in Environment

A Botanical Illustrator Captures Vietnam's Flora on Paper, One Species at a Time

When science and art commingle in a botanical illustration, it’s as if a magical world appears, where colors, brushstrokes, and lighting work together to not only replicate but also breathe life into nature’s best creations.

in Environment

Lúa Ma, the Mekong's Ancient Wild Rice Varieties Holding Secrets to Climate Resilience

“It’s been so long I can barely remember. It’s delicious, fragrant, soft but not sticky,” says Trần Văn Lựa, 53, a farmer from Đồng Tháp Province, south-west Vietnam, recalling the taste of wild rice. As a child, he would harvest the grain during flood season, when wild rice flowers. Today, however, it is a rare sight.

Paul Christiansen

in Natural Selection

Cầy Mực, the Fluffy Bearcat Whose Pee Really Smells Like Popcorn

Vietnam is home to a diverse range of species, from the elusive sao la to Hanoi's pungently fragrant hoa sữa. As an ode to the wondrous nature of the country, we're introducing a new article series, Natural Selection. Each article will feature a species of plant or animal native to Vietnam — starting with the laidback cầy mực (binturong).

in Environment

As Saltwater Intrudes More of Mekong Delta, Durian Farmers Struggle to Stay Afloat

Nguyễn Văn Quại, 63, walked slowly on the muddy dirt path in his yard, his hands clasped behind his back. He stopped beside a tree split in half, its branches dipping into the stagnant water of a narrow moat, and gestured towards the rest of his leafless crop — their trunks yellow, their bark cracked and brittle.

Khôi Phạm

in Tech

On Vietnam's Internet, You're a Mom, I'm a Mom, Everyone Is a Mom

I am a mom. Well, not in the most conventional meaning of the word — I am childless, and it’s still biologically impossible for men to give birth the last time I checked, but for most of my existence on the Vietnamese cybersphere, I have been using the designation “mẹ” amongst my closest friends.

Khôi Phạm

in Architecture

On Phú Quý Island, a Curious Collection of Modernist Houses From Central Vietnam

From the 1960s towards the end of the 1970s, urban centers in southern Vietnam saw robust and widespread growth of modernist influences in architecture. Still, outside the usual foci of the movement like Saigon, Cần Thơ or Mỹ Tho, how has this unique form of vernacular architectural expression been transformed?

Văn Tân

in Architecture

An Homage to Courtyards, the Heart of Traditional Vietnamese Homes

This time of the year, the giáng hương tree in my grandma’s courtyard is probably blooming with clusters of golden blossoms, enticing the kids in the neighborhood to gather around it and carefully pick off the prettiest petals to create makeshift jewelry.

Mầm

in Parks & Rec

The Young Vietnamese Artisans Breathing New Life Into Animals Carcasses

Skeletons and carcasses are often reminiscent of eerie, spine-chilling scenes in horror movies. But in the taxidermy community, animal corpses are of great value for artisans to create unique works that blur the line between life and death.

Back Society

in Environment

A Botanical Illustrator Captures Vietnam's Flora on Paper, One Species at a Time

When science and art commingle in a botanical illustration, it’s as if a magical world appears, where colors, brushstrokes, and lighting work together to not only replicate but also breathe life into ...

in Environment

Lúa Ma, the Mekong's Ancient Wild Rice Varieties Holding Secrets to Climate Resilience

“It’s been so long I can barely remember. It’s delicious, fragrant, soft but not sticky,” says Trần Văn Lựa, 53, a farmer from Đồng Tháp Province, south-west Vietnam, recalling the taste of wild rice....

Paul Christiansen

in Natural Selection

Cầy Mực, the Fluffy Bearcat Whose Pee Really Smells Like Popcorn

Vietnam is home to a diverse range of species, from the elusive sao la to Hanoi's pungently fragrant hoa sữa. As an ode to the wondrous nature of the country, we're introducing a new article series, Natural Selection. Each article will feature a species of plant or animal native to Vietnam — starting with the laidback cầy mực (binturong).

in Environment

As Saltwater Intrudes More of Mekong Delta, Durian Farmers Struggle to Stay Afloat

Nguyễn Văn Quại, 63, walked slowly on the muddy dirt path in his yard, his hands clasped behind his back. He stopped beside a tree split in half, its branches dipping into the stagnant water of a narr...

Khôi Phạm

in Tech

On Vietnam's Internet, You're a Mom, I'm a Mom, Everyone Is a Mom

I am a mom. Well, not in the most conventional meaning of the word — I am childless, and it’s still biologically impossible for men to give birth the last time I checked, but for most of my existence ...

Khôi Phạm

in Architecture

On Phú Quý Island, a Curious Collection of Modernist Houses From Central Vietnam

From the 1960s towards the end of the 1970s, urban centers in southern Vietnam saw robust and widespread growth of modernist influences in architecture. Still, outside the usual foci of the movement l...

Văn Tân

in Architecture

An Homage to Courtyards, the Heart of Traditional Vietnamese Homes

This time of the year, the giáng hương tree in my grandma’s courtyard is probably blooming with clusters of golden blossoms, enticing the kids in the neighborhood to gather around it and carefully pic...

Mầm

in Parks & Rec

The Young Vietnamese Artisans Breathing New Life Into Animals Carcasses

Skeletons and carcasses are often reminiscent of eerie, spine-chilling scenes in horror movies. But in the taxidermy community, animal corpses are of great value for artisans to create unique works th...

in Tech

Ride-Hailing Changed How We Commute. Can Ve Chai-Hailing Change How We Recycle?

Mentions of ve chai might evoke images of uncles and aunties pushing around their cart or perched on bicycles, ferrying a host of plastic bags and scrap metal, and occasionally calling out: “Đồng nát ...

in Natural Selection

Đuông Dừa, the Mekong Delta's Unique Squishy Snack and Enemy of Coconut Trees

Towards the deep end of our home, several coconut trees’ fronds started browning and falling off, straight from the bud. For the last few weeks, tiny holes have gradually appeared on the coconut trunk...

Oliver Newman

in Society

Chạm Vào Xanh, the Social Enterprise Normalizing Joy for People With Disabilities

Hồng’s parents took her out of school in Grade 5. They weren’t facing financial issues, her grades weren’t bad and she had no behavioral setbacks. It was just because she has cerebral palsy.

in Environment

WWF Works to Preserve the Elements of the Mekong Delta through Sustainable Products

Over the past few months, WWF has been running a multi-faceted campaign to spotlight the importance of sustainable ingredients from the Mekong Delta.

in Architecture

Đàng Trong Cafe Marries Gò Công's Nhà 3 Gian Design With Modern Cafe

Major metropolises like Saigon and Hanoi might boast the most concentrated distributions of coffee shops in Vietnam, but a new crop of fresh faces in other up-and-coming towns have emerged in the scen...

Paul Christiansen

in Natural Selection

A Folk Symbol and Cash Animal, King Cobras Just Really Want to Be Left Alone

The king cobra, or rắn hổ mang chúa in Vietnamese, has great personal branding. For proof, one need look no further than the recent flower display on Nguyễn Huệ celebrating the Year of the Snake: th...

in Environment

How You Can Think and Live Sustainably

Frequently touted as environmentally friendly options that help preserve the planet, cotton tote bags require so much energy and freshwater to produce that you must use one at least 7,000 times to mak...

Paul Christiansen

in Sports

Adding Billiards to Saigon's Pantheon of Pastimes

The clink of cue sticks on eight-ball muffling the clank of whisky glass ice cubes and the slap of cards as boozehounds hide their addictions in the shadows of sport and hobby? Dense plumes of Bastos ...

in Environment

Solar Power: Where Economics and Environmentalism Meet

When seeing a reflective row of solar panels situated on a roof in Vietnam, it’s easy to assume that the home, office, or factory belonged to someone who had decided to pay a little more for the sake ...

Khôi Phạm

in Society

In Vietnam, ‘Golden Babies’ Are Choking Public Services, Parents and One Another

The year is 2013. Linh lies awake in the attic bedroom of her cozy childhood home in Saigon. Tomorrow is her first day at primary school, and sleep doesn’t come easily with the all butterflies flutter...

Paul Christiansen

in Environment

The Role of Sand Batteries in Responding to the Climate Change Crisis

How does a sand battery work? 

Khôi Phạm

in Development

With the HCMC Metro Here, It's Time to Cultivate Saigon's Very Own Metro Culture

One of my least favorite genres of comments on Saigoneer’s social media posts is jokes involving the laggard opening of the HCMC Metro and some random, outrageous year far into the next decades, or ev...