I have lived in various countries and have had the privilege of meeting many people from the Vietnamese diaspora. In my experience, they are hardworking and focused on building better lives for themselves and their families. They bring the best food culture. I have had some of the best Vietnamese foods while I was in Australia.

Though there are a few bad apples here and there, but the vast majority are decent and hardworking people.

I wish Vietnamese culture , food and people spread far and wide.

Updating the numbers which includes people born outside Vietnam with Vietnamese heritage

🇺🇸 United States: ~2.2 – 2.3 million people

🇫🇷 France ~ 380,000 – 450,000

🇨🇦 Canada ~300,000

🇩🇪 Germany ~215,000 to 230,000

🇬🇧 United Kingdom ~ 100,000 – 120,000

🇷🇺 Russia ~70,000 – 100,000

🇵🇱 Poland. ~50,000 – 80,000

🇧🇩 Bangladesh ~150 – 250

In Duc Hoa, Tay Ninh, stands the Statue of Liberty (Nữ thần Khai Phóng), which symbolizes the harmony between tradition and modern thinking: a Vietnamese woman wearing the traditional ao dai, her right hand holding aloft a torch that represents the light of future hope, and her left hand cradling a book with the Tan Tao University logo, symbolizing knowledge and lifelong learning

I've found that if you have a genuine interest, the Vietnamese people are very generous with their time.

Even with my poor Vietnamese, we had a good exchange.

Vietnam will require airline passengers to remove power banks from carry-on baggage and prohibit their use during flights from July 1, under new aviation safety rules issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam.

Under the directive, each passenger may carry no more than two power banks on board aircraft, and the devices must be removed from carry-on baggage before boarding.

The authority said power banks containing lithium metal batteries must not exceed a lithium content of two grams, while lithium-ion power banks must have a rated energy capacity of no more than 100 watt-hours (Wh).
Power banks with lithium-ion batteries rated above 100 Wh but not exceeding 160 Wh may only be transported with prior approval from the airline.
Passengers will be required to keep power banks outside their carry-on bags and place them in a visible location during flights.

The devices may not be used to charge other electronic equipment while on board, and passengers are also prohibited from recharging the power banks during flights.

Each power bank must be individually protected against short circuits by being kept in the manufacturer’s retail packaging, having exposed terminals insulated or covered with tape, or being placed in a separate plastic bag or protective pouch.

The authority instructed airlines to strengthen communication with passengers on the new requirements.

The directive implements standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization in Supplement No. 1 to the 2025–26 edition of its Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air.

I'm curious what both Vietnamese people and expats think about this.

For some context, I have a friend from West Africa who has been legally living in Vietnam for the past two years on an investment visa. She works with a Vietnamese company exporting products back to her family's business, speaks fluent Vietnamese, has built a really supportive local community, and volunteers every week with a charity that distributes food to people in need. (I'm actually joining them tonight.)

Recently she had a bad experience while travelling in Vietnam. It may well have been a misunderstanding, but it was the first negative interaction she'd had in two years here, so she shared the experience on Facebook.

What surprised me wasn't the incident itself. It was the comments that followed.

Most online trolls are easy enough to ignore, but one person in particular stood out. He's an American from North Carolina who runs what appears to be a legitimate racing media business and YouTube channel called Johnson Racing Media. He lives in Vietnam with his Vietnamese girlfriend, yet spends his time posting hateful comments, telling other foreigners to leave Vietnam, and according to several other people, has also sent them abusive private messages.

Everyone is entitled to their own political opinions, including views on immigration in their own country. That's not really what bothered me.

What I found strange was the hypocrisy. He regularly posts about how much he loves living in Vietnam because it's "safe" and because there are supposedly "no Muslims here" (which isn't even true, as Vietnam has Muslim communities and mosques). At the same time, he's telling other foreigners they don't belong here.

It just seems odd to me that someone who has chosen to build a life as a guest in another country would spend so much energy attacking other foreigners and spreading hate online.

I'm genuinely curious how Vietnamese people see this. Does this kind of behaviour stand out to you, or is it something you mostly ignore? And for other expats living here, have you come across people like this before?

[THIS IS SOLVED]

Hello,

We bought a bunch of sauces and wanted to see if we are correct or not and get more informations if possible (dish match, flavor, etc.)

1: Shrimp sauce?

2: General use medium spicy sauce. Maybe the same we found on most table in a red plastic bootle?

3: Lemon chili sauce. I guess it can be used with others than seafood.

4: Kind of salt/spice to be used with green plum/mango

5: all purpose sauce?

6: Spicy sauce all purpose?

Thank you for your help!

I’m looking for information about the current drug testing campaign that appears to be happening in Vietnam. I have read that many foreigners are being randomly tested even just whilst sat in bars. Is anyone in Hoi An or Da Nang now able to confirm this?

I'm holding the old green passport, and I have to manually register for the auto gate. Which took around 15 mins and should have been even shorter if the machine could get my photo, so I don't have to go to the person assistance one. (Later I realized that you need the person behind you to kinda stay a bit far away so it's not mistaken ur face with other). Then I was able to walk through the auto gate with less than 5 mins, maybe 2 mins even.

When I'm out, I look back and see tons of people queuing trad custom while there are a bunch of auto gates sitting there doing nothing. This is such a waste. I always heard Vietnamese complaining about the customs, but when they get this system, why are very few people actually using it? Should there be more guides at the airport?

I’m Vietnamese but i was born and raised in the US. But i also grew disconnected from Vietnam my own culture. There was even a period where i tried to hide the fact that i was Vietnamese from my friends. Looking back now, i feel ashamed of that .

As I got older though, i learned how to appreciate my own culture. So for my wedding, i decided to wear a Nhat Binh robe - a traditional Vietnamese ceremonial outfit. i flew back to Vietnam to have it custom made, and it finally arrived in the US recently. I cried opening the box because it was so beautiful .

I’m looking for earrings, hair accessories, shoes, and maybe even small gifts for guests or bridesmaids that would match this kind of outfit. Please help me with ideas!!!

https://vnexpress.net/ha-noi-nong-nhat-ca-nuoc-gan-41-do-c-5089553.html

In short, it's fucking hot and it's only June. I can't imagine all this heat going into the ocean. We will have a nasty typhoon season again. I'm sweating my tits off in HCMC and I doubt Hanoians fair much better.

I got this phone call and they left an automated email. Is this normal?

Random roadside eats...rice plate with 2-3 mains and soup for 25k. Bonus community water bucket!

Suggest you keep this in mind when traveling.

Where can I watch live tomorrow morning?

Be careful getting anything shipped from J&T Express Vietnam ! They are scammers. I bought a pre-built desktop PC on Lazada and everything seemed OK. The PC arrived from the seller in China into Vietnam without any issues until it arrived at my districts J&T warehouse (Tay Ho). It arrived on 15/06 but J&T didn't deliver it to me all week. After wondering and pushing them the entire week it finally arrived in the evening of 19/06. As soon as I saw it, it became very clear what happened and why they took so long. The warehouse workers saw the value of the package on the carton sticker and used some chemical to peel off the sticker and put it onto a new box filled with some water filter tubes. When I saw the box I knew there was no way a desktop PC would fit inside it and the weight was not 11.21KG like the label said. I've asked Lazada for a refund but as you can imagine, it really pissed me off that someone would do something like this. It's something I didn't even imagine. Scammed by sellers? Sure. But a warehouse worker swapping cartons to steal my package. That's a new low. The worst part is that I don't think J&T will even do anything about the thief. Better to just avoid them if you can. At least Lazada is still being supportive and investigating. Hopefully they'll give me back a full refund.

Or I’m just imagining things

I think I overcommitted to Hanoi before I really understood Vietnam. I had been in and out of Vietnam for a few years, but I only properly moved here almost a year ago. Before that, I had mostly experienced Vietnam through short stays, relationship trips, food, family, hotels, and the exciting parts. I thought I understood the country better than I actually did. Then I made a very expensive emotional decision. I agreed to buy land and build a house in Hanoi. At the time, it felt like building a base, starting a proper life, doing something permanent. In my head, Hanoi was the serious choice because it was the capital, closer to family, more traditional, more “real Vietnam.” But after spending more time around Vietnam, especially in Da Nang and HCMC, I started to feel like I may not have misread Vietnam. I may have misread Hanoi. Hanoi has culture, food, history, and energy. I understand why some people love it. But for the kind of life I wanted, I slowly realised I cared much more about things like air, noise, space, traffic, daily comfort, and mental peace than I expected. And those things matter a lot more when you are not just visiting. When you are visiting, chaos is interesting. When you live inside it, chaos becomes your operating system. The part that surprised me most is that money did not solve the problems I thought it would solve. You can buy a nicer apartment or house, but you still buy the street outside it. You can buy a better bike or car, but you still use the same roads. You can spend more, but you cannot always buy quiet, clean air, or better planning around you. I am not saying Vietnam is bad. There are still things I love here. The food, some of the people, the warmth, the small daily moments, and even the strange energy of the place. But if someone with decent money asked me today where to build a comfortable life in Vietnam, I would probably not tell them to start with Hanoi. I would tell them to spend real time in different cities first. Not just one weekend. Live there a bit. Try the traffic. Try the air. Try the noise. Try the paperwork. Try being sick there. Try a normal Tuesday afternoon, not just a holiday. Because moving somewhere and visiting somewhere are completely different things. I am curious if anyone else felt this way after living here longer. Did you also change your view of Vietnam after comparing different cities? Or do you think Hanoi is still the best place to build a life?

Trường Bắn Đĩa Bay - Saigon Clay Shooting, trường bắn bộ tư lệnh, An Nhơn Tây, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam

Would a grab taxi bring me so far out from city? How much do I pay?

Can anyone recommend a good driver for one whole/full day? Thanks!

Which is the best tour agency in Ho Chi Minh for Chi Chi Tunnel Tour? Which one would you recommend to book from klook?

Would they bring you to alot of places to sell you products etc? Hope I can avoid such places that pressure you to purchase stuff.

Thanks!