in Travel

Vietnam Welcomes 21m Tourists in 2025, Highest-Ever Figure in History

Last year marked an impressive year for tourism in Vietnam. A record number of 21.17 million international tourists visite...

in Loạt Soạt

Viet Thanh Nguyen's New Essay Collection Is Both Theoretically Sharp and Intimately Tender

Last year, acclaimed Vietnamese American writer Viet Thanh Nguyen published To Save and to Destroy: Writing as an Other, a collection of six essays adapted from the prestigious Norton Lectures that he delivered at Harvard in 2023–2024.

in Travel

Hanoi's Proposal to Stop Train Service Might Spell the End of 'Train Street'

Hanoi’s infamous train street might be going away if a new municipal plan becomes a reality.

in Fashion

In Sa Pa, Learning How to Indigo Dye, One Plant, Vat, and Beeswax Pen at a Time

My first meal in Sa Pa was accidentally earned. After a few hours of uneven rest in a sleeper bus and a short ride from Sa Pa city center to the village, I finally arrived, along with two other indigo enthusiasts, at a small hill in bản Cát Cát. A few modest houses framed a quiet courtyard where indigo vats rested, and long strips of dyed fabric hung on bamboo poles, drying in the morning air.

Khôi Phạm

in Quãng 8

Hanoi Indie Duo Limebócx Brings Tried-and-Trù Traditions to Young Ears

A grazing buffalo, frolicking water puppets, mystifying tam cúc cards, an insolent maiden in áo tứ thân, a rustic meal around cái mâm. These are just a few standout visuals that will haunt your brain upon feasting your eyes on Limebócx’ debut music video ‘Yêu Nhau (Qua Cầu Gió Bay).’

in Music & Arts

In His Research-Driven Artistic Practice, Quang deLam Maps History, Knowledge Together

What if art functions as a visual form for transmitting knowledge and entangled histories, and the artist is a messenger between them and the audience?

Khôi Phạm

in Culture

In the Era of AI Slop, I've Learned to Embrace Saigon's Ugly Urban Clutters

To live in Saigon is to coexist with clutter. Chaos is perhaps to be expected, when one’s habitat is a gargantuan crowded compressed narrow concretized megalopolis of over 10 million people, but few cities I’ve been to are as cluttered as Saigon.

Pete Walls

in Travel

At Kon Tum's Đăk Đrinh Lake, Life Slows to a Therapeutic Pace

Đăk Đrinh Lake lies in the northern reaches of Kon Tum, where the hills rise in slow, deliberate waves and the pace of life is set by the land. The Ca Dong ethnic communities remain here, maintaining their language, stilt houses, and routines that have shaped this corner of the highlands for generations.

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in Arts & Culture

[Podcast] Renovation Generation: The Incredible Talents of Mew Amazing

For their latest episode, the crew behind Hanoi-based The Renovation Generation made a trip down to Saigon for a coffee with Mew Amazing, the singer-songwriter behind Truc Nhan’s pop hit “That Ba...

in Arts & Culture

[Photos] #WeAreSaigoneer: Instagram Shots of the Week

From frenetic traffic to historic cathedrals, this is what we saw through our lens this week.

in Culture

[Video] Áo Dài Takes Center Stage Among Asia's Most Beautiful Wedding Dresses

When Vietnam is mentioned around the world, the country often conjures up images of phở, bánh mì, streets of jam-packed traffic and áo dài.

in Culture

[Video] TV Commercial Provides Graceful Glimpse of Saigon's Outer Districts

This stunning commercial for Coca-Cola’s energy drink Samurai is a love letter to Saigon’s strange mix of urban chaos and beauty.

in Film & TV

[Video] Vietnam Gets Its Close-Up in Kong: Skull Island Trailer

The folks behind Kong: Skull Island, the Hollywood blockbuster filmed in Vietnam earlier this year, just released the film’s first trailer, and Vietnam plays a starring role in the action.

in Culture

[Podcast] Renovation Generation: Foreign-Educated Academics Challenge Cultural Norms

In The Renovation Generation’s 11th episode, the Hanoi-based podcast introduces two ambitious academics, Trang Pham and Mai Thanh, both of whom are working to fight poverty and inequality in Vietnam.

in Arts & Culture

[Photos] #WeAreSaigoneer: Instagram Shots of the Week

From epic storms to street corner motorbike repairs, this is what we saw through our lens this week.

in Music & Arts

[Video] Indonesian Teen Rapper Dons Fanny Pack, Spits Hot Fire

When a 16-year-old puts his homemade rap video on YouTube, you don’t really expect it to go viral.

in Music & Arts

Dislocate: Artist Bui Cong Khanh Deconstructs Vietnamese Identity

A beautiful large-scale recreation of a fortress, a photographic essay and a documentary video feature in Bui Cong Khanh’s latest exhibition, Dislocate, an impactful reminder of Vietnam’s heritage and...

Dana Filek-Gibson

in Music & Arts

[Videos] Hanoian Rappers Take Center Stage on Pan-Asian Music Platform

Staring straight into the camera, Emcee L addresses his viewers with confidence.

in Music & Arts

Quach Phong’s Monumental Take on Vietnamese History

An ambitious and essential art project, Sketching Vietnamese History – the first major solo exhibition by established artist Quach Phong – is a tribute to Vietnam’s history and its people. It is a wor...

in Arts & Culture

[Photos] #WeAreSaigoneer: Instagram Shots of the Week

From street vendors to old-school shipyards, this is what we saw through our lens this week.

in Arts & Culture

[Video] Inside Saigon's Chicano-Style Barbershop, Part 2

Last month, we introduced Saigoneers to Liem, the man behind Saigon’s only Chicano-inspired barbershop.

Dana Filek-Gibson

in Arts & Culture

When WRONG Is Right: Vietnamese Tradition Meets Contemporary Fashion

There’s an hour to go before Fashion4Freedom unveils its latest collection and LanVy Nguyen is buzzing about, all smiles, in sneakers and a black-and-white embroidered áo dài.

in Arts & Culture

[Photos] #WeAreSaigoneer: Instagram Shots of the Week

From city skylines to beachside prayers, this is what we saw through our lens this week.

in Music & Arts

Gender Behavior: An Artistic and Interactive Social Experiment

Gender Behavior brings to Saigon’s The Factory a research-based photography, dance, film and performance show which discusses the notion of gender in Vietnamese society. 

in Arts & Culture

Sophie Hughes: Drawing Links Between Vietnamese History and Contemporary Art

Art is not the first thing on people’s minds when they come to Saigon, and yet the independently organized Sophie’s Art Tour has managed to become one of the southern hub's top attractions.

in Arts & Culture

[Photos] #WeAreSaigoneer: Instagram Shots of the Week

From decaying ships to street life in the Delta, this is what we saw through our lens this week.

in Arts & Culture

[Photos] Central Vietnam Fishing Village Gets Artistic Upgrade

One fishing village in central Vietnam received a colorful makeover thanks to a team of South Korean artists.

in Culture

[Photos] A Day in the Life of Hanoi's Last Blacksmith

As Hanoi gears up for modern mega-projects like a US$1 billion metro line and the world’s tallest broadcasting tower, one third-generation artisan holds fast to his family’s traditional craft.