Paul Christiansen

in Vietnam

What a Mango Flower Looks Like: On the Unexpected Beauty of Fruit Flowers

What does a mango flower look like?

in Saigon

At Saigon's Oldest Ornamental Fish Market, Fish Are Friends, Not Food

It is a street, not a river, that comes to mind when people talk about vibrant fish in Saigon. Located in District 5, Lưu Xuân Tín Street is only approximately 500 meters long, but it is home to dozens of aquarium businesses.

in Hanoi

I Keep My Connection to My Family's Hanoi Tết Traditions in a Tiny Quất Tree

I am not a plant person. So when even I notice the abundance of vườn kiểng — a place selling a myriad of plants — it must mean that Saigoneers truly love buying plants. Some of my friends, who are also Hanoians, asked me one day to visit these vườn kiểng and look for Tết plants: “Let’s celebrate Tết the way northerners do, you know?” And somehow, being amongst the plants brought me right back to Quảng Bá Flower Market in Tây Hồ.

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. 

in Saigon

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?

Uyên Đỗ

in Saigon

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.

Back Stories

in Stories

Vietnam Airlines Flight Lands in Da Nang Missing a Front Wheel

Have you seen a giant wheel falling from the sky? When a Vietnam Airlines flight landed in Da Nang yesterday afternoon, everything seemed to be normal. But after technicians carried out a routine exa...

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: Man Dies in Underground Hole While Committing Gambling Fraud

Vietnam airlines plan fleet boom as roads and rail fail [WTAQ] Vietnam city police to probe utilities for paying excessive salaries [Thanh Nien]  Student keen on conserving ancient HC...

in Saigon

Yesterday's Flooding Breaks Record for HCMC. Today May be Even Worse.

If you were caught in waist-deep water yesterday, you weren’t the only one. The floodwaters reached 1.64 meters, breaking the previous record. But the worst might not yet be over.

in Vietnam

What the Phở Happened Last Weekend? 10 Stories You May Have Missed

Chinese woman caught with 2.2 kg of drugs at airport [Tuoi Tre] Vietnam gives green light to genetically modified crops [Vietnam Net]  Vietnam's economy regaining growth momentum ...

in Asia

Morning News Roundup: Vegetable Prices Jump After Storm Nari

Government decrees support for atomic energy studies [Nhan Dan] Oil refinery projects erected all across Vietnam [Tuoi Tre] Vietnam cyber crime rising in 2013 - Vietnam Economic Times ...

in Asia

Typhoon Nari Leaves Path of Death and Destruction Across SE Asia

As Typhoon Nari swept through SE Asia this week, it left a path of death and destruction from the Philippines to Laos. Thousands of homes were destroyed, dozens of lives were lost and it may have even...

Brian Letwin

in Saigon

Video: Girl Causes Accident, Brushes it off Like a Boss

Even though drivers in Vietnam seem to have mastered driving the wrong way on one way streets, this tactic can still result in accidents. Especially when the offender drives in the middle of the road....

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: Vietnamese Want City, Airport, Avenue Named After Gen. Giap

Half of Vietnam’s industrial sewage dumped into rivers untreated [Thanh Nien]  Vietnamese want city, airport, avenue named after Gen. Giap [Tuoi Tre] Vinalines former head guilty of c...

Brian Letwin

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: Vietnam's Chief Warns Against Growing Economic Divide, Again

Vietnam Vows Dong and Interest-Rate Stability for Growth [Bloomberg] US alliance says Vietnam software piracy decreasing [Thanh Nien] Dogs in Vietnam: Not just for dinner anymore [Reu...

in Vietnam

Typhoon Nari Devastating Central Vietnam

After wreaking havoc on the Philippines where it killed 13 people, Typhoon Nari made landfall this morning in central Vietnam, causing massive flooding, power outages and destruction of property.

Brian Letwin

in Roundups

Morning Links: Mass Evacuations in Vietnam for Typhoon Nari

Vietnam Vows to Boost Political Trust With China During Li Visit [Business Week] Sustainable tourism in Vietnam inspires film [ABC] Killer drunk drivers stalk Vietnam roads [Thanh Nie...

Brian Letwin

in Stories

What the Phở Happened Last Weekend? 10 Stories You May Have Missed

At Least 21 Dead in Vietnam Firework Factory Blast [Farsnews]  Japan slow to realize nuclear plant export to Vietnam [Global Post] High cholesterol might become top killer in Vietnam&...

in Stories

A Look into the World of HCMC Sex Shops

Even though sex toys and unregistered aphrodisiacs are awesome illegal in HCMC, many sex shops stock these items and are seeing their profits soar. After all, it’s hard to run a business selling condo...

in Saigon

Video: iPhone Thievery

Crime is on the rise in HCMC. The city may be installing video cameras and increasing the number of security personnel, but these won't solve the problem on their own. Thieves are conniving and thrive...

Brian Letwin

in Roundups

Morning Links: Vietnamese Manufacture Unmanned Aircraft, Submarines, Battleships

Railway planned to link Vietnam metro with new airport [Thanh Nien] Vietnam-Japan trade turnover at US$16.3 billion in first 8 months [SGGP]  Foreign banks lend $100 mln to Vingroup&n...

Brian Letwin

in Roundups

Morning Links: Vietnam Seizes Nearly 2 Tons of Elephant Tusks Smuggled From Malaysia, Labeled as Sea Shells

General Vo Nguyen Giap to be laid to rest at Dragon Cap [SGGP]  A new phase of poverty reduction [VoV] Two hospitals violate regulations, suffer great losses [Tuoi Tre]

Brian Letwin

in Vietnam

98-Year-Old to Continue his Hunt for $100 Billion Treasure

98-year-old Tran Van Tiep of Ho Chi Minh City has been given permission to continue his hunt for Japanese treasure he believes is buried at Tau Mountain in Binh Thuan Province.

Brian Letwin

in Roundups

Morning Links: EVN Posts Massive Losses Over Non-Core Investments

Vietnam Government Clarifies its 'Buy-Local' Policy [FutureGov] Toxic waste continues to flood into Viet Nam [Vietnam Net] Refinery investment to double [VNS] City prepares supply of...

Brian Letwin

in Saigon

South Korean Man Found Dead in HCMC Apartment

In what's becoming a seemingly weekly occurrence, another foreign national has died in Saigon. Korean Kim Tea Sik was found dead in his HCMC apartment yesterday morning. Sik's naked body was discover...

Brian Letwin

in Roundups

Morning Links: Foreign Ship Spills Oil into Reef Off Vietnam

Vietnam, Myanmar agree upon visa exemption [VoV] Vietnam workers indifferent to minimum wage hike, employers fret [Thanh Nien] Thousands pay respects to Vietnam's General Giap [France...