When Kim Ngan, 33, married French national Tricard Axel, 38, in October 2025, she had some concerns about becoming part of a family from a different culture.
Those worries quickly disappeared after she met her mother-in-law, Veronique, 64, whose warmth and enthusiasm for Vietnam left a lasting impression.
Recently, Kim Ngan shared photos and videos of Veronique riding a motorbike through the mountains of northwestern Vietnam and singing on stage at a rural Vietnamese wedding. The posts attracted hundreds of thousands of reactions on social media.
Veronique and her daughter-in-law travel by motorbike in Vietnam (Photo: Provided by the family).
The wedding marked the first time Axel’s parents and relatives had travelled to Vietnam to meet Ngan’s family in person, having previously communicated mainly through video calls.
“I could immediately feel her kindness and sincerity,” Ngan recalled. “She never asked many questions about my family, my job or future plans. What mattered most to her was whether I was happy with Axel and what kind of person he was.”
Veronique at her son's wedding in Vietnam (Photo: Provided by the family).
During her visit, Veronique surprised Ngan with her knowledge of Vietnamese food and culture.
“All members of my husband’s family use chopsticks very well. They even knew more Vietnamese dishes than I expected,” Ngan said.
She later learned that Veronique was a devoted fan of Vietnamese cuisine and frequently took her family to Vietnamese restaurants in France.
The French family spent nearly a month travelling across Vietnam, particularly in the northern provinces.
Their favourite dishes included fried spring rolls, grilled pork with noodles and pho. Veronique and her husband also became enthusiastic fans of mango smoothies, often memorising the names of dishes they enjoyed so they could order them again.
Veronique's family are especially fond of Vietnamese food (Photo: Provided by the family).
Beyond food, the family immersed themselves in Vietnamese culture. They attended traditional water puppet performances to learn more about Vietnam’s history and customs.
Veronique also developed a fondness for the ao dai, Vietnam’s traditional long dress, and every member of the family purchased one as a keepsake.
According to Ngan, her in-laws adapted quickly to daily life in Vietnam.
Rather than relying on private transport, they often rented motorbikes during their travels and chose buses for interprovincial journeys in order to experience local life more authentically.
Veronique said travelling by motorbike reminded her of her younger years. Having previously ridden motorcycles in countries such as Thailand and Indonesia, she wanted to explore Vietnam in the same way, enjoying the scenery and observing everyday life at a slower pace.
What impressed her most was Vietnam’s rural landscape, particularly the terraced rice fields and harvest season in northern Vietnam.
“While we were riding, she kept telling me, ‘Can you take some photos? We need to take photos to remember this,’” Ngan said. “She felt everything was so beautiful and completely different from the scenery in France.”
Veronique described these experiences as some of the most memorable moments of her trip, saying they allowed her to better understand Vietnam and the homeland of her daughter-in-law.
Ngan has enjoyed memorable trips with her French mother-in-law (Photo: Provided by the family).
One of Ngan’s strongest memories was a six-hour excursion with her mother-in-law to Bai Dinh Pagoda in Ninh Binh Province. Despite darkness falling and rain making the paths slippery, Veronique and her younger family members insisted on continuing their climb to reach a small cave they had spotted on a map.
Vietnamese weddings also left a strong impression on Veronique.
She was surprised by the large number of guests and the lively atmosphere, with people eating, singing and celebrating together in a way she had rarely seen at weddings in France.
Today, Ngan and Axel live in Dalat, Lam Dong Province, where they work in life-skills education and content creation.
Meanwhile, Veronique and her husband remain in France but continue to look forward to future trips to Vietnam, both to visit their children and to further explore a country that has won their affection.
