"Internationally famous"

Accchhh... I wasn't gonna blog about this but... here goes. There's an article about me (and this blog - as was - back in the day, in Saigon... ohh yes... I still miss it...) in Thanh Nien newspaper today. In a way, it's quite gratifying to find myself the feature of a "Special Report" in a popular newspaper more than a year since I last set foot in the country, but... a) I'm old news - Tuoi Tre did it all yonks ago b) Thanh Nien, unlike Tuoi Tre, never interviewed me and never met me c) I don't know, nor have I ever met, the Thanh Nien journalist named That Son and he has never contacted me d) I don't live in London and I don't "shuttle between Vietnam and England" - chance would be a fine thing.

I won't nitpick every single factual inaccuracy - they are numerous - but I'll admit I had green tea streaming through all orificies as I read these lines,

“I love the hot and humid air, and the noise and excitement of Saigon,” he tells me.

Since when?

"He swears he will never start another food-related website because he will never love the food from another country quite so much."

Where do I swear eternal allegiance to Vietnamese food? Show me. Having said that, I still wants me a Vietnam Friendship medal and if you happen to be reading this President Nguyễn Minh Triết I am available for a medal giving ceremony at your convenience.

Comments

[santos.]

i read that article after you twittered about it. i was going to comment, except for the paroxysms of mirth kept me spitting coffee out onto my keyboard....

obvs it is so, so, so wrong of them to publish this, but i have to say it is quite a romantic view of you, innit? i was half expecting it to describe you carrying a wicker basket in one arm, inspecting the various produce in the stalls: "take f'rinstance, khổ qua, the bitter melon. so misunderstood in the west." the journalist looked thoughtful, but determined. "i aim to change that."

[Graham]

Wicker basket, panama hat and a flatulence problem. It's kinda pathetic, I mean just how much more effort would it have taken to email/Skype/Telephone me? Or is that not the job of a journalist these days?

[Ben]

It's obviously not the job of a Vietnamese journalist!

That's hilarious - I can't believe they've just made those quotes up. Surely they should have known that you would pick it up on Google Alerts.

Are you going to complain to the "editor" (i.e. government lackey)?

[Graham]

Good to hear from you Ben, hope the job is going well. I doubt this guy has heard of Google Alerts - but that is how I picked it up :)

I may write to the editor, I think I should. Although, from past experience it won't change anything.

The only get out clause I have, and admittedly it's not much of a get out, but a Vietnamese journalist "interviewed" me a month or so before I left Vietnam. I say interviewed, we met for an hour, had a coffee, struggled to communicate and I later found out he wrote a piece about me for an English language Saigon freesheet called (I think) Saigon Chao.

The 'journalist' didn't record the meeting and took no notes so I made a point of saying to him, "If you're going to quote me, email me the quotes first. In fact email the whole piece to me first to make sure you've got your facts straight" He never sent the stuff through, although he did offer to send me a copy of the mag - which never arrived.

So, theoretically, this could be a direct copy of an old article with all the mistakes which were never sorted out originally. Two for the price of one. Nice.

[Teddy]

And to think Thanh Nien is under the illusion it's a mover and shaker these days... it's got an English language print newspaper as well so the article on you may have been in print too, though I'm not sure about that.

This kind of chance-your-arm article happens everywhere -- just read about an Irish hack who stole an Irish blogger's blog for an opinion piece (on binge drinking women) almost line for line!

Methinks you should still send an email to the editor-in-chief, maybe, though likely not, the journalist might get a bit of a serve and hopefully not re-offend.

[eldia]

It's a meaningless story in an unknown newspaper about a guy who likes vietnamese food and writes a diary about it.

I think as far as journalistic outrages, scandals and inaccuracies go, the world will somehow make it through.

I especially liked the bit "I... I... I wasn't going to blog about this, gentle reader, but oh the depths of inaccuracy simply COMPEL me to alert you..."

[Cathy]

Too funny! As a copy editor at the Saigon Times, I can assure you that quotes are made up in every article ;-)

[Graham]

That's reassuring Cathy... And anyway they should be writing about YOU, not me. Thanks fro dropping by Teddy, never come acroes your blog before, will go peruse... and maybe write that letter too, well an email anyway.

[idlehouse]

oh welcome to VNese journalism. My sister showed up at some cultural events in the US a few months ago (we are US citizens), but because that group were considered the educated elites, they somehow snapped a picture of her and her friend without permission, printed that on the newspaper, and also gave them a few degrees from some schools they didn't attend, in addition to the ones they already had. I think they also quoted her friend as saying something when the friend didn't speak at all... small shrimps are already treated like that, I'm surprised you didn't get something more impressive :D

[tomcang]

Ah ah Welcome to the Club of Wait!-I-never-said-that! Graham, we have jackets... SGGP did the same to me years ago :)

"In 2004 he set up www.noodlepie.com to educate foreigners about Vietnamese food."

The part I like the most...

Happy Season Greetings to you, Sophie and the kiddo :)

Tom

[Graham]

Although I think you'll find idlehouse, having a few degrees from schools you never went to is quite the thing in Vietnam ;)

Tomcang, how nice to hear from you. You still stuck in that pit in the Delta? Clearly not found your way out yet... All the best to you and yours.

[Tôm Càng]

Actually I did. I managed to extract myself from the bog and move to the Big City. Find myself a new profession and spread the news: we are getting married in March ;)

[Graham]

Well... get Soph a job back at the consulate and we'll be there for the big day :) That's if it's in Saigon, and I bet it ain't. Not easy for tays to get to get hitched in Vietnam. At least it wasn't way back when... Big congrats to Linh and you - we should catch up properly in '08. have a good xmas, and if you're going to Phu Quoc, don't tell me I'll cry... We'll be stuck with this,

http://flickr.com/photos/noodlepie/332605996/

Oh well, mustn't grumble...