As Infrastructure Lags Behind, Saigon's Poorest Hardest Hit by Worsening Flooding
In April 2023, in the first downpour of southern Vietnam’s rainy season, the narrow rented room where Mã Thị Diệp and her children were staying in Hồ Chí Minh City was inundated by knee-high water.
Khôi Phạm in Environment
What I Talk About When I Talk About Vietnam's Penguin Trashcans
Compared to the average Vietnamese, I might be thinking about trashcans a smidgen too much — not just any trashcan, but the infamous penguin-shaped trashcans that are ubiquitous at every corner of our public spaces.
Linh Phạm in Parks & Rec
House Dance Hanoi Teaches You How to Free the Body
I stood on the top floor of a building on Khâm Thiên Street, feeling grateful for the cold air. I came out here to take a break from the other side of the floor, which was divided into three rooms — three dance studios.
Inside Saigon's Grassroots Carton and Aluminum Recycling Plants
With plastics claiming many of the headlines worldwide and constituting a major issue in Vietnam, scant attention is being paid to other recyclable materials, namely cardboard and aluminum.
How Táo Xanh Forum Created a Safe Space for Gay Vietnamese Before Social Media
Before Vietnamese could hop on social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to share our hot takes of the week, there was an era of past cybersphere when online forums were the crucial online space to connect local netizens.
Paul Christiansen in Environment
As Climate Change Threatens, Flood Waters Usher In Sustainable Opportunities for Communities in the Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta is developing faster than Google Maps can keep up with. A stretch of road that was too narrow to accommodate cars and required a transition to motorbikes just six months ago was under construction during our August visit. Gargantuan machines for laying pulverized gravel inched aside to let our 7-seater pass so we could reach the home of Nguyễn Thị Thu Thủy to check in on her small fish drying home business.
Khôi Phạm in Natural Selection
10 Species of Lesser-Known Fruits to Get to Know Vietnam's Biodiversity
In the Vietnamese language, the word “cỏ” — meaning “grass” in the literal sense — is often used to signify that something is locally grown, no frills, and charmingly rustic; grassroots, if you will. Chó cỏ is the general term for the adorable mutts, usually mixes between Vietnam’s native dog species, born without the prestige of named breeds, while gym cỏ and net cỏ denote the casual gyms and internet cafes in one’s neighborhood. In the same vein of logic, may I put forth a new name for a special genre of Vietnamese fruits: trái cỏ?
How Vietnamese Architecture Adopted Modernism and Made It Our Own
Ask a person on the street what Vietnam’s distinctive style of architecture is, and the answer you get might be traditional architecture, like the historic curves of northern Vietnam’s village temples or the ornate regality of Nguyễn-Dynasty palaces. This time-honored style is widely accepted as the hallmark of Vietnam’s cultural wealth. What’s more fascinating but lesser-known is how this cultural vestige — which distinguished our architecture from that of China and Japan — has also managed to evolve in the new age, finding ways to exist right in the middle of our modern lifetime.
[Video] Take a Ride on the Saigon Waterbus
Now that the Saigon Waterbus has been open for a few weeks, the service is starting to settle into a rhythm, with six daily trips from each terminus.
Vietnam's Generation Z Earns Little, but Loves Eating Out: Report
Despite having little money, many members of Vietnam’s Generation Z spend a large percentage of their budget on eating out.
Michael Tatarski in Development
On Preserving Laos' Botanical Diversity in the Garden of Luang Prabang
In a region where rapid urbanization, hydropower development and resource demand is devastating natural ecosystems, a dedicated team is working hard to preserve Laos’ unique plant species.
Almost 2m Vietnamese Children Under 5 Suffer From Malnutrition: Nutrition Institute
Despite considerable national health progress in the recent decade, nearly a quarter of Vietnamese children under the age of five currently still suffer from malnutrition.
On the Vietnamese Language’s ‘Cuk Cak’ Conundrum
Is there room for improvement in the way we write Vietnamese? According to a project by a local academic, the Vietnamese language might be due for a major overhaul.
Pasteur Institute Tests Find E. Coli in 100% of Meat Samples Taken From Saigon, Dong Nai
According to a recent test, a worrying amount of meat samples from provinces in Vietnam's southeast contained traces of E. coli.
The Story of Giang Nguyen, Grab's First Blind Coder
Saigon native Giang Nguyen was born completely blind, but that hasn’t stopped him from succeeding as a coder for Singapore-based ride-share app Grab.
Thi Nguyen in Society
Saigon's Coworking Movement and the Rise of the City's Creative Class
I like working in cafes: every visit, I find myself a comfy seat, plug in my laptop, get the WiFi password and camp out for the whole day. But while this sounds nice, it’s only the sugar-coated versio...
[Photos] In D3, an Owner Transforms Her Childhood Home Into an Colorful Tube House
After a recent major renovation, this tube house in District 3 is now a spacious living quarter for a multi-generational family.
Vietnamese Men Are Most Likely to Favor Good Looks Over Personality: 20-Country Survey
A new survey of people from 20 countries found that Vietnamese men were the only respondent group that's more likely to value their partner's appearance over their personality.
Hanoi Starts Cleaning Hoan Kiem Lake 2 Years After Beloved Turtle Died From Pollution
Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem Lake will be cleaned up two years after its famous reptile resident died in its polluted waters.
Vietnamese From Rural Regions Are Using Smartphones and Facebook More Than Ever
Thanks to reductions in smartphone prices, these devices are now increasingly popular among Vietnamese all over the country.
Sharks, Anchors & Red Tape: Why It Takes Forever to Fix Vietnam's Broken Internet Cables
Are the sharks all to blame, or should other aquatic creatures also be held responsible for Vietnam’s sluggish internet?
SSIS: A School Where the Students Get All the Profits
Graduates-to-be take one of their final tours of the SSIS campus in cap and gown. Wherever you're standing on Saigon South International School’s (SSIS) spacious campus, you’ll overhear learning in p...
Vingroup Hires Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes for Football Academy in Hung Yen
Two well-known former soccer players from Great Britain have been hired by a new soccer academy in northern Vietnam in an attempt to create the country's first batch of World Cup-caliber footballers.
[Photos] This Abode in D3 Is a Green Oasis Amid Saigon's Concrete Jungle
A building in District 3 designed by architectural firm KIENTRUC O is using space and openness in a daring new way. The result is a structure that connects the lives of its occupants with the surround...
Most Foreign Brides in South Korea in 2016 Were Vietnamese Women
A new study by South Korea's national statistics organization has shown that Vietnamese women are now the largest group of foreign brides in the East Asian nation.
[Photos] Conquering Saigon's Concrete Jungle
The concept of urban exploration certainly isn’t in its infancy anymore: across Instagram and other social media feeds, photographs of masked lunatics dangling from skyscrapers abound. While many peop...
The Reunification Game: How a 1976 Football Match Brought North & South Together
In early 1976, shortly after the dust had started to settle in a now-unified Vietnam, Le Buu, general director of the country’s Sports Administration Department, was tasked with heading to Saigon to a...
Khoi Pham in Tech
A Brief History of the Internet in Vietnam on Its 20th Birthday
My first memory of the internet in Vietnam occurred in an internet café on Tran Hung Dao Street. It was the early 2000s: Walkman players were still a thing, MTV actually played music, and Britney Spea...
