Paul Christiansen in Natural Selection
A Folk Symbol and Cash Animal, King Cobras Just Really Want to Be Left Alone
The king cobra, or rắn hổ mang chúa in Vietnamese, has great personal branding. For proof, one need look no further than the recent flower display on Nguyễn Huệ celebrating the Year of the Snake: the largest, most impressive statue bore the telltale hood of a cobra.
How You Can Think and Live Sustainably
Frequently touted as environmentally friendly options that help preserve the planet, cotton tote bags require so much energy and freshwater to produce that you must use one at least 7,000 times to make it an effective alternative to plastic bags. Finding out that purchases, habits, and initiatives you thought were good for the planet, such as using tote bags, are in fact not likely to help our current climate crisis can be disheartening. Recognizing how the sustainability movement is rife with performative acts, corporate greenwashing and good intentions thwarted by misinformation threatens to discourage people from the entire concept.
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.
TP. Hồ Chí Minh: MEGA City - Housing in the Mega City
Saigoneer is proud to be the media sponsor of the TP. Hồ Chí Minh: MEGA City photo book which was formally released on February 19. The book, edited by Michael Waibel and Henning Hilbert, was produced...
Authorities Push to Meet Deadline for HCMC’s First Metro Line
We’ve been waiting for this news for a while – HCMC autorities are pushing hard to complete the city' first Metro line by early 2018, according to the Bernama.
'Flappy Bird' Isn't the Only Hit App Made in Vietnam
Our favorite TechinAsia writer, Anh Minh Do, recently published a guest post on Mashable, telling the world that there’s more to Vietnam’s app ecosystem than just Flappy Bird.
TP. Hồ Chí Minh: MEGA City - Change Over Time
Saigoneer is proud to be the media sponsor of the TP. Hồ Chí Minh: MEGA City photo book which was formally released on February 19. The book, edited by Michael Waibel and Henning Hilbert, was produced...
Slow Internet Warning: AAG Cable to Undergo Maintenance Next Week
The notoriously fragile, 20,000km, Asia American Gateway cable - SE Asia’s main internet connection to the West - will undergo maintenance next week so expect “shaky connections” through March 9, repo...
ADP Approves $60 Million Loan for Sustainable Urban Transport in HCMC
Construction of the $1.3 billion, 20 kilometer Metro Line 2, is expected to go into full swing this year, starting with an underground maintenance and metro station in District 12. To “improve accessi...
Will New Alcohol and Cigarette Taxes Reduce Consumption in Vietnam?
According to Thanh Nien, the government proposal to increase taxes on alcohol and cigarettes won’t stem their consumption. The proposal under the Ministry of Finance would take effect from July 1, 201...
TP. Ho Chi Minh: MEGA City – The Mega City From Above
Saigoneer is proud to be the media sponsor of the TP. Hồ Chí Minh: MEGA City photo book which was formally released on February 19. The book, edited by Michael Waibel and Henning Hilbert, was produced...
Bitcoin Forbidden in Vietnam
Bitcoin may be grabbing headlines across the globe, but the controversial digital currency won’t be making a foothold in Vietnam anytime soon as the State Bank of Vietnam, along with the Government, h...
TP. Hồ Chí Minh: MEGA City Book Launch Event
Saigoneer is proud to be the media sponsor of the TP. Hồ Chí Minh: MEGA City Photo Book. On Sunday, February 23, there will be launch event for the book at Highland's Coffee on Phạm Ngọc Thạ...
Can Vietnam Create its Own Version of Silicon Valley?
According to The Atlantic, Vietnam could be home to the world’s next “tech hub.” The capital recently hosted the country’s first start-up fair, bringing together eager entrepreneurs in the hope of att...
[Updated] H5N1 Bird Flu Spreading Rapidly in Vietnam
[Update Below] H5N1, the avian influenza, has been making its way across Vietnam with reported outbreaks in 10 localities across the country. According to Tuoi Tre, thousands of animals have been infe...
[Infographic] Key Statistics on Vietnam's Internet Population
TechinAsia has been on a roll with infogrpahics lately. Entitled, “Numbers Every Vietnamese Tech Founder Should Know,” this infographic, created with the help of BTIC, illustrates telling behaviors of...
[Infographic] The Growth of Vietnam’s Online Advertising Market
This fantastic infographic shows the growth of Vietnam’s online advertising market. Created by Itracker.vn, a digital marketing tracking service, it reveals the top sectors and websites where online a...
New Restrictions on Female Workers Draw Criticism
Female manual labourers in Vietnam are to be banned from employment in industries deemed too risky and arduous Thanh Thien reports. The new regulation, implemented in December 2013, saw 77 jobs catego...
VietJetAir Ready for Massive Expansion with Airbus Order
VietJetAir, Vietnam’s favorite budget airline (take that, JetStar) announced yesterday that it has signed a deal with Airbus, one of the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers for nearly 100 new jets,...
Flappy Bird Creator Receives Death Threats After Pulling Game
Apparently Flappy Bird is just about as addictive as drugs. Since it's creator, Dong Nguyen, pulled the game from the iTunes and Google Play Stores last Sunday, citing a constant bombardment from the ...
Vietnam Nuclear Power Plans Delayed. Again.
Vietnam’s plans to build its first nuclear power plant have been imminently delayed. The 2010 target of constructing 8 power plants by 2025 has seemingly now become a distant memory.
Vietnam to Launch Urban Bike-Sharing Program in 2015
Following the success of bike-sharing programs from New York to Beijing, Vietnam is planning to launch pilot programs for 5 cities in 2015.
We Hardly Knew Ye: Flappy Bird Developer Pulls Hit Game
While players of Flappy Bird spent the weekend trying for double digit scores and smashing their phones in frustration, the game’s maker shocked the world by announcing that he would be pulling the ga...
