Discover Vietnam: A Vietnam Podcast

“Every day I’m walking around this neighbourhood, I’m learning something new.” What started as a hunt for lunch turned into another deep dive into one of my favourite parts of Saigon. In this episode of Lunch Walks , I head back to Tôn Thất Đạm, the Old Market street , looking for lunch and end up with a 40,000 VND bowl of bún thịt xào, while uncovering even more of the history hidden in the stree...

“This is why I’m just loving these Lunch Walks. I’m getting obsessed with them now. I’m finding out so much amazing information about this neighborhood.” What started as a simple lunch walk has turned into something much bigger. In this episode, I leave Saigon Podcast Studio and head to one of my regular lunch spots in the Nguyễn Thái Bình neighborhood, a place I’ve probably eaten at around 50 tim...

“They’ve been doing it since 1938. It better be good.” This Lunch Walk starts as a food mission and ends up sending me even further down the rabbit hole of my own neighbourhood. I’m joined by my friend James Green , who lives nearby, as we walk through the streets around Saigon Podcast Studio in search of bánh mì vịt quay , or roast duck bánh mì. But before we even get to lunch, we uncover a few s...

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“I love this country. I was about to head back to the mall. I’d given up hope, but I knew this country always pulls through at the very last second.” This Lunch Walk takes me out of Saigon and onto the streets of Da Nang, where I’m hunting down one of Central Vietnam’s most famous dishes: Mì Quảng. At least, that was the plan. I set off looking for a highly rated local spot, only for Google Maps t...

Recorded pre-quarantine, pre-lockdown this episode was intended to be the first of Season 3, recorded at Waves studio. As you may well know, season 3 became the Quarantine Season and I haven't been able to record any more episodes yet for season 4. So to celebrate one year of Seven Million Bikes I dusted down the file off the shelf and am releasing it for your listening pleasure as a bonus ep...

Welcome back to Lunch Walk #5! Starting from Saigon Podcast Studio on Pasteur Street in the Nguyen Thai Binh neighborhood (District 1), we go down a history rabbit hole — a vanished canal, a 150-year-old bridge tied to Gustave Eiffel's company, and the wild engineering behind the Thủ Thiêm Tunnel — before finishing up with a bowl of bún bò at a historic building on Ton That Dam Street. Key Ta...

This was recorded via Skype from quarantine, you may have to turn the volume up. For no other real reason than I haven't spoken to Jay in nearly a month and is one of my favourite people to talk to, I call up JK Hobson to have a chat about the state of the world today, life on the outside and how he is coping with quarantine.  "Send me a message!" Book your free tour of Saigon Podca...

A sudden five-minute monsoon just poured down before I even got moving today, so this one starts in blue skies and puddles. I'm walking along Hồ Tùng Mậu — once an actual canal until it was filled in back in the 1920s — and finally sharing some proper research I did on this neighborhood I keep saying I love. Along the way I point out a cluster of hundred-year-old shophouses, a hidden alley ba...

A Saigon resident, Lawrence Young has worked in the finance industry worldwide for 30 years, currently with Holborn Assets and created the non-troll Facebook group Ho Chi Minh Expat Group Saigon . Now at nearly 10,500 members in just 14 months. He has seen the market go up and down over the years and is confident we will come out of the current crisis stronger but different. We talk about what lif...

Lunch Walks continues, and this time I've got company — Te from Saigon Podcast Studio joins me, since Carrie had to duck out after we wrapped a Vietnam Content Marketing episode together. It's pouring rain in Nguyễn Thái Bình, but we push on anyway to a fried chicken and rice spot I only found a couple of weeks ago, tucked down a back alley I hadn't explored before. Along the way we...

Back for round two! I'm heading out from the Saigon Podcast Studio again, this time down Thôn Đất Đàm — the market street I'm honestly surprised is still standing given how much prime real estate around here has been redeveloped. Along the way I point out some old Chinese signage on the buildings, a newly renovated coffee spot that went from empty nightclub to permanently packed in a few...

"This corner... I love seeing it every day. It kinda sums up Vietnam for me — an amazing juxtaposition of the old and the new." Welcome to the very first Vietnam Lunch Walks; a new series where I take you along on my actual lunch breaks around the neighborhood I love most in Saigon. This one's been a while coming: it's the first new Discover Vietnam episode in six months, after...

After realising we were in the same quarantine facility online Mizuka reached out and connected with our WhatsApp group and Adrie on Instagram where they were following each others Stories from opposite buildings.  After chatting for several days online Niall and Adrie finally met Mizuka in person, at a distance, on one of our walks. Born and raised in Saigon, with her parents still living here, M...

Adrie, and roommate Anastasia, discuss what life in quarantine is like with host and fellow quarantee Niall. Anastasia, originally from the Ukraine, has lived in Saigon for 5 years working in sales for a major hotel chain. Her company sent her on an ill-fated dream trip to Australia for work on March 15th, 3 days after the pandemic was declared. As a result most of her business meetings went onlin...

This is a special episode, maybe mini-season, of Seven Million Bikes direct from quarantine in Saigon. This was recorded on a phone recorder and I don't have a laptop for edits so it's a live interview with my wife, Adrie Mackay. Adrie and I left Vietnam on March 9th for what was meant to be three weddings in three weeks on three continents; going to New Zealand, then the USA then back t...

"Be authentic. If it doesn't feel right inside, don't post it." – Amy Wenham In this episode, I sat down with Amy Wenham , founder of the Women's Business Network (WBN) in Ho Chi Minh City, to talk about one of my favourite topics—authentic content marketing. The conversation made me reflect on my own content. We talked about the podcast studio, the countless hours spent s...

Can authenticity still cut through in a world overflowing with AI-generated content? In this trailer for the first episode of Vietnam Content Marketing , I explore the growing gap between polished corporate marketing and the raw, human stories that audiences are actually engaging with. Featuring a preview of the conversation with Amy Wenham, founder of the Women's Business Network, this episo...

 In the break between season 2 and 3 here are the answers each guest gave to my questions at the end of each episode. Thanks for listening! ------------------- Theme music composed by Lewis Wright. Main Cover Art designed by Niall Mackay and Le Nguyen. Episode art designed by Niall Mackay.  "Send me a message!" Book a free call with me here if you want to start your own podcast! Support...

In the break between season 2 and 3 here are the answers each guest gave to my questions at the end of each episode. Thanks for listening! ------------------- Theme music composed by Lewis Wright. Main Cover Art designed by Niall Mackay and Le Nguyen. Episode art designed by Niall Mackay. "Send me a message!" Book a free call with me here if you want to start your own podcast! Support th...

This is an extra special episode of Discover Vietnam! As you probably know, I run Seven Million Bikes Podcasts and we produce podcasts for clients around the world. We've done over a thousand episodes, helped with millions of downloads, and we've even won some awards.  One of our clients is Laura Colon from Inspired Authority, and I was really, really lucky to be asked by her to be a gue...

In the break between season 2 and 3 here are the answers each guest gave to my questions at the end of each episode. Thanks for listening! ------------------- Theme music composed by Lewis Wright. Main Cover Art designed by Niall Mackay and Le Nguyen. Episode art designed by Niall Mackay. "Send me a message!" Book a free call with me here if you want to start your own podcast! Support th...

The first ever live show of Seven Million Bikes; A Saigon Podcast , recorded live at Soma Art Lounge in D2, HCMC. I am so sorry, the recording cut out with about 10-15 mins left of the show! I have no idea why. If you are in HCMC look out for the next live show to avoid disappointment. The panel discussed comedy in the current PC era and post #metoo era. Is comedy being stifled or do comedians nee...

The first ever live show of Seven Million Bikes; A Saigon Podcast , recorded live at Soma Art Lounge in D2, HCMC. I am so sorry, the recording cut out with about 10-15 mins left of the show! I have no idea why. If you are in HCMC look out for the next live show to avoid disappointment. The panel discussed comedy in the current PC era and post #metoo era. Is comedy being stifled or do comedians nee...

Esta Ricardo is a Drag Queen and GenderFunk performer and Founder/Mother of GenderFunk. He loves exploring Gender through workshops, performance and lots of talking! Born in Birmingham he then lived in Manchester and London before studying Journalism in London. He then worked for the British Red Cross for 2 years and started performing in the radical arts festival scene in Europe.  He has now live...