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.
The Hunt for Vietnam's Dinosaurs Has Found Nothing Yet, but There Is Hope
Why aren’t there any Vietnamese dinosaurs?
In Hanoi, Waacking Is Not Just a Dance, but a Home for Creativity, Gender Fluidity Too
“I get to express my madness.” That is what Trần Khánh Linh, also known as Lyna, says when asked why she has been waacking for the last 10 years. By day, Lyna is a jewelry and gemstone seller, but by ...
The Sophisticated Ways Hồ Chí Minh City's Residents Live, Work, Travel and Study in 2025
Drawing open the curtains of a modern highrise apartment to reveal a gleaming skyline across the river is how the day begins here for many Hồ Chí Minh City (HCMC) residents.
Uyên Đỗ in Tech
There's a Cordial Vietnamese Greeting That Has Been Floating in Space Since 1977
At this very moment, while you're reading these lines, a silver “bird” of human design is hurtling away from the Sun at roughly 60,000 kilometers per hour, slipping past the boundaries of our solar cr...
Paul Christiansen in Environment
How a Self-Taught Documentarian Spreads His Boundless Enthusiasm for Vietnam's Nature
Why “Sticky Discovery”? This was the first question I asked during my interview with the man behind the YouTube series of nature documentaries. His name is Dính, given by his paternal grandmother beca...
In a D7 Residence, Natural Wood Textures Hark Back to Vietnam's Traditional Homes
During a new decade when architecture projects in Vietnam are increasingly looking towards the future and influences outside the national boundaries for inspirations, Memories House decided to do the ...
Searching for the World's Largest Woodpecker Species in Yok Đôn National Park
You first know she’s approaching by the sound of her wings; her broad shadow flashing across the forest floor. Even from far below, her body looks enormous. At half a meter long, she is roughly five t...
Paul Christiansen in Sports
Thống Nhất Stadium Offers Unexpected Opportunities to Reflect Upon the Soul
Where do you find revelation?
Forum Theater Brings Real-Life Situations to the Stage, and You Are the Actors
In Vietnam, a novel form of theater is quietly making an impact, not just on stage, but in classrooms, communities, and people's lives. Known as Forum Theater, this interactive art form transforms aud...
Paul Christiansen in Environment
The Overwhelming Presence of Nature's Most Inspiring Sound: Cát Tiên's Gibbon Call
What is your favorite sound?
Văn Tân in Natural Selection
Hoa Bưởi's Fleeting but Fragrant Season Teaches Us to Find Beauty in Impermanence
Every year during this time, I can’t help but hanker for a taste of sugarcane infused with hoa bưởi, or pomelo blossom. Only hoa bưởi’s tender aroma can accentuate the flavor of this humble snack seve...
A Botanical Illustrator Captures Vietnam's Flora on Paper, One Species at a Time
When science and art commingle in a botanical illustration, it’s as if a magical world appears, where colors, brushstrokes, and lighting work together to not only replicate but also breathe life into ...
Lúa Ma, the Mekong's Ancient Wild Rice Varieties Holding Secrets to Climate Resilience
“It’s been so long I can barely remember. It’s delicious, fragrant, soft but not sticky,” says Trần Văn Lựa, 53, a farmer from Đồng Tháp Province, south-west Vietnam, recalling the taste of wild rice....
Paul Christiansen in Natural Selection
Cầy Mực, the Fluffy Bearcat Whose Pee Really Smells Like Popcorn
Vietnam is home to a diverse range of species, from the elusive sao la to Hanoi's pungently fragrant hoa sữa. As an ode to the wondrous nature of the country, we're introducing a new article series, Natural Selection. Each article will feature a species of plant or animal native to Vietnam — starting with the laidback cầy mực (binturong).
As Saltwater Intrudes More of Mekong Delta, Durian Farmers Struggle to Stay Afloat
Nguyễn Văn Quại, 63, walked slowly on the muddy dirt path in his yard, his hands clasped behind his back. He stopped beside a tree split in half, its branches dipping into the stagnant water of a narr...
Khôi Phạm in Tech
On Vietnam's Internet, You're a Mom, I'm a Mom, Everyone Is a Mom
I am a mom. Well, not in the most conventional meaning of the word — I am childless, and it’s still biologically impossible for men to give birth the last time I checked, but for most of my existence ...
Khôi Phạm in Architecture
On Phú Quý Island, a Curious Collection of Modernist Houses From Central Vietnam
From the 1960s towards the end of the 1970s, urban centers in southern Vietnam saw robust and widespread growth of modernist influences in architecture. Still, outside the usual foci of the movement l...
Văn Tân in Architecture
An Homage to Courtyards, the Heart of Traditional Vietnamese Homes
This time of the year, the giáng hương tree in my grandma’s courtyard is probably blooming with clusters of golden blossoms, enticing the kids in the neighborhood to gather around it and carefully pic...
Mầm in Parks & Rec
The Young Vietnamese Artisans Breathing New Life Into Animals Carcasses
Skeletons and carcasses are often reminiscent of eerie, spine-chilling scenes in horror movies. But in the taxidermy community, animal corpses are of great value for artisans to create unique works th...
The Value of Embracing Vietnamese Language and Culture at Việt Nam Tinh Hoa
Parents don’t want to choose between their children having deep-rooted cultural identities and the English fluency necessary to excel in international situations. Thankfully, both are possible. T...
