Start Thinking in English With This Vlog | Comprehensible Input Vlog #72
A1
Welcome back to a new video guys.
Today we are in the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi.
In this video we'll be using
comprehensible input as we explore the city.
We'll also be talking together
and teaching you guys English.
This is my mom.
I'm sure you've seen her in some of my past videos,
but she came to Vietnam specifically.
For one reason.
What's that reason?
The reason why I came to Vietnam is to
congratulate you for your 1 million subscribers
And this video is also part of my
3000 most common English word series
designed to help you
understand up to 95% of spoken English.
You can get the PDF in the description.
Let's get started.
Let's go.
Where are we heading to right now, Mom?
We're heading to Haun Kim Lake.
We're heading to a lake?
I think it's the most famous lake here, no?
I think it's called Haun Kim Lake.
Maybe I'm pronouncing it wrong, but...
I'm not sure.
I'm just going to call it the lake in the historic center.
Okay.
I got the names.
So right now we're staying in the French Quarter,
which is on the east side of the lake.
But right now we're just walking to the lake
because it's very beautiful.
We've already been here for one day.
So yesterday we walked around a bit.
We saw things.
But now we're going to go and
show you guys and explore even more.
So, Mom, when did you arrive?
I arrived on Thursday evening after a 17, 18 hour flight.
And how was that flight?
Whoa, dude, that guy just started backing.
Did you see that?
I know.
No, that guy just started backing up.
The flight was longer than last
time when I went to South Korea.
It's pretty far to come to see you guys, so...
Yeah, it was a pretty long flight, but it wasn't too bad.
You're not like very jet-lagged.
No, I was fine yesterday because I
drank lots of water, electrolytes.
Yeah, no, that's good.
I know that flight is long.
And I really hate flying now for extended periods of time.
Even if it's just an hour, just doing
everything, like going through the airport,
going through immigration, security, customs.
It takes a lot of time.
It takes so much time.
It's like...
I would rather just stay in one place
now and just explore that place, you know?
But I have to say, they're pretty organized in Asia.
Compared to Canada and North
America, it's way cleaner and organized.
I just feel that they care at the airports.
It's a nightmare flying in North America.
Yeah, one thing I will say, every time I've been to the
United States, man, terrible service.
I feel like everyone there is just really rude.
And a bad mood.
Everybody there is a bad mood.
I don't know if it's
everywhere, but that's been my experience.
Okay, so we just stopped at this store right here.
And you know what they sell?
They sell ice cream.
Should we go and see what it is?
We're not sure.
We've been passing by this place
and that place over there a lot.
So I think we're going to go
ask now what they actually sell.
Pretty sure it's ice cream.
But one thing you can also see here is this road is closed.
So you can see there are
police officers somewhere up there,
but they barricaded this road
so that you can just walk here
and there are no vehicles or cars or scooters.
Because normally this is a
normal road where vehicles can drive,
but on the weekend you can't, as you can see here.
Anyways, let's go try.
Hello, what's the original ice cream?
The most popular one.
We got the ice cream.
I'm really not sure.
Rice Flakes ice cream.
Okay, I guess that's the flavor.
That one I'm sure will be good.
That's like mochi.
I like mochi.
So this right here is an ice cream
and it is wrapped in this plastic wrap.
And right now, can you guys tell me what I'm going to do?
So what did I just do?
I just tore the ice cream open
and now I'm pulling the wrapper off.
So this is the ice cream.
This ice cream is like a lime green.
How would you describe this?
It's round.
Yeah, it's round.
There's like some powder on it.
It's white.
This one is like lime, lime green.
Let's try it.
Is it good?
I like it when they're a little
softer, but I'll still try it like this.
That's hard.
I don't like matcha.
It's yummy.
There's not a lot of matcha in it.
That's a lot.
I love matcha.
I don't like matcha.
To me, matcha just tastes like grass.
Anyways, let's try this one.
Wrap.
Oh, it's really like milky, no?
Mm-hmm.
It's actually quite nice.
I do like this one.
So now we are in the middle of the street here.
These are all luxury brands across here.
And over there, you can see that is the lake.
And like I was saying, these roads here, like around the
lake, are closed on the weekend.
So today is Saturday and we're
standing in the middle of the road.
What do you think of that?
I think it's great because it's very busy here.
It was super busy yesterday
with all the bikes and the cars.
So it's kind of nice.
And it's so loud.
Yeah.
Like it's so loud with all like the sounds
of like honking, people driving, scooters,
loud exhausts.
So it's nice to have this street closed so it's just quiet
and you can just hear people.
Okay, so where are we now, Mom?
We're at the lake.
Correct.
So we're at the lake.
Here you can see we're both standing at the edge here.
And if we take another step
forward, we will fall into the lake.
Do you want to fall into the lake?
I would assume no.
Maybe later.
This water is very green.
I would not want to fall in there.
Anyways, your shoes look very new, are they?
Yes.
There's too much snow in
Canada so I couldn't break them in.
So new shoes.
Are they comfortable?
Yes, this is my second pair actually.
Oh really, of the exact same shoes?
Of the exact same shoes.
It must be comfortable then.
Mm-hmm.
Anyways, you guys can see the lake here.
The sky today isn't very blue.
It's pretty much almost just pure white, right?
But it's super bright.
Yeah, it is really bright.
That's one thing, when the sky is white like this,
it feels very bright on your eyes.
Like, my eyes are kind of like half closed all the time.
But you have sunglasses on.
Yes, I think sunglasses come in handy.
For real.
You have sunglasses on too.
I'm the only one without sunglasses, so I'm low-key cooked.
But I don't like the way sunglasses look.
So yeah, I am blind, so I need glasses or contacts,
but I don't have either of those on.
Blind?
I wouldn't describe it as blind.
I would say...
I'm blind.
That's very dramatic.
Let's go for coffee.
We're going to go now to get coffee
at this really popular and famous coffee shop
that my mom wants to go to.
What is it?
What kind of coffee?
It's coconut coffee.
The specialty is coconut
coffee, so I haven't tried that yet.
I had two coffees yesterday, but not a coconut coffee.
Coconut?
Specialty that we need to try.
We need to try coconut coffee.
Let's go.
OK, so now we're walking to the cafe, right?
Yes, we're going to go to the cafe.
Let me see.
So we're walking to the cafe, and
here we're walking on the sidewalk.
This street is not closed.
There are just no vehicles, but the street is open.
And I really like the way the buildings
and sidewalk looks in Vietnam, don't you?
I like how they have their flag out,
and all these buildings in the
old quarter look really nice,
and they have cafes and everything.
It's historical buildings with their French influence.
That's just absolutely beautiful.
Yeah, it looks really nice.
Also, unique boutique shops and small
little stores that sell really niche things.
I like it.
Right now, we're crossing the street,
and you can see it's very hectic and busy.
Although we have the green light to pass, it's still busy,
and a lot of the times it feels like
those scooters are just going to hit us.
Right, Mom?
They're just coming from all directions.
Yeah, because we have the light that says we can walk,
but then scooters are coming to the side, so...
Yes.
And they don't stop.
They don't stop.
Usually, in Canada and other countries,
the vehicle has to wait until the person crosses,
and then they can go.
But here...
No, here, no.
Here, I try to line up with you
or Leon that if they hit somebody,
they gonna hit you guys first.
Fair enough.
Yeah, it's not for the weak.
No, definitely not.
And the vehicles park on the sidewalk here.
Look at all these vehicles parked along the sidewalk.
It's kind of crazy.
But I do really like this style.
All these shops with their signs up top.
I really like this style.
It's a nice vibe.
And they have very beautiful tall trees here too.
I like it.
It's very tropical kind of climate.
I wonder if the whole city looks like this when you walk,
like nice shops on the side, beautiful trees, clean.
What do you think?
Yeah, I've seen some parts of the
city that does not look like that.
Well, I'm sure not every part looks like that, but...
But overall, I think it's a really beautiful city, Hanoi.
So far, yeah.
It's just the buildings and the
greenery and everything combined.
It's beautiful.
Yeah, it's my second time in Hanoi.
The first time I ever came to Vietnam was three years ago.
And I saw the whole country, but this is my second time.
My first time and this was my choice.
I wanted to come to Vietnam.
What other countries do you want to go to?
In Asia?
China.
China?
I want to go to China.
Where else?
I think everybody goes to Thailand.
I don't know if I want to go to Thailand.
Haven't you been?
Many, many years ago.
How long ago?
Maybe 30 years ago.
Oh, really?
Wait, for what?
Just to travel?
Yeah.
I did Singapore, Hong Kong and I did
Bangkok and some surrounding areas.
I loved Singapore.
I really like Singapore, yeah.
But it's expensive.
Yeah, it's very expensive.
I mean, if you're from Singapore, let me know.
You're probably not from Singapore because I know people in
Singapore speak very good English.
It's like the first language, so...
But if you've been, let me know.
I've been too.
It's really nice, but I've only been for like one day.
I was just there for one day because I had a stopover when
I was flying to Greece from Japan.
Yeah, we're almost at the coffee
shop and we'll see you guys there.
So where are we, Mom?
We're at the coffee shop that I wanted
to come and try, the coconut iced coffee.
This is the coffee shop name right here.
This is like a really popular
chain in Vietnam, so I know it's...
I know you guys know this.
This chain is everywhere.
I've seen it a lot.
It comes from their history.
It's kind of historical.
What is this one?
So rice, it's like the ice cream you had earlier.
It's really good though.
What is it called?
Literally rice something.
Okay, this is called rice something and we're gonna try it.
You can see it's white.
The one I got is coconut and cacao.
This one is brown.
Let's try Leon's first.
It's good.
Like jelly?
I did try it.
It's actually really good.
That's really good actually.
That's my favorite one.
It's exactly like rice pudding.
Yeah, D.
This is coconut iced coffee.
Coconut iced coffee.
And I love coffee.
It's good.
I like it because the coffee isn't overbearing.
No.
And then my one.
Cacao and coconut.
And these are all frappes.
That just means it's all blended
up, the ice and everything together.
They don't leave the ice in big chunks.
Why do they call it an ice cap?
I think it's just a term.
Like just a branding term.
In Canada...
That's very good.
At Tim Hortons, which is like
the biggest coffee chain in Canada.
They call drinks like these.
Like frappes, they call them ice caps.
It's very relaxing, huh?
Really relaxing.
It's such a nice vibe.
We'll show you our view in a second here.
But they also gave us water in these metal cups.
Can you tell me the difference between these two?
This right here is a cup
Cups could also be made out of like
any type of material
When it's made out of glass, you call it a glass.
So this is a glass.
This is a cup.
Now, let's show you guys the view.
So this is our view here at Kong Cafe.
It's really nice actually.
You get to see all the scooters and vehicles.
And we get to sit here enjoying our coffee.
Well, I didn't get coffee, but enjoying our drink.
And the coconut coffee is really delicious.
But this is not really the
first cup of coffee in the morning.
This is more like a dessert.
So...
Yeah, that's why I like it.
I don't like coffee, but I like this.
My drink is amazing.
I gave it like a 7.7 out of ten.
What about your drink?
What do you give it?
Ten.
It might be a little bit sweet.
So far, my favorite coffee has
been the salted coffee in Vietnam.
Vietnamese coffee is like really, really strong.
We had egg coffee yesterday and we didn't record it.
We were just chilling.
But man, I could just eat like that whipped egg on top.
That's delicious.
But the coffee man is so strong.
So strong, dude.
I cannot.
I'm not a coffee person.
I don't like coffee, but there are
a lot of people that love coffee.
I think next time I'll definitely get what Leon had.
Let's learn a couple words here.
This is a glass.
This is a spoon.
This is a paper straw.
Leon has a plastic straw.
A plastic straw.
This is a paper straw.
Here we have a mug.
This is a mug because it has a handle.
This is a cup because it doesn't have a handle.
And there are napkins in the mug.
This is for your cigarette ash.
So it's an ashtray.
This is a cup.
The cup is filled with water.
Not to the brim, but it is filled.
I'm sitting on a small balcony
looking down at the row below.
In front of me, there are many
motorbikes parked along the sidewalk.
Across the street, people are
moving around, riding scooters,
walking, and going about their day.
The tall green trees stretch over the road,
creating a soft, natural canopy.
Their branches hang above the street,
and the leaves make the area feel cooler and more peaceful.
Behind the trees, there are
buildings, cafes, and small shops.
Everything feels peaceful but alive.
You can see movement, hear the traffic,
and feel the rhythm of everyday life.
It is not too loud or too chaotic, but steady and real.
I am just sitting here, quietly observing,
enjoying the moment, and taking it all in.
We're in this ceramics shop.
I was wondering what this is, and it's a chopstick rest.
Chopstick rest. This one is in the shape of a fish,
and this one is in the shape of a cat.
So cute.
This is a nice little shop.
This is what I was talking about.
I just love the vibe, because there are so many of these
small, little hole-in-the-wall shops
that are really unique and just focus on one thing.
These are very light. They're light.
They're not heavy. They're light.
And they're pretty nice.
I mean, the inside is really
dirty, but you can just clean that.
And each of these mugs have some sort of drawing on them.
Bro, is this a frog? Is that a frog?
This is the price. 175,000 Vietnamese dong.
Boy, this is actually funny.
This looks like some Adventure Time stuff.
Does it not? This is reminding me of Adventure Time.
Have you guys seen Adventure Time?
We are now in one of the back rooms of this pottery shop,
and this place is actually huge.
We've been through a couple of
rooms now, and look, there's still more.
Like, there are just walls of mugs,
small plates, big plates, bowls, and everything.
There's just a lot to see.
You have these very small cups.
This costs 65,000.
And I like how every cup has a design.
It's really very cute.
Oh, here are some proper mugs.
Oh, yeah. Some mugs. It's really nice.
These ones are nice, but they're more heavy-duty, thicker,
compared to those ones there that's...
Let me grab one that's more delicate.
Yeah, this right here is quite thin,
but this one is a lot thicker and heavy-duty.
This one doesn't have any, like, handle.
It's just like a cup.
Yeah. But they do have mugs, too.
Do you like this store?
I like it. I wish it was easier to transport ceramics,
but it's a hard souvenir to buy and to take with.
Because it's very fragile.
It's very fragile.
Like, these plates can easily break.
I can feel them. They are quite thin,
and they just feel very fragile,
so they can break easily, right?
Yes.
That's why you can't travel with them.
This one's nice, too.
I wonder if they made this, probably.
Oh, you can also go upstairs.
I see someone going up the stairs there.
Let's go. Go and have a look.
But here they have just a sofa for you to chill
after looking at all of this.
I like this one.
This one's pretty cool.
But they just have shelves and shelves and walls of these.
So, these are really good souvenirs to buy.
They're coasters, and these
ones would be easier to transport.
Yeah, because they're flat, right?
Yes.
They are flat.
Let's go upstairs.
Yes, let's do it.
And you can see here, it just keeps on going.
And there's another room over there.
There's just so much.
Oh, wow. This is huge.
So big.
You should take that one.
I like that. I like it big.
I don't think it'll fit in your suitcase.
No, probably have to wear it as a hat.
Let's go upstairs.
So, now we're on the second
floor, and there's just a lot more.
Dude, I wonder how many years it took to make all of this.
This probably took like dozens of years, no?
You can show here in the back.
It does say it's made in Vietnam.
Oh, that's nice.
Yeah, on all of them.
Anyway, this shop is absolutely massive.
So, the material, all the stuff
here is made out of, is called ceramic.
So, the material is called ceramic.
So, these are all ceramic mugs.
I want to show you this.
So, here I found this one in Spanish.
It says, "Una dulce manera de cambiar el mundo."
A sweet way to change the world.
Yes. Isn't that weird?
Yeah, I guess you put like
some sort of sweet snack on there,
or your tea or something.
Yeah, this is really cute.
So, everything we've seen here has been made of ceramic.
This is a ceramics store.
And they make everything here,
or at least almost everything.
Really beautiful.
I really want to buy one of
these mugs before I leave Hanoi.
I think I definitely will.
okay Mom, you ready to go?
Yes. Yes, I'm ready.
So, what do you think of your
first full day exploring Vietnam?
I loved it.
I think I could live here.
It's cheap.
It is cheap.
I should say cheaper than Canada.
So, your dollar goes further.
And the food is great.
It's fresh.
The coffee is excellent.
Food is amazing.
I don't really drink coffee, but I
know people like you love coffee.
They love coffee.
Yes.
What else?
I think that people are really humble and kind and genuine.
That's true.
So, yeah.
I think it's a great destination to come and visit.
Price, food, coffee and people.
I really like Vietnam too.
We will be filming a lot more videos here.
So, if you guys want to see
those videos, make sure to subscribe.
And check out the next videos.
We'll be spending a couple of days in Hanoi.
And then we're going to Hao Long Bay,
Ninh Binh and a bunch of other places.
Including Saigon again.
So, let's get going.
And we'll also have some videos
eating Vietnamese food and describing it.
So, make sure you guys stick around for that.
