Trần Khánh An

Devoting themselves to the exquisite cuisine and fascinating culture of Việt Nam, Vietnamese-Thai couple Nhật Mai and Awirut created a TikTok channel (@wifeslave20) to share their journey.

The duo produces content about Vietnamese cuisine, culture, and their experiences as a Việt–Thai couple in the Thai language, earning them nearly 500,000 likes on TikTok.

Awirut told Việt Nam News: “We created our TikTok account with the primary goal of entertaining. Following that, we started releasing videos of our daily life activities. Since Mai enjoys cooking and discovering cuisine, and I have a passion for history and culture, particularly relating to Thailand and Việt Nam, we make a good match in creating the content for our channel”.

Nhật Mai and Awirut first met when they joined a charity project at Mae Hong Son, a province in the north of Thailand.

Cupid immediately shot an arrow to match the couple up, and they married in 2022. The couple decided to organise a Vietnamese traditional wedding in Hà Nội. Their wedding video attracted nearly 800,000 views on TikTok.

Awirut and Nhật Mai were pictured at their wedding with their Thai friends wearing Áo Dài as bridesmaids. — Photos courtesy of Awirut and Nhật Mai

Awirut admitted that the Vietnamese wedding was “one of the most remarkable moments” in his life.

“We decided to organise our wedding in Việt Nam in honour of my wife and her family," Awirut said. "My Thai friends were so excited, and they volunteered to be the bridesmaids because the Vietnamese traditional Áo Dài is beautiful - they insisted on wearing them.”

The couple shared a lot about their journey in Việt Nam, such as Awirut’s first Tết holiday, earning 500,000 views on TikTok.

“Every time I pay a visit, her family always welcomes me with a variety of excellent Vietnamese delicacies," he said. "In Thailand, we typically eat two to three dishes per meal, but there are almost five or more in her home. I like spending time with my father-in-law and drinking Hà Nội beer.”

Awirut told about his favour delicacy in Việt Nam - ốc (snail): “In Thailand, I do not often get snails prepared in such a variety of ways. In one restaurant in HCM City, I ended up ordering several different varieties of snails. After we made a video on TikTok, and to my surprise, many Thai people responded that they had previously visited this restaurant and said it was delicious!”

Nhật Mai and Awirut shared their first Tết holiday together in Việt Nam.

The couple expresses their gratitude to their supporters: “We are lucky that our audience, which is mostly Thai people, loves and supports us. The audience is intrigued by these videos because they see similarities and cultural clashes between Thailand and Việt Nam. They are also curious about Vietnamese culture and cuisine, as we see high interaction in the videos about Việt Nam”.

“Besides the Thai audience, we also have fans from other neighbouring countries such as Laos, Cambodia, and some Vietnamese living in Thailand as well,” the couple added.

Their other viral TikTok video is about the AFF Cup 2022 final second leg between Việt Nam and Thailand on January 16, 2023.

Nhật Mai and Awirut decided to wear each country’s national cheering shirt to Thammasat stadium. The image of the couple immediately attracted attention and appeared in Thailand's newspapers and news agencies, such as Thailand Daily News and The Standard.

The couple cheered for both countries in the AFF Cup 2022 final second leg between Việt Nam and Thailand.

“Việt Nam and Thailand have a history of friendly rivalry as the two best football countries in Southeast Asia," Awirut said. "Our audience often teased us about how we would cheer a football match between Thailand and Việt Nam, and the event was a chance for us to answer.

“Honestly, at first, Mai was a little nervous, being the only one wearing the Vietnamese shirt and sitting among all the Thai supporters. However, everything turned out well, and lots of Thai supporters came to ask her for a photo.”

“By wearing the national cheer shirts of Thailand and Việt Nam and holding hands stepping into the stadium, we would like to show everyone: Thailand and Việt Nam could fight hard during a football match, but two countries are definitely good friends and honour sportsmanship.” VNS