in Ẽplain

Vietnam's Trendiest Way to Flaunt Your Social Status Is a Meme Lychee Tea

Lychee tea can be found anywhere and anytime around Saigon, from street stalls to artisanal cafes. Averaging VND20,000–50,000, it’s a popular choice among Vietnamese youths. However, Thái Công Cafe prices their version of the fruit tea at around VND160,000 on their rather pricy menu. Yet, the drink remains extremely popular at the cafe and even went viral amongst Gen Z-ers on TikTok. The reason behind this virality is actually a meme.

in Sports

Saigon Powerlifter Lê Văn Công Earns Vietnam's First, Only Medal at Paralympics

Even though Vietnam’s delegation finished the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris without any medals, our Paralympics team managed to clinch one bronze from powerlifting.

in Society

Diving (Literally) Into Hoàng Hoa Thám's Mountains of Secondhand Clothes

In a hẻm, clothing sprawled out on platforms lined with the plastic sacks the clothing came in, overspilling onto the ta...

in Architecture

This Terracotta Workshop Makeover Sings the Praises of Vietnam's Red Bricks

A Quảng Nam brick kiln that's been operating for over twenty years has received a makeover that allows guests to get a more intimate look at the traditional craft of making terracotta.

Paul Christiansen

in Natural Selection

One Nation's Beloved Cá Lóc Is Another Nation's Horror Movie

America has been losing its shit over snakeheads. All summer long my algorithm-led newsfeed has been alerting me to ominous headlines including “‘Horror movie’ snakehead fish that can slither on land invading Missouri amid fourth sighting,” “Voracious, invasive ‘frankenfish’ reeled in from Delaware River at Easton,” and “Snakehead Fish Found in Georgia: ‘Kill It Immediately.’” 

in Environment

Vietnam, Southeast Asian Nations Burst Into the Solar Energy Landscape

Sunny Southeast Asia has made significant strides in solar energy, with solar farm capacity exceeding 20GW across ASEAN c...

in Architecture

'Slow/ed/ing Architecture': When Architects Ruminate on Architecture Together

The super cute duo that make up the design studio “Exutoire” are Bùi Quý Sơn and Paul-Antoine Lucas. Life and work partners, they moved back(ish) to Vietnam from Oslo last year, and are currently preparing the opening of the exhibition “OUTLET: Slow/ed/ing Architecture” in Saigon.

Paul Christiansen

in Environment

An Octopus? In My Cà Mau Swamp? It's More Likely Than You Think.

Worms live in the ground, birds live in the air, cá lóc live in lakes and octopuses live in the ocean, right? Wrong! Octopus can also live in the river.

Back Society

in Architecture

[Photos] Hanoi Architects Grow Creative Ecosystem Inside Slender Tube House

Completed last year, the VUUV building takes the tube house structure and turns it into a multi-purpose complex filled with dynamic hangouts and creative platforms. 

in Parks & Rec

Saigon's Only Bonsai School Grooms Budding Artisans on a Century-Old Craft

Bonsai has often been regarded as an activity for the elderly, but the local bonsai community is experiencing an unprecedented renewal thanks to the participation of an unexpected demographic: young p...

Paul Christiansen

in Natural Selection

Cây Đa: A Tree That Contains Multitudes

A book, a beer and some shade, what else does one need?

in Environment

Two Illustrated Books by Vietnamese Conservationist to Have Global Release

They tell the story of a Vietnamese woman working to rescue a bear and an elephant.

in Environment

Living From the Earth at Ninh Binh's Lá Library

A stone's throw away from Cuc Phuong National Park in Ninh Binh Province sits La Library, an education center promoting sustainable living through sustainable agriculture farming, earthen building tec...

in Tech

Vietnam Proposes Using GPS Trackers to Monitor Incoming Arrivals in Quarantine

The Vietnam-made GPS bracelets would allow authorities to better manage those required to be in isolation at home or in central facilities.

Linh Pham

in Environment

How China's Upstream Dams Affect Communities Along the Red River

Flooding and biodiversity among concerns for people in Vietnam below the cascade of Red river dams.

Khoi Pham

in Architecture

On Phu Quy 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...

in Architecture

[Photos] Hanoian Kindergarten Adds a Funky, Sunny Twist to Its Asymmetrical Design

Faced with the restrictions of rigid urban planning rules, school building projects in central areas of cities often have limited control of their land usage and surroundings.

in Tech

Team Behind 500 Startups Vietnam Launches New Venture Fund

Vietnam's venture capital scene is about to welcome a new player run by veterans of the industry.

Michael Tatarski

in Environment

The Hopes and Challenges of Vietnam's Ambitious Plan to Plant 1bn Trees

In October and November of 2020, a relentless barrage of nine typhoons and tropical storms slammed into Vietnam, setting off record floods and countless landslides. Nearly 200 people died, and propert...

in Architecture

The Aesthetic Yet Functional Role of Shade in the Genome of Vietnam's Modernist Architecture

Since the mid-twentieth century, Vietnamese architecture has started to be made from industrial materials such as concrete, steel, glass, et.. This resulted in Vietnamese modernism, a branch of global...

in Health

Hanoi to Increase Stipend for Members of Covid-19 Prevention Force by 70%

Hanoi has proposed an additional 70% increase in the stipend for the capital’s COVID-19 prevention and control forces.

Paul Christiansen

in Natural Selection

Thạch Sùng: A Muse in Every Home

“I dream of lost vocabularies that might express some of what we no longer can,” wrote poet Jack Gilbert.

in Health

Vietnam to Allocate $1.1bn to Buy 150m Doses of Covid-19 Vaccines This Year

Amidst current struggles to keep pace with global inoculation rates, Vietnam plans to secure enough doses of several vaccines to immunize 75% of the population by the end of the year. 

in Architecture

[Photos] Old Couple Finds Refuge in Lush Quang Ninh Abode

A house in Vietnam's coal country brings open air and greenery to an industrial landscape.

in Architecture

[Photos] The Thu Duc Pavilion Resembling a Giant Arts and Crafts Project

Remember making arts and crafts projects using wooden popsicle sticks?

Michael Tatarski

in Environment

Meet 'Reporter Pangolin,' the Star of a New Campaign to Combat Pangolin Consumption

A new conservation campaign focused on pangolins has harnessed the power of social media to get its message across.

in Tech

Vietnamese Developer of 'Axie Infinity' Game App Raises $7.5m in Investment

The funding is a result of the success of Axie Infinity, a popular game that involves raising, breeding, collecting, and battling virtual creatures known as Axies.

Michael Tatarski

in Parks & Rec

Emerging From Complete Obscurity, Saigon Roller Derby Storms the Rink

It’s a Tuesday night in Binh Quoi, and a group is lacing up their skates at a skating rink next to a football pitch.