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.
Xanh Hà Nội Aims to Plant 1m Trees to Improve Hanoi's Living Environment
Amidst glooming effects of global warming, Xanh Hà Nội’s efforts since 2017 have played a crucial role in trailblazing a community-reliant framework for keeping Vietnamese cities green.
Saigon Students Win Science Contest Silver Medals for Bodhi Tree Leaf Teabags
Sustainable teabags made from bodhi tree (Ficus religiosa) leaves earned Ngô Trần Thảo My and Nguyễn Thiên Ngân silver medals at an international event that fosters global awareness of environmental i...
Paul Christiansen in Natural Selection
The Prehistoric Permanence of Cá Sấu, Vietnam's Farmed Predator
I’ve always hated cá sấu. Not because they’ve threatened my safety or had any real impact on my life whatsoever, but simply because they survived. When a meteor cratered into Earth 66 million years ag...
In Sơn La, Nà Khoang School Serves Both Students and the Local Thái Community
It's a flower's imperfections that make it beautiful.
From the Lab of Forever Wheelchair, Hope for Vietnam's Handicapped Animals
The ability to roam and frolic around is essential for our canine and feline companions' well-being, but too often, it can become a privilege for cats and dogs living with disability and immobility fr...
Health Ministry Stresses 'LGBT Is Not a Disease' in Response to Rise in 'Gay Cure' Clinics
Vietnam’s Ministry of Health recently issued an official dispatch stressing that homosexuality is not a disease.
The Power of Performing Arts at British International School Hanoi
What is the value of taking dance classes for students who will not pursue dance as a career?
In Huế, a Glass Cottage to Spend the Rest of Your Life With Your Beloved
If somehow your relationship manages to survive illnesses, conflicts, and external temptations to endure until both of you are in your sunset years, how would you spend the rest of your life?
Hanoi Students Create Green Material From Durian Rind to Aid Oil Spill Cleanup
A group of university students has created an aerogel material from durian rind which can help clean up oil spills.
Gõ Nước: An Endangered Tree That Offers Hope for Conservation Efforts
Is it true that the more names something has, the more beloved it is? Consider all the nicknames you have for your best friends, or the myriad of terms people have invented for deities. If one can ass...
Hanoi Unveils Design for New Floating Opera House Near West Lake
Hanoi is planning to build a 13,000 square-meter floating theater near West Lake with a capacity of around 3,500 seats.
[Photos] A House in Sơn La Cocoons Its Residents Around a Quiet Courtyard
In many up-and-coming urban areas in Vietnam, empty plots of land are sectioned off and sold as narrow puzzle pieces that will eventually become towering tube houses facing the chaos of arterial stree...
Local Businesses Find Flexible Solutions at MyStorage
The sleek aesthetic of a bakery specializing in meticulously crafted high-end pastries would be ruined by stacks of packaging stored between the bright display case and the open kitchen.
MangLub and Seed for Sea Work to Expand Tra Vinh’s Mangroves
Over the last year, tendrils of young mangrove trees have spread along the banks of the broad Cổ Chiên River in Trà Vinh Province.
How Exotic Pole Dance Challenges Both Personal Limits and Gender Stereotypes
Flashing flares of neon lights hug the body of a dancer who’s spinning around a pole in the raucous thrum of music and sensuous gasps. In the mind of the average Vietnamese, pole dancing is often asso...
Govi Snell in Environment
In Đà Lạt, Greenhouses Revolutionize Farming, but at What Environmental Cost?
Plastic greenhouses in the city of Đà Lạt may protect farmers from the impacts of erratic weather, but the environmental toll of agri-plastics is building in the agriculture-dependent region.
[Photos] This Buôn Ma Thuột House Is a Cottagecore Dreamland
In recent years, the Central Highlands has slowly become one of the most sought-after regions in Vietnam for young people to travel and live in.
Achieving Social-Emotional Development at International School Saigon Pearl
Why do children go to school? Cultivating knowledge and skills necessary for an independent, working life is important, but that is only part of the story. The social-emotional learning that takes pla...
Scuba Diving at Nha Trang Island Temporarily Banned Due to Poor Coral Health
Hòn Mun, a 5-square-kilometer square island about 10 kilometers off the coast of Nha Trang, will be closed to swimmers and divers indefinitely to protect the area's severely damaged coral.
Due to Bidding Red Tape, Pasteur Institute HCMC Runs Out of Vaccines
Saigoneers wishing to inoculate themselves or their children have recently been turned away at the Pasteur Institute in HCMC as the institute struggles to secure its vaccine supplies.
