Rare Black-and-White Album Depicts a Historic Flooding in 1952 Hanoi
- Details
- Published on 29 October 2024
- Written by Saigoneer.
The extreme weather patterns in recent years might make you worry that Vietnam’s drainage network is buckling under the pressure of rapid urbanization, but looking at these rare photos taken of a flood in Hanoi over half a century ago provides strange comfort that our soggy reality today might not be all that bizarre.
Waste-to-Energy Plants Might Be the Remedy for Vietnam's Struggling Landfills
- Details
- Published on 28 October 2024
- Written by Nhung Nguyễn. Top photo by Brian Atkinson via Alamy.
Lam Van Quyet lives three kilometers from the Tây Bắc waste facility in Ho Chi Minh City, but he knows exactly what time the garbage trucks arrive there.
Group Exhibition ‘In Absence, Presence’ Awakens Multi-Sensory Experience
- Details
- Published on 27 October 2024
- Written by An Tran. Photos courtesy of Nguyen Art Foundation.
Looking upward, downward, left and right, we follow an invisible yet powerful flow of energy in the dark, then carefully gaze at the artworks as if they are living entities. To enjoy this multi-sensory experience, it is best to slowly spend time with each artwork with a concentrated mind and without looking for an immediate context from it. Let our imagination roam freely, and embrace all the emotions and memories resurfacing within us.
Back in Time to the 1990s, When Vintage Renault Goélette Roamed Vietnam
- Details
- Published on 24 October 2024
- Written by Saigoneer.
A sturdy, stately vehicle roamed Vietnam's city streets and rural roads not too long ago.
Tử Mộc Trà Nurtures Her Family Bond With Textile Into Installation Artworks
- Details
- Published on 23 October 2024
- Written by Văn Tân. Photos courtesy of Tử Mộc Trà.
Tử Mộc Trà, whose real name is Phạm Thùy Dương, is a young artist born and raised in Hanoi. Her artistic pursuit was nurtured by an innate sense of creativity, family traditions, and her time spent on the road traveling.
New Proposal Plans Metro Line Linking Long Thành Airport, Thủ Thiêm
- Details
- Published on 22 October 2024
- Written by Saigoneer.
Let the paperwork begin!
5 Books by Vietnamese Authors Centered on Strong Female Protagonists
- Details
- Published on 21 October 2024
- Written by Paul Christiansen.
Literature, more than any other art form, allows people an intimate vantage point from which to witness the experiences, emotions, and thoughts of individuals drastically different from themselves. Books thus hold the unparalleled power to inspire, foster empathy, and expand one’s understanding of the human condition.
In 'Water: A Chronicle,' Nguyễn Ngọc Tư Wades Into the Mekong via Vignettes
- Details
- Published on 17 October 2024
- Written by Paul Christiansen. .
“When you’ve lived to a certain age, you don’t ask whether or not something is true, you ask which truth it is.”
Modular Shading, Sliding Doors Blur the Line Between Interior, Exterior at Bà Rịa House
- Details
- Published on 15 October 2024
- Written by Saigoneer.
Located 130 kilometers from Saigon, this humble housing project in Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu is a prime example of living enough rather than living large. Even though the family owns a lot spanning a total area of 1,000 square meters, the house itself only covers 62.8 square meters, utilizing locally available materials and craftsmanship on a budget of US$19,000.
In Action Together During Traveling Art Week Nổ Cái Bùm 2024
- Details
- Published on 14 October 2024
- Written by An Tran. Top photo by Tống Khánh Hà.
Taking place in Đà Nẵng and Hội An earlier in August 2024, the traveling art week Nổ Cái Bùm 2024 became a platform for local artists to showcase artworks, and attracted the attention of many local and international participants. From a museum space to a bar or cafe corner, from a beach site to a theater — any site can become a space for exhibitions, talks, screenings and performances.
How to Spot a Traveling Vietnamese at the Airport? Boxes With Sharpied Names.
- Details
- Published on 12 October 2024
- Written by Paul Christiansen. Photos by Paul Christiansen.
“If you know, you know.”
Chè, Bánh, Chả, Nem: The Curious Lives of Vietnam’s Regional Food Names
- Details
- Published on 11 October 2024
- Written by Thi Nguyễn. Graphic by Mimi Lê.
Realizing the word that one is using refers to an entirely different object in another region is a situation many can relate to. The last time this happened to me, it almost cost me a bowl of Hanoi’s bánh đa trộn.
Is Dã Tràng Vietnam's Cutest Sand Artist or a Folk Symbol of Fruitless Pursuits?
- Details
- Published on 10 October 2024
- Written by Ngọc Hân. Graphics by Dương Trương.
Strolling along Vietnam’s beaches when the tides are low, one might encounter a number of whimsical patterns created by countless sand pellets. These are the works of a tiny species of crustacean called dã tràng. Not only are these little crabs fascinating, thanks to their sand-sieving mechanism, which is how they obtain food, but they are also the subject of an intriguing folktale that often leaves readers pondering its philosophical implications.
5 Iconic Buildings in Saigon That Showcase Vietnamese Modernist Architecture
- Details
- Published on 09 October 2024
- Written by Saigoneer. Top graphic by Mai Khanh.
Take a stroll along any random street in downtown Saigon, one is bound to bump into a hodgepodge of architectural styles. Sleek but boring international-style skyscrapers, tranquil Buddhist pagodas, and yellow colonial villas peek out in between a sea of generic tube houses. Amid those influences, the predominantly gray facades of modernist houses seem drowned out by the noises.
Into Saigon's Charming Hidden Third Spaces in the Shade of Bridges
- Details
- Published on 06 October 2024
- Written by Uyên Đỗ. Photos by Nikolai Sokolov.
Third place (noun): A space outside of one's home and workplace, where people meet and interact socially.
From Kuy Teav to Hủ Tiếu: How a Phnom Penh Classic Became Hủ Tiếu Nam Vang
- Details
- Published on 04 October 2024
- Written by Khôi Phạm. Photo by Brandon Coleman.
Originally from Cambodia, made popular by Chinese vendors and enjoyed by local diners, hủ tiếu Nam Vang captures the essence of Vietnamese history in one hearty bowl of noodles.
I Know Where the Caged Bird Sings: The Joy of Saigon's Birdsong Competition
- Details
- Published on 02 October 2024
- Written by Paul Christiansen and Nhung Nguyễn. Photos by Alberto Prieto.
One by one, motorbikes arrived, carrying the tell-tale cages covered with cloth and parked in the gravel lot beside the coffee shop where Saigoneer sat listening to the caged birds suspended above a patch of scrabbly grass.
Hẻm Gems: A Streetcart Named Aoya and the Comfort of Sidewalk Ramen
- Details
- Published on 30 September 2024
- Written by Khôi Phạm. Photos by Pete Walls.
The first time I tried to visit Aoya Ramen was on a Monday. The pavement where the stall should be was empty, without any trace of noodles or noren. I learned quickly that they’re closed on Mondays. The second time, my joy in discovering that the cart was open for business was quickly dashed by the long queue of hungry diners already in line. The third time, learning from the previous crowd, I arrived later at 8:30pm, just to find out that they were out of stock for the day.
How Hanoi's Infectious Rats and Impish Locals Bamboozled the French in 1902
- Details
- Published on 27 September 2024
- Written by Murray Jones. Images courtesy of Michael G. Vann.
When facing a bubonic plague epidemic, is it wiser to delve into sewers and cull infected rats yourself or offer payment to Vietnamese for deliveries of severed tails instead? For Hanoi’s French colonial rulers, the answer to this question was never in doubt, yet the consequences led to one of most humiliating periods of their rule.
Tracing the Roots of Bến Tre's Coconut Candy via My Grandma's Family Tales
- Details
- Published on 26 September 2024
- Written by Thảo Nguyên. Top graphic by Trường Dĩ.
Hometown treats encapsulate within them the flavors of memories, reminding us of a land we haven’t visited for a long time. I open the jar of coconut candies from my mother and my hometown, and immediately breathe in a familiar scent reminiscent of our kitchen back then. I thought to myself: so this is the feeling of yearning people often talk about when referring to home.
