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.

in Saigon

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.”

in Saigon

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.

in Vietnam

Bạc Liêu-94, Cà Mau-69: In Saigon, a Surprising Reminder of Home Lives on License Plates

Once in a while, I bump into a little sliver of my hometown on a random license plate on the street.

in Saigon

Pristine Blue Sky and Memorial Park: Ruminating on What the Covid-19 Pandemic Left Us

Recently, I visited Saigon’s newly inaugurated COVID-19 memorial park . Located at 1 Lý Thái Tổ, Vườn Lài Ward, the park o...

in Saigon

HCMC's Đồng Khởi Among World's Top 20 Most Expensive Retail Streets, Report Says

Saigon’s very own Đồng Khởi has once again made the list of world’s commercial streets with the highest annual rents.

Xuân Phương

in Hanoi

Every Bánh Chưng Season, Vietnam’s Lá Dong Capital Comes Alive With Harvest Frenzy

On the patches of sandy soil by the river in Kim An Commune, Thanh Oai District, Hanoi, there’s a tiny village named Tràng Cát, where dong leaves have been embedded in local history, memory, and economy for centuries. Right in local courtyard, these broad green leaves were transformed into bánh chưng, ready for Tết feasts across the country.

Back Stories

in Vietnam

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.

in Vietnam

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...

in Vietnam

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...

in Vietnam

Vietnamese Petrol Prices Reach All-Time High

As of 8pm last night, Vietnamese petrol prices reached an all-time high.

in Saigon

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...

in Vietnam

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.

in Vietnam

[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. 

in Vietnam

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]

in Vietnam

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...

in Vietnam

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]

in Vietnam

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...

in Vietnam

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]

in Saigon

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...

in Vietnam

[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 ...

in Vietnam

[Video] You Can Score A World Cup Trophy In Vietnam For Just $3

For those of us who lack the athletic skill to make it to the World Cup, worry not, for there is a cheap and easy way to get a World Cup trophy of your own for the low, low price of VND70,000 (and a p...

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: Up To 44% Of Vietnamese Infected With Parasitic Worms

Rising sea levels could affect one-fifth of HCM City by 2100 [VietNamNet] MobiFone's value seen at $3.4 bln, brokerage HSC says [Reuters] Vietnam's Mekong Delta pays huge ecological toll f...

in Saigon

Fleeing Scene, Dog Thieves Shoot and Kill 3 in HCMC

As if electrocuting, stealing and selling dogs weren’t bad enough, dog thieves allegedly shot and killed 3 pursuers on Saturday night in Cu Chi District.