Times City, from Dương Văn Bé Street #Hanoi, #Vietnam

Nghĩa Tân #Hanoi, #Vietnam

Eel Restaurant Yên Ninh Street #Hanoi, #Vietnam

Some analysis of the scam center epidemic in SE Asia that is worth the read: thediplomat.com/2025/11/crac...

Kim Quan Alleyway Long Biên #Hanoi, #Vietnam

Repost of an essay about the time I went in search of a bookstore in #HCMC called Kafka but before I even got there I was sidetracked by a story about a far-out mystic who believed he could overthrow the French in #Saigon and become the ruler of Heaven and Earth. connla.substack.com/p/phan-xich-...

Thạch Cầu - Long Biên #Hanoi, #Vietnam

Where were the soul food Restos and soul brother bars of #Saigon? And what can they tell us about the men who frequented them and the #racism they experienced when serving in the US Army in Vietnam? Quite a lot, I’d argue! My latest long read on Substack is here: connla.substack.com/p/a-history-...

Sông Hồng Long Biên #Hanoi, #Vietnam

Chuyên Đậu Mơ Nóng Thạch Cầu, #Hanoi, #Vietnam

Bát Tràng home #Hanoi, #Vietnam

If you need a Sunday afternoon/ evening read... About Kipling, imperialism, a consequential British intervention in Vietnam -- and more. connla.substack.com/p/kipling-in...

Drinks stand Cổ Bi Road #Hanoi, #Vietnam

The new Pandan Weekly (issue #3) is out. I have a story in it —and there's lots more (fiction, essays, poetry) from Southeast Asia in there. And it's all free to download. So, why wouldn't you .... pandanweekly.substack.com/p/zine-issue-3

Power tools Đường Ngô Gia Tự #Hanoi, #Vietnam

Nhậu Định Công Hạ #Hanoi, #Vietnam

Delighted that Shanghai Literary Review has just published this long read of mine about the #Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens, seen through the eyes of the writers who visited through the years starting with Norman Lewis. Please feel free to share. www.shanghailiterary.com/tslr-online-...

[email protected] just published my book on resistance & repression in Asia. I think it's timely but know it's hard to read anything but news. If you listen to things while commuting or exercising, it's out as a skillfully read 2 1/2 hour audio book www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/801233...

Sad news. Just heard that the #Vietnamese American #author Andrew X. Pham has died. He is best known for ‘Catfish and Mandala’, a deeply personal memoir about a year-long cycling odyssey through parts of Mexico, Korea, Japan & #Vietnam. His first novel was just published last year. #booksky

Nghĩa Tân Ward #Hanoi, #Vietnam

The cultural scholar Hữu Ngọc has died at the ripe old age of 107. He produced a huge number of #books (in numerous languages) in his lifetime but this is the one that he’s best known for — a huge and rewarding resource that I frequently turned to over the years. #vietnam #vietnameseculture

My book is officially out today. There's a new cover so this early copy is already vintage :) It's mostly a tribute to the quotidian charms of Ho Chi Minh City in #Vietnam. The food, the people, the alleys, its inherent musicality, its rapid changes, and even its ghosts. #booksky #travelwriting

Anything that any one writes about #HCMC can abruptly feel dated. This restructuring of its wards would (once it comes into effect) certainly date my book (out May 1)—and so it goes. Anyway, noteworthy: Saigon + Cholon will soon be formal names—short summary here: news.laodong.vn/xa-hoi/thong...

On a similar theme, this travel piece (about Ho Chi Minh City's backstreet appeal) is—just two months on—also dated. One cafe featured relocated. Another resto I mentioned is gone—I guess Ho Chi Minh City wasn't quite ready for a swanky Hawaiian joint... www.escapeartist.com/blog/the-hid...

An ode to the Shark Jaw building in Hanoi, turning tram depots into opera houses, more lakeside demolition for metro construction, and thoughts on if Hanoi should go full Haussmann.

On luring people away from 2G: "Vietnam’s plan was simple: Offer free 4G feature phones to help low-income 2G consumers adapt to the change." Updating #infrastructure, a struggle. It includes many tiny elements, e.g. sensors. restofworld.org/2025/shut…

Nghĩa Tân Ward #Hanoi, #Vietnam

Tô Hiệu Street #Hanoi, #Vietnam

Xuân Thụy - Gia Lâm #Hanoi, #Vietnam

I’m seeking experts on long term Thai visas for foreigners - please let me know if you’d be willing to answer a few questions (or can suggest a consultant)….

Wrote an old fashioned #travel piece on #Saigon / #HCMC for Escape Artist. 'To discover the #Saigonese soul of #Vietnam’s largest hub, now home to over 10 million, you need to plunge into the side streets and explore the back alleys as much as you can.' www.escapeartist.com/blog/the-hid...

Hrmmmmmm I don’t think I like this. Can’t really put my finger on why though

We are fixing one traditional house in Ha Giang’s borderlands. We are so excited, as this is a project I was thinking about for many years. This is how it looks so far:

Workers quarters Alley 42 Xuân Đỉnh #Hanoi, #Vietnam

Sidewalk phở stall Chùa Quỳnh Street #Hanoi, #Vietnam

2024 was an interesting year, in Vietnam and internationally. In my inner-city neighborhood of Ho Chi Minh City, there were eight houses in the photograph constructed during this past year, and one is still under construction. House construction continues in the face of the the property recession.

Eventually, perhaps one could say truly mimicking human behaviour, ChatGPT stopped asking advice and started giving advice to the planner (Claude)—a situation anyone who has spent much time giving travel advice will be well familiar with

Mm, crab and snail rice noodle soup for breakfast. (there’s also tofu, pork roll and beef cakes in there - really covering all the species bases). At “Bún riêu cua Cô Thu - crab noodle ms. Thu” in Hanoi.

Beer & hotpot Tạ Quang Bửu Street #Hanoi, #Vietnam

Tạp Hóa Kim Ngưu Alley 559 #Hanoi, #Vietnam

Looking to speak to a travel writer who has self published a travel book! Anyone on here got intel? This is for a Talking Travel Writing newsletter at the end of Jan 😊 thanks in advance!

Today in Ninh Bình, Vietnam #Photography #Vietnam

One of my enduring memories of early 00s #Hanoi was how it was the height of masculine flexing among certain segments of middle-aged males to ride to a tea shop with their favorite songbird to meet other such dudes and spend all afternoon talking about their orchids amidst caged birdsong.

Apartment block Phú Xá Ward #Hanoi, #Vietnam

Can we get to 300 downloads before the holidays? What better moment to think about the entangled histories of Europe and empire, oh and also it's FREE, why wouldn't you want to read it? (rhetorical question no need to respond) 🗃️ doi.org/10.5040/9781...

Fave detail from @rpanchasi.bsky.social's excellent interview w/ @michaelgvann.bsky.social: his Hanoi rat project emerged out of boredom in the colonial archives in Aix. Every afternoon just for some fun diversion Vann would call up a file w/ a quirky name. One of those files led to this great book🗃️