English Teacher

I’ve been living in Vietnam since 2012. I’m originally from Boston, USA. This is my collection of compelling Vietnamese things I’ve found over the years.

MY TRAVEL GUIDES

I’ve written guides full of helpful information for travelers and expats. They’re also good for families with kids in Vietnam.

WILDLIFE

  • Red Shanked Douc Langurs - They’re remarkable monkeys. You can find them on the Son Tra Peninsula (next to Danang). National Geographic has a 7 minute documentary about them here.

INTERESTING BOOKS

  • Green Lantern Legacy - A Vietnamese teenager becomes a superhero. Learn more about the author Minh Le.
  • The Mountains Sing by Dr. Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai - A moving multigenerational novel that tells the story of one Vietnamese family through war, famine, land reform, and national division, offering a deeply personal view of 20th-century Vietnam through the voices of a grandmother and her granddaughter.
  • Saigon by Anthony Grey - A sweeping historical novel that follows intertwined American, French, and Vietnamese families through fifty years of Vietnam’s turbulent journey from French colonial rule to the fall of Saigon in 1975.
  • Vietnam: A New History by Christopher Goscha - A comprehensive history of Vietnam that traces the country’s development from ancient times to the present, emphasizing Vietnamese perspectives rather than foreign ones.
  • A Quiet American by Graham Greene - A classic novel set in 1950s Saigon that uses a love triangle between a British journalist, a young American idealist, and a Vietnamese woman to explore colonialism, foreign intervention, and the human cost of political ambition. A movie came out in 2002.
  • My English Journey - An excellent book about learning English. It’s in Vietnamese and English.
  • Little Lotus - A Japanese manga set in Saigon.
  • Saving Sorya: Chang and the Sun Bear (buy in Vietnamese / buy in English) and Saving H’Non: Chang and the Elephant (buy in Vietnamese / buy in English) - They’re graphic novels about conservation with fantastic art.

REMARKABLE PEOPLE

NEWS ABOUT VIETNAM IN ENGLISH

  • Vietnam Today - website and Facebook
  • Vietnam Weekly – Michael Tatarski writes about the latest developments in Vietnam from essential news to under-the-radar stories. You can read it online or get a weekly email.
  • Vietcetera International – The latest and most important stories shaping the economy and business in Vietnam.

HELPFUL VIDEOS ABOUT VIETNAM

OTHER TRAVEL GUIDES

  • Vietnam Coracle - Tom Divers and his team do an excellent job writing independent guides for travelers in Vietnam.
  • Rusty Compass - Mark Bowyer has written interesting content about Vietnam and Cambodia for many years.

PODCASTS

MOVIES

  • A Crack in the Mountain - It tells the story of Son Doong cave, from discovery to the present day.
  • Children of the Mist - It’s a documentary that follows a Hmong teenage girl in northern Vietnam as she struggles between pursuing her education and the traditional expectation of early marriage.

EVERYTHING ELSE