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 pick off the prettiest petals to create makeshift jewelry.
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 that blur the line between life and death.
Ride-Hailing Changed How We Commute. Can Ve Chai-Hailing Change How We Recycle?
Mentions of ve chai might evoke images of uncles and aunties pushing around their cart or perched on bicycles, ferrying a host of plastic bags and scrap metal, and occasionally calling out: “Đồng nát sắt vụn bán nào…” This familiar scene, no matter how nostalgic, might change soon.
Đuông Dừa, the Mekong Delta's Unique Squishy Snack and Enemy of Coconut Trees
Towards the deep end of our home, several coconut trees’ fronds started browning and falling off, straight from the bud. For the last few weeks, tiny holes have gradually appeared on the coconut trunk and shoot, from a few to numerous, giving off an unpleasant funk of rotten sap. My dad says that these trees are infested with đuông, and we must chop them all down lest we lose the entire grove.
Oliver Newman in Society
Chạm Vào Xanh, the Social Enterprise Normalizing Joy for People With Disabilities
Hồng’s parents took her out of school in Grade 5. They weren’t facing financial issues, her grades weren’t bad and she had no behavioral setbacks. It was just because she has cerebral palsy.
Đàng Trong Cafe Marries Gò Công's Nhà 3 Gian Design With Modern Cafe
Major metropolises like Saigon and Hanoi might boast the most concentrated distributions of coffee shops in Vietnam, but a new crop of fresh faces in other up-and-coming towns have emerged in the scene, offering sterling brews, spacious seats, and, in some cases, delightful interior design that blends modern cafe conventions with uniquely local flairs.
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.
Report: Vietnam in Top 10 for Worst Air Pollution
Break out the face masks - Vietnam is in the top ten countries with the worst air pollution in the world. The ranking comes from the recently released, 2012 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) whic...
Brian Letwin in Development
Video: What Will it Take to End Poverty in Vietnam?
A recent video produced by the World Bank tells the story of two brothers born in a poor family, one living in the mountainous area, one migrating to the city, to respond to the question: What will it...
Vietnamese Architects Unveil Awesome Modular Bamboo Home Design
Vietnam is a land of floods and storms. While Vietnamese have long accepted this reality, mother nature has had profound impact on individuals and the country as a whole. Though some look for ways to ...
Report: Vietnamese Online Shopping Market Climbs to $2.77 Billion
3 reports on Vietnamese online shopping trends have been released recently with drastically different numbers. But no matter which is correct (one has to be correct, right?), it’s clear that web purch...
Trend: HCMC Students Getting High on Cough Medicine
Drugs may be incredibly illegal in Vietnam, but according to a recent report, like their western counterparts, some teenagers have discovered the magical powers of cough medicine. The difference is, i...
FALSE: Street Vendor Caught Using Rat Meat in His Soup
Last week, a report entitled, “The shocking truth about hu tieu street vendors,” wherein a hu tieu vendor was caught using rat in his soups, spread like wildfire across Vietnam's social media networks...
Start Your Engines! Vietnam Motor Show 2013
Whether we like it or not (for the record, we don’t) cars are becoming increasingly popular in Vietnam. To showcase their newest models, 15 auto brands have set up shop at the Saigon Exhibition and C...
Vietnam Burns Through 4.17 Billion Packs of Cigarettes per Year
According to the Vietnam Tobacco Association, the country consumed 4.174 billion packs of cigarettes in 2012. With a population around 90 million, that’s good for an average of over 46 packs a year pe...
Errors Abound in Vietnamese Textbooks
Vietnamese parents are once again up in arms about their children’s education in what looks like yet another example of inconsistency and lack of attention to detail that so many have sadly come to ex...
Celeb. Chef, Bobby Chinn's Crusade for Safer Food in Vietnam
Vietnam may have some of the best food in the world but the country has recently struggled with food safety issues. Over the past few months, stories about tainted noodles and street drinks have been ...
How Saigon's Largest Canal Cleaned up Its Act
You’ve likely observed groups of men fishing along the banks of Saigon’s Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe Canal and wondered how fish could survive in its waters. Apparently it’s a bit cleaner than we may think.&nb...
Students Need Their Sleepy-Sleepy Time
Renowned for their love of sleepy-sleepy time and the obligatory after lunch snoozes, Vietnamese parents are once again up in arms at the hours of a normal school day.
Thrift Shop 2 - Make it a Better Place! @ Saigon Outcast
Saigon Outcast and Work Hard Play Hard got back to collaborate again for their second ‘Thrift shop 2 – Make it a better place’ event. The aims of the event are to raise awareness of “Recycle, reuse a...
[Updated] Ministry Approves Increased 3G Fees
[Update Below] Vietnamese telecommunication companies are awaiting a decision by the Ministry of Information and Communication that would double 3G fees in the country.
Brian Letwin in Development
[Updated] Saigon Bridge 2 Completed Ahead of Schedule, Will Open Tomorrow
[Update Below] After only 17 months of construction, Saigon Bridge 2 was completed yesterday and will open to traffic in early November. The new, VND1.5 trillion (US$70.75 million) bridge, 987.3 mete...
Brian Letwin in Development
US to Provide Vietnam with Nuclear Fuel
Add the US to the list of nations helping Vietnam secure a nuclear future. The country joins Japan, Russia and South Korea as advisers and suppliers for Vietnam's planned nuclear power plants.
Beware of Fake Doctors in Vietnam
Quality is always something to be aware of when living in Vietnam. From motorbike helmets to pho noodles, shoddy products can profoundly affect your wellbeing. Now you can add doctors to this list – p...
Brian Letwin in Tech
[Updated] Vietnam Releases First Domestic Smartphone
[Update Below] Well, we may be a step behind North Korea but Vietnam has just released its first, domestically produced smartphone fittingly named the Lotus.
Brian Letwin in Development
Vietnam Announces Plan for 8 Line, $16 Billion Railway
Taking the train in Vietnam is set to get faster and more convenient by 2020. Last Friday, the Vietnam Railways Administration (VRA) announced plans to change the face of rail in Vietnam with eight ne...
ANH House of Light and Wind
Just past the Saigon Bridge in District 2 lies this lovely house built by Vietnamese architects Sanuki + Nishizawa. Built in the ‘tube-house’ style, the open design allows for fresh air and light to t...
