Discover Vietnam: A Vietnam Podcast

Join The Community with Zion! Zion Johnson is a former Transactivist, a writer and Seven Million Bikes superfan. He is the only person in the world to have a Seven Million Bikes tattoo! In this episode we talk about; - Zion's gender journey - his trans-activism in the US - transitioning from a black female to a black man - woke culture - why he decided to leave the U.S and settle in Vietnam -...

The opening guest of Season 7 is Brian Letwin, a New Yorker in Saigon since 2010. Brian is the co-founder and CEO of the Urbanist Network which includes Saigoneer, Urbanist Vietnam and Urbanist Hanoi. Using his 15 years experience working in digital media both on the agency and publisher side Saigoneer has now been running since 2013. Recorded in late August when Saigon was still under strict lock...

“The reason I’m putting on a podcast is because I want to listen. I don’t want to read about the hosts - I want you to tell me about you.” — Adrie Mackay  Today I'm doing something a little bit different. You're about to hear an episode from my other show, Smarter Podcasting, where my wife Adrie joins me to talk about what she looks for in a podcast   So if you ever thought. I could do t...

Phuong Nguyen is a Vietnamese expat currently located in Paphos, Cyprus.  She has hosted a Vietnamese podcast since 2016. Occasionally she interviewed Expats living in Vietnam and has some episodes covering expat lives such as being a vegan in Hanoi, Vietnam under the eyes of an artist and expat's life during Tet - Vietnam's traditional New year holiday.  At the age of 30, she decided to...

Vote here. I bring you a quick update as we take a short break.  The podcast has evolved into a thriving business since its inception in 2019, leading to the establishment of the Saigon Podcast Studio.  This year has been challenging due to my health issues, but the business is growing with new clients. We've rebranded to focus on relevant topics and I'm eager for your feedback.  We&apos...

The most difficult man to nail down for an interview is finally on Seven Million Bikes! Chef and Restaurateur Calvin Bui of El Camino and Dos Amigos Taqueria. A California native born of parents who escaped the fall out of the Vietnam war, Calvin has lived in Saigon for 10 years now and gone from a Wall Street Banker to owning and running successful restaurants in Saigon. Most notable for his fusi...

 Levi Oi moved from Berlin to Saigon at the end of 2018 - to discover her Vietnamese roots and to become a DJ. Her style is characterized by deep infectious melodic tunes, strong baselines paired with a cheeky sprinkle of techno. Within 5 months of her DJ career, she played her first Boiler Room set in Ho Chi Minh City. Next to organizing electronic music events, she was also the tour manager of R...

 Mr Nam Đen as he is affectionately known in Vietnam, or Nadis as he is known in his home country of Nigeria, is the creator of Afro Viet TV, a massively popular You Tube channel. Through comedy, food, music and travel his channel explores the beauty of African and Asian cultures. After first coming to Vietnam in 2008 he has now lived here for 10 years and is one of those rare things... an expat w...

“Vietnam isn’t just somewhere people come for a cheap holiday anymore — it’s where creators, entrepreneurs, and dreamers are choosing to build a life.” That line sums up what this episode is all about. For our first-ever live-streamed episode of Discover Vietnam, I sat down with Dana Bradley, co-founder of Where in HCMC, to talk about how Vietnam — especially Saigon — has evolved into one of the m...

 Niall talks to Ilse Zoerb. They instantly click and are both super goofy, joking about her name, accent and even Niall's dead grandmother. We even find a mutual appreciation for the TLC channel. Check out her favourite TLC show here .  Ilse helped her parents move to Vietnam at the end of 2016 while Trump was taking office. She got caught in the Saigon vortex and is grateful for it. Ilse is...

“You can live in Vietnam for $1,000 a month… but will you be happy, healthy, and secure doing it?” Adrie and I are gonna be here again, but in different roles - she’s the host and interviews me. Adrie asks me about the real cost of living in Vietnam after nine years as expats in Ho Chi Minh City. When we first arrived, we thought everything would be dirt cheap — almost free. But as we settled into...

Lars Callieou is a touring comedian from Edmonton, Canada, who was recently on his 4th tour of Saigon and Vietnam. After watching his show and attending a workshop he put on for local comedians I caught up with Lars at his hotel shortly before he flew back to Canada. So apologies for the background noise, we were in the hotel restaurant that was thankfully mostly quiet.  Lars has appeared at the J...

“Life is not about the money in your bank account. Life is for living, and your investments, your insurance, all those things should be about allowing you to live the life you want.” – Robin Copley It wasn’t easy to share, but I opened up about my own financial mistakes in Vietnam—losing tens of thousands of dollars because I trusted the wrong person. Robin Copley, my financial planner now, joined...

 Mischa Smith, from Canada, is a regular sight around Saigon in the craft beer scene as the Sales Director for Pasteur Street Brewing Company.  Mischa started in the craft beer industry in Toronto, Ontario before he packed up and moved to South Korea to teach English for a year that turned into four years and five months.  After a visit to Saigon he fell in love with the city, left Korea and has n...

“Choose one thing that you want to focus on. Start saying no to everything else politely. Make everything you do about that one thing and I guarantee you’ll be successful.” That’s the biggest lesson I’ve learned in my journey of turning a hobby podcast into a full-time business. Today, I opened up about the setbacks, surprises, and wins I’ve had along the way—from starting with one microphone in m...

“Choose one thing that you want to focus on. Start saying no to everything else politely. Make everything you do about that one thing and I guarantee you’ll be successful.” That’s the biggest lesson I’ve learned in my journey of turning a hobby podcast into a full-time business. Today, I opened up about the setbacks, surprises, and wins I’ve had along the way—from starting with one microphone in m...

In this episode I speak with Saigon native, Kim Nguyen. Kim moved to the UK as a teenager to study and stayed for 6 years, meeting her boyfriend in the process who now lives with her in Saigon.  Returning to Vietnam in 2018, Kim has a unique perspective on both living overseas and in Vietnam and has some helpful tips for young Vietnamese students thinking of studying overseas. She currently works...

“It’s like you’re wearing our face, but you’re not really us.” – Devin Hong This episode with Devin was one of those conversations that reminded me why I started this podcast in the first place. Devin’s journey—from leaving Vietnam as a child, growing up in California, then returning decades later—was powerful, funny, and deeply honest. I loved hearing his perspective on identity, belonging, and w...

My first guest on Seven Million Bikes is JK Hobson. As a finalist in the 2018 Vietnam Comedy Competition JK is known by many in Saigon as a stand-up, but is a man of many talents. We had so much to talk about I’ve split this first episode into two parts. Growing up in New York, JK moved to LA with his “fairly well known” thrash-metal band, Crisis. After Crisis split and he returned to University,...

What an amazing story! I was so fascinated by Dennis and Emily's decision to leave their jobs as accountants and travel the world with their two kids, Hannah and Aiden. They turned a simple idea into an incredible journey across more than 30 countries.  Listening to them talk about the challenges of homeschooling on the road, the cultural differences they've encountered, and the beautifu...

“Everyday life in Saigon means navigating sugar in everything—from coffee to orange juice—and I can’t have any of it.” – Jane Ha My guest today is Jane Ha , a researcher in behavioral science who has lived in Hanoi, the U.S., the U.K., and now Saigon. Jane’s story is as much about resilience as it is about culture—living with diabetes in one of the sweetest food environments in the world, while al...

“I felt like my Vietnamese froze at the level of a 17-year-old.” – Mai Doan My guest today is Mai Doan, who left Vietnam at just 17 to study in Oregon, later studied in France, built a career in the U.S., and then made the choice to return home. Her story was full of courage and honesty. She talked about cultural shocks, stereotypes, and the challenges of returning to Vietnam after so many years a...

 If you’ve been following the show since the Seven Million Bikes: A Saigon Podcast days, you’ll know this has always been about sharing the stories of the incredible people who make up Vietnam — locals, expats, entrepreneurs, creatives, and everyone in between. A Vietnam Podcast is now... Discover Vietnam: A Vietnam Podcast marking the start of our brand-new chapter. I share why I decided to updat...

“People at home always ask, ‘When are you moving back?’ But honestly, I’m not sure I could.” – Krista Bernard If you grew up in a small town—or in Krista’s case, a village with 500 people including cows—you’ll know the feeling of leaving and never quite seeing it the same again. Adrie Lopez Mackay (yep, my amazing wife) takes over the mic to speak with our good friend Krista Bernard , who traded d...

“You can fly to Vietnam, stay a month, get your teeth done—and still spend less than you would back home.” – Niall Mackay Annie Vo finally made it on the podcast—and it was well worth the wait. This is Part 2 of our conversation, and in this episode, we dug into something I find really fascinating: what it takes to run a truly modern, ethical dental clinic in Vietnam. Annie and her husband have bu...