I’ve been through the theft part twice while travelling. I had cash stolen out of my bag in China — they sliced it open while it was by my feet on a bus — and a camera and iPod stolen from my baggage on a flight (yes, I know I shouldn’t have packed valuables in … read the full post

Nalini Sadai started work for Britain’s Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO) 10 years ago. She started off in London and then, in 2007, moved to Jamaica as Vice-Consul. She’s now the Consular Regional Operations Manager for Vietnam and Burma. I met with her to discuss her consular work and to find out what advice and help … read the full post

Efficiency of check-in at Hanoi’s Noi Bai airport is hit and miss, and this can lead to frustration, so there’s a certain advantage to checking-in before you arrive. Jetstar doesn’t offer a web check-in but does have a check-in desk at its office at 206 Tran Quang Khai, on the main road just north of … read the full post

Apologies. It’s taken me longer to write part two of this blog than it usually takes a couple in Hanoi to get engaged. So let me get straight into it and recount my Hanoian wedding experience. First I should say that the wedding I went to was in the suburbs and was what I believe … read the full post

Try as I might, I can’t find out what “Ta Hien”, one of Hanoi‘s 36 streets, originally sold, although according to a friend’s father, it sold food when he was young and during his parents’ generation — whether that was the original wares sold here or not, I’m not sure. Perhaps this lack of information … read the full post

Lau — pronounced something like ‘low’ — is perhaps one of the most popular dishes in Hanoi, particularly in the cooler months. It’s a similar set up to that seen in other countries in the region (I recall a particularly good experience in the Perhentians): a pan of simmering stock is put on a gas … read the full post

A couple of upcoming events in Hanoi are worth bringing to your attention: opera, history and art exhibitions. On March 9 and 10, Hanoi Opera House will be home to a German opera night. Conducted by Jonas Alber, the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra will perform excerpts from works including Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Beethoven’s Fidelio and … read the full post

Tracey Lister, co-owner of Hanoi Cooking Centre, first came to Hanoi in 2000. Hoping to find voluntary work she was rebuffed by NGOs who didn’t “need chefs” but she came anyway, accompanying her husband, Andreas Pohl, who was working on an AusAid project. When she arrived in Hanoi she met Jimmy Pham, founder of Koto … read the full post

If you’ve seen a tent being erected on the pavement in the middle of Hanoi and wondered what on earth is going on, it’s likely that there’s a wedding in the offing. Let me backtrack a little and give you a whistle-stop guide to marriage in Vietnam. To give you a full understanding of the … read the full post

As a way to bring you an insight plus some useful information about Hanoi, I’ve been interviewing people who can offer different perspectives on the city. Given that travel agents get a lot of negative press, I met with Lai, a travel agent well known and trusted within the expat community. Lai is from a … read the full post