Inside the Vivid, Soothing Art Realm of Vietnamese Ilustration Artist Phuongsongdep
Using her keen observation and sensitive art intuition, Minh Phương creates a colorful realm through her brushstrokes, w...
Paul Christiansen in Culture
Learning to Ngồi Chồm Hổm Is a Simple Way for Anybody to Feel More Vietnamese
What is culture? For someone who writes for an arts and culture publication, you’d think I’d have a quick and clean answer, but the more I ruminate, the more I realize it comes down to a sloppy assemblage of habits, ephemera, and minutiae: eating preferences, holiday attire, styles of sneezes, methods for counting on one’s fingers, variety of fruits to gift and an endless string of social norms. Pile enough of these choices together, and you end up with a distinct culture.
Great Vietnam Resurrects Nguyễn-Era Fashion, One Traditional Costume at a Time
In the last four to five years, ancient Vietnamese costumes have gained more visibility, becoming a welcome sight among young locals thanks to the efforts to reproduce and promote historic fashion from a number of designers, brands, and interest groups that appreciate the country’s history and traditions.
In the Mekong Delta, Đồ Bộ Is Everything, Everywhere, All at Once
Despite its humble beginning as something worn just for convenience’s sake, đồ bộ has entered every minute of life in the Mekong Delta as a staple fashion choice that’s both flexible and colorful. Đồ bộ means “set outfit” in Vietnamese, a type of female casualwear made of soft, thin fabrics that often comes in a top and long bottom combo. They’re sometimes referred to as “Vietnamese pajamas,” but these comfortable sets can be worn at any time of the day and even outside, not just reserved for sleep like pajamas.
Nguyễn Đổng Chi's Classic Retelling of Vietnam's Fairy Tales, Now in English
Folklorist and anthropologist Nguyễn Đổng Chi dedicated decades to weaving a significant portion of Vietnam’s folklore tapestry. He collected, researched, and rewrote over 200 Vietnamese folktales from all corners of the country. His work, initially scattered across five volumes published individually and consecutively over 25 years, appeared as a complete anthology in 1982. Guided by a comprehensive treatise of Vietnamese folktale, Chi’s Kho tàng truyện cổ tích Việt Nam (Treasury of Vietnamese Folk Tales) might be daunting for readers drawn to Vietnamese folklore but disenchanted by rigorous academic discourse.
Kit Humphrey in Travel
In Thổ Hà Village, Rice Paper Spills Onto the Streets and Wraps Around Daily Life
A few hours after sunrise in the small village of Thổ Hà, Bắc Giang Province, alleyways morph into picturesque tunnels of drying rice paper, while ladies toast crackers over fire in the streets.
Carol Kim Brings to Life Rare Performance of 'Tại Vắng Anh' Thanks to Saigon Jazz Revival
The rich, bluesy ‘Tại vắng anh,’ written by Tuấn Khanh, was performed by Carol Kim this past November at Saigon Jazz Revival's inaugural concert in New Orleans.
Cliché or Parody? Orientalist Readings of Nam Le’s ‘36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem’
One may be surprised to learn that Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer-winning novel The Sympathizer was rejected by 13 out of 14 publishers before its eventual publication. He describes in an interview why he believes his novel was rejected by all but one publisher he submitted to: “I knew in writing the novel that I was deliberately not doing what I was supposed to do as an Asian American writer, which is [...that] you have to end on a note of Americanization. You have to end on an embrace of the American dream, explicitly or implicitly. And the novel does not do that.” He comments elsewhere along similar lines, “I refuse[d] to subscribe to dominant American narratives and mythologies that allow someone like me a very narrow space to speak.”
A Look At The Top Google Searches In Vietnam In 2014
On Tuesday, Google released its annual “A Year in Search” showing the most popular searches of the last year. To make it a bit more accessible, the search engine released localized versions in additio...
4 Awesome Animated Gifs Of Sleeping Saigon Cyclo Drivers
Maria Tran Larsen, a graphic designer with Vietnamese roots living in Copenhagen, Denmark has always been entranced by the sleeping cyclo drivers she came across on her trips to Vietnam.
Rolling The Dice With Old Saigon Monopoly
There’s something about inspired design mixed with nostalgia that always pulls on the heartstrings. We recently got wind of an old Saigon inspired game of Monopoly designed right here in Saigon.
Incredible Pointillism Pieces Show The Faces Of Vietnam
Out of all the many art forms, pointillism is one of the most impressive. Artists in this medium use millions of individual dots to compose their masterpieces that are packed with incredible detail.
Saigoneer Sunday Rewind
Saigoneer's staff highlights their favorite articles from the past week.
[Photos] An Illustrated Guide to Vietnamese Motorbikers, Part 2
After we published the first edition of “An Illustrated Guide To Vietnamese Motorbikers,” we received an abundance of requests from users on Facebook, Twitter and a number of Vietnamese social network...
Artist Spotlight: Tonstartssbandht
Tonstartssbandht is one of those bands which occupy that very rare dimension in music defying categorization. Psychedelic-rock, pastoral vocals, pop undertones, rock-n-roll and lo-fi are all terms tha...
Amazing Vegetable Carvings In HCMC
When one thinks about materials artists use to make intricate carving, wood immediately comes to mind. But at the Taste of the World culinary festival which wrapped up last week, a group of talented c...
This Video Proves That Vietnam Is One of the Most Beautiful Places on Earth
"This Land", a short film by overseas Vietnamese filmmaker Arnaud Ly Van Manh takes viewers across Vietnam and focuses on the beautiful landscapes, people and tranquil moments one finds in t...
19 Amazing Photos Of Animals In Vietnam
Whether you live in the city or the countryside, animals are a constant characteristic of life in Vietnam. These amazing photos sourced from one of our favorite Facebook pages, Another Side of Vietnam...
The Highest Paying Jobs In Vietnam
Last month, Adecco released a report outlining the pay rates for the leading job titles in Vietnam. As recent years have shown us, those in finance and banking are taking the lion’s share when it come...
Saigoneer Sunday Rewind
Saigoneer's staff highlights their favorite articles from the past week.
December Movies At Saigon’s Alternative Film Venues
The Christmas holidays are fast approaching but our alternative film venues have more in store for you than just Christmassy-flicks. Philosophy in cinema, the first Saudi Arabian film in history and a...
An Illustrated Guide to Old Saigon Slang: Part 2
Mã tà! Nhà dây thép! Đi bum! Do these phrases look familiar? No? Don’t worry you’re not alone. This old Saigon slang is derived from mispronounced French words, the names of locations and plenty of me...
An Illustrated Guide to Old Saigon Slang: Part 1
Mã tà! Nhà dây thép! Đi bum! Do these phrases look familiar? No? Don’t worry you’re not alone. This old Saigon slang is derived from mispronounced French words, the names of locations and plenty of me...
Vietnam Pulls The Plug On “Sex And The City”
After airing five episodes of “Sex and the City” last month Vietnam Television (VTV) has abruptly pulled the show from its lineup.
Event Rewind: The Prisma Night Run
HCMC-based Pulse Active Ltd, the same team that brought the Color Me Run to Vietnam earlier this year, held a similar event on November 22 in a half-completed urban area in District 2.
Event Rewind: Creative Drinks @ Saigon Ranger
Last Friday at Saigon Ranger, team Creative Drinks held their 4th event with the theme “Sell Your Creative Work” at Saigon’s newest alternative venue, Saigon Ranger.
Bình Tân District’s Gold Castle
Though Bình Tân District is quite a distance from the economic center of HCMC, in it lies one of the city’s most extravagant buildings.
Zelda Goes to the Gallery: Mr. Bastian the Time Traveller
Mr. Bastian The Time Traveller opened last week at the majestic HCMC Museum of Fine Arts, where Sri Lankan-born, Australia-educated Kumkum Fernando brought to Saigon this year’s most electrifying and ...
