A shriek and a debate ensued, ending with them dismissing concerns as the protests seemed only targeting Chinese.
The near three-hour flight took us to Ho Chi Minh airport. Walking past the rolls of advertisement billboards of Bank of China, China Bank of Communications and HSBC, I could not help but sense the irony of the deeply held anti-Chinese resentment in Vietnam given its economic ties with its larger neighbour to the north.
For now, the groundswell of emotions seemed greater than any considerations about money or the economy. One Vietnamese scholar sent me an emotional video ahead of trip denouncing Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea.
He said he wanted to show the Chinese people what their government was doing in Vietnam.