Sweating out My Sadness on the Canal's Exercise Machines
We're all unlucky in love sometimes. When I am, I go jogging. The body loses water when you jog, so you have none left for tears.
Charting the Flow of the Nhiêu Lộc Canal From Start to Historical Start
When I fall in love with an album, I seek out the artist's first mixtapes and demos. When I come to admire a poet, I hunt down their early poems and chapbooks. I even linger over the old highlight reels of my favorite football players' college games. Understanding where something starts allows me appreciate it more. So it is with the Nhiêu Lộc–Thị Nghè Canal.
Nhiêu Lộc Canal Hosted Trudeau's Night Run. Why Is It Not as Famous as Obama's Bún Chả?
You know how much Vietnamese culture revolves around food by the fact that one of the first questions we pose to any foreign visitor is “What’s your favorite Vietnamese dish?” Asking about other aspects of the country could invite honest opinions that some of us might not be prepared to hear. Deep down, more than anybody else, we know that our air quality is subpar and our urban cleanliness leaves much to be desired, but our food is the one thing every Vietnamese can trust to make us proud. What easier way to foster diplomacy than to center the conversation around deliciousness?
In Hanoi, a Family Home Balances Commercial Hustle With Spiritual Haven
If many Vietnamese families often opt to reserve one room in their house plan for ancestor worship, this household in Hanoi decided to dedicate an entire backyard to their family altar.
An Homage to the Mekong Delta and Its Bag-Wearing Fruits
Rats, mice, mosquitos, snakes, centipedes, caterpillars, snails, beetles and slugs: the more fertile a region is, the more pests inhabit it.
Grindr Once Again Names Vietnam Amongst Nations With Highest Percentage of Bottoms
Started by Spotify, Unwrapped has become one of tech companies’ favorite marketing campaigns in recent years; LinkedIn, Duolingo, and even Vietnam’s own Zalo are amongst some revelers of this trend in recent years. Last year, gay dating app Grindr continued the tradition with their own annual insights, and Vietnam managed to claim a spot in the roundup.
On the 12th Day of Christmas Saigoneer Gave to Me: 12 Birdcalls From Across Vietnam
Almost everywhere we go in the world, birdsong abounds.
Crickets Are More Than Just Chirpy Reminders of Our Childhood
Cricket song. You read the words and immediately hear the chirping. That thrilling trill of strummed air. Humans have been hearing that quivering echo since we first came into existence. And over time, we’ve attached a variety of meanings to it and the creature that makes it.
Learning to Coexist in Peace Is the First Step to Protect Vietnam's Last Remaining Elephants
A trail of enormous footprints, criss-crossing slabs of cracked concrete, lead to a battered ranger station in Vietnam’s Pù Mát National Park. Park staff say the wild Asian elephant that left the trac...
In Hanoi, Waacking Is Not Just a Dance, but a Home for Creativity and Gender Fluidity Too
“I get to express my madness.” That is what Trần Khánh Linh, also known as Lyna, says when asked why she has been waacking for the last 10 years. By day, Lyna is a jewelry and gemstone seller, but by ...
How Táo Xanh Forum Created a Safe Space for Gay Vietnamese Before Social Media
Before Vietnamese could hop on social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to share our hot takes of the week, there was an era of past cybersphere when online forums were the crucial ...
For Trans Vietnamese, Healthcare Providers Are Respectful, but Red Tape Still Hurts
Vietnam has been increasingly progressive in protecting and promoting LGBT rights. In November 2015, Vietnam made a big milestone when it granted individuals who have changed their gender the right to...
The Rise and Fall of Phượng Vĩ, the Summer Icon of Our Teenage Dreams
I was a teenage cliché. No matter how much I try to rack my brain to find any other personal connection to the incandescently red tree that is phượng vĩ, I keep going back to my middle school crush an...
Another Hoàn Kiếm Turtle Dies in Hanoi, Setting Back Conservation Efforts
It’s reported that a “Hoàn Kiếm turtle” living in Hanoi has died, further impeding efforts by conservationists to keep the species from extinction.
The Rustic Beauty of Hanoi's Red River Brick Factories
Living in a city as culturally rich and absorbing as Hanoi, it’s not unusual to discover new secrets in a place you thought you knew completely. The depth of the capital really is astounding. And yet,...
The Ugly Truth of the Life and Impending Demise of the Hoàn Kiếm Turtle
Everyone knows the mythological story of the Hoàn Kiếm turtle.
I Went Cloud-Hunting and Found Peace Atop Đà Lạt's Tea Hill
Northern California is blessed with serene nature. Growing up there, pathless trails and cloudy mountain peaks were my safe havens, and when returning home on break from college, it was a tradition to...
I Saw the World's Most Handsome Bird Right in Vietnam's Hidden Backyard
Everywhere I go in Vietnam, I keep my eyes peeled for the incredible birds that call this country home. Sometimes I don’t even realize that I’m doing it. I scan the horizon above low hills for migrato...
Amid Bảo Lộc Hills, a Wooden Cafe Floats Amongst the Clouds
In the middle of nowhere Bảo Lộc, perched on the side of an alternative national road is the wooden carapace of Nguyen Coffee, a veritable “Noah’s ark” welcoming travelers in for a short break to enjo...
Amid a Resort, This Thatched Hut Houses a Zero-Waste Water-Bottling Plant
A humble production hut built with recycled bottles, local timber, thatched roof and simple granito concrete floors is used as a bottling facility for drinking water.
Thanh Long: How Dragon Fruit Proves Beauty Is Only Skin-Deep
Of all my accomplishments in life, my greatest may be the creation of The Banana Line. This is a ranking tool, based on the belief that if all fruits were lined up from worst to best, taking into acco...
[Photos] Katinat Cafe's Gò Vấp Location Is an Industrial Glass Fortress
Cement, air, water, sand, and gravel: concrete is a simple material. Same for glass, that spread of super-heated quartz sand.
The Nocturnal Thrill of Capturing Vietnam's Elegant Fauna in Wildlife Photography
For most people, walking in the jungle at night would sound like a bad idea. A lack of knowledge and many misbeliefs, unfortunately, create bad assumptions about the wilderness after dark. And snakes,...
The Mekong Delta Loses Sand Too Fast Due to Extraction, It's Time for a Sand Budget.
Many people will be familiar with the dread when your income no longer covers your expenses; when you’ve exhausted your savings and are sinking ever deeper into debt. In the Mekong Delta, a similar do...
How Going Digital Could Help Vietnam's Farmers Take Their Produce to the Next Level
In this digital age, farming, especially in developing countries like Vietnam, has maintained a general perception of being an analog, hands-on practice.
On a Hill in Huế, a Glass-Filled Home Welcomes Natural Light With Open Arms
Are hills simply mountains that lack ambition?
Đắk Lắk Receives $2.2m in Financial Support to End Elephant Rides by 2026
To be distributed between now and the end of 2026, the VND55 billion (US$2.2 million) provided by the Animals Asia Foundation (AAF) will be used to help tourism centers in Đắk Lắk Province b...
Khỉ Vàng: The Shit-Stirrer, Snack Thief, and Petty Criminal of Vietnam's Forests
I’m not a fucking idiot — That’s what I thought while looking at the sign hung from the door of my hotel room in Đà Nẵng.