NOTE: Below is my final draft. The published, edited version can be found at The Ken. David Beckham was the guest of honour, at a cost of no less than half a million dollars, at the launch of the first Vietnamese made automobile at the Paris Motor Show in 2018. Manufactured by Vinfast, a subsidiary … Read more
This article was publish in the Hanoi Times. Short stools have been scattered haphazardly facing a microphone on a stand on what would normally be a step, but tonight will double as a stage. The bar to the side, with its assorted beers and bottled spirits, is brightly lit but the lights at the back … Read more
This article first appeared in the Hanoi Times The blue and yellow logo of the Vietnam Post building basks peacefully in the glow of the slowly lowering Sunday afternoon sun, on the eastern side of Hoan Kiem Lake, the heart of Hanoi. On the forecourt, before it, however, energy levels are high. A crowd is … Read more
This article was published in Tuoi Tre On a rooftop in Hanoi’s old quarter a handful of lanterns, strung above a small makeshift dais, burn bright against the dark of a Hanoian summer night. Beneath them, a tender-brown, acoustic guitar sits idle against a small wooden chair. Beside it a chalkboard advertises the night’s headliners, … Read more
This article first appeared in Tuoi Tre In a cinema in Ho Chi Minh City, on a business trip six months ago, Simon James and Ngan Nguyen’s romantic relationship took its first tiny steps. They had gone to the cinema with a group of their colleagues but, shortly after finding seats, they peeled themselves off … Read more
This article first appeared on Tuoi Tre Animal shelters in Hanoi have registered a spike in new arrivals as COVID-19 border restrictions force foreigners to return home leaving behind their four-legged friends. “Some of them actually look into the procedure to take them back home lawfully. But the thing is no airlines are taking animals … Read more