Paul Christiansen in Saigon
How to Curate the Best Playlist to Listen to While Riding the Saigon Metro
When you get a new toy, it's only reasonable to take it out to play with as often as possible.
Paul Christiansen in Vietnam
Đi Bão Is Vietnamese Culture at Its Most Jubilant, Raucous, and Fervent
Dustbins, tree branches, advertising stands and tarps, leftover Christmas decorations, whatever pot, pan, ladle or utensil left unattended in the family kitchen, and at least one street vendor’s bánh khọt mold: whatever wasn’t bolted down got caught up in the wave of đi bão that filled Saigon’s streets last night.
Life in Saigon's Old Tenements, the Remaining Vertical Villages of Past Decades
Is “out with the old, in with the new” the new motto when it comes to Saigon's real estate scene?
A Merry Memory of a Mid-2000s Middle-Class Christmas in Saigon
As my palm felt the glossy wrapping paper for my Secret Santa gift, I was transported to my early childhood Christmases — filled with warmth, wonder, and the bubbling discomfort of class insecurities.
Watching Snowfall in 'Home Alone' Is My Saigon Christmas Tradition
Christmas is so globally celebrated that even in Saigon, as the coldest time of the year approaches, you can hear Christmas hymms echoing from homes in the alley, and spot houses adorned with Christmas trees, Santas, snowmen, regardless of their cultural relevance to Vietnamese culture. For me, one of the activities that truly embodies this global spirit of Christmas is watching Home Alone (1990).
Paul Christiansen in Vietnam
‘Công tử Bạc Liêu’ Asks: ‘What Would You Do if You Won the Lottery?’
They say you don’t buy a lottery ticket because you think you’ll win; you buy one so that you can fantasize about winning.
For Hội An Residents, Learning to Live With Floods Is a Fact of Life
The water reached my shoulders, and when I stepped into the street I suddenly felt the current trying to pull me into its invisible grasp. A familiar feeling that set off an alarm inside my head: “Be careful! It looks like nothing, but don’t get caught in it.”
The Calming Quietude of an Early Morning Stroll Through D1
As a city that is perpetually either sweltering hot or halfway under water, Saigon weather rarely includes cool breezes or overcast mornings. And yet, over the past few weeks, the city has experienced a handful of chilly mornings and soft sunlight, a welcome change from the usual heat and humidity that often appears at sunrise and lasts throughout the day.
Paul Christiansen in Saigon
How to Curate the Best Playlist to Listen to While Riding the Saigon Metro
When you get a new toy, it's only reasonable to take it out to play with as often as possible.
Paul Christiansen in Vietnam
Đi Bão Is Vietnamese Culture at Its Most Jubilant, Raucous, and Fervent
Dustbins, tree branches, advertising stands and tarps, leftover Christmas decorations, whatever pot, pan, ladle or utensil left unattended in the family kitchen, and at least one street vendor’s bánh ...
Life in Saigon's Old Tenements, the Remaining Vertical Villages of Past Decades
Is “out with the old, in with the new” the new motto when it comes to Saigon's real estate scene?
A Merry Memory of a Mid-2000s Middle-Class Christmas in Saigon
As my palm felt the glossy wrapping paper for my Secret Santa gift, I was transported to my early childhood Christmases — filled with warmth, wonder, and the bubbling discomfort of class insecurities....
Watching Snowfall in 'Home Alone' Is My Saigon Christmas Tradition
Christmas is so globally celebrated that even in Saigon, as the coldest time of the year approaches, you can hear Christmas hymms echoing from homes in the alley, and spot houses adorned with Christma...
Paul Christiansen in Vietnam
‘Công tử Bạc Liêu’ Asks: ‘What Would You Do if You Won the Lottery?’
They say you don’t buy a lottery ticket because you think you’ll win; you buy one so that you can fantasize about winning.
For Hội An Residents, Learning to Live With Floods Is a Fact of Life
The water reached my shoulders, and when I stepped into the street I suddenly felt the current trying to pull me into its invisible grasp. A familiar feeling that set off an alarm inside my head: “Be ...
The Calming Quietude of an Early Morning Stroll Through D1
As a city that is perpetually either sweltering hot or halfway under water, Saigon weather rarely includes cool breezes or overcast mornings. And yet, over the past few weeks, the city has experienced...
Khôi Phạm in Vietnam
Cold War History With a Side of Nem Rán in Prague's Little Hanoi
Across English-speaking countries such as the US and Australia, the Vietnamese diaspora established close-knit “Little Saigon” towns whenever they settled down, founding large markets, starting financ...
Saigon's Next Top 5 Congested Streets Are Announced. Here Are the Winners.
Local streets are buckling under the pressure of Saigon's ever-increasing population density, here are the city's most frequently jammed roads, according to the municipal Department of Transportation....
Paul Christiansen in Vietnam
How to Spot a Traveling Vietnamese at the Airport? Boxes With Sharpied Names.
“If you know, you know.”
Into Saigon's Charming Hidden Third Spaces in the Shade of Bridges
Third place (noun): A space outside of one's home and workplace, where people meet and interact socially.
Century-Old Historic Villa in Đồng Nai Faces Demolition Due to Road Project
It’s yet another case of new infrastructure versus old heritage building — one of Vietnam’s most common urban planning clashes in recent years.
Food, Art, Heritage and Everything of the Essence in My #SaigonSummer
“In summer, the song sings itself.”― William Carlos Williams
With Thriving Coffee Culture, Vietnam Has Half a Million Cafes, Data Shows
Taking into account global and national chains, small brands, independent cafes and street vendors, a recent report estimates that Vietnam is home to more than 500,000 coffee shops that generate US$1....
Vietnamese Staff Member Wins 7-Eleven Japan's Annual Customer Care Contest
A Vietnamese national recently surpassed over 2,000 other contenders to claim the top spot in a customer service contest in Japan.
Into the Infernal Heat of One of Saigon's Last Remaining Forges
It's no exaggeration to say that working in a forge is akin to being in a fiery sauna.
Huế Becomes 1st City With Dedicated Lanes on Pavements for Bicycles
The growing popularity of biking as a recreational activity in Vietnam has been acknowledged officially by urban planners in Huế.
Khôi Phạm in Saigon
Letter to the People I Met as We Hid From the Rain Under a Bridge Together
“Do not be angry with the rain; it simply does not know how to fall upwards.”— Vladimir Nabokov.
How Saigon's Free Water Coolers Quench Thirst and Spread Kindness
In recent years, stories about climate change's impacts on the lives of Vietnamese people have been increasingly making the news.
