Paul Christiansen in Natural Selection
Kiến Ba Khoang: Not an Ant, but a Harbinger of Dread and Divine Punishment
People’s skin erupted with horrific boils that burst open, spilling stinging pus across vicious rashes. According to the Christian Bible, along with water turning to blood, frogs, lice, gnats, diseased livestock, hail, locusts, darkness for three days and the killing of firstborn sons, the boils were one of the plagues God sent down to ancient Egyptians to compel them to free the Israelites.
Khôi Phạm in Tech
Review: Horror Game 'Tai Ương' Exposes the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Our Culture
Natural disasters, illnesses, accidents, breakages, or even deaths: when a series of consecutive tragedies engulf a family, it’s often said that tai ương has befallen the unfornate victims. The term is also the name of a recently published Vietnamese horror game that has been making waves amongst gaming communities both nationwide and internationally, thanks to its layered narrative, chilling atmosphere, and meticulously crafted game environment.
Paul Christiansen in Environment
WildAct's Trang Nguyễn Turns to Social Media to Inspire a New Generation to Love Nature
Dr. Trang Nguyễn — a wildlife conservation scientist with a PhD from Cambridge and the founder of WildAct — needs little introduction. She has been recognized as one of Forbes Asia’s 30 under 30, called a conservation “hero” by Sir David Attenborough on BBC’s Planet Earth III, and had her inspiring story, which includes going undercover to bring down illegal ivory poaching rings in Africa after surviving cancer, covered widely. But much of her work has been behind the scenes or at least in corners devoted to conservations. Her recent arrival on the social media scene, amongst memes, music videos, and TikTok challenges, represents a shift in approach.
Phạm Phú Vinh in Architecture
Vietnamese Vernacular Modernism Is a Local Language Created by the Ordinary People
In the history of architecture, rarely have we seen such a challenging movement as Vietnamese modernism. Not only does it show how a culture evolves and expresses itself across historical epochs through its building practice, from the traditional to colonial and eventually modern period, but the language of Vietnamese vernacular modernism also reveals deeper understandings of human creative potential.
How Saigon's V.A.R Building Epitomizes Vietnam's Architectural Autonomy
Completed in 1973, the V.A.R building at 9 Nguyễn Công Trứ Street in Nguyễn Thái Binh Ward, District 1, is a prominent example of Vietnamese mid-20th-century modernist architecture designed by architect Lê Văn Lắm. It not only represents the Vietnamese architectural identity in post-colonial eras, but also exemplifies its cultural autonomy.
Quy Nhơn’s Quy Hoà Leprosy Village to Be Relocated for Mega Resort Project
Authorities in Gia Lai Province have approved plans to relocate the Quy Hoà leprosy village from its current ocean-side setting in Quy Nhơn to make room for an ambitious real estate and tourism project.
Opinion: Electric Vehicles Are Southeast Asia's Way out Amid the Global Fossil Fuel Crisis
As the Iran war crunches global energy supplies and disrupts prices, Southeast Asian leaders may need to diversify oil and gas supplies in order to protect ordinary people.
Paul Christiansen in Environment
An Ancient Turtle Named After Bánh Xèo Can Teach Us a Lot About Whimsy in Science
Nước mắm — that ruby-hued elixir; that salty, fish-flesh-sweet open secret in your favorite recipe; that indispensable icon of Vietnamese culture and, by extension, identity — owes itself to Commerson’s anchovies. That’s right, if your fish sauce comes from the central region, where it was first developed, the fish pressed with salt to produce it are Stolephorus commersonnii, a species named in 1801 after Philibert Commerson, a white Frenchman. Picture all the hardscrabble village homes suffering under the yoke of colonialism, where one of the day’s few pleasures was a humble meal made delicious by a carefully rationed dash of fish sauce and an ingredient whose name pays homage to their colonizers.
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...
Khoi Pham in Society
Meet Le Duy Loan, the First and Only Female Senior Fellow at Texas Instruments in 87 Years
When Le Duy Loan fled to the US in 1975, she was still a shy and demure girl from Nha Trang who barely knew any English. Today, Loan belongs to the top rung in her field of engineering and remains the...
Singaporean Real Estate Company Pours $177m Into Residential Project in D4
Singaporean property developer CapitaLand has announced that it is planning to build its latest residential development in Saigon's District 4.
Foreign Websites Should Process Payments Locally for Ease of Tax Collection: Ministry
The Ministry of Finance has stated its desire to have foreign digital service providers such as Facebook and Google process payments through a Vietnam-based corporation.
Did Bkav Actually Crack Apple iPhone X's Face ID a Week After Its Release?
A group of enterprising Vietnamese "hackers" recently claimed that they had managed to crack Apple's Face ID, the iPhone X's latest form of authentication.
