How Colonial Steamship Transport Transformed into Casual River Cruises in Southeast Asia
The relaxed, historic-looking river cruise ships emblazoned with the Pandaw name that you may witness meandering up rivers in Burma, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and even India have a much stranger backstory than you’d suspect.
All Aboard the Languorous 35-Hour Train From Hanoi to Saigon
The train connecting Vietnam’s largest cities takes 35 hours. Yet even after the first time I finished the trip, I was already coming up with excuses for why I needed to do it again. For me, the journey is much more than a chance for great views and time to reflect. It’s an exploration of life itself.
Short Film 'Mud Below, Sun Above' Reveals Daily Trials of Hanoi's Scrap Collectors
Đồng nát translates to “junk; broken materials,” but it is also a term used in northern Vietnam to describe the recycling workforce, 90% of whom are elderly women, that operate in a nation that produces 68,000 tons of solid waste every day.
Inside the Vivid, Soothing Art Realm of Vietnamese Illustration Artist Phuongsongdep
Using her keen observation and sensitive art intuition, Minh Phương creates a colorful realm through her brushstrokes, w...
Paul Christiansen in Culture
Learning to Ngồi Chồm Hổm Is a Simple Way for Anybody to Feel More Vietnamese
What is culture? For someone who writes for an arts and culture publication, you’d think I’d have a quick and clean answer, but the more I ruminate, the more I realize it comes down to a sloppy assemblage of habits, ephemera, and minutiae: eating preferences, holiday attire, styles of sneezes, methods for counting on one’s fingers, variety of fruits to gift and an endless string of social norms. Pile enough of these choices together, and you end up with a distinct culture.
Great Vietnam Resurrects Nguyễn-Era Fashion, One Traditional Costume at a Time
In the last four to five years, ancient Vietnamese costumes have gained more visibility, becoming a welcome sight among young locals thanks to the efforts to reproduce and promote historic fashion from a number of designers, brands, and interest groups that appreciate the country’s history and traditions.
In the Mekong Delta, Đồ Bộ Is Everything, Everywhere, All at Once
Despite its humble beginning as something worn just for convenience’s sake, đồ bộ has entered every minute of life in the Mekong Delta as a staple fashion choice that’s both flexible and colorful. Đồ bộ means “set outfit” in Vietnamese, a type of female casualwear made of soft, thin fabrics that often comes in a top and long bottom combo. They’re sometimes referred to as “Vietnamese pajamas,” but these comfortable sets can be worn at any time of the day and even outside, not just reserved for sleep like pajamas.
Nguyễn Đổng Chi's Classic Retelling of Vietnam's Fairy Tales, Now in English
Folklorist and anthropologist Nguyễn Đổng Chi dedicated decades to weaving a significant portion of Vietnam’s folklore tapestry. He collected, researched, and rewrote over 200 Vietnamese folktales from all corners of the country. His work, initially scattered across five volumes published individually and consecutively over 25 years, appeared as a complete anthology in 1982. Guided by a comprehensive treatise of Vietnamese folktale, Chi’s Kho tàng truyện cổ tích Việt Nam (Treasury of Vietnamese Folk Tales) might be daunting for readers drawn to Vietnamese folklore but disenchanted by rigorous academic discourse.
Livinwondr: A People’s Art Project
The first installation of new community project Livinwondrexpresses the stories and creative ideas of the public through transformative media art.
[Illustrations] Local Illustrators Bring Saigon's Street Carts to Life
Saigon's streets are full of mobile vendors, schlepping food carts or huffing it across the road with a bamboo pole over one shoulder. Whether selling hot food or fresh fruit, pet fish or woven basket...
[Video] Tokyo Gone: Escaping the Concrete Jungle on Borrowed Motorcycles
From wheezing, old-school Honda Cubs to fancy vintage Vespas to the brand-new, high-octane two-wheelers that have begun to appear on Saigon's streets, Vietnam is a country of two-wheeled vehicles.
Paying Homage to the Hand-Painted Signs of Cho Lon
French photographer Brice Coutagne settled in Saigon several years ago. With an interest in unusual lettering, the expat found himself mesmerized by the city's hand-painted signs. Camera in hand, Cout...
[Video] Adults Cheer on Kids' Beer-Drinking Contest, Fail at Adulting
As recent evidence suggests, not all adults excel at adulting. In fact, more often than not, we're all making mistakes in one way or another. It's just that we usually try not to involve young, i...
[Video] Making of an Art Exhibition: Suby One's 'Time'
Earlier this month, Vietnamese-French artist Suby One showcased his latest exhibition, Time, at the Museum of Fine Arts. The 10-day display was a combination of abstract art, graffiti and several inst...
[Photos] Stay Cool in Saigon's Ice Palace
It's sweater weather in District 7's Him Lam New Urban Area.
[Photos] Life in a Saigon Cemetery
When her youngest son was six months old, Kieu Thi Anh Lien's husband disappeared. They were never officially married but the couple had lived together for years, until one day the father of Lien's th...
The Renovation Generation: Meet Vietnam's Post-Đổi Mới Movers and Shakers
Thirty years after the inception of Đổi Mới, Vietnam is night and day compared to its former self. Following the tragedy of war, this 1986 economic reform wholly transformed the country into what it i...
[Video] The Story Behind Urban Vietnam's Graffiti Advertisements
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.
In Yangon, Myanmar's Cold War-Era Typewriters Are Still in Use
Southeast Asia is a study in the clash of tradition and innovation. Across the region, increasingly modern societies reconcile their traditional values with contemporary progress, and in some cases th...
'Farmers Got Power': A Satirical Look at Social Upheaval
Satire and humor have long been recurring tropes employed by artists to deal with uncomfortable topics, to challenge people to discover on their own the object and meanings of their satire. Nowhere co...
[Video] Recycle: Saigon's Uber-Cool Tattoo Parlor
Not only in Vietnam but around the world, tattoos are at once both embraced and misunderstood: older generations loathe them, younger generations view them as an important tool of self-expression.
[Video] See If You Can Spot Vietnam in This 'Skull Island' First-Look Featurette
As part of this year's MTV Movie Awards ceremony, which took place last weekend, the people behind Kong: Skull Island put out a nice little featurette teasing the forthcoming movie, which is set to pr...
Technology Has Officially Entered Saigon’s Art Scene
From the invention of farming to the advent of military drones, technology has shaped the economy, politics and culture of every society. It was inevitable that such a vital element of our lives would...
[Video] Travel the Length of Vietnam in One Minute
For those of us who prefer armchair travel, Vimeo user Riccardo Fasoli's stunning minute-long journey through Vietnam is the perfect mini holiday.
[Photos] Incredible Juxtapositions Show How China Has Changed Over the Past Century
In a country where cities rise from rice paddies, to say that China has developed rapidly over the past century is something of understatement. Self-described “photography and creativity enthusiast” D...
Animated Shorts Bring Vietnamese History to the Small Screen
In an effort to teach Vietnamese children (and perhaps adults, too) about their nation's past, one local channel has begun playing short, animated videos depicting famous moments in Vietnamese history...
[Video] Filmmaker Captures the 'Phantoms of Saigon'
In his latest short film, Phantoms of Saigon, filmmaker Pham Hong Chuyen juxtaposes poetic, almost alien angles of Saigon with the often faceless community of wandering scrap collectors who roam its s...
[GIFs] Character Building: Illustrator Brings Bitexco Tower's Personality to Life
British animator and illustrator Michael William Lester recently added some character to a few of the world’s most iconic buildings, including Saigon’s own Bitexco Tower, by way of a series of animate...
