hue on TikTok. Photo: TikTok “Ha Ni 1m58”
Probably because Hue has many places to play, and the price is low, so many people choose it for the traveling days. This is most evident when Phat Bach, a young man from Da Nang, and 3 other friends went to Hue, and based on the points introduced from many sources, Phat had 3 days and 2 nights in Hue with only 500,000 VND/day enjoying their trip.
And this is also an excellent resource for those of you who want to do a review to diversify video production content; and, for each person, whether recounting the journey, or sharing photography tips in Hue, where to find cheap and delicious food in Hue, is to share, or earn extra income.
Specifically, posting videos with many views on TikTok can help account holders earn hundreds or even millions of VND per clip. Therefore, many elaborate investment videos, with a lovely panning shot, such as the scene of a little girl walking through the Ngo Mon Gate to immediately appear in Minh Mang Tomb, then passing through Thien An Hill, and then smiling gently at Thien Mu Pagoda.
Sometimes, the airlines may have booked you to go and film the experience so that visitors remember Hue with more eagerness to set foot in. That means they have already achieved their goals.
Yesterday afternoon it rained lightly; I ended the day with a bowl of hot bun bo on the sidewalk. The shop was crowded, making me sometimes forget about the faint smoke rising from the "masterpiece" of all colors and flavors and capture the moment of a girl moving her phone over and over the owner's food stall.
I didn't know what they were doing, but at the same time, I heard the inside of me saying, "She must be filming TikTok. I don't know if I will see myself appearing in someone's background when I get home?" If, thanks to that, Hue will be more crowded tomorrow. How happy it would be!
By HA AN