But What Even Is an Expat: Unpacking the Highly Contentious Term, in Vietnam and Abroad
“Expat is a racist as hell term” — this is the take of Misan Harriman on the popular internet show SubwayTakes. The ...
Adrien Jean in Travel
The Enigmatic Neon-Lit World in the Mist of Sapa
Is there a more atmospheric place in Vietnam than Sapa on a misty night?
Khôi Phạm in Music & Arts
Review: Pieces of Me | Nao Yoshioka (feat. Mỹ Anh)
Mỹ Anh has come a long way since becoming the runner-up of The Heroes in 2021. Five years later, now with a full-length album and a spectrum of singles and extended plays under her belt, the Hanoi-based artist has proven to be one of the most dynamic singer-songwriter-producer of her generation.
Art Exhibition ‘Limerence’ Explores Where Romantic Desire Distorts Into Obsession
Thom Nguyen utilizes portraiture and depictions of mushrooms and organic objects to explore the concept of limerence in a solo exhibition at Permanently Closed Gallery in Thảo Điền, beginning Friday, August 28.
How Vinahouse Fosters Sonic Belonging in Modern Saigon's Queer Collectives
If you spend a night wandering along Bùi Viện Walking Street and its dense concentration of bars and clubs, you will almost certainly hear the same sound spilling from multiple directions: fast, pounding basslines layered with Vietnamese pop melodies, punctuated by dramatic buildups and explosive drops. If you fall into the right algorithm on TikTok, you might encounter these same sounds circulating as background audio. This music is Vinahouse. Its ever-presence in both physical and digital spaces makes it one of the most recognizable yet least critically examined musical forms in contemporary Vietnam.
Xuân Phương in Culture
Inside Tế Tiêu, Home to Vietnam's Rare 'Land Puppet' Performances
Bidding goodbye to central Hanoi, I took the National Road 21B to reach Tế Tiêu Neighborhood, a small community in Đại Nghĩa Township of Hanoi’s Mỹ Đức District. This fertile patch of land by the Đáy River is the cradle of a unique form of traditional folk art: Tế Tiêu puppetry.
How Quy Nhơn's Old Cemetery Slowly Expands up Vũng Chua Mountain
You might miss it if you were driving past, but once you walk down a small hẻm off Quy Nhơn’s main Tây Sơn Street, the massive cemetery sprawls in all directions.
All Aboard the Languorous 35-Hour Train From Hanoi to Saigon
The train connecting Vietnam’s largest cities takes 35 hours. Yet even after the first time I finished the trip, I was already coming up with excuses for why I needed to do it again. For me, the journey is much more than a chance for great views and time to reflect. It’s an exploration of life itself.
[Photos] Exploring Saigon’s Sun-Deprived Hẻms
Saigon is full of interesting, undiscovered places. While many people have explored the alleys in their own neighborhoods, few are willing to brave the narrow, crumbling side roads that look a little ...
Q&A: Thai Artist Bends Reality With Kaleidoscopic Saigon Photo Collage
Saigon is the latest city to join the urban landscape photo collage series by Thai artist and graphic designer Pariwat A-nantachina, also known as Big. With drastic perspective compositions, rich deta...
A Tribe of Survivors: The Ethereal Jewelry of La Fiancée du Facteur
The new collection by Saigon-based jewelry designer La Fiancée du Facteur is an ode to human strength where the mystical and the mythological merge in wearable original art pieces.
Dana Filek-Gibson in Arts & Culture
Drawing Saigon: How One Artist Is Preserving the Downtown Skyline
Tawny brown, a few inches thick and secured with a cord, the leather binder lands on the bar with a thud. Midday sun beams into the pop-up whisky library atop Centec Tower, a room that could pass for ...
Local Designer Preserves Retro Saigon Font
Pass by any old building in the city and you're bound to stumble upon at least a few vintage typefaces from decades past. Saigon's old-school signage is a work of art in its own right, with everything...
Vietnamese Festival Criticized for Penis Plagiarism
This year, residents of Lang Son province celebrated their annual Na Nhem Festival with all the standard accoutrements of a countryside celebration: musical activities, games and a giant pink penis ma...
[Video] 100 Years of Vietnamese Fashion in 1 Minute
If you've ever spent any time wasting your life away on YouTube, you may have come across the “100 Years of Beauty” series, which documents the fashion and beauty trends of a particular culture t...
March Movies at Saigon’s Alternative Film Venues
Transporting a novel or news story from the page to the big screen does not always have to be disastrous, as Carol,Room, High Fidelity andSpotlighthave demonstrated. Saigon's March film program shows ...
[Photos] Vietnamese Students Edit Their Textbooks With Hilarious Results
Normally reserved for the creative and perpetually bored, the art of doodling in textbooks has been around for as long as students have been forced to read dry, painfully dull tomes on their least fav...
Wowy Goes LIVE!: Saigon Rapper Aims to Raise 50k for New Show
There are a few things you should know about Wowy.
6 Vietnamese Films to Play at Osaka Asian Film Festival
A total of six Vietnamese feature films will play at Osaka's Asian Film Festival, held from March 4-13.
[Photos] Inside Hue’s 'City of Ghosts'
During Hue's imperial days, emperors of the Nguyen dynasty spent an inordinate amount of time and energy building their tombs. Emperor Khai Dinh, for instance, led Vietnam for only nine years, but his...
[Photos] Competition for Lucky Balls in Phu Tho Turns Into Mayhem
Every spring in northern Phu Tho Province, locals celebrate Phet Hien Quan, a unique traditional festival that is held on the 13th day of the Lunar New Year.
Inside THE BOAT: Phnom Penh’s Floating Art Space
Last October, Phnom Penh's ambitious floating art center, THE BOAT, announced its plan to renovate a majestic but disused vessel docked where the Tonle Sap River meets the Mekong. Earlier this mo...
Readers' Picks: 20 Best Films From the Year of the Goat
We asked both our readers and regular moviegoers at local alternative film venues like DeciBel and Saigon Outcast to weigh in on the top three films from the Year of the Goat. The results are in and A...
Nuoc 2030: Inside Vietnam's Visually Stunning, Character-Driven Sci-Fi Flick
A wonderfully shot love story set in a water-logged dystopian world, Nuoc 2030 is the first Vietnamese sci-fi film produced to international standards. Filmmaker Nguyen Vo Nghiem Minh discusses t...
[Photos] Photographer Captures the Last of Mongolia's Eagle Hunters
Ever since he saw a photo of Mongolian eagle hunters at 17, Palani Mohan had dreamed of documenting their story.
Vietnamese Comic Book Takes Prize at International MANGA Awards
Vietnamese comic book duo Phong Duong will take home a Silver Award at Japan's International MANGA Awards for the first volume of their series Long Than Tuong.
'Skull Island' Begins Filming in Ninh Binh, 'Fast & Furious 8' May Be Next
If you're a Hollywood filmmaker, it appears Ninh Binh is the place to be these days.
How Game Theory Explains Vietnam's Lack of Queues
You'll be hard-pressed to find a straight, orderly line in Vietnam. Sure, there are some rare places – the bank or perhaps the immigration counter at the airport – where you might find people queuing ...
