Xuân Phương in Hanoi
In Suburban Hanoi, With Summer Comes the Red-Purple Cascade of Mulberries
In suburban Hanoi, this is the season when mulberry branches heavy with bright red fruits dangle in the summer wind.
After Saigon Police Bust Major Pet Theft Ring, the City Rallies to Help Care for 400 Cats
After an extended investigation, the Hồ Chí Minh City Police Department has busted a major cat theft and distribution ring that operated across multiple southern provinces.
A Visit to Lê Minh Xuân, a Rare Craft Village Making Incense Sticks Amid Saigon
From inside the workshop, artisans carry bundle after bundle of freshly made incense sticks into the courtyard amid the morning mist. A gentle scent of spices linger in the air.
As Thanh Đa Faces Redevelopment, Writer Dạ Ngân Reflects on What Will Be Lost
To me, my trip to Cư xá Thanh Đa in summer 1982 was a serendipitous encounter. It was Saigon’s largest-scale residential complex in the first half of the 1970s, with nearly 4,000 separate units housing about 50,000 inhabitants. Cư xá refers to a residential quarter reserved for gainfully employed citizens, with a vision to establish a model community with a high quality of life. Here, in their three-bedroom apartments, civil servants, professors, doctors, and military leaders ranked major or higher lived in pride of being a part of a cư xá like that.
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.
Inside the Covid Memorial Park at 1 Lý Thái Tổ, Saigon's Brand-New Green Space
As part of Saigon’s latest initiative to increase green space coverage in the city, a number of abandoned land plots were converted into public parks, including a Covid Memorial Park that’s become a beloved destination for Saigoneers seeking a space to jog, reflect, or just simply touch grass.
Uyên Đỗ in Saigon
All Aboard Bus 146, Home of Plushies, Rubber Chickens and a Side of Humanity
“Cute” doesn’t seem like a fitting descriptor for any mode of public transport, but a bus in Saigon is driving straight into the heart of Saigoneers for being the quintessence of “smotheringly adorable.”
Saigon Set to Make Bus Service Free for All to Cut Congestion, Air Pollution
Saigoneers without private vehicles might be happy to hear that the city is planning to make the municipal bus system free to ride in the near future.
Brian Letwin in Saigon
Saigon's Old Bridges in Danger of Collapse
Saigon is a city of bridges. They criss-cross the city's rivers and canals, allowing for the flow of goods and people. But time, wars and poor maintenance have not been kind to many of the city's old...
Brian Letwin in Roundups
Morning Links: English Teaching: Is White Right?
- Vietnam ministries pass the buck on controversial driving regulations [Thanh Nien] - Phishing increasing in Vietnam [VietnamNet Bridge]
Brian Letwin in Saigon
Experts Reject Plan for New Saigon Airport
As plans move forward for Saigon’s new Long Thanh airport, a pair of former aviation officials are questioning the need for such an investment. Associate Prof. Dr Nguyen Thien Tong, former chairman o...
Brian Letwin in Vietnam
What the Phở Happened Last Weekend? 10 Stories You May Have Missed
- Coffee bean price continues to plummet [SGGP] - Taxis scheme offers hope for the handicapped [VietnamNet Bridge] - Invaluable fossils in Vietnam [VietnamNet Bri...
Brian Letwin in Vietnam
Ministry: Shops Must Use Vietnamese Signs
Following last year’s passage of the Vietnamese Advertisement law which requires that advertising content, spoken or written must be in Vietnamese, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recently...
Brian Letwin in Roundups
Morning Links: Plastic Food Wrappers Found Contaminated with Toxic Substances
- Banks warned not to hide debt [VNS] - Tears at Smile restaurant [VietnamNet Bridge] - Many famous discotheques in Saigon raided [VietnamNet Bridge]
Brian Letwin in Vietnam
Large Bomb Uncovered in Dak Ru
A massive, 300kg bomb was discovered by a resident of Dak Ru Commune, Dak R'lap District in the central highlands province of Dak Nong.
Brian Letwin in Roundups
Morning Links: Vietnam Plans Over 110 Television Channels by 2015
- Vietnam police deny recent memo banning people from filming cops [Thanh Nien] - Bus carrying Vietnamese robbed in Moscow [Tuoi Tre] - Century-old temple inside bodhi...
Brian Letwin in Saigon
How Much Do You Make? New Report Finds Growing Salaries in HCMC
Ever wonder what you're worth? The recently released 2013 Robert Walters Global Salary Survey shows moderate growth in salaries for workers in the financial, supply chain, engineering, HR, IT, s...
Brian Letwin in Roundups
Morning Links: Fire Rages Next to HCMC Backpackers’ Quarter
- Vietnam Sends Plan for Relaxing Foreign Ownership Limits to Dung [Bloomberg] - Vietnam court sentences Nigerian man to death for drug trafficking [Thanh Nien] - Vietnam to...
Brian Letwin in Roundups
Morning Links: Casinos to be Fined up to $10,000 if Serving Vietnamese Players
- Ministry backs new airport plan [VNS] - Viet Nam's first female film director dies [VNS] - Overseas students’ series on life in US stirs Internet [Tuoi Tre]
Brian Letwin in Saigon
Harley-Davidson Finally Opening Shop in Saigon?
For a country with a motorbike obsession, this counts as huge news - iconic American motorcycle maker, Harley-Davidson, is finally opening a showroom in Vietnam according to a set of job postings on V...
Brian Letwin in Vietnam
[Updated] 2 ‘Jungle Men’ Found Living in Vietnam Forest for 40 Years
[Update Below] You may have heard the stories of Japanese troops, hiding on on small, secluded Pacific islands, unaware that World War II had ended. A similar situation played out this month in Quang ...
Brian Letwin in Vietnam
What the Phở Happened Last Weekend? 10 Stories You May Have Missed
- Reporter charged for taking bribe from bar owner [Tuoi Tre] - VN pearls have the world as their oyster [VNS] - Vietnam cops arrested for receiving bribes from criminal [Thanh N...
Brian Letwin in Roundups
Morning Links: Vietnamese Man Pays Russian Boy $12,000 for Smashing Teeth with Golf Club
Over USD6 billion suggested for five PPP projects [dangcongsan] Vietnamese forest devastated by Agent Orange restored to health [ajw.asahi] Vietnam bid to stop traffic police bribes [Bangk...
Brian Letwin in Asia
Thai Villagers Detain Google Maps Car Believing Driver is a Spy
While many wish that Google Street View were available everywhere, a Village in northern Thailand does not share this opinion. Yesterday morning, A Google Maps car, mounted camera and all, was stopped...
Brian Letwin in Roundups
Morning Links: Vietnamese and the “$1billion Business Ambition”
- Binh Chau shipwreck: discovery area to be expanded [Quanhnai] - Price hike to ensure electricity supply [VEN] - Violence, capitalism and dodgy cops... [Thanh Ni...
Brian Letwin in Saigon
Massive Fire Drill at Diamond Plaza this Morning
If you're wondering why emergency crews, including 2 helicopters are running around Dimond Plaza this morning, fear not, for it's only a drill! The city fire, police and health departments along with...
Brian Letwin in Roundups
Morning Links: Civilization Fails to Lure Vietnam Men From 40-year Jungle Home
- Thirty Russian Firms to take part in Tourism Expo in HCMC [SGGP] - Vietnamese school children are 'years ahead' of Indian pupils [phys.org] - Vietnam to cover costs of bri...
Brian Letwin in Roundups
Morning Links: ‘Ba Tung’ Closes Facebook Page After Nationwide Ban
- Can Vietnam become a gambling getaway? [Thanh Nien] - Land for industrial parks lies abandoned in Mekong Delta [SGGP] - Foreigners with over-3 month visas can buy houses i...
