Lan, an excellent infrastructure engineer, has been involved with major projects in Vietnam, his home country. But after moving to New Zealand more than five years ago, he is still struggling to find a job despite a skill shortage in the construction sector.
Each student at my child's school pays VND300,000 (US$11.37) a month to learn English with a foreign teacher, but the school hires non-native English speakers.
Last May, I joined a group of Europeans at a fishing village on Vietnam's central coast. They loved the dawn fish market and homemade lunch, until they spent nearly an hour just trying to find a taxi back to their hotel.
I feel embarrassed by a recent incident at a restaurant in Germany, where a group of Vietnamese guests caused a commotion, banging spoons, screaming out for staff over a missing chili pot, and speaking loudly.
When Vietnam's law changes on Oct. 1 to allow single women to have children through IVF without needing permission, it will do more than update policy.
I used to spend two or three hours every day scrolling through Facebook, reading comments, liking posts, and following everything on the platform. Eventually, it reached a point where I knew I needed help.
Looking at the iced milk coffee that was one-third condensed milk, my friend excitedly took a big sip, only to shake his head and stick out his tongue: "Too sweet."
Years ago at a Bangkok airport, staff let my overweight bag through after finding it was filled with books. That small act of flexibility left me grateful, and made me think about how fragile the balance is between rules, fairness, and service culture in aviation.
On Sunday morning as I drove to a familiar coffee corner, I noticed Hanoi was resplendent as preparations have begun for the National Day celebrations.
I studied English the traditional way, through textbooks and dictionaries. After decades, no matter how long or complex a sentence is, I can still grasp the main idea.
I’ve lived and worked in Vietnam for nearly 30 years. As someone who runs a business here, I've long considered one coffee chain a convenient and comfortable place for informal meetings, casual catch-ups, and a decent cup of tea.
There are two kinds of news: the kind that lifts you up, and the kind that drags you down. Ho Chi Minh City, right now, has both: global love and an airport problem.
After 10 seconds standing behind an old motorbike at a red light, I began to feel short of breath, my head started to spin, and the girl behind me couldn't stop coughing.
I live and work in the heart of Hanoi. Most days, I get around by bicycle, timing my rides to avoid rush hours so I can steer clear of the worst traffic and save money. It's a small habit that makes city life just a little less stressful.
With Long Thanh International Airport expected to open by early next year, or even as soon as December, readers are voicing a key concern: how travelers will get there quickly from Ho Chi Minh City.
I stared at the little lump of drool and baby fat as it was cradled and cooed over by a crowd of devoted grown-ups. It had all the classic signs of high intelligence, if your definition of intelligence includes a powerful survival instinct, the ability to scream on command, and an uncanny knack for getting adults to do exactly what it wants, no training required.
