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.
November Movies at Saigon's Alternative Film Venues
As award season approaches, November might be the last chance you have this year to dive into the world of alternative and low-budget films, which is dominated by French and American productions.
Event Rewind: Halloween Hẻm Jam
While people across the city embraced this weekend's Halloween festivities, 3A Station was especially lively as Saigoneer joined forces with GiantStep Gallery and iLL Beats Saigon to put on the first-...
Zelda Goes to the Gallery: Jack Clayton Solo Exhibition
Fragmented images of a bustling Saigon, Vietnam’s past and present, the theories of Francis Bacon and Carl Jung – all find a place within the intricate woodcut prints and ink illustrations of Jack Cla...
[Video] Watch This Toyota Logo Disappear in 3 Seconds Flat
Saigon is full of magic tricks, from gravity-defying motorbike cargo to skyscrapers built at hyperspeed. But perhaps the least-welcome form of Saigon magic is the swift and unexpected disappearance of...
Saigon's First-Ever Affordable Art Opens This Week
Following two successful events up north, affordable art fair Art for You is coming to Saigon with the help of Hanoi-based galleries Work Room Four and Manzi. We caught up with the fair's organizers t...
It's Official: 'Kong: Skull Island' Will Film in Vietnam
Last month, director and screenwriter Jordan Charles Vogt-Roberts scouted locations in Vietnam for his upcoming film, Kong: Skull Island, the prequel to the 2005 Hollywood blockbuster King Kong.
[Video] A Poetic Look at Cho Lon
Some people have a knack for seeing things differently. Just like the backpacker who managed to make Pham Ngu Lao seem like a bastion of authentic local culture, so have Huy Tran and the Only in Saigo...
[Photos] Photographer Captures Slum Life on the Banks of Hanoi’s Red River
From north to south, urban Vietnam is full of contrasts. Skyscrapers go up next to shophouses. Food carts rub shoulders with five-star hotels. And sometimes, amid the changing cityscapes of this fast-...
Sweden Just Held Its Largest Ever Exhibition of Contemporary Vietnamese Art
Mien Meo Mieng / Contemporary Art from Vietnam – the most comprehensive exhibition of contemporary Vietnamese art ever presented in Sweden – features installations, drawings, paintings, videos and scu...
Stunning Vietnamese Children's Book Wins Asia-Wide Prize
When it comes to reading materials for kids, Vietnam is full of small, inexpensive paperbacks, but seldom does the country produce a colorful, high-quality storybook like The First Journey.
Dana Filek-Gibson in Music & Arts
The Music Man: Mark Gergis' Old-School Saigon Soul
When he was young, Mark Gergis – like most American teenagers – spent a lot of time sifting through records (or cassettes or CDs or iTunes...whatever your generation did). It was the 1980s, and there ...
Vietnamese Film Submitted to 2016 Oscars
For the first time in two years, a Vietnamese film is in the running for an Academy Award.
Islands, Archipelagos and Other Liquid Territories: Exploring the High Seas with Map Office
Acclaimed Hong Kong-based artists Laurent Gutierrez and Valerie Portefaix of Map Office bring to Dia Projects their first solo show in Saigon, titled Islands, Archipelagos and Other Liquid Territories...
[Photos] 15 Old Photos to Celebrate Vietnamese Women's Day
Today marks the 85th Vietnamese Women's Day. A nationally observed holiday since 1930, October 20 commemorates the day upon which the country's Women's Union was officially established and recognized ...
Saigon Student Creates Vietnam-Themed Alphabet
When Luu Trong Nhan first came across Around the World with Type, a project by Indian design students Rigved Sathe and Payal Jagwani, the 23-year-old student knew he could create an equally stunning V...
[Video] Insane Buon Ma Thuot Floods Sweep Away Motorbikes
In Vietnam's latest installment of flood-related news, yet another deluge has struck the country, this time in the Central Highlands city of Buon Ma Thuot.
Phnom Penh to Transform Abandoned Ship Into Floating Arts Center
Phnom Penh is about to get a new attraction in an old, deteriorating boat.
[Video] Downtown Saigon Is at Its Best in This Drone Video
Sometimes, when you're trapped in a gridlock of rush hour traffic, struck by an especially foul scent or awoken by the ear-splitting noise of roosters, construction projects and chatty next-door neigh...
Event Rewind: Beer Fest @ Saigon Outcast
Last Saturday, crowds of thirsty Saigoneers flocked to Saigon Outcast for its first-ever Beer Fest, which celebrated the city's growing number of craft beer producers.
[Video] Saigon Ad Agency Portrays Romance With a Good, Old-Fashioned Cavity Search
Most Vietnamese TV commercials are pretty much the same: there's a bit of dancing, a few graphics and a handful of attractive young people parading across the screen. Everything is glossy, well-produc...
