Vietnam blogs

Over the last month or so I’ve been making a note of blogs I come across originating from somewhere in Vietnam. Quite a range of voices here it seems. If you write one of them, or read one regularly, and have a better description, let me know. Likewise if you know of any I’ve missed, drop a comment.

Royby.com: The personal weblog of a chap teaching "Web Construction" at RMIT International University. Some snaps. Saigon.

Remittance Girl:  "Multimedia designer, wannabe writer, general all around curious person." Another personal weblog. Saigon.

No Star Where – Personal weblog with links to local news and me. Saigon. UPDATE: Now in NYC and blogging here.

Here I go again – Newbie EFL Teacher called Alison Bradley. Saigon.

Our Man in Hanoi – KOTO PR fundraising maestro, VSO volunteer, regular commenter at noodlepie and fellow lover of the great British greasy spoon. Hanoi. UPDATE: He’s moved here.

I love the smell of coffee in the morning… – Personal weblog with pics. Hanoi.

Pourqois non? – EFL teaching and yeast infections from Carrie. Saigon.

Vietish – Another VSO volunteer and TV star based in beautiful Yen Bai City

Toi la Nguoi – Gets in bother with Saigon’s underbelly. Author has now left Vietnam.  Saigon. UPDATE: Toi la Nguoi has left the building. Shame.

Nhin cai ga? – Personal weblog of Linda Park in English with pictures. Saigon.

upside gone: down in saigon – Beers, girls, shagging and no capital letters. Saigon.

Cottontimer – LiveJournal of an expat Mum in Saigon, regular commenter at noodlepie. She updates her site daily and has lots of photos. Saigon. UPDATE: Now moved to London and blogging here.

Good Morning Vietnam – Diary style weblog of Minty Russel. Saigon, I think.

Virtual Doug – Vietnam Vet, teacher and pavement pounder. Hue.

Our Hanoi Blog – Personal weblog from a Network Engineer/Mac user. She has Tiger… grrr. With some pics. Hanoi.

Wendy Yanagihara in Vietnam – Lonely Planet writer updating Southeast Asia on a Shoestring. Vietnamwide.

My Tho, Vietnam Surgical Trip – Interesting diary of an Interplast Surgical Volunteer. My Tho

Ed and Oren’s Vietnam Bike Ride Blog – Self explanatory. Vietnamwide.

NamViet.net – General stuff, some politics. In English and Vietnamese. Dunno where.

Blo-Chi-Minh – In French. All about living and travelling in Vietnam. Inactive since June, 2004. Dunno location.

Vietnamese God – By a Vietnamese guy from Nha Trang, but living in Hanoi. He blogs in English. Good English. Hanoi/Nha Trang.

The Alpha Project – Diary come novel come stream of conciousness. Some pics. Hanoi.

Hanoi Days – Diary style written by JC, a British guy working for the Bao Nhan Dan Newspaper. Some pics. Hanoi

Philip’s Vietnam Diary – Diary of experiences cataloguing Philip’s time in Vietnam from August 2004 – August 2005. Some photo albums. Saigon.

Ipa Nima – A blog by bag designer Christina all about her Ipa-Nima hand bags. Hanoi.

Xin Chao Vietnam – Ola! A travelogue blog in Spanish with pics. Vietnamwide.

Jess on the road – "Vietnam/Cambodia 2005: Travels of a former business journalist." Vietnamwide.

Diary of love – In Vietnamese. Not sure what it’s about. Love?

Tuyen Dung – In Vietnamese. All about jobs.

The Rice Bowl – A yoga practicing English teacher who sounds rather fun. Saigon

Down and Out in Saigon – Blog of another expat teaching English. Saigon.

Travelblog – Saigon – Blogs and travel journals from the south of Vietnam. Some pics.

Thanh Long – A travel blog. Experiences in Vietnam by Sean Lovell. Hanoi.

Vietnam Journalism – Vietnamese journalist Le Quoc Minh provides insight into journalism in Vietnam including ‘personal stories by journalists on their life and work.’ Vietnamwide.

Clear Path International – Work with landmine and bomb victims in Vietnam and elsewhere. Vietnamwide.

Such is life – A personal weblog in English of Vietnamese student Van. Hanoi

Noodle Journal – From a Vietnamese student called Phuong about study.

My translation diary – A personal weblog by someone by the name of Dich Thuat. He also keeps a ‘wedding diary’

VietnamTours – Tien Nguyen is a tour guide.

Kia Ora Vietnam – A Kiwi couple in the early 50′s living and working in Hanoi.

Antidote to Burnout – An architect who lived in Vietnam in the 70′s returns to work in Hanoi.

Sticky Rice – If it’s the Hanoi food scene you wanna check out, these are the guys for you.

No Star Where has a list of Vietnamese student blogs here and here.

Step2Vn – A blog about mobile technology in Vietnamese.

A Viet soul in Texas – Vietnamese expatriate/student in the US.

Vietnam travel guide and good friend to have – Tour guide about guiding and looking for people to guide. Hanoi.

Sky’s Vietnam Diary – Diary of a Danish expat trainee project leader and IT developer. Saigon.

Renee’s Weblog – The life of a volunteer in Vietnam. With photos. Saigon.

A country on the change – Written in English by a woman called geminicat27, a Hanoian living in Saigon

ABC of Vietnamese blogs – List of blogs in Vietnamese & English and some in Vietnam

Elmoooh – Young Vietnamese chap, with good written English, blogging from Hanoi. With photos.

Street Kids in Vietnam – A regular update on the work of Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation, a
grassroots charity working in Vietnam with street kids and the poorest
of the poor.

The Final Word. He’s a British English teacher, plays footie for the Saigon Raiders and is engaged to a Vietnamese girl. He lives in Saigon.

Hau, friend of Elmoooh, and an ‘outted’ Vietnamese guy living in Hanoi blogging in English at Hanoi Rainbow.

Vietnam 555-333 is a French language blog. I think the numeric name refers to fags and booze. But I could be wrong.

Chris blogs at Charvey in Vietnam.

Rose’s Blog – The blog of Rose Nguyen who works for Humanitarian Services For Children Of Vietnam.

Les Tontons Blogueurs – In French, and I am very reliably informed, bloody hilarious. From Can Tho/Saigon.

Gia Linh – A blog, in Vietnamese, all about a subject very close to most Vietnamese hearts – babies.

15 May School – Not strictly a blog, but a site/blog about a restaurant that helps children ‘escape the streets’ in Saigon

Vietnam, Photos and Notes of a very personal war – Reminiscence and photos of a British soldier serving in the Mekong Delta, Tay Ninh, Phan Thiet and elsewhere.

84 thoughts on “Vietnam blogs”

  1. Kate

    Hello Pieman

    Three friends of mine have blogs, all from Ha Noi. Check them out if you’re interested.

    vietnamesegod.blogspot.com
    thealphaproject.blogspot.com
    hanoidays.blogspot.com

    Thanks for the info on the other bloggers, always interesting to see other perspectives!

    Cheers
    K

  7. remittance girl

    Thanks for finding me noodlepie. Yes indeed,I’m the world’s fastest and worst typist! which is why I’m a wannabe writer and not a real one.

    Thanks for the “Mi Chu Tac” tip – went there last week. Ngon za mang!

  8. pieman

    Thanks pcdinh – for some reason I can’t get into any blogspot and blogger sites today. As soon as I can and check them, I’ll add themt o the list.

    Mindy, you mean apart fromt he obvious?

    R Girl, glad someone’s actually trying the stuff I like :)

  12. toilanguoi

    the beautiful thing about all lowercase is that it frees you up from having to waste time on trivial grammatical rules. which means more “stream of troubled consciousness”. or something.

  13. Andrew Nguyen

    Hi mate,

    I enjoy reading your blog. Quite a lot of kool links. Keep up the good job

    Cheers,

  15. Lloyd Kahn

    3-week trip by photographer/publisher: SFO to Bangkok/Saigon/Mui Ne/Phu Quoc Island/Chou Doc/Phnom Penh/Vientiane/Luang Prabang/Bangkok to SFO. Silk weavers, backpackers, island resort $15 per night, swimming in the Mekong, the cave of 4000 Buddhas…

  17. remittance girl

    I do thank you for giving me a link – for the second time. But would you mind re-phrasing your sentence. I corrected the spelling after you berated me the first time.

    There’s really no need to spank me twice – that’s just plain mean.:-)

    rg

  18. phaocao

    hi pieman
    Tuyen dung is about employment.They post the position they want to hire.
    think you want to known

  22. rst

    A great resource, both the blog list and the food reviews. I’ve been meaning to drop a comment since your spot in the New York Times. If you’re looking for some good ravioli, Chez Guido’s ‘ravioli montanara’ is great (222 Lê Thanh Tôn, Q.1, TPCHCM).

  24. Van Le

    Great blog you have there pieman. In fact reading your blog is the very reason I created mine. It’s new, so some more readers will be appreciated. Can I join your list? It’s about Hanoi, in English, but I’m 100% Vietnamese: fa1alit1es.blogspot.com

  25. pieman

    Thx for the tip Rst. James thanks for dropping me a line. Know of your work mostly thru Stuart Hughes. Maybe could do a story on your work sometime. Van Le, well done on strating your blog. You’re breaking new ground for Vietnamese… Good luck with it.

  33. Vietnam Travel

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  37. Jessica

    Hi, Noodlepie. I’ve been here about 10 days, and I have a blog:
    vietnamazing.blogspot.com
    So far it’s very much from a new kid in town, but it may become better as I get my Saigon footing. And I use capital letters as I’m supposed to!

  42. 15 May School

    Hi there!

    Sorry you’re not in Vietnam any more – miss all the good times on saigon food stalls!

    At the 15 May School we’ve redone our website to include a blog on the work we’re doing and to thank the public for their support. The site’s http://www.15mayschool.org and we’d be very grateful if you could add a link to us.

    Many thanks , and enjoy the french food!

  49. Jack

    Even years after it was posted, the list is still useful! Some have disappeared, plenty have grown. I’m going to Vietnam in February, if you have any tips, come and check me out :)

  51. Vietnam Sarah

    Noodlepie! Whats up?
    Sittin’ here pickin’ my nose, listening to Steely Dan and waiting for the UTOR, which should arrive on my 30th birthday.

    Like this blog list, no mentions of anyone in Hoi An as yet!

    We’re adding an expat tips and short stories section to the site with
    quotes and words of local wisdom. Also a house rental section is coming in the new year. The site covers loads of great travel content & info for expats and travellers to Hoi An. We’d be honored if you added us to the list! http://www.hoian.co.uk

    We mention you in our links page:http://www.hoian.co.uk/links.php

  53. VietnamHRlink.com

    Vietnam’s recent accession to the WTO, as the 150th member country, is witnessing an unprecedented number of executive positions in various high-growth areas become available to those most qualified applicants.

    Companies require skilled and experienced executive managers, as well as lower level, job placement to meet the huge demand being placed on this country during this extremely fast period of economic development. Infrastructure development is one of the more crucial areas to be addressed, with the export industry set to expand even further. Virtually all sectors are going through reform and further growth; not least of which are banking & finance, as well as administrative & clerical, both seeing big demands for qualified personnel under the new requirements adopted under WTO. Other fields with extremely high demands for positions also include marketing, sales & distribution, advertising & promotion and public relations; representing fields with little in-country experience. A third tranche of fields with positions in high demand include IT & telecommunications, engineering, transportation & shipping, manufacturing and human resource management; all being areas of extremely high growth and that are set to expand even further following WTO accession.

    Vietnam is not an easy job market, despite undergoing reform since 1989 it has only begun developing a western style market-economy in the last 10 years. Work demands are very high, skill levels are comparatively low, work conditions can range from relatively good to extremely poor, and work loads can be most stressful. Applicants should be aware that the requirements put on expatriot staff almost always exceed those of national staff, with expectations extremely high. Management abilities of nationals can range from virtually non-existant to, the other end of the gambit, extremely capable. Troubleshooting is always de rigueur.

    VietnamHRlink.com has recently witnessed a surge in the number of positions available to executive level employees and encourages all suitable applicants to submit their qualifications for these positions. Vietnam’s job market requires patient people with cross-cultural awareness and who are looking for additional challenges within their fields of expertise. VietnamHRlink.com also encourages the hiring of disabled, women and minorities.

  57. Ira

    http://hanoiredux.typepad.com/my_weblog/ is the address for our blog. we have lived in Hanoi since August 2005. while we live an upscale life, I speak the language and spend time with locals nearly every day. I know the is a reverse snobbery among the backpacking set, but I maintain that Park Avenue is as much a part of new york as alphabet city and that you need not sleep with rats to love and to know hanoi

  60. Alex

    Some of the most read blogs are 1.It’s the final word – British teacher/journalist about life in Saigon.

    2.The most thoughtful and most intellectual (relatively) is http://www.preyanka.com. She writes from Colorado but she is more or less Hanoian.

  61. travel to vietnam

    is the address for our blog. we have lived in Hanoi since August 2005. while we live an upscale life, I speak the language and spend time with locals nearly every day. I know the is a reverse snobbery among the backpacking set, but I maintain that Park Avenue is as much a part of new york as alphabet city and that you need not sleep with rats to love and to know hanoi

  62. Kent Kuran

    Yet another Vietnam blog…

    http://vietnamsummer.blogspot.com

    I took a seminar in Hanoi led by the American official who reopened the embassy in the mid 1990s. The course was tremendous, combining Vietnamese lecturers with American readings plus a rich assortment of extra outings and meetings with various officials. The blogs fall into three categories
    1) Thematic characterizations of Vietnamese society as I understood it
    2) Personal travel adventures in Hanoi, Saigon, Sapa, Halong, Hue, Ninh Binh, Bac Giang…
    3) Vignettes on nightlife, etc.

  63. jgirl

    I really think these Vietnamese demonstrators are nothing, but a whole bunch of stupid hypocrites. Remember the man who put up a picture of Ho Chi Minh in his own shop and got yelled at, hit at and kicked at? He was exercising his rights this country provides him, but these clueless and hopeless leftover losers from the former South Vietnam army farts took it away from him. So what on their minds when they gather outside of the White House with their own mouths taped up, their arms and legs tied up, hoping to get freedom rights for the people of Vietnam? If they are trying to get their message acrossed, they should respect everyone for whatever they are doing regardless of their religious belief, political party and their origin. The United States of America has its own laws and policies of dealing with communist, so these old Vietnamese farts should just rest assure and again, focus on their own health and family. Well, apparently, they are just whole bunch stupid hypocrites. For those who oppose and demonstrate against Mr. Nguyen’s visit are ignorants; they do not have the education to further understand the politics nor they have the love for their country and the fellow Vietnamese; they selfishly seek for their own personal vengeance. Again, let’s tell them to focus on their own family and kids. Don’t desert your own kids to become gang-bangers robbing and killing others in this wonderful country of the United States of America. Who are these Vietnamese Communists? Are they from a different country? They are also Vietnamese who had to choose side in order to unify their country. Unfortunately, the side they had chosen was not what the American would like them to. For all I know, the North Vietnamese could have chosen Liberal or Green Party instead of communist if there was a rich and strong ally to support their fight against the French and the American. China is the closest neighbor and was a good friend in supporting the fight. Soviet Union was another powerhouse in supporting the fight. So the North Vietnamese lead by uncle Ho had to take side with the communist in order to accomplish his goal unifying the country. We got to give credit to these fighters who sacrificed to give us the country unification today. Few good women (like me) and brave men to form an organization to get my message to the old former South Army to give up their bullshit agenda! Ladies and gentlemen: I hear what you are saying… some of you are angry at what I say while majority of you agree. It’s all good for me… that proves we are all human. BUT let’s put all the past behind and move on for all of us. NO more fighting! One said if it wasn’t for these LOST South Viet Army people, I wouldn’t be here in the USA today. What if I said if it wasn’t for the VC, you wouldn’t have a united VN and you would not have a reason to be here in the USA, would you? We all have to look at both sides of the token to make good judgement for anything. at this point, we all should be glad that VN now is not like Korea; the people are all united and working hard for prosperity. Don’t you want to see your friends and relatives live better? Eventually, democracy will take place soon enough. Here’s the reason why: before 1975, my father’s family was torn apart; my father’s mother and brothers were fighting along side with the north to re-unite the country while my father was a soldier in the south. The pain and anger for those who lost their love ones in the battle will always linger in their mind for many years to come. These pain and anger are inevitable in any battle for anyone. My grand mother lost her son. My father lost his brother. Who are we going to blame to, the North Vietnamese or the South Vietnamese or the intruders, the Chinese, the French and the American. It is clear for all of us to make up for the answer to forget the past, but improve the present.To get these old former South Vietnamese army men and women alike giving up their POINTLESS political agenda and focus on their own health and family instead of embarrassing the us, the youngsters with the disrespected 3 red stripes, which they could not be more brave to fight for the freedom they once had in Vietnam. Persuade these old losers from the former South Vietnam Army to accept their loss, give up the 3 red stripes flag and move on… but to help preserve and improve the beauty of their motherland environment (don’t be like china) and to strategically and economically engaged with the United States of America to secure our motherland security from threats of China. Here’s one of the best replies ever… “I somewhat agree with you about these old farts, as they have themselves to fight for the freedom of the Vietz but no real agenda, just mop mentality, when you question an issue to the details, there is not solid ground to support whatsoever. For example, there’s group of so called “Vietnam Tu Do” claim to have training camp in the jungle somewhere in, but further questions about the real reasons, one of the leaders in Houston, answered as if he is in Lala land, not even close to the issues of basic human rights, the minority ethnics’ land was taken away from them, and forced them to seek refuge in Cambodia, I bet he did not even watch the news or read the newspapers, or maybe the smart guys was too afraid to and interview with NPR (National Public Radio), either case, it is bunch of
    **** basters who claim themselves to be the heroes who fought hard of the war. I think because of the ignorant mentality, the south fell to the hand of the communists, if you ask me. What really worse is that when they organize an event, they sometimes solicit business for donations. when a business does not do well, and does not give a generous donation, these group will label that business of supporting the mi. Anyway, by now, most of the Vietz Hai ngoai know that these groups are no legitimate, they just sick and tired to talk about it. That includes myself. Take care, NT “, “I am really impressed with everything that you wrote in your profile. You did an excellent analysis of the current and past situation with regards to the politics in present-day Vietnam and with those remnants of the former South Vietnam. Although I am not Vietnamese and did not have any relatives who served (or died) in the Vietnam war, I am a student of Vietnamese history and I would like to contribute to this discussion. First, as an American, I would like to apologize to all Vietnamese everywhere for the horrible tragedy that the United States inflicted upon the country and peoples of Vietnam. The US government had incorrectly interpreted Ho Chi Minh’s government in the North as well as the Viet Cong (more appropriately known as the National Liberation Front or NLF) as merely tools of Russian and Chinese monist aggression and expansion, when in fact they were nationalist movements that just wanted to have a free and independent country rather than live as a colony of France or the United States. Life for the typical Vietnamese under French colonial rule had been horrible for many decades. After World War II and the defeat of Japan, which had taken over many of France’s colonial possessions in Asia, including Vietnam (which was part of French Indochina at that time), Ho Chi Minh looked to the United States for help in gaining independence from France, the United States having itself been freed from colonial rule by Great Britain. This was a golden opportunity for the US to stand up for it’s core values and help establish a new nation that would be determined by it’s own peoples rather than a far-away European government. But instead the US chose to help France, thus pushing Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh to have closer ties with the Soviet Union and communist China. Just think of how many lives this decision by the US government cost! Tens of millions of Vietnamese were killed in the French and American wars in Vietnam! And my last point is that the former government of South Vietnam had absolutely no legitimacy! It was merely a puppet and front for the US government, and full of corruption, back-stabbing, and in-fighting. Just ask that bastard Nguyen Cao Ky about this! It would never stand up on it’s own without the military and financial help of the US. Just look how easily it fell in 1975! It only took the North Vietnamese army about 4 months to completely defeat the south. So those of you in the former army and government of South Vietnam and those who still support them need to give it up and get a life! You lost! Game over! Nothing more needs to be said. What happened in Vietnam was one of the greatest tragedies of human civilization. We all need to work to ensure that what happened in Vietnam will never ever happen again.” Bao Bei. I’ve been receiving lots of responses from men from all walks of life, mostly Viet men. I’d love to hear an opinion from a Viet woman. But here’s a reply from a non-Viet man’s point of view: “I never respond to ads here but… Yours is the most brilliant analysis of this situation (Republic of Viet Nam die-hards) I’ve ever read virtually anywhere – among so-called Viet Kieu. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it expressed anywhere on VietFun or at least with such passion. I am of the same opinion concerning the old battle-ax guard parading around with the three red stripe yellow flags with such useless and pathetic fervor. I’m a journalist by training and editor of several books on Viet Nam and S.E. Asia. It would be nice to chat with you. Kind regards. Richard (aka: bao_ke)” ladies: i finally receive responses from you and thank you we have the same perspectives and belief.

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  76. joan

    If you are planning on buying something and having it shipped, beware of the consequences. I baught some wooderware and since it was too heavy to cary I decided to have it shipped. The owner charged me for the items and a shipping fee and told me that the only other thing I would have to pay for is a customes fee. She assured me that the items would arrive within one month and will give me a lower invoice for use at customes in order to save me money. It took four months, and one thousand $1,000. dollars to get it from VieNam via California to New Jersey to get it to my place in NYC. So be careful and don’t fall for what they tell you.

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  79. khrisna

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