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 Music & Arts

Thai Rapper Eats Mango Sticky Rice During Coachella Set, Wins Our Hearts

Maybe Suboi can eat a plate of cơm tấm during her next performance.

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

Saigoneer Bookshelf: Ocean Vuong Asks Questions in 'Time Is a Mother'

Fame and poetry rarely go together.

in Music & Arts

Marvel at These Ceramic Boots Created by Legendary Bát Tràng Artisan Vũ Đức Thắng

"The Bát Tràng Ceramic Boots. An Inspiration from Italy" exhibition will feature 12 ceramic boots created by artisan Vũ Đức Thắng, who blended Italian fashion and Bát Tràng craft traditions.

in Music & Arts

Local Photographer Recreates Mai Trung Thứ Paintings in Fashion Shoot

In hopes of recreating the paintings of silk master Mai Trung Thứ, photographer Minh Sơn and his collaborators have done something extraordinary with this photo collection. The resulting works bear st...

in Music & Arts

Mythology, History, and Supernaturals Mingle in the World of 'Lĩnh Nam Chích Quái'

Lĩnh Nam Chích Quái was one of Vietnam’s first anthologies written in Hán characters in prose form. It’s a collection of 22 folk tales, mythologies, and legends surrounding the origin story of the Vie...

in Music & Arts

Japanese Mobile Game 'Fate Grand Order' Unveils Hai Bà Trưng as Playable Heroines

Time for all Vietnamese Masters to save their Saint Quartz.

in Culture

Handbook Project Empowers Local Communities to Write Their Own Cultural Narratives

“No one could sing our song but ourselves.” — Inrasra, Chăm poet and anthropologist.

in Music & Arts

Photography Exhibition Spotlights the Beauty and Perils of Vietnam's Mangrove Forests

Transcending the boundaries of a conventional art exhibition, “Midnight in the Mangroves - Đêm Trong Rừng Ngập Mặn” tackles the beauty and important environmental role of mangrove forests via the lang...

Paul Christiansen

in Film & TV

Review: In 'Đêm Tối Rực Rỡ!,' Watch a Fraught Family Disintegrate During a Funeral

If a family is like a broken leg, does healing it require a more painful break? Đêm Tối Rực Rỡ! (The Brilliant Darkness!) grapples with this question by thrusting characters into a situation that expo...

in Film & TV

Netflix Announces Next 'Bridgerton' Season to Focus on Long-Lost Vietnamese Sister Hường Bridgerton

Steamy night rendezvous, sordid secrets, and stupendous wigs — historical smash hit Bridgerton returned last week with all the glitz and glam that made its first season one of the most-watched se...

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

Saigoneer Bookshelf: The Instruction Manual of Phillips H92X Offers Something for Everyone

Engaging plot or strong characters? Fantastic escapism or insightful depictions of the real world? A sweeping epic across generations and nations, or a deep examination of a brief moment in time? What...

Michael Tatarski

in Film & TV

'Madame Pirate,' Short Film Based on History's Greatest Pirate, Screens at SXSW

Do you know who the world's greatest pirate is?

Uyên Đỗ

in Music & Arts

Party Like It's 1985: A New Mixtape Resurrects Vintage Vietnamese New Wave Bangers

Born of the vivacity and flashiness of the 1980s, a novel wave of music once became the symbol for a whole generation of Vietnamese, and then faded into obscurity at its peak. It took over two decades...

in Culture

In Hòa Bình, a Social Enterprise Supports Vietnam's Last Remaining Paper Artisans

As aid to Vietnamese communities decreases, how do we continue to preserve cultural heritage? Zó Project, an organization based out of Hanoi, offers a compelling example of the role social enterprise ...

in Music & Arts

A Mythic Vietnam Through the Brushstrokes of Architecture and History

“A steady country is one with a wealth of history and a steady generation is one that can understand and respect the heritage that their forefathers left behind,” Vũ says of his exhibition “Kỳ Ẩn Việt...

Elise Luong

in Music & Arts

In Điện Điên and Mutant Lounge Radio Shows, a Hidden Universe of Vietnam's Electronic Music

Many moons ago I had the pleasure of encountering Tobias Paramore’s lopsided grin in a dimly lit music event in Hanoi. Originally from Australia, Paramore has been creating electronic music since 2003...

in Music & Arts

Digital Artist Transports Us Back to Hanoi Tramway’s Halcyon Days

Many Hanoians have seen historical photos of the capital’s lost tramway network, which was inaugurated in 1901. What began as a state-of-the-art electric tramway eventually fell into disrepair in the ...

in Film & TV

A New Romcom Netflix Original Will Start Filming in Vietnam Next Month

A Tourist's Guide to Love, set in Hanoi, Saigon, Đà Nẵng, Hội An and Hà Giang, will be the first major international flick to film in Vietnam since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

in Quãng 8

Meet KURROCK, the First Vietnamese Rock Band in Japan

In KURROCK’s songs, one can appreciate a pronounced fusion of two seemingly detached music scenes that are 4,000 kilometers apart.

Uyên Đỗ

in Music & Arts

Adorable Metro Illustrations Take Viewers on a Joyride Through Saigon

As fans of Vietnam’s busiest city, graphic designers An Nguyễn and Học Nguyễn launched a mock communication campaign to create prospective visual branding for the upcoming Ho Chi Minh City Metro. The ...