Paul Christiansen

in Sports

Adding Billiards to Saigon's Pantheon of Pastimes

The clink of cue sticks on eight-ball muffling the clank of whisky glass ice cubes and the slap of cards as boozehounds hide their addictions in the shadows of sport and hobby? Dense plumes of Bastos smoke obscuring illicit activities and immoral affairs? Are Saigon's pool halls the seedy dens of patriarchal indulgence their reputation and pop culture representations suggest?

Khôi Phạm

in Society

In Vietnam, ‘Golden Babies’ Are Choking Public Services, Parents and One Another

The year is 2013. Linh lies awake in the attic bedroom of her cozy childhood home in Saigon. Tomorrow is her first day at primary school, and sleep doesn’t come easily with the all butterflies fluttering in her stomach. She’s worried, but mom assured her that she would be okay, because she is special.

Paul Christiansen

in Environment

The Role of Sand Batteries in Responding to the Climate Change Crisis

How does a sand battery work? 

Khôi Phạm

in Development

With the HCMC Metro Here, It's Time to Cultivate Saigon's Very Own Metro Culture

One of my least favorite genres of comments on Saigoneer’s social media posts is jokes involving the laggard opening of the HCMC Metro and some random, outrageous year far into the next decades, or even centuries.

Thi Nguyễn

in Tech

Typing Vietnamese, Part 2: The Vietnamese Diaspora, Unicode and the Ubiquity of Unikey

This is part 2 of our two-part series on the history of Vietnamese-centric typing technologies. Part 1 can be  acces...

Thi Nguyễn

in Tech

Typing Vietnamese, Part 1: Language, Identity and Technology at a Crossroad

My first exposure to the computer traces back to my primary school years when computer classes were conducted once a week. In order to study computers, students had to migrate from their usual classrooms to a multimedia lab — an air-conditioned room filled with computers. Computer classes were generally more popular among us than most subjects thanks to that satisfying cool breeze and the delight of operating something one wasn't privileged with at home.

in Natural Selection

Hoa Sữa, Poetic Icon of Autumn in Hanoi or Nasal Health Enemy No. 1?

It was early in the day. I opened my window to let in the very first rays of the morning sun, just to catch a waft of that distinctive floral aroma lingering in the cold air. This year, autumn came early, and hoa sữa has started blooming where I live.

in Environment

Plastic Waste Is Choking the Mekong River and Every Nation on Its Path

On Son Island in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, Le Trung Tin scatters fish feed into his ponds, where dozens of snakehead fish leap through the surface in synchronised bursts. “I taught them how to do that,” he says proudly, tossing another handful of feed at his fish.

Back Society

in Tech

VNCam App Taps Into Street Cams So You Can Beat The Traffic

If you’re planning to hit the streets of Saigon or Hanoi during rush hour, VNCam, a new traffic tracking app, should be of great assistance.

in Architecture

[Video] New Film Highlights The Father Of Modern Cambodian Architecture

Vietnam and Cambodia have a shared colonial past and have both endured the peaks and valleys of development and war. For both, the 1960s and 70s were periods of modernist architectural innovation, esp...

in Development

Petition Against Son Doong Cable Car Has Over 10,000 Signatures

After news broke that a $220 million cable car would be built through portions of Son Doong Cave, the response was overwhelming negative. Many were stunned that a plan, meant to lure troves of tourist...

in Tech

Uber Launches In Hanoi

The battle of the taxi apps is set to grow fierce in Hanoi with the arrival of Uber.

in Tech

Apple Set To Officially Enter Vietnamese Market

Instead of opening an official store in Vietnam, Apple has opted to partner with a local retailer to distribute their products in the country.

in Health

Vietnamese Smokers Spend $1bn per Year on Cigarettes

Vietnam boasts 16 million smokers who pay VND22 trillion ($1.05 billion) per year to feed their deadly habit. But the actual cost of smoking is compounded by a nearly equal cost in treatment for commo...

in Development

Facing Delay, HCMC Pushes To Build Thủ Thiêm Bridge 2 In 2015

The main prerequisite for the large-scale development of Thủ Thiêm is infrastructure - roads, tunnels and bridges that serve as arteries into the new urban area.

in Tech

GrabTaxi Launches GrabBike, Bringing Xe Ôms Into the Digital Age

With companies such as EasyTaxi, GrabTaxi and Uber, it’s never been easier to summon a car or cab in Saigon. However, xe ôms have been left out of the digital transportation revolution. That is, of co...

in Development

[Photos] Behind The Blue Walls: A Look At The Progress Of Saigon’s Pedestrian Promenade

Reddit user, WeAllWantToBeHappy, recently visited a number of spots around District 1 to see what was going on behind the large blue walls where a new pedestrian promenade is currently under construct...

in Development

A Goodbye To Steam At Thái Nguyên Steel Works

Wednesday 22 October 2014 was officially the last day of steam locomotive operations at Thái Nguyên Steel Works. Tim Doling takes a look at the history of this extraordinary industrial plant, which ow...

in Development

Authorities Consider Preserving Elements Of Tax Center Following Public Outcry

When news broke in August that Saigon’s historic Tax Center was to be demolished, many experts and locals took to public forums to call for the preservation of certain elements of the building.

in Development

Future Saigon: Masteri Thao Dien

To take advantage of the Thao Dien stop on the city’s first metro line, developers are planning to build Masteri, a sprawling mixed-use project which will be integrated with the neighborhood’s above g...

in Health

[Photos] The Bomb Recyclers Of Quảng Trị

Quảng Trị holds the terrible honor of being the most contaminated province in Vietnam when it comes to unexploded ordinance left over from the American War.

in Development

Stunning Nha Trang Hotel Features Vertical And Indoor Gardens

Nha Trang is a beautiful city but its hotels are typically boring and resemble those found across Vietnam. Despite the name, the recently constructed Hotel Golden Holiday Hotel, designed by Trinhvieta...

in Development

[Photos] Massive Flooding Turns HCMC Streets Into Rivers, And It's Just The Beginning

While much of District 1 was able to stay dry on Sunday night, others such as Districts 6 and 11 were not as fortunate as a storm flooded major streets and knocked out power in some areas.

in Tech

CNN: HCMC Is The World’s Best Emerging City For Startups

CNN  recently interviewed Simon Squibb, CEO of Hong Kong-based Nest Investment, who ranked HCMC as the best emerging city for startups.

in Environment

Vietnamese Demand for Rhino Horn Drops by More Than 33% in 1 Year

Well, here’s some great news for your Friday afternoon.

in Development

Hanoi Set To Test Its Bus Rapid Transit System

While Saigon will have to wait until 2018 for its first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route, Hanoi will test the first leg of its BRT system in the coming months, reports Vietnam News.

in Development

Vinhome’s $1.4B Binh Thanh Project Will Include Vietnam's Tallest Building

Between the Saigon and Thủ Thiêm bridges in Bình Thạnh District sits a large plot of land which is currently home to stacks of shipping containers. If things go according to plan, by 2017, a massive, ...

in Tech

Hanoi Launches High Tech Traffic Control Center

On October 1, Hanoi officially put its fancy new VND230 billion traffic control center into operation, reports Zing.