Details: Published on 26 April 2016; Written by Saigoneer.

Japan: home of yogurt Pepsi, sushi nail art and middle-aged men in schoolgirl uniforms. While much of the island nation's culture can be described as eccentric, Japan is also responsible for many a brilliant invention.

You're Probably Spelling These Saigon Place Names Incorrectly

Details: Published on 26 April 2016; Written by Saigoneer.

Several famous location names in Saigon are believed to be misspellings of their original monikers.

With Grab and Uber on the Road, Vinasun Predicts 20% Profit Loss

Details: Published on 26 April 2016; Written by Saigoneer. Photo by Triet Thai.

While passengers are praising the arrival of UberMOTO, the latest motorbike-hailing app to enter the Vietnamese market, not everyone is thrilled about the influx of new transportation services available around town.

Morning News Roundup: Man Killed in Suspected Suicide Bomb in Vietnam

Details: Published on 26 April 2016; Written by Saigoneer. Photo by Triet Thai.

Stay connected with Saigoneer on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook.

New IoT Competition hopes to turn HCMC into a smart city [Geektime]

Vietnam to seek foreign help to crack mass fish death mystery [Thanh Nien]

[Video] In Thailand, Sleeping Driver Goes for a Spin

Details: Published on 25 April 2016; Written by Saigoneer.

We've all had a morning commute where we probably could have used more coffee or, better yet, more sleep. You would think – what with the honking and the traffic and the general melee – that it's damn near impossible to fall asleep at the handlebars in a place like Southeast Asia.

[Photos] Vo Trong Nghia Transforms Rest Stop Into Bamboo Oasis

Details: Published on 25 April 2016; Written by Saigoneer.

Thirty kilometers from Hanoi, local architect and global sensation Vo Trong Nghia recently completed another project fashioned almost entirely out of bamboo.

[Video] Take a Trip to One of Saigon's Greener Districts

Details: Published on 25 April 2016; Written by Saigoneer.

Saigon is not exactly what you'd call a natural paradise. While the city is surrounded by rivers, its landscape is far more a concrete jungle than an actual one.

Saigon on the Silver Screen: The Quiet American, 1958 and 2002

Details: Published on 25 April 2016; Written by Tim Doling.

Graham Greene’s acclaimed anti-war novel The Quiet American has been filmed twice, on both occasions using Saigon locations. While Phillip Noyce’s 2002 remake is a far more faithful adaptation of the novel, Joseph L Mankiewicz’s forgotten 1958 film nonetheless offers a fascinating historical snapshot of Saigon-Chợ Lớn in a turbulent era.

In Central Vietnam, Mass Fish Death Raises Alarm

Details: Published on 25 April 2016; Written by Saigoneer.

Authorities in central Vietnam are investigating a steel firm and its wastewater pipeline after scores of dead saltwater fish began washing up on the shores of Quang Tri, Quang Binh, Ha Tinh and Thua Thien-Hue provinces.

Weekend News Roundup: HCMC Canals May be Used to Regulate Floods

Details: Published on 25 April 2016; Written by Saigoneer. Photo by Lee Starnes.

Stay connected with Saigoneer on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook.

Vietnam a new hot spot for tech startups [The Nation]

Ancient arms museum re-opens in southern Vietnam after 4-year halt [Tuoi Tre]

[Video] Driverless Pods May Hit Singapore's Streets by Year End

Details: Published on 24 April 2016; Written by Saigoneer.

While we can't imagine testing a driverless vehicle in, say, Saigon traffic, the orderly streets of Singapore seem like the perfect place to give self-driving machinery a whirl.

Scorched Earth: Southeast Asia's Unprecedented Heat Wave

Details: Published on 24 April 2016; Written by Saigoneer.

Wherever you're reading this, we hope there's air-conditioning.

[Video] The Story Behind Urban Vietnam's Graffiti Advertisements

Details: Published on 23 April 2016; Written by Saigoneer.

Splashed across city walls and on the sides of buildings, urban Vietnam is awash with advertisements for khoan cắt bê tông (KCBT), or demolition services.

Health Officials Declare Zika Outbreak Over in D2 Ward

Details: Published on 23 April 2016; Written by Saigoneer.

Less than a month after Vietnam's Ministry of Health confirmed the country's first two Zika cases, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health has declared the virus outbreak in District 2's Thanh My Loi Ward is over.

Saigoneer's Weekend Event Picks

Details: Published on 22 April 2016; Written by Saigoneer.

Looking for something to do this weekend? Check out our favorite events happening around Saigon.

[Photos] An Ode to Nguyen Hue's Demolished Fountain

Details: Published on 22 April 2016; Written by Saigoneer.

While Saigon's collective memory seems to be pretty short, it wasn't that long ago that the wide, low fountain intersecting Le Loi and Nguyen Hue streets still existed.

Crocodile on the Loose Between Long An and Saigon: Officials

Details: Published on 22 April 2016; Written by Saigoneer.

Authorities in Long An province have alerted the public of a crocodile on the loose.

Hẻm Gems: Eat Your Way Through Nguyen Hue's Secret Street Food Alley

Details: Published on 22 April 2016; Written by Dang Bui and Brian Letwin. Photos by Alberto Prieto.

Nguyen Hue's heritage has been badly degraded over the years. Thanks to the city's neverending development, its older buildings have either been torn down, used as air-conditioning unit pedestals or turned into fast food joints. Beyond the ornate lost facades, these architectural changes impact locals who, like the old buildings, are swept away, never to return to the place they have called home for generations.