When the River Becomes the Destination While most travelers in Vietnam instinctively point themselves toward the coast, something quieter has been unfolding inland. In 2025, An Giang unexpectedly climbed to the #2 spot on Google’s Year in Search for domestic travel, drawing attention away from familiar beach names and toward the waterways, forests, and sacred…
Chaos & Calm: A Local’s Guide to the Ok Om Bok Festival in Sóc Trăng My first year in Sóc Trăng, a local friend turned to me in late October and said, “Let’s go look at boats.” I pictured something modest—wooden canoes drifting down the river, maybe a few families watching from the shade. Instead,…
Everyone has an opinion on this. Ask ten expats and you’ll get ten different answers, usually delivered with the conviction of someone who has lived in exactly one Vietnamese city and visited the others for a long weekend. I’ve lived in Vietnam since 2018. Not in Saigon. Not in Da Nang. In Sóc Trăng, a…
