Uffe Elbæk, 67, has had the luck to enjoy all of these things. He has found a warm family here in Hanoi, which has lured him to return to the country year after year.

Born and raised with three brothers at a tiny farm under relatively poor conditions in Denmark, he got married over three decades ago and had two sons, who are now 31 and 34.

Between 1998 and 2001, he worked as Chief Technical Adviser in Asia, specifically in Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, for the United Nations.

“My first ever arrival in Vietnam was November 1998,” he told Việt Nam News. “During evening time, I walked around Hoan Kiem Lake at my leisure. Having a cup of coffee at a bench.”

“A boy who sold postcards approached me and sat down next to me. He was able to speak a few English words,” he said.

The boy (whose real name is Nguyen Duc Thang) explained he sold the postcards to support the orphanage centre where he lived.

“I was a teenager of 13 at that time,” Thang recalled. “He did not make much of an impression on me other than he was a normal customer.”

Thang left his home in the northern province of Nam Dinh and followed his friends to Hanoi to sell things to earn money.

“He was a very well maintained and polite guy,” Uffe recalled. “I met him the following days as I stayed at a hotel near the lake. I just felt he was bright and clever, and he was able to speak a bit of English.”

Uffe and Thang then kept in contact by email. Thang told him every trouble in his life.

During the following years, Uffe supported Thang by giving him educational opportunities.

“We trusted each other,” Uffe said. “I was always confident of Thang’s willingness to achieve and contribute.”

It has always been so, as Uffe has supported Thang and his family in a trustworthy and confident manner.

“He and his family never ever let me down and I still visit them all frequently. As well do his 'brothers' from Denmark,” he said.

They considered each other father and son.

Thang said Uffe has assisted him financially to open a florist’s shop and then start a business in property.

In 2011, Uffe lent Thang US$50,000 to create a business without any condition.

“We were very moved when we received his money,” said Trinh Thu Tra, Thang’s wife. “He did not have that big sum at that time. He put up his house in Denmark to get a loan from the bank to lend us that sum.

“We were worried and tried our best to take that capital to do business and luckily we made a profit. We could returned him the sum in just three years,” she said.

Uffe admitted that he considered he could lose the money, but not even one second did he think of Thang cheating him. He knew he would not do that on purpose.

“I just thought that I could help them. That’s all,” Uffe said.

Uffe visited the family at Christmas 2010 and found Thang had a serious illness. He thought something should be done for his son and family.

In return, Thang and all his family have shown absolute loyalty and helpfulness during some difficult times for Uffe.

“Between 2014 and 2019, I faced some personal and economic difficulties. Thang and his family have always been extremely supportive – personally and economically,” Uffe said. “They invited me to stay with them in Hanoi for a long period from 2015 to 2017.”

They helped him establish a representative office for his company in Vietnam to import furniture, food and powder milk from Denmark.

Before setting up the office, Uffe has also acted as a tour leader for his relatives, friends and customers to Vietnam.

“During my business development in Vietnam, I have had the pleasure to work with a lot of Vietnamese business people, and I found potential in corporate development between Denmark/Europe and Vietnam,” he said.

That is due to the approach of Vietnamese people, who he finds hard working, trustworthy, accurate, passionate and always available to support and assist.

Uffe himself never imagined that Thang would have a good business as he does today.

“But I am so happy to see them doing so well,” he said. “They never took anything for granted, and they always supported and stayed behind me. They gave me love and wonderful experiences in Hanoi and Vietnam in general.”

“I am grateful having them and feeling at all times love from them,” Uffe said about his Vietnamese family.

Thang’s family considers Uffe a key member, like a father and a grandfather.

“My little son can understand him though he is only a second grader with a little bit of English,” Tra said. “They can communicate without any border. My daughter and son just simply call him ‘dear ông’ with love.”

Tra said their relationship is just beautiful and magic like in a fairy tale.

“We met a fairy in our real life, so we highly appreciated his support when we were in need. We could not even imagine one day we could offer to help him back like we do now,” she said.

Vietnammania

Uffe said he has seen Vietnam experience huge development since his first arrival in 1998.

“Vietnam is progressing dramatically in business,” he said. “It still faces challenges regarding traffic and infrastructure, though I have seen a willingness to look into these challenges by building new roads, bridges and public transportation."

“In business, I think that Vietnam has good opportunities to develop further as the country and the people have great potential in any competition,” he said.

Uffe said he used to tell his customers joining his tours to Vietnam, “there are around 98 million reasons to visit Vietnamese people.”

“As a foreigner, I always experienced outstanding hospitality. I never felt insecure or uncomfortable. Vietnamese people are always helpful and ready to find solutions,” he said.

“Vietnamese people are extremely diligent and committed to what they are doing, still proud and results oriented, creative and open-minded,” he said. 

Source: Vietnam News