Colleagues took photos of the author working at the airport.

The most "tense" place to work is...

Official welcoming ceremony during bilateral visit? - No. Multilateral conference, where hundreds of reporters from around the world gather? – No.

It may be hard to believe, but for me, the airport is the top 1 most "stressful" place to work. It is the starting point of a business trip with the expectation of good results and also the final stop in the work schedule...

“Please return to your seats, do not crowd to the back of the plane, as this will affect the landing.” Yes, it was so “tense” that the familiar words of the flight crew manager kept lingering in my mind even when I first boarded the plane and started my business trip...

People say that all beginnings are hard. I still remember my first trip accompanying a senior leader in 2018, when I was still “white” in terms of experience. When the plane was about to land, I was surprised to see many people moving their belongings to the back of the plane and choosing the seat closest to the door. I turned to my colleague and received the answer. “When the plane lands, we will have to get off first to work, you prepare your equipment.” I took my backpack from the luggage compartment, loaded two sets of cameras, and put them on, waiting for “orders”!

At this time, my heart rate increased to about 120 beats/minute, my finger to adjust ISO (light sensitivity) slid to F (aperture), my forehead started to sweat, heat from my back started to spread... I felt every neuron "running wild" in my brain.

“Let’s go!” my colleague’s voice rang out, I reflexively reached the plane door, leading the “pioneer group” to get down to work.

Luckily, although it was my first time working with a group, the work at the airport went smoothly, giving me the confidence to work at the following events.

The delegation's departure was no less stressful, it was also a "race" against time to deliver the news. Also on that first trip accompanying a high-ranking leader, when the delegation left, because I did not have wifi "ready", I still could not send the news and photos home. Luckily, a colleague from the People's Army Newspaper lent me wifi and quickly sent the news...

Up to now, with five years of experience accompanying senior leaders, working at the airport is still the most "headache" thing for me on every trip...

The author's tools for each foreign business trip.

Almost lost the leader

In August 2024, I was honored to accompany the delegation of General Secretary and President To Lam and his wife on a state visit to China and was fortunate to be assigned to cover the activities of the General Secretary's wife.

This is the second time I have covered the official welcoming ceremony in China, which took place at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The only difference is that the previous time the reception was held indoors, this time it was held outdoors. Right after the security check at the Great Hall, I separated from the Vietnamese press group and some resident reporters from the Chinese side and was led into the room where the meeting between the two General Secretaries' wives would take place to "look" at the terrain in advance.

After reconnoitering and figuring out the scenario, suddenly, your side announced that everyone would stay here, wait for the two ladies to enter and not come out for the welcoming ceremony with the reason that when the welcoming ceremony ended, all the doors leading inside would have to be closed, your side could not guarantee that they could lead me back to this meeting in time.

In addition to accompanying the First Lady's activities, I still needed to ensure information about the General Secretary's activities. I asked my colleague to translate and told my friend to take me to the reception area and that I would quickly run back to the reception room after the reception ended. My friend agreed, but still reminded me: "I will take you, but I cannot guarantee that you will get in on time. The reporter is responsible for himself."

I timed my visit and carefully observed the path, as there were many doors in the hall. The welcoming ceremony took place solemnly at the Great Hall of the People with the sound of 21 cannon shots. When the welcoming ceremony ended, I followed the stream of reporters, but hesitated because the officers from the other side who had just led me away were very calm. I stood behind dozens of tall reporters, with complicated machines, the door closed before my eyes but I had not yet stepped through… My heart rate increased to 150 beats per minute (!).

As I was trying to calm down… the door opened, everyone rushed in, everyone wanted to get into position to work quickly. I could no longer see the officer leading the way, I rushed along with the stream of reporters… The path now was different from the previous one. I turned left, turned right, continued, or turned in any direction, then at that moment, I saw the two Ladies turn left, I quickly ran after them, but was stopped by the guards. I called out the name of our receptionist and continued to catch up to work…

Many people have problems with their machines while working.

What does it feel like to have a broken camera while working abroad?

In the life of a photojournalist, many people encounter problems with their equipment while working. I was no exception, even having a “combo” of problems while working abroad and the crew only had one reporter, me.

In April 2024, I was assigned to accompany Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son to a conference in Guangxi, China. During the trip, the Foreign Minister had many activities before the meeting with his counterpart. Working at Ban Gioc Waterfall, I was enthusiastically pressing the button when suddenly... the screen went dark. I quickly took out the spare battery to replace it. The phone was still silent and black. My heart jumped to 140 beats per minute. Taking out my phone to work at this time was a temporary but effective solution.

According to schedule, the delegation left Ban Gioc and in four hours, Minister Bui Thanh Son had a meeting with his counterpart Wang Yi - the most important meeting of the working trip.

I went online to look up how to fix the error. From page to page, from forum to forum, still no results. I panicked and texted a camera repairman in Hanoi, hoping there might be a solution.

I describe, the shutter - the part of the camera that can open and close to allow light to pass through for a certain period of time, the light after passing through the lens and the shutter is exposed to the film or light-sensitive image sensor to capture a still image of the scene - cannot open, is in the closed state.

Following the camera repairman’s instructions, I removed the lens and re-installed it, then removed the battery, cleaned the sensor… the shutter still wouldn’t budge. I was about to close the camera and put it away when I received the message: “Try removing the lens, turning off the camera, then turning the camera on without the lens, and pressing the button. If it doesn’t work, I’m at a loss.”

I took a deep breath, hoping this would work. And then, the shutter clicked. After almost an hour, the shutter worked again.

On subsequent business trips, to avoid similar situations, I always borrowed an additional camera set. Luckily, colleagues from other newspapers were willing to help me, even those who had never met me. I was extremely grateful!