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: the largest, most impressive statue bore the telltale hood of a cobra.

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 make it an effective alternative to plastic bags. Finding out that purchases, habits, and initiatives you thought were good for the planet, such as using tote bags, are in fact not likely to help our current climate crisis can be disheartening. Recognizing how the sustainability movement is rife with performative acts, corporate greenwashing and good intentions thwarted by misinformation threatens to discourage people from the entire concept.

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 smoke obscuring illicit activities and immoral affairs? Are Saigon's pool halls the seedy dens of patriarchal indulgence their reputation and pop culture representations suggest?

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 fluttering in her stomach. She’s worried, but mom assured her that she would be okay, because she is special.

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 even centuries.

Thi Nguyễn

in Tech

Typing Vietnamese, Part 2: The Vietnamese Diaspora, Unicode and the Ubiquity of Unikey

This is part 2 of our two-part series on the history of Vietnamese-centric typing technologies. Part 1 can be  acces...

Thi Nguyễn

in Tech

Typing Vietnamese, Part 1: Language, Identity and Technology at a Crossroad

My first exposure to the computer traces back to my primary school years when computer classes were conducted once a week. In order to study computers, students had to migrate from their usual classrooms to a multimedia lab — an air-conditioned room filled with computers. Computer classes were generally more popular among us than most subjects thanks to that satisfying cool breeze and the delight of operating something one wasn't privileged with at home.

Back Society

in Tech

Game Concept 'Vệ Thần' Crafts a Magical Realm From Vietnam's Wealth of Folklore

The recent renaissance in Vietnam's game-making market has been strongly driven by independent studios delivering highly acclaimed and anticipated productions.

in Architecture

VTN Architects Win Asia's Most Influential Designer Award

Võ Trọng Nghĩa, founder of the prolific namesake architecture firm, VTN Architects, has racked up several awards this year, including the Asia's Most Influential Designer Award at the 2021 Designer of...

in Sports

Long Jumper Proposes to Sepak Takraw Partner After Winning Gold at SEA Games

In a rare moment of levity, a SEA Games proposal tied everything up in a neat bow after a medal-packed day for Vietnam.

in Health

World Economic Forum Names Vietnam Health Startup Among Promising Tech Companies

Selected because of its contributions to digital health care, Docosan was one of 100 companies globally to receive the distinction.

in Development

At Thủ Thiêm 2 Bridge's Launch, Exuberance and Selfies Galore

After seven years under construction, the Thủ Thiêm 2 Bridge officially opened for traffic at 5pm, April 28. This was a much-anticipated project for Saigoneers, with over VND3.1 trillion in investment...

in Environment

Searching for the World's Largest Woodpecker Species in Yok Đôn National Park

You first know she’s approaching by the sound of her wings; her broad shadow flashing across the forest floor. Even from far below, her body looks enormous. At half a meter long, she is roughly five t...

Michael Tatarski

in Natural Selection

Mangroves: The Everyday Superheroes Protecting Vietnam Against Climate Change

When you think of ways to combat the inevitable ravages of climate change and sea level rise, what comes to mind?

in Tech

Vietnamese Indie Game 'Hoa' Wins 3 Awards for Best Art Direction, Music at Webby

The dreamy platformer snagged trophies for Best Art Direction, Best Music/Sound Design, and People’s Voice Best Art Direction at the awards honoring the "Best of the Internet."

in Parks & Rec

Wind, Sun and the Ocean: The Aerial Thrills of Paragliding Over Đà Nẵng

Paragliding means heaving in a lungful of air, bracing against a gale’s resistance, letting one’s mind ponder the vastness of the ocean below, floating in the middle of the sky, and — for me this time...

in Environment

Vietnam Might Fine Supermarkets, Malls for Single-Use Plastic Bags in 2026

Large retailers providing single-use plastic bags could be subject to fines beginning in 2026.

in Architecture

[Photos] T3 Architects Turned a Modernist Villa Into a Celebration of Chocolate

Looks like we'll be working remote today.

in Tech

Vietnamese Game 'Hoa' Nominated for Best Art Direction, Music in 2022 Webby Awards

If you spent your 2021 lockdown escaping into the wondrous, whimsical world of Hoa, the locally developed video game, now is your chance to show your support for the creators.

in Architecture

[Photos] A House in Đồng Nai Designed for the Warmth of Tết Gatherings

Family gatherings might be a touchy subject for many of us who don’t connect well with some family members, but if one was to design a house with cordial meals and warm banquets in mind, what would it...

Brian Letwin

in Parks & Rec

Slugging It Out at Saigon’s Baseball Cage

For much of my adult life, in the months from February to October, my mood was dictated by the results of New York Mets games. 

in Health

Hanoi Opens First Milk Bank at National Children's Hospital

The milk bank will provide pasteurized milk for more than 1,000 babies at the Vietnam National Children's Hospital in Hanoi to reduce the risk of late neonatal infection amongst infants unable to...

in Development

FLC Group to Help Build $5bn Railway From Vientiane to Hà Tĩnh

All aboard!

Linh Pham

in Parks & Rec

House Dance Hanoi Teaches You How to Free the Body

I stood on the top floor of a building on Khâm Thiên Street, feeling grateful for the cold air. I came out here to take a break from the other side of the floor, which was divided into three rooms — t...

in Sports

Alleged SEA Games Branding Designs Draw Criticism for Numerous Typos

The 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), set to take place in two months, have faced a number of hurdles since it was announced years ago.

Paul Christiansen

in Natural Selection

Kiến Ba Khoang: A Harbinger of Dread and Divine Punishment

People’s skin erupted with horrific boils that burst open, spilling stinging pus across vicious rashes. According to the Christian Bible, along with water turning to blood, frogs, lice, gnats, disease...

in Society

Photography Project Shows Hanoi Through the Eyes of Migrant Workers

Some came from the mountains, some were born near the sea — all have come to Hanoi to make a living. They are the migrant workers of this city, yet to them Hanoi is more than just a place to work. Thr...