An Austrian tourist approached a villager’s house seeking assistance after spending a night lost in a remote forest in Lai Han village, Xuan Duong commune, following directions from Google Maps.
On the morning of April 3rd, Mr. Trieu Hinh, head of Lai Han village, Xuan Duong commune, said that local residents had assisted an Austrian tourist who had gotten lost in the forest.
Earlier, a villager searching for buffalo discovered long tire tracks down a steep slope around late afternoon on March 31st. Suspecting someone had fallen off their motorbike and been injured, the villagers reported the incident and called for a search party. Due to the darkness and unclear location information, the search within a radius of about 1 km yielded no results.
In the early morning of April 1st, Mr. Trieu Van Hoi saw a male tourist in front of his house in a haggard state, with abrasions all over his body. Due to a language barrier, the Austrian tourist used Google Translate to communicate and ask for assistance.
However, Mr. Hoi was illiterate and didn’t understand what the foreign tourist had written. He immediately called the village authorities. After verifying the identity of the lost person, Mr. Hinh and some villagers took the tourist to a place to rest and provided food.
“This village is in a remote location, so few outsiders come here. I never expected a foreigner to get lost and end up here,” Mr. Hinh said.
Austrian visitors ask for help at Mr. Hoi’s doorstep. Photo: Provided by the subject.
The motorbike used by the male tourist was rented in Da Nang. He initially didn’t intend to go to Lai Han village, but Google Maps gave him the wrong route, leading to him getting lost.
According to the head of Lai Han village, at around 3 PM on March 31st, the tourist’s motorbike skidded and plunged down a steep slope. Due to his poor off-road riding skills and inability to handle the situation, the tourist couldn’t get the motorbike back up on his own. After two hours, he abandoned the motorbike and tried to find his way out of the forest. Early the next morning, he found Mr. Hoi’s house.
The motorbike was rescued by Mr. Hoang Lang Huy, a resident of Lang Son and an expert in off-road vehicles, who then sent it back to Da Nang. According to Mr. Huy, the owner refused to rent it out again for fear of similar incidents being difficult to resolve.
The Austrian tourist then traveled with Mr. Huy to the center of Lang Son and was shown several sights. On April 2nd, Mr. Huy drove an Austrian tourist to Hanoi to catch his flight home.
“Seeing that he was alone, I immediately offered my help without much thought,” Mr. Huy said.
Before the Austrian tourist, many similar incidents have occurred with international tourists visiting Vietnam and independently renting vehicles for trekking using Google Maps. In October 2025, two Dutch tourists used Google Maps to navigate and got lost more than 5 km into the deep forest of Khe Me village, Quang Tri province. Due to muddy roads, a motorbike fell into a stream, injuring the tourists and leaving them stranded overnight in an area with no phone signal.
The police force of Con Tien commune, along with local people, had to mobilize specialized tractors and trek through the forest in heavy rain to rescue them. In their thank-you letter, the tourists expressed their gratitude for the warmheartedness of the Vietnamese people – who appeared in time with “flashlights and warm smiles” in their desperate situation.
Following incidents involving several international tourists, adventure tourism experts and rescue representatives offer three pieces of advice for travelers navigating Vietnam’s mountainous regions.
“The 5 PM Rule”: Absolutely do not attempt to travel on unfamiliar roads after 5 PM. Darkness descends rapidly in mountainous areas, accompanied by fog, making visual navigation impossible.
“Stay still to be rescued”: If you notice the road becoming muddy or too steep for your driving ability, stop immediately instead of trying to proceed. Attempting to “break through” will only cause your vehicle to get stuck deeper in areas with poor communication, making rescue more difficult.
Finally, prioritize “manual maps”: In remote villages, Google Maps only provides the shortest route without considering the terrain. Experts advise tourists to ask locals for directions or hire a local guide. In case of language barriers, prepare information cards with addresses in Vietnamese or use offline translation apps to maintain communication with the surrounding community.
According to Vnexpress
