(VOV) -As a foreigner coming to Hanoi for the first time, I have spent a day locating a bicycle shop and haggling about the price, but found it not easy to get one.

(VOV) - Eva Lindskog, a Swedish sociologist, can speak Vietnamese as fluently as her mother tongue. She has actively engaged in sociology and poverty reduction projects for the benefit of Vietnamese people.

(VOV) - Vietnam is a peaceful nation of friendly and hospitable people in the eyes of many international friends living and working here.

(VOV) - The Lunar New Year (Tết) holiday can be a reality check for longer term foreign residents in Vietnam like me.

(VOV) - People’s definition of privacy says much about the culture they come from.

(VOV) - Hanoi is the land of noodles and dumplings in daunting variety. At least, that is what British visitor David Bobby had concluded local culinary after his three-week trip around the capital city.

(VOV) - The Old Quarter is such a hub for visitors to Hanoi that other districts of the city seem to get left behind in tourist literature that is available internationally.

(VOV) - As the scorching months of summer slid by, sticky and humid in the Center of Vietnam, I looked forward to cooler temperatures and the relief of the monsoon rains.

(VOV) - Every corner of Hanoi is filled with the atmosphere of Christmas celebrations, the cheer being carried along by not only local residents but also international friends for the first time in the cold holiday season.

(VOV) - One of the first questions Vietnamese people, especially men, ask a foreigner is ‘Can you eat dog meat?’