I used to believe that reminding others to be more considerate could help make our streets a better place. But one afternoon in Hanoi made me question that belief, and left me feeling shaken and powerless.

Hanoi is choking on traffic and smog. A simple, low-cost fix could save billions: two work-from-home days each week.

When I moved from the U.K. to work in Dubai, my boss would introduce me as an "expert from the United Kingdom." It sounded flattering, proof that I brought skill and professionalism. But I always added, quietly but proudly: "I'm Vietnamese."

Everyone around me seemed to know what they loved. My classmates had clear hobbies: football, painting, playing music. But I didn't know what I liked, or what I wanted to become. I felt lost and empty.

Many people buy cars without first considering an important question: "Do I have a place to park?"

In my neighborhood, more than 10 young people are working in South Korea, Japan or Taiwan.

Whenever traffic comes to a standstill in Vietnam, people point fingers at the vehicles.

Andy Byron led an empire up to the stars, only to watch it crash straight down to earth, free-falling like a phallic-shaped spaceship.

As I commute to work through central Ho Chi Minh City streets, I regularly see motorcyclists riding the wrong way, mounting sidewalks, and blatantly ignoring traffic rules.

Hanoi is moving to ban gas-powered motorbikes from its downtown streets starting July 2026, with most fossil fuel vehicles to follow by 2030.

From around 6:30 p.m. until late every night, I am tormented by the noise coming from the apartment opposite mine, where karaoke music blasts at high volume with their door wide open.

At a recent youth dialogue we organized, one young person openly shared that their current income is around VND4–5 million (US$153.20-191.50) per month, and her husband's salary is only slightly higher.

Many travelers will hesitate to fly from the new Long Thanh airport if it takes several hours to get there from Ho Chi Minh City center, according to reader comments.

At 35, I thought I had life figured out. With nearly VND3 billion (US$120,000) saved and a fully paid apartment, I walked away from my high-paying tech job. But the joy of idleness faded eventually.

In 2024 a Vietnamese blockchain startup had to move its headquarters to Singapore just to be considered "legal."

Many children today chase IELTS scores - 6.5, 7.0, or 8.0 - as if these numbers define their language ability, forgetting the true purpose of learning English: communication, understanding, and self-expression.

At 16 Jan Koum and his mother fled Ukraine for the U.S. with barely any money. They lived on welfare, she worked as a babysitter and he cleaned supermarket floors while teaching himself computer programming from old library books.

Influencers are shepherding their flock to construct trash mountains overlaying real mountains.

Spend an hour in Bangkok traffic and you will notice something strange. The cars are barely crawling. Motorbikes are threading through narrow gaps. But the noise? Almost nonexistent.