Travelogue
The Russian Seaside Resort of Vietnam - 28 May 2026
Vietnam is a country of just over 100 million people. It’s dynamic with a capital “D”. The economy is growing rapidly: driven by manufacturing, of mobile phones and electronics in particular, it expanded by 8 percent in 2025 and expects to hit 10 percent growth in 2026. Its main trading partners are the USA, China, the European Union, and the other ASEAN countries, in that order. I’ve always thought of the country, famously shaped like the letter “S”, as one long beach – from the border with China to Hà Tiên. Two million tourists arrive each month. Many come from South Korea, China, Japan, and the USA. The largest group arriving from Europe however, are Russians. Some of them never leave. Their favourite destinations in Vietnam are the mid-central coastal cities of Da Nang and Nha Trang. Others go further south to the sleepy seaside beach resort of Mũi Né, about five hours by road north from Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). There are so many Russians in Vietnam that the country has been dubbed by some as “the Russian seaside resort of Vietnam”.There are 700 direct flights now from Russia to Vietnam annually. Russians get special visa-free access. In 2025, about 200,000 Russians visited Vietnam. They come for the beaches, the sun, water sports, and the seafood. They usually travel in couples or family groups in package tours all pre-booked back home. Some stay a few days or a couple of weeks. Others have chosen to live in Vietnam. Like Thailand, a number of Russians come to Asia
Hà Tiên - Pearl of the Mekong Delta - 30 April 2026
Hà Tiên is an old provincial city in southern Vietnam (Việt Nam). It’s been described as a feng shui masterpiece of land, water, and wind tucked away in the most southwestern corner of Vietnam just over the border from Cambodia. It’s a coastal city and a jumping off point for Phú Quốc, Vietnam’s largest island and tourist mecca. Most of the city
Train to Kampot - 30 March 2026
On a recent trip to Kampot I got talking one day at lunch to an expat retired railway engineer. He was telling me about the train service to Kampot and how this was worth doing once. “If you do it twice it’s probably a reminder you should have only done it once” he quipped. He said the service was a railcar that hailed originally from Mexico. A
Barbershops in Cambodia - 28 February 2026
Barbershops in Cambodia come in a range of shapes and sizes, and with varying levels of facilities and creature comfits. Some are air-conditioned with all the paraphernalia you would expect to find in similar premises the world over. Others are indoors and offer fans for your comfort. Some are outdoor and can be found on the roadside, footpaths
Percy Sledge and the Bus to Saigon - 16 December 2025
The road distance from Phnom Penh to Saigon (Sài Gòn or Ho Chi Minh City, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, as it’s been now for years though Saigon is widely used informally), is just 226kms, or 206kms (128 miles) as the crow flies. In the 1900s a Frenchman once pedalled the distance on a cyclo in a day on the newly constructed highway built with
Neak Loeung and the Tsubasa Bridge - 25 October 2025
Neak Loeung is a sleepy, dusty town in Cambodia on the main road between Phnom Penh and the Vietnam border. Once upon a time the highway at Neak Loeung crossed the Mekong River by ferry as you moved between Kandal and Svay Rieng provinces about an hour’s drive south of the Cambodian capital in a country where transport still moves
Gym Etiquette in Cambodia - 31 August 2025
Gyms can play an important part in recreation for Cambodians as outdoor facilities are few and far between and there is a shortage of parks and sports grounds generally. There’s the Olympic Stadium built in the 1960s which never hosted any Olympic event, Phnom Penh’s Old Stadium in the city’s north and the brand new Morodok Techo National
Working Out in the Kingdom of Wonder - 31 July 2025
One of the things about travel is the chance to experience what’s different about a place: it’s people, customs, their behaviours, and habits. Some of the different approaches people take are interesting. Some can make you think, and some others can be a little irritating and exercise gyms are no different. But let’s face it, if everyone and
Ayutthaya by Train - 29 June 2025
I’ve been to Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya (or just Ayutthaya) before by road on a tour booked out of Bangkok’s less than salubrious Khao San Road, the backpacker mecca (or ghetto as some refer to it), the area that made a living out of the “little yellow bible”, Lonely Planet’s guide to Southeast Asia, the original budget guidebook. This time I went
