Open in app

Sign In

Write

Sign In

Connla Stokes
Connla Stokes

167 Followers

Home

About

Sep 1, 2022

48 Hours in any Southeast Asian city, other than the one you (an expat) live in….

~ An insider’s guide to a male expatriate’s conscious and subconscious thoughts as he explores [insert the name of any Southeast Asian city that you don’t live in but might visit] ~ 12pm: I’m buzzing to be here in [insert name of city the expat is visiting]. I don’t even…

7 min read

7 min read


Jun 21, 2021

Phường 19

A year ago, an American expat messaged me on Instagram: “Is Phường 19 in Bình Thạnh your ’hood, too?” I had to check Google Maps. It wasn’t. …

5 min read

Phường 19
Phường 19

5 min read


Oct 26, 2020

The man who leans in ‘real close’

Pandemic, or no pandemic, you guess the man who leans in real close has always leaned in real close. You’re pretty sure (like… 92.5% sure?) …

3 min read

The man who leans in ‘real close’
The man who leans in ‘real close’

3 min read


Oct 2, 2020

Our magical, humdrum Hanoi lives

Sometimes I get to thinking about those rare old times of early 21st century Hanoi. How about you, buddy? Nah, I’m not talking about the dizzying highs like when I fell in love 12 times in the space of an afternoon without even getting off my motorbike, or when you…

4 min read

Our magical, humdrum Hanoi lives
Our magical, humdrum Hanoi lives

4 min read


Jul 27, 2020

I am not going to Danang in the morning. I’m not the only one.

I am not going to Danang in the morning. I’m not the only one. Vietnam’s Most Live-able City™️ has had a COVID-19 flare up. Three people are infected (and one in Quang Ngai). Doesn’t sound like much but they don’t muck around in these parts. So I am not going to…

2 min read

2 min read


Jan 28, 2020

Love in the time of highly infectious respiratory diseases

Your father has sent an email. It begins: “You probably saw this but I see the World Health Organisation has issued a global alert warning to health authorities worldwide following outbreaks of a highly infectious respiratory disease in Hong Kong, southern China and Vietnam…” You hadn’t known this but you…

4 min read

Love in the time of highly infectious respiratory diseases
Love in the time of highly infectious respiratory diseases

4 min read


Dec 9, 2019

A REFRESHINGLY HONEST PRESS RELEASE TEMPLATE FOR ANY SUPER BRAND THAT WANTS A LARGE PIECE OF…

A REFRESHINGLY HONEST PRESS RELEASE TEMPLATE FOR ANY SUPER BRAND THAT WANTS A LARGE PIECE OF VIETNAM’S MARKET STARTING WITH EVERYONE AND EVERYONE’S MOTHER IN HO CHI MINH CITY [PASTE LOGO HERE] HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam [INSERT DATE] — [NAME OF SUPER BRAND] today opened the doors to its…

Vietnam

2 min read

Vietnam

2 min read


May 10, 2019

Is this the real life, or is this just fantasy?

The year is 2003AD, the month is February; the time just after eleven a.m. You are in a rented house on the non-colonial-side of the French Quarter in Hanoi, standing in the kitchen wearing a woolly hat, a fake North Face fleece jacket, sports socks pulled up over the ends…

Travel

7 min read

Is this the real life, or is this just fantasy?
Is this the real life, or is this just fantasy?
Travel

7 min read


Dec 26, 2018

How to live in Hanoi — a dated story

It was 2002. My friend and I just wanted to rent a house. We figured it’d be a straightforward affair. But the real estate agent, a French expat, wasn’t convinced. Convinced by us, that is. We weren’t exactly fresh off the boat in Hanoi. I mean, my housemate and I. …

Vietnam

3 min read

Vietnam

3 min read


Oct 1, 2018

A tightfisted foreigner’s personal history of using lesser known items of currency (coins and candy) in Vietnam [circa 2004].

Do you remember the time coins were introduced to Vietnam? For a very, very short period it felt like ‘something’ for a country with one of the least well-valued-currencies in the world. Like, oh, wow, now there’s coins like other countries that have comparatively well-valued currencies! But man, I’ve never…

Vietnam

4 min read

Vietnam

4 min read

Connla Stokes

Connla Stokes

167 Followers

All-purpose-writer. Made in Ireland, living in Vietnam. Features: http://t.co/rC7XnVOcKm Short stories: http://t.co/nWsw8PxVF5

Following
  • Steve Jackson

    Steve Jackson

  • Thomas Grové

    Thomas Grové

  • Thao Nguyen

    Thao Nguyen

  • Mike Tatarski

    Mike Tatarski

  • Meanjin Quarterly

    Meanjin Quarterly

See all (87)

Help

Status

Writers

Blog

Careers

Privacy

Terms

About

Text to speech