Details: Published on 01 October 2015; Written by Saigoneer.

Concrete isn't exactly a sexy topic. Even though we drive on it and build things with it, the average person seldom gives the gray stuff a second thought.

[Photos] This Nha Trang Cafe Is Not Your Average Roadside Haunt

Details: Published on 01 October 2015; Written by Saigoneer.

Who says the old can't be new again?

Attack Of The Monsoons: Part 1

Details: Published on 01 October 2015; Written by Jacob Weger.

In the first of a two-part series, cultural and environmental anthropologist Jacob Weger explains why it won't stop raining.

Vietnam To Waive Visas For Việt Kiều, Foreign Spouses Of Vietnamese

Details: Published on 01 October 2015; Written by Saigoneer.

Việt kiều and foreign spouses of Vietnamese nationals will soon be able to save a few extra pages in their passport, thanks to a new decree from the Ministry of Public Security granting visa exemptions to members of these two groups.

Morning News Roundup: Fast-Growing Ho Chi Minh City Misses Most Environmental Targets

Details: Published on 01 October 2015; Written by Saigoneer. Photo by Lee Starnes.

Vietnam's economic growth accelerates as exports beat peers [Bloomberg]

Urban dilemma: Fast-growing Ho Chi Minh City misses most environmental targets [Thanh Nien]

Foreign experts offer suggestions to combat flooding in Ho Chi Minh City [Tuoi Tre]

Plan To Plant 100,000 Coconut Trees In Saigon Comes Under Fire

Details: Published on 30 September 2015; Written by Saigoneer.

In an effort to spruce up the city's dazzling canals, Saigon may soon receive a brand new grove of coconut trees.

Volkswagen Chooses Vietnam As Staging Ground For SE Asian Domination

Details: Published on 30 September 2015; Written by Saigoneer.

While Volkswagen is knee-deep in bad press following its recent emissions controversy, the German car company announced this week that it will start assembling cars in Vietnam next year.

Indonesia Is Destroying Its Forests (and Choking Its Neighbors) in the Name of Palm Oil

Details: Published on 30 September 2015; Written by Saigoneer.

If you were in Singapore last week, you might have noticed an unusual haze hanging over the city. Normally Southeast Asia's bastion of environmental cleanliness, the Lion City closed schools and shuttered businesses as its air quality deteriorated to a dangerous level.

Vietnam To Phase Out Its Print Media

Details: Published on 30 September 2015; Written by Saigoneer. Photo by Alexander McMillan.

In case you haven't heard the news, print is dying.

[Photos] Vietnam's Rice Terraces Among the World's Most Surreal Landscapes

Details: Published on 30 September 2015; Written by Saigoneer.

In mountainous northern Vietnam, farming conditions aren't exactly ideal: the terrain is uneven and the weather fickle. But with a lot of hard work and some solid planning, the country's farmers manage to grow rice in tiered paddies and create one of Vietnam's more stunning landscapes in the process.

Jetstar Passenger Opens Emergency Exit, Delays Plane...Again

Details: Published on 30 September 2015; Written by Saigoneer.

Remember that time a VietJet passenger mistook the emergency exit for the bathroom door? How about the one when a first time flier opened the exit on the tarmac to get some fresh air? Or that incident way back in 2012 when a young man threw open the emergency door after spending his entire flight next to a screaming child?

Morning News Roundup: Vietnam Tops Lists Of Ideal Investment Destinations: Cushman & Wakefield

Details: Published on 30 September 2015; Written by Saigoneer. Photo by Lee Starnes.

Vietnam recalculates public debt, and it now exceeds safety limit: report [Thanh Nien]

25 bridges to be built with JICA loans [DTI]

Vietnam tops lists of ideal investment destinations: Cushman & Wakefield [Vietnam Net]

[Video] Saigon Slaughterhouse Caught Dyeing Chickens With Chemicals

Details: Published on 29 September 2015; Written by Saigoneer.

You might want to hold off on the phở gà for a while. Apparently, in order to give its produce that tasty, chicken-fat-yellow hue, one local slaughterhouse has been dipping its freshly-killed chickens in a combination of chemicals and kerosene.

[Photos] Here's What Hanoi Looked Like In 1905

Details: Published on 29 September 2015; Written by Saigoneer.

During the French colonial period, Tonkin, or Đàng Ngoài, was the name given to northern Vietnam. Situated in and around the Red River Delta, the word 'Tonkin' is a corruption of Đông Kinh, the name of Vietnam's capital city during the Le Dynasty. When the Nguyen, Vietnam's last imperial dynasty, the Nguyen, renamed the town Hà Nội (meaning ‘between two rivers’) in 1831 and hasn't changed since.

A Look At The Vietnamese Province Obsessed With Sai Gon Beer

Details: Published on 29 September 2015; Written by Saigoneer.

If there's one thing Ha Tinh loves, it's beer.

Zelda Goes To The Gallery: Khói Sóng

Details: Published on 29 September 2015; Written by Zelda Rudzitsky.

Khói Sóng, Ha Manh Thang’s new exhibition and his second at Galerie Quynh, is part of the artist's ongoing Vietnam Landscapes (2010 – present) project, in which his reflections on Vietnamese culture and history take the form of architectural elements and iconic landmarks.

Phở Is Vietnam’s Best Dish: Business Insider

Details: Published on 29 September 2015; Written by Saigoneer.

Perhaps in an effort to balance its more serious content, American publication Business Insider has taken to producing Buzzfeed-style lists (yes, we’re all guilty of this). Stemming from a Quora thread in which users singled out the most iconic foods from their countries, the online magazine ran with the topic and created their own list called “The best thing to eat in 50 countries around the world”.

Saigon Slowly Pushes Ahead With 12km Tramway Line

Details: Published on 29 September 2015; Written by Saigoneer.

While Saigon’s future metro system grabs most of the headlines, these trains aren’t the only rail-based mode of transportation in the city’s master infrastructure plan.