There's a Dark Context Behind These Seemingly Random 1930 French Sketches
- Details
- Published on 08 August 2024
- Written by Saigoneer.
Can visual representations of colonial activities produced with immoral intent become works of art?
Hẻm Gems: Mơ Đi Hội, When Florists Dream of Opening a Cafe
- Details
- Published on 07 August 2024
- Written by Camille Lay. Photos by Cao Nhân.
When book lovers open a café, we are blessed with book cafes; when animal lovers open a café, we are given a myriad of animal cafes; what happens when florists open a café? This is the case of Mơ Đi Hội, the physical manifestation of passions for plants and beverages.
Vietnam, Southeast Asian Nations Burst Into the Solar Energy Landscape
- Details
- Published on 05 August 2024
- Written by Fidelis Eka Satriastanti, Tyler Roney, and Soraya Kishtwari.
Sunny Southeast Asia has made significant strides in solar energy, with solar farm capacity exceeding 20GW across ASEAN countries. Despite this rapid growth and ambitious renewable goals, nations in the region face diverse challenges. These range from supply chain disruptions and political dynamics to issues like anti-dumping tariffs and internal instability. This roundup explores the successes and obstacles faced by Southeast Asian nations in their journey towards sustainable energy solutions.
Chùa Cầu's Makeover Draws Ire of Netizens for Looking 'Too New'
- Details
- Published on 31 July 2024
- Written by Saigoneer.
Hội An's 400-year-old bridge, best known as Chùa Cầu, was finally uncovered recently after more than a year and a half of renovations, leaving many unimpressed.
Into the Infernal Heat of One of Saigon's Last Remaining Forges
- Details
- Published on 30 July 2024
- Written by Như Quỳnh. Photos by Alberto Prieto.
It's no exaggeration to say that working in a forge is akin to being in a fiery sauna.
Hẻm Gems: The Ghé Coffee Tucks Art, Fragrant Coffee Into a Quiet D1 Crevice
- Details
- Published on 25 July 2024
- Written by Phạm Thục Khuê. Photos by Cao Nhân.
Delivering premium origin coffee and fine art from artists across Vietnam in a tiny room that dates back to French colonial times, smack dab in the middle of District 1, The Ghé Coffee balances the finer things in life and the comfortably mundane.
'Slow/ed/ing Architecture': When Architects Ruminate on Architecture Together
- Details
- Published on 25 July 2024
- Written by Elise Luong. Photos courtesy of Exutoire. Top photo by Vũ Khôi Nguyên.
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.
An Octopus? In My Cà Mau Swamp? It's More Likely Than You Think.
- Details
- Published on 24 July 2024
- Written by Paul Christiansen. Photos by Paul Christiansen.
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.
New Exhibition on Painter Lưu Công Nhân Is a Trip Through Time
- Details
- Published on 24 July 2024
- Written by An Tran. Photos courtesy of Annam Gallery.
The solo exhibition allows the audience to time travel to the world of the late painter Lưu Công Nhân. From watercolor sketches to large-scale paintings, old documents, and even a typewriter on display, the paintings will take us through different time periods of his artistic career.
In Awe of the Mekong Delta's Majestic Sluice Gates
- Details
- Published on 23 July 2024
- Written by Paul Christiansen. Photos by Paul Christiansen.
A row of impenetrable watchtowers tasked with inflicting ruthless law and order upon a dystopian borderland seething with marauders, bandits and brigands? No. Sluice gates.
Huế Becomes 1st City With Dedicated Lanes on Pavements for Bicycles
- Details
- Published on 22 July 2024
- Written by Saigoneer.
The growing popularity of biking as a recreational activity in Vietnam has been acknowledged officially by urban planners in Huế.
Letter to the People I Met as We Hid From the Rain Under a Bridge Together
- Details
- Published on 20 July 2024
- Written by Khôi Phạm. Photos by Alberto Prieto and Pete Walls.
“Do not be angry with the rain; it simply does not know how to fall upwards.”
— Vladimir Nabokov.
Into the Beguiling Backyard Rice Wine Distilleries of Long An
- Details
- Published on 19 July 2024
- Written by Paul Christiansen. Photos by Kevin Lee.
The highway eases into sand and gravel the way history descends into myth and legend when traveling towards Long An. A mere 27 kilometers outside of Saigon, the province feels a world away: the difference between a cocktail made with 18-year-old scotch, jackfruit-infused rum, seven types of bitters and brandy-soaked organic cherries and a plastic water bottle of homemade rượu nếp. The latter was the reason we were going there: for information, interviews and anecdotes to complete Saigoneer’s two-part investigation of the history of rice wine.
From a Blend of Cultures, Phá Lấu Became a Beloved Saigon Street Snack
- Details
- Published on 17 July 2024
- Written by Hưng Thịnh. Top graphic by Phan Nhi. Photos courtesy of Hưng Thịnh.
When the word phá lấu is mentioned, two genres of dishes will appear in the mind of Vietnamese. One is a small bowl of orange broth that sings of coconut milk, another is slices of caramelized offal awash in a translucent shade of brown. Both these forms of preparations speak volumes about the growth of local street food through episodes of history.
Journeying Through Đà Lạt and the Central Highlands in 1992
- Details
- Published on 17 July 2024
- Written by Saigoneer.
Đà Lạt has always been a highly sought-after traveling destination, like how it was originally designed as a resort town for French officials. These days, however, the hilly Lâm Đồng town has urbanized so quickly that at times it’s hard to believe that here once lived a tree-carpeted enclave.
Minh Thúy, Muse of 'Em Thúy' by Famed Painter Trần Văn Cẩn, Passes Away
- Details
- Published on 15 July 2024
- Written by Saigoneer.
Even though both the painting’s creator and muse have left us behind, a part of their life will live on with us in an important relic of Vietnam’s 20th century history.
A New Company Headquarters Brings a Green Respite to Industrial Đồng Nai
- Details
- Published on 12 July 2024
- Written by Saigoneer.
Hammocks, koi ponds and mature trees are not typically associated with industrial parks.
A Merry Morning Over the Fish Markets and Salt Fields of Phan Rang
- Details
- Published on 11 July 2024
- Written by Eric Hundert. Photos by Eric Hundert.
I live in Đà Lạt, so the most direct route to the coast brings me to Phan Rang, which is where I often go for the beach and seafood.
How Saigon's Free Water Coolers Quench Thirst and Spread Kindness
- Details
- Published on 10 July 2024
- Written by Uyên Đỗ. Top image by Cao Nhân.
In recent years, stories about climate change's impacts on the lives of Vietnamese people have been increasingly making the news.
Traces of Movement, Memory and Heritage in Duo Exhibition 'Entrusting to Emptiness'
- Details
- Published on 09 July 2024
- Written by An Tran. Photos courtesy of Wiking Salon.
An exhibition that brings the audience through the transition between day and night, and movements between dream and memories. There is no beginning and no end, and all elements above somehow reflect the cycle of our existence.
