About me

Xin chao, My name’s Nam, your Hanoi private tour guide here. I would like to share something about myself, my personal story how I become a tour guide

My life story  

A little boy was born in Hanoi in the 1990s and lived there for a couple of years before moving back to a small farming village in Nam Dinh, which is a 2-hour drive from Hanoi. 

As a student in a rural area, I was crazy about learning English, especially speaking it, but it was a big challenge because I didn’t have a good environment to practice speaking English. So my English was so poor. 

At the age of 13, there was a big change in my family then I was sent back to Hanoi to study in a boarding school where I spent the whole month studying and living at the school and made it even hard to find the way to practice spoken English. 

I used to dream of being an English teacher but how could I do with my BROKEN English, just spoke a few simple English sentences “Hello, How are you?, Where are you from?”. I knew that I couldn’t make it. 

A couple of years later, I changed my mind to pursuing my dream of being an IT programmer since I loved learning about computers after visiting my cousin’s campus. He learnt how to be an IT programmer.

Changing my dream from an IT Programmer to a tour guide 

When I was at 11th Grade, one of my English teachers introduced me to working as a waiter in a restaurant to practice conversational English and earn more money. 

So I took the chance. And the first day at work was the most memorable experience in my memory. Can you guess if it’s positive or negative? Well, it sounds positive, but the reality is the reverse. A bowl of dipping sauce poured into my uniform, and I had to change and take a shower of course. In Vietnam, we often say ” Van su Khoi dau nan” which literally means ” All things are difficult before they are easy“

Another time, after serving a meal to the guests, they told me that “A fish dish is still raw”. I thought it was fresh, which meant that no problem at all. They settled the bill and immediately walked away with angry faces. From that moment, I knew that my English skills was a nightmare. I promised myself that no matter what I do, I had to make it to end, I had to bring my English skills to the next level.

After work, I walked to Hoan Kiem Lake and looked for tourists to practice English. Imagine a skinny 37-kilogram boy carrying a 1.5 water bottle, what it looked like. 

At the restaurants, I had chances to meet both Vietnamese and English-speaking tour guide so I was so impressed about the job : travelling across the nation, meeting new people, eating good food etc. This was what I thought about being a tour guide when I was a student, which is so a bit different from reality. I talked to myself, I had to be tour guide, so I changed my dream to be a tour guide. 

How did I get the first tour guide’s job

At the first year at Hanoi Tourism College, majoring in tour guide, I applied for a Coordinator position and had a chance to practice spoken English much more often. After 3 months, my English went to the next level, I could speak English with foreigners with confidence. I was thankful and appreciated the time doing the volunteer work. 

I tried to apply for 10 travel companies and with ZERO working experience, I failed all of them. I thought to myself ” I’ll never give up” so I found another way. Standing in the front of Temple of Literature to ask visitors if they wanted a free guiding. Even no, lots of them said “No”. I was a bit upset, I did try again and again and finally I got the first clients, a couples from England. I was SO SO happy with that. Of course, there were more clients for other days. You may asked me why I didn’t join a free walking volunteer club guide. At that time, Hanoi Kids were the one but I failed at their interview so I had to find another solution 

I was so close to my dream job. What was next? At my second year at the college, I had two months to do an internship, so I applied as an English-speaking guide who operated the Halong Bay cruise. I was lucky that I passed the interview and became a REAL tour guide. That’s how I got into tourism.

About Nam 

Key information about Nam

• Born and raised in Hanoi
• Graduated from the college in 2010, majoring in tour guiding
• Founded Hanoi Guide Smile in 2024
• Loving my job where I grew up, and as a tour guide, I want to show you Hanoi from a local perspective 

My guiding career

Nam is a full-time licensed English-speaking guide based in Hanoi and Northern Vietnam. He is also a tour leader for Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. 

In 2019, he offered the first overseas tours for a group of three Cezch entrepreneurs that cover North Vietnam and Laos. That’s how he got into the his new life career to become a tour leader for Indochina regions.

My educational background 

• Hanoi Tourism College, majoring in tour guiding
• Vietnam National University of Education, majoring in Vietnam studies

What Nam has done for the past 12 years

Biking in Siem Reap, Cambodia

• He served 2000 happy clients as a local guide for the past 12 years from five continents in the world
• Tour leader for a group of three businessmen to tour North Vietnam and Laos on an adventure trip.
• Tour leader for an Israeli family of four to explore Vietnam in 29 days, which covers all regions in Vietnam: North, Centre, and South. 
• Tour leader for a family of five from America in 10 days in December 2023
• Tour guide and tour leader for a family of four from America to tour Vietnam and Cambodia in 2 weeks
• Tour guide for a Vietnamese American solo traveller to tour Vietnam in 9 days
• Tour leader for 2 Crezch couples to tour Vietnam and Cambodia

I know that no one is perfect. That’s why I try to learn new things every single day from books, the internet and from you, my beloved clients. You’ll be my best teachers ever

Nam’s guiding areas

• Hanoi 
• Ninh Binh
• Hai Phong
• Cat Ba island
• Sapa
• Mai Chau
• North Vietnam and the entire country

For places other than Hanoi, I usually travel there and guide you. I do it very often, and I know the area well, so count on me. 

What makes me different from other tour guides

• Unique and local tours and activities. 
• Take good care of yourself from start to finish. I will be the only one who does that and consider you as a part of my family
• Take a guided tour but travel at your own pace: No rush, no shopping, no tourist traps 
• Flexible to change the itinerary if requested.
• Maximise your time in Hanoi
• Real Local Knowledge & Insider Tips: I’m 100% Vietnames who loves to share with you about my daily life from a local perspective

What makes my tours different

It’s not just a normal sightseeing tour like any others. I am here to offer you something different

• Spontaneous stop: Most travellers expect a tour guide to follow the itinerary, which is about unexpected stops that allow them to know more about the destination they are visiting, which makes a trip different
• Learning and discovery: You are travellers who always want to learn about the destination where you travel, interact with locals, learn more about their life stories, traditions, culture and history. This is how a tour guide is a bridge who connect you with local culture
• Home visit with dinner in Hanoi :There is no better way to experience local life than having lunch/dinner with local people 
• Flexibility: This is the way I design the trip, you are flexible to change if necessary 

Nam’s top personalities

• Friendly
• Dedicated
• Creative
• Flexible
• Studious

What can I help with

• Offer quality travel planning advice in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. 
• Helps arrange package tours or travel services like visa, accommodation, transfer etc.
• Offer interpreter services and business assistant
• Advise where to shop like a local 
• Private transfer services around Vietnam 
• Shore excursion trip from Halong International port for shore excursion passengers

If you are looking for a dedicated, friendly, and reliable person to show you around Hanoi, Northern Vietnam and the entire country, I am happy to help. 

Email me at namguidesmile@gmail.com

Or Whatsapp me at +84.974.313.104

Hope to welcome you to Vietnam soon, and I’ll be your private tour guide in Hanoi!