Many candidates who graduated from top universities, scored an impressive IELTS 8.0, participated in research projects, and achieved remarkable accomplishments still get rejected at my company after the interview round.

Once when I was in Thai Binh, someone asked me in Vietnamese about my "nương". I froze for a second. "Why's he asking me about barbecue (nướng)?" Seeing my confusion, he burst out laughing: "Ah, I meant 'lương', your salary."

Having witnessed the Japanese lining up in perfect order and maintaining a quiet demeanor everywhere, I could not help but compare it to the bustling, noisy conversations I often hear in other places.

Vietnamese people don't just like to eat; eating here is a lifestyle, a commitment, almost a kind of faith, the backbone of the entire culture.

During a business trip to Hanoi many years ago my foreign colleague and I met a woman while walking around Hoan Kiem Lake.

Every evening on Nguyen Chi Thanh Street, it takes me 15 minutes to crawl just 400 meters as cars and buses spread across five lanes, forcing motorcycles to climb sidewalks or squeeze through gaps.

For five hours, I lived a nightmare. My “luxury” apartment in central Hanoi, the home I trusted to keep me safe, suddenly became a man-made lake, with water soaking books, bedding, wardrobes, even dripping through electrical sockets.

After a rhino carcass was discovered in Nam Cat Tien, I met village elder Dieu K'Giang (possibly the first person to see rhinos in Nam Cat Tien), hoping to hear it was not the last of them.

Vietnam's proposed nine-day Tet holiday in 2026 may look generous, but for millions who spend days just traveling home, it feels short.

Despite everyone's efforts to cheer him and invite him to join the celebration around a beautifully crafted cake, my son could not take his eyes off his cell phone.

The night before heavy rains caused widespread flooding in Hanoi on Tuesday, my son asked, 'Any announcement, Dad?' He hoped school would be canceled. I searched too, for warnings from Hanoi's authorities, but found nothing.

On Sept. 30, it took me six hours to cover 10 km through Hanoi's flooded streets, a night that revealed how unprepared the capital is for every heavy rain.

There are three places that I believe everyone should visit once in their life, not out of curiosity, and certainly not for thrills.

Finding a specialist in Canada proved nearly impossible without a referral from my family doctor, which took up to three months.

When I first drove in Bangkok and on its expressways, my immediate reaction was: "These lanes feel a bit narrow." So after reading news about proposals to narrow inner-city car lanes in Vietnam, I was pleased.

I have often had unpleasant experiences with the superior attitude and abrupt questioning of airport staff during check-in.

At the height of my career two decades ago, I was an HR manager earning a steady VND15 million (US$570) a month, a job many would call safe. But one question unsettled me: What if I lose this job after 40?

The ongoing debate about Filipino teachers not being "native" oversimplifies the real issue and ignores important facts. Let's set the record straight.

A complaint from a VnExpress reader about Filipinos teaching "native English" lessons has sparked strong reactions, with many readers defending Filipinos as highly qualified English teachers and emphasizing that non-native accents are not a problem.