Meet Sapa’s Ultimate Guide, Mama Zu

A few dozen groggy tourists shuffle off the sleeper train and board a transfer bus to Sapa, one of Vietnam’s top destinations. Inaudible slurs on the bus develop into excited chatter as they beam at guidebook photographs of terraced rice paddies swirling around lush green hills, a trademark image of the country’s north. Seconds after … Read more

Mixed marriages: Love transcends

Love can transcend tradition, or the two can go hand-in-hand as our couples in mixed marriages discovered. Falling in love was the easy part for Varadhan Radhanath and Doan Thanh Huyen. Despite being from countries over 3,000km apart and barely speaking a shared language, the couple felt that nameless essential element was there. “I was … Read more

Hidden resistance

Discovering Saigon’s secrets Pho Binh, or Peace Soup, is a modest restaurant churning out pho bo, Vietnam’s traditional beef noodle soup, just like hundreds of others in Ho Chi Minh City. However, hungry customers who venture to the second floor of the three-storey house will witness the room where men and women debated, planned and … Read more

Look East

India discovers a strategic partner in Vietnam When Idian and Vietnamese politicians sign agreements, listen carefully: you’ll likely hear entrepreneurs rubbing their hands. Companies in Vietnam have been thriving since the economic reforms of Doi Moi swung open its doors to international trade in 1986. Nearly 25 years later the Association of Southeast Asian Nations … Read more