Sometimes, I really just don’t get Vietnamese people.
Last week we attended the Hanoi International Film Festival. All tickets to the festival were free. We didn’t know this so on the first night, we tried to get tickets to see an Indian film. Straight away we were told, ‘sorry, sold out’. We stood around for a few minutes, deciding what to do as we had arranged to meet a friend there. Then the girl at the ticket table gave us two tickets for the ‘sold out’ film. When our friend arrived, I asked another girl at the table for another ticket. She told me, ok but wait. Then she ignored me. The two girls started packing up the table and I told the first one that the other girl had said I could have another ticket. They both then proceeded to tell me that they didn’t have anymore tickets. A security guard then said that there were no tickets available but we could just go the three of us on two tickets. Another guy working for the festival came and told us to follow him and we could go in.
We expected the cinema to be full. It was perhaps two thirds empty. What?
We went to a morning film another day, to be told again, ‘sorry, sold out’. I asked her if we could just come back at the time of the film and go in if there were empty seats. She agreed. And of course, half the cinema was empty.
Film number three. This time, I was told ‘oh no, you don’t need tickets, just go to the cinema.’ We got to the cinema and the same guy from the first night that let us in was there. He asked for our tickets. I told him that we were told we didn’t need tickets. He let us in. I wonder how many non Vietnamese people tried to attend the festival, only to be told ‘sorry, sold out’.