Khôi Phạm in Culture
What Can Vietnamese License Plates Tell You About the Vehicles and Who Drives Them?
There was a game I used to play with my dad whenever we would stop at a traffic light. He would point to a random license plate in front of us and quiz me on where it came from.
Mũi Né Among Top 10 Trending Travel Destinations Globally in 2026, Booking Says
Travel site Booking.com dubbed Mũi Né “one of 2026’s trending travel spots,” reflective of the international attention and domestic emphasis the beach city is currently receiving.
Euphoria, Ruin, Nostalgia: Tracing Hanoi's Changing Skyline by Its Soundtrack
From loudspeakers broadcasting construction anthems during wartime to melancholic ballads mourning vanished street corners, Hanoi's soundtrack reveals a city that has never quite learned to live in its present tense.
Paul Christiansen in Rewind
In 'Cú Và Chim Se Sẻ,' a Director's Radical Empathy for Saigon's Less Fortunate
“They can do what they want. The city owns the zoo. They could sell all the animals here. They could turn it into a golf course. We’re just little people — you and me.”
In 'No Man River,' Dương Hướng Highlights the Raw Pain of Postwar Survival
Dương Hướng’s No Man River (Bến không chồng) was first published in 1991 and won the Vietnam Writers' Association Prize for Fiction. Translated into English by Quan Manh Ha and Charles Waugh, it captures the brutal reality of conflict in Vietnam from 1945 to 1979.
Nguyễn Đức Tín Weaves Spirituality, Faith, Everyday Life Altogether in His Paintings
Can a painting reflect who we are, even if we can’t see ourselves thoroughly? And how does faith guide us forward in life?
Liên Bỉnh Phát Makes History as 1st Vietnamese to Win Best Male Lead in Taiwan
Vietnamese actor Liên Bỉnh Phát recently made history at one of Taiwan’s most prestigious national award ceremonies.
An Ode to Vũng Tàu, Saigon's Unwavering Summer Crush
I recently took a trip to Vũng Tàu after a long summer of cultural research, which had me traveling up and down Vietnam. It had been seven years since I’d been back to the homeland, and 19 since I’d last seen the beaches of Vũng Tàu, when I was only 16. It felt like returning to a high school crush, and it made me think of the words of Trần Thiện Thanh, who once wrote, “Nhớ lúc xa xưa mười sáu trăng tròn…” I won’t say I wasn’t looking for something familiar, poetic, and possibly even as sappy.
Pictionary Battle Night! @ deciBel
From the organizer: A night of networking and gaming where illustrators and creatives of Saigon can come together to battle it out for Pictionary glory!
Brian Letwin in Culture
[Photos] Vietnamese Motorbikes and the Things They Carry
With more than 37 million of them, Vietnam is truly the land of the motorbike (for now). As we see on a daily basis, they’re not only the preferred method of transportation for people, but also for th...
Brian Letwin in Culture
Ancient Village Regulations Uncovered in Hoi An
A 19th century draft of village rules and regulations has been discovered by a Vietnamese historian in Hoi An, the first of its kind, reports Vietnam News.
Event Rewind: Postiljonen
Last Sunday, Stockholm ‘dream pop’ trio, Postiljonen, swung by La Fenetre Soleil as part of their Asian tour.
Brian Letwin in Culture
[Video] Teaser: The Banditas of Hoi An
To avoid a dark complexion, many Vietnamese women wear body-encompassing garb when out about town. Some call them ‘ninjas’ and others ‘mummies.’ Sydney-based filmmaker, Kearon de Clouet, recently trav...
Event Rewind: The Saigon Projects 5 Year Anniversary Party
There may have been a mixture of complexions and languages, but the crowd at The Saigon Projects 5 year anniversary party shared one love for the growth of graffiti art and underground hiphop in ...
Vietnam's Fading Black Smile
Contrasting black and white is not a modern aesthetic. For a long time, it was a standard of grace for Vietnamese women for whom traditional beauty was judged by “white skin, black teeth.”
Brian Letwin in Culture
Made in Vietnam: Electric Chopper Bicycles
Looking to step up your bicycle game? Two mechanics in Nam Dinh Province have made their own electric chopper bicycle and the final product could only be described as baller.
Fashion Show: A Midsummer Night's Dream @ OMG
This Thursday, Studio co will host a new fashion show - A Midsummer Night's Dream- featuring garments, jewellery and accessorise from its multi-cultural group of creative minds including La ...
deciBel 2 Year Anniversary Party
It's finally time to celebrate our 2 years anniversary. 2 years of Music, Art, Cinema, drunk dance moves, yummy food and freaky meetings. deciBel wants to thank you guys for making this bar so awesom...
Saigon Urban Legends: The Ghost of the Fine Arts Museum
The Ho Chi Minh Fine Arts Museum, an ornate, colonial-era building at 97 Pho Duc Chinh, District 1 stands elegantly and quietly in the less-traveled area of District 1. Beyond housing some of the...
Brian Letwin in Culture
Teaser: Meet the Nguyễn's - Part 2
After moving to Vietnam, Richie Humphrey, in an attempt to improve his Vietnamese, started a video blog where he posted short, comedic videos. Last year, the Los Angeles, California native released a ...
Book Box Vietnam: Encouraging People to Spread and Share the Written Word
Inspired by the Little Free Library project, a group of young Saigon residents has launched a book exchange project called Book Box – placing little boxes of free books in public places.
Vietnamese Traffic Patterns Explained in One 'Simple' Image
This image explains Vietnamese traffic patterns better than words ever could.
Rock Paper Scissors Tournament @ Saigon Outcast
From the orgnaizer: There’s nothing that rivals a rock paper scissors tournament for excitement and tension. And fans of such contests are in for a treat at the SGOC's Rock Paper Scissors Tournament. ...
Event Rewind: Saigon Artbook Edition 3
After two extremely successful (and packed) releases of the Saigon Artbook, the team decided to launch the third edition over 2 days at the new exhibition space, Lê Công Kiều Station.
[Slideshow] 13 Beautiful Fields in Vietnam
Vietnam offers a wide array of natural beauty, leaving photographers with their fingers glued to their camera’s shutter release. While there are plenty of mountains and coastal scenes to photograph bu...
[Video] Vietnamese Grannies Get Down to Techno
“Women may be the one group that grows more radical with age.”― Gloria Steinem
3A Station: Saigon’s Answer to Zone 9?
There is a new area in Saigon, closed off to motorbikes, where artists and creative minds from different disciplines as well as businesses come together. This is the idea sketched out so far behind th...
[Slideshow] The Giant Rubber Duck has Arrived in HCMC
Yesterday, we waddled down to District 7’s Crescent Lake to check out the newly installed giant duck and found quite a scene.
