Chat with the guy who 'attracts nails' across Vietnam

With the hope that the person spreading nails on the road will stop doing that to ensure the safety of traffic participants. On his somewhat different journey, he has received and given a lot of love. Nghe An Newspaper reporter had the opportunity to meet and talk with Tran Duc Trung.

PV: In recent months, the name “Tran Duc Trung” and the keyword “nail suction” have become very popular and widely shared on the media. Can you share your purpose in undertaking this journey?

Tran Duc Trung:In 9th grade, after witnessing my friend saving a drowning person, I cherished the desire to do many good things to help people in the future. That is why I spend a lot of time on volunteer activities, from small things like supporting people in difficult circumstances, forming volunteer groups, participating in local community activities...

Mr. Trung's journey started from milestone 0001 of Ca Mau Cape. Photo: NVCC

Besides volunteering, traveling is also a big passion of mine. I used to jokingly say: “Go all over Vietnam before you turn 60” with the thought of traveling as much as possible while you still can. Before this trip, I had traveled by motorbike to 30 provinces and cities across the country. However, traveling by motorbike made me feel that my experience was quite superficial and expensive.

In 2021, after consulting with a few friends who shared the same passion, I decided to take a walking trip through 63 provinces and cities with a distance of about 20,000 km. To make my journey more meaningful, I combined walking with nail extraction and helping the difficult situations I encountered along the way.

PV: It is known that according to the plan, your journey will last for 3 Tet holidays. What preparations have you made for this special trip and did you encounter many difficulties at the beginning?

Tran Duc Trung:Before starting the journey, I considered very carefully, calculated all possible situations and equipped myself with enough determination, skills and health. A detailed schedule was outlined, from the number of kilometers in the first days, to the amount of spare money in person, from the climate characteristics of each location, to the length of stay...

Mr. Trung cooked for himself during the trip so as not to bother anyone. Photo: NVCC

As the eldest son, and also the only son in the family, I had to overcome my family’s opposition. My relatives and friends also opposed me and thought that my wish was foolish. I understood why people did not support me, but I also understood that this was the most appropriate time for me to make the trip of my life.

When I felt ready, I designed a nail-sucking truck, packed essential items such as clothes, pots, tents, etc. and took a bus to Ca Mau Cape to head north.

Despite my careful preparation, I still encountered unforeseen difficulties. During the first 2 days, with a total distance of 27 km, my legs began to ache. On the 5th day, my knees were numb and I had to lean on the bike to relieve the pain while walking. On the 15th day, my feet were blistered from water burns…

But from the 15th day, when I got used to the journey, my legs only hurt when I stopped. After passing through the 13th province or city, I was completely confident in my health, even when I had to push a nearly 100 kg cart through steep or windy areas.

With the idea of ​​traveling on my own, being self-sufficient, and not disturbing others, I only asked to be bathed and washed by people during the day and often set up a tent to sleep on the street at night. This also led to unsafe situations, being watched by bad guys. Fortunately, up to this point, because of previous experience and always being alert, I was still able to control such situations.

Mr. Trung donated the scrap iron he collected along the road to scrap collectors. Photo: NVCC

PV: Having traveled through more than 20 provinces and cities and updated and shared clips about your journey every day on social media platforms, what do you hope to spread through those clips?

Tran Duc Trung:I think the greatest value I have received on this journey is love: the love I receive from people and the love I witness people giving to each other.

On the very first day in Ca Mau province, in the rainy and windy weather, I received that love. Seeing my car, an elderly couple were curious and took the initiative to talk. After listening to me share, they insisted that I go into the house to sleep.

On the evening of the second day, the rain was still very heavy, the two uncles called to ask where I had gone and if I was safe. On the third day, when we met again by chance in Ca Mau city, the two uncles were very emotional, waving at me forever...

Then a young couple with their son ran a long way to give me water and milk, many people chased after my car just to give me a meal, a worker waited for me all morning to give me a bottle of water, students helped me push my cart for kilometers...

The most touching story was a woman who collected scrap metal and begged me five or seven times to accept 50,000 VND in support from her. Unable to refuse, I had to agree to accept the money and use it to donate to other difficult situations. People are willing to give, even when they themselves are extremely struggling.

The material things I received from everyone were shared with the difficult circumstances I encountered along the way. It could be a single-parent family, an orphan or a pitiful family in the dialysis neighborhood… This sharing is also the biggest reason why I feel my journey is meaningful.

PV: With what you have been doing and from your own experiences, what are your plans for the future?

Tran Duc Trung:I always keep in mind that this life is my own and in life there is always happiness, the important thing is that I have to find that happiness with my own will and determination.

Mr. Tran Duc Trung gives gifts to patients in the dialysis village in Binh Phuoc. Photo: NVCC

On that journey to find happiness, take advantage of every opportunity to experience and learn every day so that you will not regret living in vain. I myself have met many talented and famous people, accumulated many valuable lessons, gained more life experiences, understood more about the culture and people of different regions and areas... during my "crazy" trip. And I believe that what I have accumulated will help me a lot in the future, useful for plans to develop local tourism services.

PV: Thank you for the conversation!

Mr. Trung donated the scrap iron he collected along the road to scrap collectors. Photo: NVCC

As of early January 2023, the total number of nails and iron that Tran Duc Trung collected in the 21 provinces and cities he passed through was nearly 20 kg.