Khôi Phạm

in Vietnam

Wipha, Yagi and Luc-Binh: How Are Tropical Storms Named in the Pacific Region?

Wipha was the latest typhoon to batter Vietnam this year, sweeping through northern provinces like Hưng Yên, Ninh Bình, Nghệ An, and Thanh Hóa and causing dangerous floods. It was 2025’s third and probably will not be the last that Vietnam will have to endure this year.

Paul Christiansen

in Saigon

The Simple Pleasures of Having Your Hair Washed at the Hairdresser’s

I get my face shaved by sidewalk barbers; stop at every roving laminator I pass to have ticket stubs, photos, and doodles ...

Khôi Phạm

in Saigon

Letter to the People I Met as We Hid From the Rain Under a Bridge Together

“Do not be angry with the rain; it simply does not know how to fall upwards.”— Vladimir Nabokov.

in Hanoi

Hanoi's Bát Tràng Ceramic Village Turns Historic Craft Into Global Fame

Bát Tràng has been producing ceramics for over 700 years, but it’s the recent decades that interest me most: a period in which this small village has mirrored Vietnam’s rapid economic growth.

in Vietnam

Final Merging Plan Brings Vietnam's Locality Number From 63 to 34

After extended working sessions to gather insights from experts and locals, Vietnam’s state government has announced the final version of the country’s administrative map.

in Saigon

Múa Lân Is Officially Recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage

In Chợ Lớn, every Tết, amid the aroma of burning joss sticks and an onslaught of red-color decorations is the echoing beats of lion dance instruments. For generations of Saigoneer, the presence of múa lân, or lion dance, is a sign of festivity and celebration.

Uyên Đỗ

in Saigon

How Saigon's Free Water Coolers Quench Thirst and Spread Kindness

In recent years, stories about climate change's impacts on the lives of Vietnamese people have been increasingly making the news.

Paul Christiansen

in Vietnam

What a Mango Flower Looks Like: On the Unexpected Beauty of Fruit Flowers

What does a mango flower look like?

Back Stories

in Vietnam

Vietnam Will Soon be Home to Asia’s Biggest Brewery

Czech firm, BTG Holdings, has announced plans to build Asia’s biggest brewery in Vietnam’s Hoa Binh Province. The brewery, with a total investment of US$116 million, should be completed by 2017 and p...

in Vietnam

What the Phở Happened Last Weekend? 10 Stories You May Have Missed

Hundreds loot capsized beer truck [Tuoi Tre]  High global test scores don’t mean Vietnam’s schooling is OK [Thanh Nien] Per capita income in Vietnam reaches almost USD2,000 [Viet...

Brian Letwin

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: Flood-Tide to Reach Peak in 61 Years, Saigon to be Submerged Again

Flood-tide to reach peak in 61 years, Saigon to be submerged again [Vietnam Net] HCMC shows impressive economic growth [SGGP] Vietnam’s aging rate among fastest in the world [Tuoi Tre...

in Stories

Morning News Roundup: Vietnam Reviews Human Rights Laws

Vietnam reviews human rights laws [Vietnam Net] Should sexy performances be banned? [VNS] Bag snatchers caught red-handed, recorded by car camera [Tuoi Tre]

in Vietnam

Vietnamese Parents Up in Arms About Finger-Chopping Math Problem

Mystery still surrounds claims of a math problem, purportedly asking first grade students how many fingers remain on their hand after chopping some off, as it goes viral on the internet and the educat...

in Saigon

Harley-Davidson's First Vietnam Dealership is Open for Business

World famous motorcycle maker, Harley-Davidson, opened its first showroom in Vietnam last weekend in District 7. The showroom, located in Phu My Hung, opened its doors a day before the government lif...

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: Condom Fashion Collection Earns Vietnam Guinness Record

Vietnam makes remarkable progress in HIV/AIDS control [SGGP] Customs did not check the shipment containing 230kg of heroin [Vietnam Net] Digital ad market booming in Vietnam [Thanh Ni...

in Stories

Morning News Roundup: Air Pollution Cause of Chronic Diseases in Big Cities in Vietnam

Vietnam ministry seeks gov’t approval to limit personal vehicles [Thanh Nien] Vagina massage services freely advertised in Vietnam [Tuoi Tre] New Hemiphyllodactylus gecko species discovere...

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: Vietnam’s Public Debt May Reach 95% of GDP

Diabetes goes boom in Vietnam [Thanh Nien] Poor transport holds Delta back [VNS] Vietnam Airplane lands on fuselage [Vietnam Net]

in Asia

Morning News Roundup: Bill Gates Foundation Brings Free Internet to Rural Vietnam

Gold prices hit record low [VoV] Vietnam probes 229 kg heroin case busted by Taiwan [Tuoi Tre] Racehorse owners scrambling since closure of Vietnam’s lone track [Thanh Nien]

in Vietnam

What the Phở Happened This Weekend? 10 Stories You May Have Missed

US$36 billion funded for nationwide poverty reduction [Nhan Dan] Giant sinkhole found in Vietnam street [Thanh Nien] Sleeping with call girls earns $24-$237 fines: decree [Tuoi Tre]

in Vietnam

Number of Vietnamese Women Marrying Foreigners per Year? 100,000 and Rising.

At a recent conference in Hanoi, the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs and the Vietnam Women’s Union released figures showing that 100,000 Vietnamese women marry foreigners annually.

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: Thai Tourist Motorcycles Seized in Vietnam

New penalties on inappropriate public cultural behavior [SGGP] Thai tourist motorcycles seized in Vietnam [Vietnam Net] Hanoi approves massive transport project [Nhan Dan] 

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: Strange Skin Disease, the First Ever in World, Found in Vietnam

Crunch time as Vietnam set for education shakeup, again [Thanh Nien] Vietnam steps into an era of mobile data explosion [PC Advisor] Strange skin disease, the first ever in world, found in...

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: Tourism Sector to Hit Goal Two Years Ahead of Plan

Death toll in Vietnam flooding raised to 41, with 80,000 people displaced [Edmonton Journal] Vietnam’s 5 tons of relief goods reach Philippines [Tuoi Tre] Fire kills 6 in Vietnam capital&n...

in Stories

31 Dead; Hoi An Deep Underwater After Massive Flooding Hits Central Vietnam

At least 31 people have died and 3 are missing after massive flooding on Vietnam’s central coast last weekend. According to the Central Highlands Center for Floods Control and Prevention, 13 were fou...

in Stories

What the Phở Happened Last Weekend? 10 Stories You May Have Missed

Chinese woman receives life sentence for drug trafficking [Vietnam Net] Singer fined $165 for flaunting breast onstage [Tuoi Tre] Low-pressure system moving toward southern Vietnam [T...

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: HCMC’s Diabetics Rise by 300% in 10 Years, Quadruple World Level

Vietnam court sentences Chinese meth smuggler to life [Thanh Nien] Japan to put on film festival in Vietnam [AJW] Saigon to have two new theaters [Vietnam Net] HCMC’s diabetics rise ...

in Roundups

Morning Links: Same-Sex Weddings Officially Permitted in Vietnam

House approves two new Deputy Prime Ministers [Tuoi Tre] Same-sex weddings officially permitted in Vietnam [Vietnam Net] Vietnam holds anti-corruption dialogue with int'l donors, business ...

in Saigon

Dunkin’ Donuts Prepares to Open in Saigon

Watch out, Starbucks, there’s a new coffee chain coming to town. Dunkin’ Donuts, America’s leading coffee seller is preparing to open its doors in Phu My Hung in the next month.