Russian woman falls in love with Hanoi
Russian woman falls in love with Hanoi

(VOV) - In the eyes of Natalia Kraevskaia, a Russian woman who married a Vietnamese man, Hanoi is a beautiful, peaceful city that is worth her passionate devotion to the art gallery over the years.

Russian woman falls in love with Hanoi
Vietnam’s beauty through the lens of foreign photographers
Vietnam’s beauty through the lens of foreign photographers

(VOV) - Vietnam is well-known for its glorious thousand-year history of national construction and defence, and also for its attractive, friendly, and safe tourist sites.

Vietnam’s beauty through the lens of foreign photographers
A relaxing ride around town
A relaxing ride around town

(VOV) - Cyclos have become not only an inextricable part of Hanoi’s culture but also one of its “tourist attractions” for foreign visitors to the city.

A relaxing ride around town
Hanoi – a beer drinker's haven
Hanoi – a beer drinker's haven

Hanoi has been named one of the cheapest and best places to drink fresh beer in Asia by travel guides and journalists, thanks to its lively drinking culture.

Hanoi – a beer drinker's haven
Finding the hometown
Finding the hometown

This is a new land. Here sameness takes me home.

Finding the hometown
A matter of eyes
A matter of eyes

A romantic landscape of verdant, terraced rice fields stretches into the distance, but there’s nothing romantic for someone working knee-deep in mud, sweat running down their bodies and bent over so they see nothing but the soil in front of them.

A matter of eyes
Hoi An: very much a town
Hoi An: very much a town

The Hoi An seaside is a real attraction to me, but there’s a much more prominent reason than that for coming back to.  

Hoi An: very much a town
Hanoi at night
Hanoi at night

Hanoi comes alive at night. The day’s oppressive air cools and draws out the people.

Hanoi at night
Foreigners working and living in Vietnam
Foreigners working and living in Vietnam

As many as 75,000 foreigners from over 60 nations are living and working in Vietnam, according to recent statistics.

Foreigners working and living in Vietnam
Hanoi emerging as a destination for foodies
Hanoi emerging as a destination for foodies

In the quest for the best pho, bun cha and more in this culinary capital, look for the stands favored by elderly Vietnamese - they know quality when they taste it. Along the way, you'll find religion, history, art and the theater of daily life.

Hanoi emerging as a destination for foodies
Sounds of Saigon
Sounds of Saigon

Just ten minutes walk from the spires of Notre Dame Cathedral, the Post Office and the colonial thoroughfare of Dong Khoi in the centre of Saigon is the alley where I live.

Sounds of Saigon
With pride and love of marital arts
With pride and love of marital arts

A woman martial arts master teaches disabled children Aikido for free, hoping to help them integrate into society.

With pride and love of marital arts
Hanoi Museums
Hanoi Museums

Tourists consider the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology and the Vietnam Military History Museum "must-see" destinations in Hanoi.

Hanoi Museums
An ideal place for coffee and book lovers
An ideal place for coffee and book lovers

Tungbook Café in Thái Thịnh II Street looks attractive, with its gravel path lined with small green bamboo trees and its harmonious design following the principles of feng shui.

An ideal place for coffee and book lovers
How do you like your bún?
How do you like your bún?

After sampling a smattering of Vietnamese fare, it is fair and rather fitting to inquire, “how do you like your bún?”

How do you like your bún?
My peaceful Vietnam
My peaceful Vietnam

That was my second visit to Vietnam. In all honesty, I only had chance to stay in this beautiful country for nearly two short months.  

My peaceful Vietnam
Cruising the dream in Vietnam
Cruising the dream in Vietnam

A journey through the Southeast Asian country of Vietnam is a thrilling experience, as Herald reporter Rosa Studholme found out when she travelled there last month.

Cruising the dream in Vietnam
Harvest time
Harvest time

Summer slowly rolls into Central Vietnam, with one heat wave and thunderstorm after another bringing about a change in the land before harvest time.

Harvest time
New story on the Hanoi Opera House
New story on the Hanoi Opera House

Many people believe that the symphony is a bygone art; underappreciated by the last several generations whose utter lack of interest is threatening symphonic extinction.

New story on the Hanoi Opera House
Real Madrid WAGs love Vietnamese food
Real Madrid WAGs love Vietnamese food

The wives and girlfriends (WAGs) of Real Madrid FC stars were enchanted with Vietnamese dishes when they arrived in Germany for a European Champion League match between Real Madrid FC and Bayern Munich FC.

Real Madrid WAGs love Vietnamese food
Ho Chi Minh City: home sweet home
Ho Chi Minh City: home sweet home

I’ve been blessed (or cursed) with a face that is home in any Asian country. On a recent trip to Thailand, the taxi driver asked me out of the blue, “Flying back to Singapore?” In Japan, I get taken for Japanese. In Hong Kong, people automatically start speaking to me in Chinese. In Cambodia, I’ve even scored tickets at the local rate just by saying as little as possible.  

Ho Chi Minh City: home sweet home
Vietnam street markets versus American markets
Vietnam street markets versus American markets

Once upon a time before the days of the modern supermarket, sourcing the ingredients for a meal in America was a daily affair just as in present day Vietnam.

Vietnam street markets versus American markets
Rediscovering noon in Hoi An
Rediscovering noon in Hoi An

At 11:30, I headed out to try and purchase some plants for my new home. As I crossed the bridge into town, I noticed gates closing, feet up, and streets emptying.

Rediscovering noon in Hoi An
Western "Xe-Om" in Vietnam
Western "Xe-Om" in Vietnam

Hanging on his bike a sign that reads “Xe om tay phuc vu” (motorbike taxi service offered by a Westerner), Zagrodski Adrian, a Polish student at Hanoi University, has caught the attention of local people.

Western "Xe-Om" in Vietnam
Phở-licious
Phở-licious

You will never find it in a museum but phở is one of Vietnam’s most sacred and tantalizingly beautiful forms of art.

Phở-licious
Phở-licious
Phở-licious

You will never find it in a museum but phở is one of Vietnam’s most sacred and tantalizingly beautiful forms of art.

Phở-licious
Mường Lát — The less-visited Vietnam
Mường Lát — The less-visited Vietnam

During my trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last November I got acquainted with a group of convivial Mong boys working on a labor contract. They had come from various villages scattered in Mường Lát, a remote mountainous district of Thanh Hóa province, central Vietnam.  

Mường Lát — The less-visited Vietnam
Single White Female in Hanoi
Single White Female in Hanoi

Carolyn Shine, an Australian musician who moved to Hanoi in 2002, has released a travel memoir entitled “Single White Female in Hanoi”, which has sold about 2500 copies, good for a small press publication.

Single White Female in Hanoi
Rap song composer inspired by local culture
Rap song composer inspired by local culture

A rap song produced for fun by a small coterie of music-loving expats has become an internet sensation since being posted on youtube.  

Rap song composer inspired by local culture
Festival Season
Festival Season

Vietnam is famous for its historic and cultural traditions. There are plenty of occasions to celebrate major events throughout the year. During the first three months of the lunar year, a lot of festivals take place across the country.

Festival Season