Honest writing
about Vietnam travel.

Long-form posts on safety, real costs, operator analysis, and the practical realities the marketing sites skip.

• December 20, 2026·Vietnam·11 min read

  Hanoi food — the real best places, by dish

  Every Hanoi food list features the same five Bourdain-and-Obama spots. Most aren't the best anymore. Here is the honest guide to where Hanoi locals actually eat, organized by dish.

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• December 1, 2026·Vietnam·9 min read

  Vietnam cooking classes — which city, which school

  Cooking classes are one of the easiest things to overpay for in Vietnam and one of the most consistent things to get right. The differences between cities are bigger than the differences between schools within a city.

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• July 20, 2026·Vietnam·9 min read

  Vietnamese food, region by region — what to eat where

  Pho is not one dish. Vietnam has three distinct culinary regions, and a Hanoi-trained palate gets disappointed in Saigon for the same reasons the reverse happens. Here is what to eat in each region, and what is regional vs invented-by-marketing.

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