Xuân Phương in Hanoi
In Suburban Hanoi, With Summer Comes the Red-Purple Cascade of Mulberries
In suburban Hanoi, this is the season when mulberry branches heavy with bright red fruits dangle in the summer wind.
After Saigon Police Bust Major Pet Theft Ring, the City Rallies to Help Care for 400 Cats
After an extended investigation, the Hồ Chí Minh City Police Department has busted a major cat theft and distribution ring that operated across multiple southern provinces.
A Visit to Lê Minh Xuân, a Rare Craft Village Making Incense Sticks Amid Saigon
From inside the workshop, artisans carry bundle after bundle of freshly made incense sticks into the courtyard amid the morning mist. A gentle scent of spices linger in the air.
As Thanh Đa Faces Redevelopment, Writer Dạ Ngân Reflects on What Will Be Lost
To me, my trip to Cư xá Thanh Đa in summer 1982 was a serendipitous encounter. It was Saigon’s largest-scale residential complex in the first half of the 1970s, with nearly 4,000 separate units housing about 50,000 inhabitants. Cư xá refers to a residential quarter reserved for gainfully employed citizens, with a vision to establish a model community with a high quality of life. Here, in their three-bedroom apartments, civil servants, professors, doctors, and military leaders ranked major or higher lived in pride of being a part of a cư xá like that.
Uyên Đỗ in Saigon
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.
Inside the Covid Memorial Park at 1 Lý Thái Tổ, Saigon's Brand-New Green Space
As part of Saigon’s latest initiative to increase green space coverage in the city, a number of abandoned land plots were converted into public parks, including a Covid Memorial Park that’s become a beloved destination for Saigoneers seeking a space to jog, reflect, or just simply touch grass.
Uyên Đỗ in Saigon
All Aboard Bus 146, Home of Plushies, Rubber Chickens and a Side of Humanity
“Cute” doesn’t seem like a fitting descriptor for any mode of public transport, but a bus in Saigon is driving straight into the heart of Saigoneers for being the quintessence of “smotheringly adorable.”
Saigon Set to Make Bus Service Free for All to Cut Congestion, Air Pollution
Saigoneers without private vehicles might be happy to hear that the city is planning to make the municipal bus system free to ride in the near future.
Brian Letwin in Vietnam
Hanoi To Build New Bridge Instead Of Tearing Down Long Biên
Described by one writer as “a misshapen but essential component of Hà Nội’s heritage,” the Long Biên Bridge commands such affection that recent government proposals to relocate or rebuild it had to be...
Heineken Launches Bottles Exclusively Designed For HCMC
For years Heineken has been stepping up its marketing game in Vietnam to take advantage of the country’s love affair with beer. While it’s already made major inroads into the local market, the Dutch c...
[Photos] "Marlboro Boys" Captures The Disturbing Trend Of Underage Smoking In Indonesia
Smoking may be a major public health issue in Vietnam, but in Indonesia, the deadly habit has been taken up by the country’s youth, some of who are taking their first drags at the age of 4.
Starting Next Year, HCMC Bikers May Be Required To Pay Road Fees
Following in the steps of most other Vietnamese provinces and cities, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport has recommended that the city start collecting road maintenance fees from its 5.8 mil...
Morning News Roundup: Vietnam's Urban Tap Water Seriously Polluted
Vietnam's urban tap water seriously polluted: health ministry [Thanh Nien] Vietnam team wins Robocon [DTI] Hanoi needs VND3.5 trillion to treat solid waste by 2020 [DTI]
Weekend News Roundup: Vietnamese Businesses Seek Honest, Uneducated Workers: Survey
In Vietnam, residents have used underground water from cemetery for 20 years [Tuoi Tre] Boeing, Microsoft want to foster cooperation with Vietnam: Embassy [Tuoi Tre] Vietnamese businesses seek hones...
Morning News Roundup: Radioactive Card Shark Arrested In Northern Vietnam
Radioactive card shark arrested in northern Vietnam [Thanh Nien] Vietnam’s top dairy producer wins global food industry award [Tuoi Tre] Teachers oppose assessment method using comments instead...
[Photos] Incredible Views of Hong Kong's Skyscapers
Hong Kong-based photographer Romain Jacquet-Lagrѐze likes to look up. In his recent book Vertical Horizons, he explores an often under appreciated perspective of the city’s skyline.
Morning News Roundup: Vietnamese Laws The Most Complex In The World
Vietnamese laws the most complex in the world, lawyers say [Vietnam Net] Bkav launches nationwide security network contest [Nhan Dan] State employment still favored by most Vietnamese job seek...
New Admin. Center Behind People’s Committee To Include Heliport, Underground Passageways
The massive re-development of downtown Saigon (goodbye Tax Center and old trees, hello new metro station) will also include a new administration center in the area around the historic People’s Committ...
Morning News Roundup: 2 Nigerians With Flu-Like Symptoms Arrive At Tân Sơn Nhất
Vietnam to buy 10,000 Ebola protective clothing [Vietnam Net] Poorly dressed customers not welcomed at luxury shops [Vietnam Net]
Tân Sơn Nhất Airport Ramping Up Procedures For Ebola Detection, Quarantine
After issuing guidelines for preventative health centers in HCMC to take precautionary measures to combat an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in early August, The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Heal...
Vietnam Grants Licenses To Monsanto, Others To Grow Genetically Modified Corn
The Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has granted licenses to 2 companies, Syngenta Vietnam Co., Ltd and Monsanto’s Dekalb Vietnam Co., Ltd to grow genetically modified c...
Metro Line Construction Forcing Nearby Businesses To Downsize, Close
Construction on the underground portion of Saigon’s first metro line may have just started, but businesses in the surrounding area are starting to feel the pinch, complaining that sales are down as mu...
Morning News Roundup: Vietnam Cuts Petrol Prices for Third Time in 3 Weeks
U.S. CDC supports Vietnam’s emergency center over Ebola outbreak [Tuoi Tre] Two provincial educators in Vietnam dismissed for shaking down test takers [Thanh Nien] Vietnam looks for ways to regulate...
Brian Letwin in Saigon
Say Goodbye to Saigon's Tax Center
Another one of Saigon’s most iconic buildings is set to bite the dust. This time it’s District 1’s 90-year-old Tax Center that will be demolished later this year to make way for a 43-story tower.
Study: Vietnam Is One Of Only 11 Countries Free From Conflict
The latest study from the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) found that only 11 countries in the word are not involved in conflict of one kind or another. And one of them happens to be Vietnam.
Brian Letwin in Saigon
Family On Motorbike Crushed By Falling Tree In D1, Mother Fatally Wounded
36-year-old Nguyen Thi Dung died Sunday afternoon when a tree fell on her family’s motorbike due to fierce winds in downtown Saigon.
Weekend News Roundup: HCMC Announces Four Days Off For National Day
Vietnam to host first-ever Asia- Europe music festival [Vietnam Plus] Deputy PM requests Ho Chi Minh highway acceleration [SGGP] HCMC announces four days off for National Day [SGGP]
Hanoi Authorities Confiscate 2 Tons Of “Rubber” Squid Imported From China
Dried squid is by nature a bit tough to chew, but authorities in Hanoi knew something was amiss when they inspected 2 metric tons “squid” on its way to HCMC.
