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.  

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.  

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.

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

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.

More and more foreigners have come to Vietnam to seek jobs or business opportunities. For 22-year-old French man, Theo Falcoz, Vietnam is the ‘land of opportunities’.

It might sound like whimsical fun for tourists when you read that Lonely Planet named the craft of making wooden stamps in Hanoi on its list of 266 things to do but this craft is much loved by locals, especially artists, who like to sign with custom made insignia or use Eastern symbols to add value to their creative works.

Sitting outside my favorite Bia Hoi (fresh beer) spot last night I caught sight of a funny trio.

A little-known secret is that the world's best sandwich isn't found in Rome, Copenhagen or even New York City, but on the streets of Vietnam, says the Guardian, one of the leading newspapers in the UK.

My first morning in Vietnam I was extremely jet lagged after a twenty hour journey from Chicago.  I stumbled blurry eyed down the streets of the backpacker district and hopped into the first cafe I could find and ordered a coffee.   

My first morning in Vietnam I was extremely jet lagged after a twenty hour journey from Chicago.  I stumbled blurry eyed down the streets of the backpacker district and hopped into the first cafe I could find and ordered a coffee.   

Local businesses continue to preserve their traditional trademarks.

I have an extremely close relationship with my coiffure. I used to have long thick locks of hair that I wore in a sort of white mans afro like Bob Dylan in his prime. Although I have recently tamed my mane, it is still a focal point of my vanity.

Whenever I have the chance to go abroad, I will first make a visit to Van Phuc silk village to buy gifts for my foreign friends.

For most expats in Hanoi, experiencing the first winter can come as a shock to the system. How do the tropics get so frightfully cold?

“Banh phu the” or the conjugal cake is one of the favorite traditional cakes in Vietnam, but it embodies the philosophy of yin and yang in the nation.

When speaking of the art of drinking tea, people often think of Japan and China – two countries with an age-old tea culture.

With my fifth Tet in Hanoi approaching in the realms of fantasy about the Year of the Dragon, I think back to my first Tet here in 2008 that ushered in the Year of the Rat.

Hanoi is host to a most unusual market in Vietnam: open only once a week, on Saturday, and then for only a few hours, 9:00 to 12:30.  It's known as much for its discriminating buyers and sellers as it is for its fresh products.

It’s just less than two weeks away from Vietnam’s Lunar New Year festival (Tet) which optimizes the cultural identity of the country.

An English couple has joined 14 expeditions to Vietnamese caves over the past 20 years and contributed to UNESCO’s recognition of Phong Nha-Ke Bang as a World Natural Heritage Site.

Social enterprises are businesses that apply their strategies to achieve philanthropic goals. Social entrepreneurs have the same knowledge, skills and characteristics as commercial entrepreneurs, but instead of making profits or financial returns for shareholders, they focus their activities on social or environmental issues.

Christmas in Hanoi a bit strange; it is a foreign holiday in Vietnam, but everyone seems to get into the festive spirit and thoroughly enjoy themselves.

In the context of modernization and industrialization, it is now possible to enjoy a comfortable life in Hanoi’s ancient streets, which appear today much the same as they did at the end of the 19th century.  

I was born in Hanoi - the capital of Vietnam – which has been a paradise from my earliest childhood. Here the weather makes you feel like being in a land of peace and gentleness, where you can feel the lovely touch of four seasons.