Nguyen Thi Bay, 39, who runs a small che dessert stall in Hoi An Ancient Town, can communicate in basic English, Thai, Chinese, Korean and Japanese.
A recent video showing Bay switching between the five languages while talking to tourists has attracted attention online. Asked how many languages she spoke, she modestly replied 'a little' before greeting and chatting with visitors in each one.
Bay, from Dien Ban Ward in Danang, has been selling che, a traditional Vietnamese sweet dessert, in Hoi An for nearly 20 years.
She began the business after getting married. Each morning, she prepares tofu, beans, jelly and syrup before taking her stall about three kilometres from her home to the ancient town.
Years of serving international tourists gradually became her language classroom. At first, she could barely understand foreign customers, but began picking up words and phrases as they ordered.
"When customers pointed to something, I listened to what they called it in English. For example, I learnt 'tofu' and 'bean', wrote the words down and gradually memorised them," Bay said. "If I didn't understand something, I asked tour guides."
Through daily conversations, she gradually learnt enough to handle basic exchanges in five languages. English is the one she uses most frequently.
"Chinese and Thai tourists tend to enjoy che more. Korean and Japanese visitors eat it less often, but I still learnt basic phrases to greet and talk to them," she said.
For Bay, learning languages helps her serve tourists and share stories about Hoi An, while the stall has supported her family and put her eldest child through university in Danang.
Bay often goes beyond selling desserts, giving visitors directions and suggesting attractions and quieter spots for photographs. Some tourists have kept her phone number and return to her stall on subsequent visits to Hoi An.
Thanh Nhan, 28, a tourist from Ho Chi Minh City, said he stopped at Bay's stall with friends after noticing her friendly manner.
"At first, she thought we were foreigners and spoke to us in English. I had no idea she knew several languages. When she switched to Thai and Chinese with passing tourists, we were stunned," he said.
Nhan added he had met many vendors who spoke English, but this was the first time he had seen a street dessert seller switch between several foreign languages.
He was also impressed by Bay's hospitality. When she learnt that his group was visiting Hoi An's Japanese Covered Bridge for the first time, she suggested a quieter spot for photographs.
Danang welcomed an estimated 850,000 visitors during the five-day National Day holiday from August 29 to September 2, up 37 per cent from the same period last year, according to the city's tourism authorities.
International arrivals topped 224,000, while overnight visitors reached more than 275,000, up 36 per cent. Tourism revenue was estimated at VND 3.326 trillion (USD 126.5 million).
For visitors to Hoi An, Bay's small dessert stall offers more than a taste of local food, with her languages and hospitality adding a personal touch to the ancient town experience.
