
I Keep My Connection to My Family's Hanoi Tết Traditions in a Tiny Quất Tree
I am not a plant person. So when even I notice the abundance of vườn kiểng — a place selling a myriad of plants — it must mean that Saigoneers truly love buying plants. Some of my friends, who are also Hanoians, asked me one day to visit these vườn kiểng and look for Tết plants: “Let’s celebrate Tết the way northerners do, you know?” And somehow, being amongst the plants brought me right back to Quảng Bá Flower Market in Tây Hồ.

How to Curate the Best Playlist to Listen to While Riding the Saigon Metro
When you get a new toy, it's only reasonable to take it out to play with as often as possible.

Đi Bão Is Vietnamese Culture at Its Most Jubilant, Raucous, and Fervent
Dustbins, tree branches, advertising stands and tarps, leftover Christmas decorations, whatever pot, pan, ladle or utensil left unattended in the family kitchen, and at least one street vendor’s bánh khọt mold: whatever wasn’t bolted down got caught up in the wave of đi bão that filled Saigon’s streets last night.

Life in Saigon's Old Tenements, the Remaining Vertical Villages of Past Decades
Is “out with the old, in with the new” the new motto when it comes to Saigon's real estate scene?

A Merry Memory of a Mid-2000s Middle-Class Christmas in Saigon
As my palm felt the glossy wrapping paper for my Secret Santa gift, I was transported to my early childhood Christmases — filled with warmth, wonder, and the bubbling discomfort of class insecurities.

Watching Snowfall in 'Home Alone' Is My Saigon Christmas Tradition
Christmas is so globally celebrated that even in Saigon, as the coldest time of the year approaches, you can hear Christmas hymms echoing from homes in the alley, and spot houses adorned with Christmas trees, Santas, snowmen, regardless of their cultural relevance to Vietnamese culture. For me, one of the activities that truly embodies this global spirit of Christmas is watching Home Alone (1990).

‘Công tử Bạc Liêu’ Asks: ‘What Would You Do if You Won the Lottery?’
They say you don’t buy a lottery ticket because you think you’ll win; you buy one so that you can fantasize about winning.

For Hội An Residents, Learning to Live With Floods Is a Fact of Life
The water reached my shoulders, and when I stepped into the street I suddenly felt the current trying to pull me into its invisible grasp. A familiar feeling that set off an alarm inside my head: “Be careful! It looks like nothing, but don’t get caught in it.”

Nguyens Set to Conquer Australia's Cities
With over 4,000,000 Viet Kieu, it’s not surprising that Vietnamese culture has made its way across the globe. Vietnamese culinary heroes, such as Pho to Banh Mi, have been popularized from Sydney to N...

Morning Links: New Council to Decide on Minimum Wage
- CocCoc trying to differentiate itself from Google (Tech in Asia) - Gambler siezed for trafficking elephant tusks (Tuoi Tre) - Experts say Vietnam should focus on improving the standard of living, ...

VNA A330 Engine Catches Fire After Landing in Saigon
Yesterday at 3:55pm, a Vietnam Airlines Airbus A330, arriving from Melbourne, landed at Ton San Nhat International airport. Soon after, smoke was observed coming from its no. 2 engine.

Kowloon - City in Darkness
We’ve seen some of Hong Kong’s tightest living spaces in a previous post but nothing compares with the notorious Kowloon Walled City. From the 1940s to 1993, this fortress of darkness and poverty hous...

Morning Links: Vietnam's Mobile Ad Market is Booming
Here's what's making news this morning: - New updates on the bribe-for-visa scam are emerging (Tuoi Tre) - Teachers and students happy with graduation exam day (SaigonGP Daily) - Lack o...

Saigon Lifts Ban on Public Bus Advertising
Saigon’s 2002 ban on public advertising has been lifted, allowing for advertisements on public buses, taxis and trains. The move has been welcomed by advertisers, seeking to expand their reach, and th...

Quang Nam Principal to Defend his Honor with Genital Examination
Well, it’s Monday so let’s keep things light this morning. A Quang Nam school principal, rumored to have had an extramarital affair, has requested a genital inspection by “relevant agencies” ...

Morning Links: How to Travel Across Vietnam Without Spending a Dong
Here's what's going on this morning: - PetroVietnam expects profits to increase by 29% in 2013 (Bloomberg) - New book explains how to travel across Vietnam with no money (Tuoi Tre)

Blackouts Across SE Asia Spark Conspiracy Theories
Last week’s blackout was one of many across SE Asia in recent weeks, with large-scale power outages in Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam. While the blackouts in Vietnam and Cambodia have...

Hoi An Shipwreck Yields Thousands of Precious Artifacts
Once an international trading hub, ancient pottery from Hoi An has been found as far away as Africa. But a recent, local discovery has proved to be more impressive than the long distances some pieces ...

Morning Links: France to Help Vietnam to Develop its Urban Railways
Good morning, Saigon. Here's a roundup of what's making headlines: - Vietnamese stocks at 5 year high (Bloomberg) - Authorities released 205,000 fish into newly cleaned Saigon canals...

Chinese Tourists Get a Bad Rep Abroad
It’s been a bad week for the reputation of Chinese tourists. It started with a Chinese vice-premier lamenting the behavior of his countrymen abroad and culminated with news that a Nanjing teenager had...

Morning Links: Vietnam is Ready for Mobile Banking
Here's what's making news this morning: - VietJet Air plans to open a Thai subsidiary (Bangkok Post) - Intel hesitant to expand in Vietnam due to power risks (Tuoi Tre) - The unemployment rate is g...

Why Vietnamese are Boycotting Coca-Cola
When Coca Cola announced a $300 million expansion plan for Vietnam last October, the company faced greater scrutiny of its local operations. Investigators found that by reporting losses since 2010, an...

Morning Links: Another Rare Plant Faces Extinction in Vietnam
Here's the latest and greatest Vietnam news: - Rich Vietnamese are into eating endangered species. (VietnamNetBridge) - According to a recent survey, energy security is a growing public concern...

Morning Links: Criticism and Confusion over Recently Announced TV Laws
Here are your morning links: - Current business environment uninviting for foreign graduates (Vietnamnetbridge) - Criticism and confusion over recently announced TV laws (ThanhNien) - Vietnam ...

Chinese DIY Projects: A Fine Line Between Ingenuity and Hilarity
Whether it's building the world's tallest building or shadily acquiring a Russian aircraft carrier, the Chinese government, while facing many shortcomings, dreams big. But what about its people? Surel...

Vietnamese Painting Fetches Record Price at Christie’s
Nguyen Phan Chanh’s painting, entitled “La Marchand de Riz,” set a new record for Vietnamese art at Christie’s International in Hong Kong this past Saturday. Originally valued at $75 due to a case of...

Starbucks CEO Says Company Will Open Hundreds of Stores in Vietnam
On the heels of a successful launch in Vietnam, Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz, announced that the American coffee chain will open hundreds of stores in the country. Before opening its 2-story flagshi...

China to Build the World's Tallest Building - In Only 7 Months
The Chinese economy may be slowing down, but that’s not stopping Hunan developers from breaking ground on the tallest building in the world – Sky City. The project will not only be taller than the Bur...