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Sadly, I won't be at Carnival this year because of other arrangements, and I will miss it, but there are certain things you associate with August in London.

Rain.

Rail engineering works.

People complaining about the Tube.

And then there is Notting Hill Carnival.

For two days every August, west London gets turned into something completely different.

The roads fill with steelpan, soca, calypso, reggae,...

Yesterday I met Peter Gluckstein over a beer.

Today I was walking around his factory.

That's Vietnam for you.

You can sit down in a bar with a bloke you've never met, have a couple of beers, start talking bollocks about life, business, London and Vietnam, and before you know it you're standing in a cap and protective clothing being...

A Steak Pie, a Cold Beer and the Story of a Granola Empire
I've been in Vietnam long enough to appreciate rice and noodles.

Believe me, I love the stuff.

Phở in the morning.

Bún when I'm hungry.

Rice when I'm not sure what I want.

Noodles when I've already forgotten what I ordered.

But you can't live on Vietnamese food every day.

Well, you probably can.

I don't want to.

Every now and again the body starts demanding something familiar.

Mine was demanding a steak pie.

So I wandered into Hattrick's Irish...

THE MAGPIE — AN BANG

Some people come to Vietnam for a holiday.

Some come for the weather.

Some come because they’ve had enough of the life they were living and fancy rolling the dice one more time.

Nathan belongs firmly in the third category.

He was running The Magpie in Toronto, a proper little independent music bar where he managed the place and booked the bands. Then he came to Vietnam on holiday.

And something happened.

Vietnam got under his skin.

Instead of going home, moaning about how much...

Bar Horse Slut, Hội An
If you're wandering through Hội An's famous Nguyễn Hoàng Night Market, don't just look for the colourful lanterns.

Look for Mun.

His tiny mobile bar, proudly carrying the unforgettable name Bar Horse Slut, sits beside the Hoài River on An Hội Islet, right in the middle of one of the busiest evening spots in Vietnam. Every night the market fills with visitors browsing silk lanterns, street food, local crafts and souvenirs while traditional wooden boats glide along the...

Standing in the Shadow of the Lady Buddha
Yesterday, my German friend Michael from Hamburg and I shared a taxi out to the Son Tra Peninsula to visit the Lady Buddha.

It's funny how travelling works. Two people can make exactly the same journey for completely different reasons.

We chatted on the drive up, watching Da Nang slowly disappear behind us as the road climbed higher into the hills. Scooters buzzed past, monkeys occasionally appeared at the roadside and every bend revealed another glimpse...

The New Gold Rush: Why Digital Nomads Are Flocking to Southeast Asia
There is another wave rolling across Southeast Asia.

It isn't backpackers.

It isn't retirees.

It isn't gap-year students armed with oversized rucksacks and a Lonely Planet guide.

It's digital nomads.

They're arriving from Britain, Germany, Australia, Canada, Brazil and dozens of other countries, carrying little more than a laptop, a smartphone and the freedom to work from almost anywhere with a decent internet connection.

When I...

What Does a Week in Da Nang Really Cost in 2026?
One thing I've learned after travelling around Southeast Asia for decades is this: if you live like a local, you'll spend like a local.

Too many visitors arrive in Da Nang and immediately head for the first flashy beachfront restaurant with laminated menus and cocktails costing more than an entire day's food a few streets away.

That's fine if you're on holiday for a fortnight.

Me? I'd rather have another week in Vietnam than another overpriced...

Living Like a Local: How Vietnam Is Teaching Me to Travel Again
There comes a point in every journey when you stop behaving like a tourist.

You stop chasing landmarks.

You stop looking for the highest-rated restaurants.

You stop trying to squeeze every attraction into a single day.

Instead, you begin to live.

That's where I find myself now.

Da Nang.

And, in a few days, the road will take me north to Huế before turning south again towards the lantern-lit streets of Hội An.

I'm in no hurry.

The best...

Rolling Through the Night: From Nha Trang to Da Nang
I've always believed there are two ways to see a country.

You can fly over it.

Or you can travel through it.

I'll choose the second every time.

Late that evening, I climbed aboard another Vietnamese sleeper bus, leaving Nha Trang behind and heading north to Da Nang.

The tropical heat still hung in the air like a warm, damp blanket as we queued beside the coach.

Then came the first rule.

Shoes off.

Everyone slipped their footwear into little plastic...

'MY HEART BELONGS TO SOUTH EAST ASIA'

Escaping the Heat: From London to Saigon via the Marble City
There comes a point when you've had enough.

For me, that moment arrived standing on the platform at Shepherd's Bush Overground Station with a small backpack digging into my shoulders, sweat already running down my back before the train had even rolled in.

Typical British weather.

The one time you actually want London to be grey, damp and miserable to make leaving easier, it decides to turn into the...

The Search Is Over: The Steve Dior Band Delivers at a Packed Stewart Arms
Sometimes everything clicks.

Saturday night at The Stewart Arms in Notting Hill was a proper roadblock. Friends, music obsessives and faces from back in the day all crammed into the room for something genuinely special.

Because we kicked off early, nobody had to play the miserable game of choosing between raw live music and the nerve-shredding England v Norway World Cup quarter-final. The room was buzzing long before a...