Expats in Ho Chi Minh City

Not every foreigner coming to Vietnam knows about the country for hands. In fact, majority of expats come here for business. But after a while, they have found a close connection to this country. Richie Fawcett comes from England. He came to Vietnam 3 years ago and decided to open a restaurant and bar and explore the new country.

Coming to Vietnam, Richie chose to live in Ho Chi Minh City. He was soon inspired by the energy of young, hustling and bustling city. With a decade of experience in the aspects of hotel and restaurant, Richie came to Ho Chi Minh City with the hope of establishing his own career. Having been worked in the restaurant during travel around the world, Richie soon found a position in the city. For right now, Richie has worked for different restaurants, bars and resorts in and outside Ho Chi Minh City, helping them to design and set up bar business. Since he was age of 18, he yet developed the fine art of bar business. He organized very classes training young bartenders how to make great cocktails. With great sense of humor and broad knowledge about, Richie knew how to inspire young bartenders and help them start up their own career in the sector.

With his active participation in various activities in the business, Richie has found success in Vietnam. But he wants to develop a great curiosity the place he now is living. That’s why the British man apart from time is dedicated to work, he decided to explore more about the city and develop his new hobby – drawing. With papers and brush for painting, Richie travels around the city, try to practice and find out new places that can bring him inspirations to draw. The city’s landscapes, people and their daily life, all create a huge and vivid picture inspiring to the sketchy of Richie.  

And his paintings helping Richie become a part of the city that once was unknown. His paintings also attract local residents. Richie had the degree in Egyptian archeology, so he cares about the history. Since his drawing is improved, he tries to put much of the city as possible into his paintings. Over his two-year in Vietnam, he took enough time to generate 60 sketches for one solo exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City last year. Richie also sells these paintings and raise fund for the Saigon children charity which supports difficult children in the southern Vietnam.

City Pass is one of travel information company in Ho Chi Minh City. Collaborating with Richie for a while, the company expects his drawing will help promoting the image of Ho Chi Minh City and other tourism destinations, drawing more tourists to the country. Richie only draws sketchy when he has free time. For him, this is not real job to earn living. It is more like his passion to show the view on the city to more people.

After the last year exhibition theme “Broadcast of Saigon”, the bartender and painter Richie came back to another collection of panoramic painting in black and white sketches of streets in Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi. With theme “A tale of two cities”, the event features the sketches he did in both places. Richie exhibition this year features 35 sketches focusing on the contrast between two cities in their unique, distinctive and different street and atmosphere. For some of pieces, Richie has spent two months to finish. His patience and skill has created the great emotion to visitors. For now, Richie has no plan to leave Vietnam. The good business and close connection with the city making him stay. And it means that he will have more time to show his love with Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam through the future sketches.

Ho Chi Minh City shows connection of a diverse, vibrant Asian cultures and European elegance. Much great diversity is reflected through the presence of cuisine from around the world that makes the city become the culinary paradise. When we come to food, many tourists choose Ho Chi Minh City as an ideal destination to not only taste Vietnamese and international cuisine but also to lean the art of cooking from around the world. As many talented international chefs come to this city from the love of the land and build up a part of their homeland cultural culinary stamp in Ho Chi Minh City. Star Kitchen is Japanese cooking studio located in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. The studio was founded by Yuya Arashima, a Japanese cook who is eager to introduce Japanese culture and communicate with Vietnamese and expat community through cooking. Offering baking and cooking classes and workshops on Japanese cuisine, this studio attracts around 200 international learners every month.

Source: VTV4 – VTV.vn