Pete Walls in Travel
For the Freshest Fish of the Day, Head to Hội An's Coast Before Sunrise
The alarm goes off at 3am. By 3:30am, scooters laden with empty crates and baskets are already moving through the dark lanes and sandy passages towards Hội An's coast. Long before the old town wakes, the beaches along the shore are coming alive with engines, head torches, waves, and fishermen preparing to return to land. Thankfully, coffee is readily available almost anywhere.
From the Mind of 'Mekong Review' Comes ‘Yellow,’ a New Lit Mag Focused on SEA
“Cooped up in my apartment-cage in Tân Định, I created, with scissors and glue, dummy after dummy of a cosmopolitan rag positively pumping with scandals and half-truths. I was having a lot of fun dreaming of a magazine that I would never be able to do. And buried somewhere in that detritus on the floor—advertising cutouts and newspaper clippings—was Yellow … Once I knew I had the name, the magazine more or less made itself, as though the name determined the rest, ie, form and content,” writes Minh Bui of the birth of Yellow, his “what-do-I-do-after-Mekong Review magazine.”
In Saigon's Bửu Long Pagoda, a Meditative Escape and Pan-Southeast Asian Architecture
It all started with a sparkle on the horizon, a beam of solar brilliance bouncing off a garish metallic surface.
On Reading Ocean Vuong and Thinking About the Sniff Kisses of My Family
Having always been a little brother, I had to learn to be a big one when I was 10 years old. In the midst of the confusion of this new role, I found myself pressing my nose to this newborn’s head and inhaling as hard as I could. This “sniff kiss” was not an action I invented. Rather, it was an instinct forged through mimicry: I started noticing from this point that my father and grandmother both did the same thing to me.
Paul Christiansen in Music & Arts
Meet Th.ink Room, the Tattoo Collective Bringing New Life to Old Artworks and Onto Skin
Tattoo Therapist, dr.99hz, cd.cadao, goc.viet, Solarist and Baby Nepotism: listing the artists that call Th.ink Room home feels like shouting out the members of a rap clique. Indeed, tattoo artists, more than any other visual artists, are akin to rappers in their use of pseudonyms, so to employ a common hip-hop refrain, Saigoneer became interested in Th.ink Room because “game recognize game.”
Khôi Phạm in Film & TV
A (Literally) Brief History of Vietnamese Representation in 'Mean Girls' (2004)
Written by Saturday Night Live alum Tina Fey and premiered in 2004, Mean Girls is often heralded as a sharp, self-aware comedy that was ahead of its time, yet still holds up surprisingly well today. Alas, its depiction of Asians has aged a little more poorly, even though at the time of its release, the Asian representation was shockingly accurate for its time, despite some haphazard characterizations.
On Shooting an Entire Movie on 35mm Film: The Curious Case of 'Quán Kỳ Nam'
“Let’s go to Vietnam!” declared Sabrina Baracetti, president of the Far East Film Festival (FEFF) in Udine, Italy, as she wrapped up her introduction for Leon Lê's Quán Kỳ Nam (Kỳ Nam Inn). Sitting in the Teatro Nuovo, watching Quán Kỳ Nam unfold for the first time, I felt an overwhelming surge of pride.
Tracing the History of 'Hello Vietnam,' the Overnight Sensation From Europe
Most people who have flown with VietJet are probably familiar with the song ‘Hello Vietnam’ or its Vietnamese version ‘Xin chào Việt Nam.’ As it's often played during landing, tourists might mistake the song for a cute jingle of the company, but the meaning behind the song lyrics is much more nostalgic. It’s about a person of Vietnamese descent longing for their ancestor’s homeland, a place they’ve never been — a story that can certainly strike a chord with many Vietnamese people. Few know, however, that this song was originally a French-language song, one that was almost never released.
[Photos] 15 Old Photos to Celebrate Vietnamese Women's Day
Today marks the 85th Vietnamese Women's Day. A nationally observed holiday since 1930, October 20 commemorates the day upon which the country's Women's Union was officially established and recognized ...
Saigon Student Creates Vietnam-Themed Alphabet
When Luu Trong Nhan first came across Around the World with Type, a project by Indian design students Rigved Sathe and Payal Jagwani, the 23-year-old student knew he could create an equally stunning V...
[Video] Insane Buon Ma Thuot Floods Sweep Away Motorbikes
In Vietnam's latest installment of flood-related news, yet another deluge has struck the country, this time in the Central Highlands city of Buon Ma Thuot.
Phnom Penh to Transform Abandoned Ship Into Floating Arts Center
Phnom Penh is about to get a new attraction in an old, deteriorating boat.
[Video] Downtown Saigon Is at Its Best in This Drone Video
Sometimes, when you're trapped in a gridlock of rush hour traffic, struck by an especially foul scent or awoken by the ear-splitting noise of roosters, construction projects and chatty next-door neigh...
Event Rewind: Beer Fest @ Saigon Outcast
Last Saturday, crowds of thirsty Saigoneers flocked to Saigon Outcast for its first-ever Beer Fest, which celebrated the city's growing number of craft beer producers.
[Video] Saigon Ad Agency Portrays Romance With a Good, Old-Fashioned Cavity Search
Most Vietnamese TV commercials are pretty much the same: there's a bit of dancing, a few graphics and a handful of attractive young people parading across the screen. Everything is glossy, well-produc...
Saigoneer's September Art Picks
After the city's gallery scene took a summer hiatus, Saigoneer is back with our art picks for the month. September was off to a good start with a variety of exhibitions, employing everything from urba...
New Edition Of Standpoint Theories Will Hit Saigon This Month
Multi-disciplinary production company Standpoint Theories returns to Saigon with three performances of Legends of Vietnam: Remix, an evolution of last year's Legends of Vietnam. The new and improved p...
Thai Binh Businessman Builds Made-in-Vietnam Mini Submarine
We all have our hobbies: for some it's tennis, for others it's golf, and for one guy in northern Thai Binh province, it's building military-grade submarines.
October Movies At Saigon’s Alternative Film Venues
It is not Halloween without a dose of horror. Check out which spooky films made the list this year at Saigon's alternative movie-viewing venues. If zombies, ghosts and paranormal activity are not your...
New Victor Vu Film Wins at International Festival
Last week, Vietnamese film Tôi Thấy Hoa Vàng Trên Cỏ Xanh (Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass) took home the Feature Films of 2015 award at China's Silk Road International Film Festival, held in Fujian...
Zelda Goes To The Gallery: Khói Sóng
Khói Sóng, Ha Manh Thang’s new exhibition and his second at Galerie Quynh, is part of the artist's ongoing Vietnam Landscapes (2010 – present) project, in which his reflections on Vietnamese...
[Video] Whoever Made This Drone Video of Vietnam's Floods Has a Sense of Humor
Last week, when we all had floodwater up to our kneecaps and half of Saigon was stuck in rush hour traffic, someone was having a good time in northern Vietnam with a drone camera.
The Story of the Greatest Female Pirate Retold via Cinemagraph
When it comes to brave, daring women, Asia has no shortage of badass heroines. In Vietnam alone, historical figures like Vo Thi Sau and the Trung sisters are hailed for their courage and str...
Zelda Goes To The Gallery: Urbana
When I arrived at deciBel Lounge last week, ready to meet two of the three artists behind photography project Urbana: City View, I was dreading what I would see. Too often, urban-themed artwork turns ...
[Photos] How The Other Half Lives: District 2's Makeshift Village
When you think of District 2, the first thing that comes to mind is massive villas and high-end developments, fancy western-style supermarkets and upscale restaurants. But while Thao Dien may be a hub...
Metiseko: How One Local Designer Created An Eco-Friendly Brand
When it comes to fashion, sustainability is not always a high priority in Vietnam. These days, Vietnam is beginning to see more campaigns which aim to raise public awareness around environmental issue...
Six-Minute Film Depicts Enchanting Landscapes Of Southeast Asia
Soren Nielsen and Victoria Rivera's six-minute film opens with a question: “When did we stop walking if it's what makes us human in the first place?”
Vietnam Considers Allowing 5 Second Sex Scenes in Movies
Next time you catch a movie at your local theater, keep an eye out for the film's rating on the screen. As of early 2016, you may find that things have changed.
