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.
Vietnam’s Sleeper Bus Nightmare
While many bus companies advertise “five star” service on their “luxury” sleeper busses, many firms double their capacity by installing extra seats, making trips miserable for passengers.
Weekend News Roundup: Vietjet Air Answering For Its Flight That Went Astray
Roundup: Vietnam's capital stock market bounces on upward trend [Global Post] Vietnam to license numerous billion-dollar FDI projects by year-end [Tuoi Tre] U.S. Catfish Program Could Stym...
Brian Letwin in Vietnam
Morning News Roundup: With A Boost From Bill Gates, Vietnam's Entrepreneurs Put Profits Into Philanthropy
Ban on teaching English to pre-school children raises controversy [VietNamNet] Minister vows to fix damaged roads [VNS] Vietnam, Laos open new border gate [Thanh Nien]
Pregnant Vietnamese Beauty Queen Busted for US Marijuana Operation
Former Mrs. Vietnam Global was sentenced to prison in Washington State last week for growing and trading marijuana.
Beware: iPhone Locking Ransom Scheme Hits Vietnam
The iPhone locking scam that originated in Australia and Russia earlier this year has made its way to Vietnam.
Brian Letwin in Vietnam
7 Days At Saigon’s Lunch Lady
While most street soup spots in Saigon only offer up one type of delicious broth, Saigon’s famous Lunch Lady has gained notoriety the word over for changing things up on a daily basis. The thing is, o...
Morning News Roundup: Vietnam To Have Bus Rapid Transit Routes By 2015
Ex-Mrs. Global Vietnam runner-up indicted for $3.1mn fraud [Tuoi Tre] Vietnam to have Bus Rapid Transit routes in 2015 [DTI News] Trang An wins coveted world heritage recognition [VNS...
Vietnamese Petrol Prices Reach All-Time High
As of 8pm last night, Vietnamese petrol prices reached an all-time high.
Bus Advertisements Are Finally Coming To Saigon
After years of delays, bus advertisements are coming to Saigon. The pilot project, which will take place on 10 routes, was supposed to have launched 2 years ago but never made it past the planning sta...
Morning News Roundup: Over 14,000 Android Phones Tapped In Vietnam
26 percent of Vietnamese children are stunted [VietNamNet] Cambodia-made car causes shocks to Vietnam’s auto industry [VietNamNet] Vietnam confiscates 90kg of elephant tusks, ivory artifac...
Brian Letwin in Saigon
[Video] Sewer Fishing In District 12
Dan Tri recently posted a video of District 2 man, Nguyen Tuan Hai, who has found fishing paradise in a District 12 storm drain.
[Updated] VietJet Flight Bound For Dalat Mistakenly Lands In Nha Trang
[Update below] Early yesterday, passengers on VietJet flight 8861 bound for Dalat instead found themselves at Nha Trang’s Cam Ranh Airport.
Weekend News Roundup: Vietnam Hub’s Trade Center Ceiling Collapses, Panicking Shoppers
Vietnam Airlines seeking to raise $51 million in IPO [Reuters] Poverty reduction efforts leave poor behind: Oxfam [VNS] Vietnam suspends ban on direct import of cars [Thanh Nien]
Hanoi Gears Up For Super Storms
Climate change is altering the face of weather patterns across Vietnam, but perhaps no more so than in the country’s capital. As Hanoi faces the prospect of 2 – 3 major hurricanes this year, city auth...
Morning News Roundup: Vietnamese Poet Scales Top Ten List On Amazon
FPT group enters European market [Vietnam Plus] UNDP urges carbon pricing and end to fossil fuel subsidies [VNS] Vietnamese poet scales top ten list on Amazon [VNS]
U.S. Envoy Nominee: It May Be Time To Lift Vietnam Weapons Ban
For obvious reasons, the U.S. hasn’t provided Vietnam with weapons since the end of the American War. While we still see old American jeeps puttering around Saigon, most of Vietnam’s military equipmen...
Morning News Roundup: Ministry Clampdown On "Crude" Lyrics
Ministry clampdown on "crude" lyrics [DTI News] Top 50 businesses in Vietnam named [DTI News] Vietnamese farmer makes pesticide from herbs [VietNamNet]
Police Uproot Marijuana Plants In HCMC Graveyard
You might not know it walking down Bui Vien, but marijuana is illegal in Vietnam and police are keeping an eye out for it. A 55-year-old Thu Duc man learned this the hard way when on June 11, police c...
[Video] Check Out The Vietnamese Police’s Fishnet Gun In Action
Vietnam’s infamous fishnet guns are ready to go! The launchers were developed by the Weapon Design Institute (Vietnamese version of DARPA?) under the Ministry of Defense over the past year.
Brian Letwin in Stories
Morning News Roundup: Vietnam Students Create ‘Formula 1’ Car With Used Car Parts
Vietnam Launches Child Drowning Awareness Campaign [Bernama] PM receives Dutch counterpart, vows strategic partnership on agriculture [VNS] Vietnam dog thieves surrender, admit to killing ...
