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in Culture

Phan Thiết's Vibrant Whale Worship Festival Reflects Vietnam's Rich Animist Traditions

Whale worship started from a folk belief harbored by fishermen seeking help from the gods to endure the arduous days spent at sea, but over time, it grew to become one of the most prominent spiritual ...

Paul Christiansen

in In Plain Sight

Shrimp Fishing in Thanh Đa Is Fun Even When You Don't Catch Anything

If it weren’t for shrimps, developing taste buds would have been an outrageous waste of evolutionary time and resources. Truly, without the potential for boiled, grilled, fried, baked or even raw shri...

in Culture

How to Make a Bamboo Basket Boat, as Demonstrated by Phú Yên Artisans

As part of the sweltering south-central coast, Phu Yen Province has cultivated strong roots in the arts of gathering and rearing seafood.

in Culture

Basket Boats: A Key Part of Everyday Life in Coastal Vietnam

Vietnam’s narrow tube houses come from the feudal era and the tax policy in effect at the time. The feudal state charged a fee based on the width of the street-facing facade to collect taxes, pushing ...

in Travel

A Lifetime Adrift: Phu Quoc Cruise Ship Crewmen Live and Work On Board

In the days before our lives were disrupted again by the pandemic, I was fortunate enough to visit the remote beauty that is Phu Quoc and its many ivory beaches. On my trip, I also had the opportunity...

in Asia

Serious Drought Expected to Hit Lower Mekong Countries Through Early 2020

The next few months could be rough for regional agriculture. 

in Travel

[Photos] The Young Man and The Sea: Fishing at Dawn by the Cham Islands

There I was again, squeaky wooden floorboards under my feet, dodging coils of soaked, salty ropes and boxes upon boxes of freshly caught fish. I wasn't going to leave Hoi An until I could join a fishi...