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When people arrive in Vietnam for the first time, one of the first questions they often ask is surprisingly simple. “Why are the chairs so small?” Not temples. Not the traffic. Not the food. The stools. Tiny blue, red, or green plastic stools, barely 20 centimeters off the ground, scattered across sidewalks all over Hanoi and the rest of Vietnam. Foreign travelers stare at them with a mixture of amusement and concern, trying to imagine how an entire nation collectively decide

One of the biggest misconceptions about Vietnam is that it’s relaxing. It isn’t. Vietnam is loud. Chaotic. Overstimulating sometimes. Beautiful. Exhausting occasionally. And strangely enough, I think that’s exactly why so many people end up falling in love with it. Having spent 25 years living in Switzerland before moving back to Vietnam, I notice this very clearly with first-time visitors. Many arrive expecting something like Thailand: slow beaches, quiet resorts, tropical c

Ha Long Bay is one of the most famous places in Vietnam — and also one of the most questioned. Almost everyone I speak to asks the same thing: “Is it still worth going, or has it become too touristy?” The honest answer is: yes — it’s worth it, but not in the way people expect. The expectation Most people imagine: quiet emerald water empty limestone islands a peaceful, almost untouched landscape And to be fair, the photos suggest exactly that. The reality Ha Long Bay is not un