As Infrastructure Lags Behind, Saigon's Poorest Hardest Hit by Worsening Flooding
In April 2023, in the first downpour of southern Vietnam’s rainy season, the narrow rented room where Mã Thị Diệp and her children were staying in Hồ Chí Minh City was inundated by knee-high water.
Khôi Phạm in Environment
What I Talk About When I Talk About Vietnam's Penguin Trashcans
Compared to the average Vietnamese, I might be thinking about trashcans a smidgen too much — not just any trashcan, but the infamous penguin-shaped trashcans that are ubiquitous at every corner of our public spaces.
Linh Phạm 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 — three dance studios.
Inside Saigon's Grassroots Carton and Aluminum Recycling Plants
With plastics claiming many of the headlines worldwide and constituting a major issue in Vietnam, scant attention is being paid to other recyclable materials, namely cardboard and aluminum.
How Táo Xanh Forum Created a Safe Space for Gay Vietnamese Before Social Media
Before Vietnamese could hop on social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to share our hot takes of the week, there was an era of past cybersphere when online forums were the crucial online space to connect local netizens.
Paul Christiansen in Environment
As Climate Change Threatens, Flood Waters Usher In Sustainable Opportunities for Communities in the Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta is developing faster than Google Maps can keep up with. A stretch of road that was too narrow to accommodate cars and required a transition to motorbikes just six months ago was under construction during our August visit. Gargantuan machines for laying pulverized gravel inched aside to let our 7-seater pass so we could reach the home of Nguyễn Thị Thu Thủy to check in on her small fish drying home business.
Khôi Phạm in Natural Selection
10 Species of Lesser-Known Fruits to Get to Know Vietnam's Biodiversity
In the Vietnamese language, the word “cỏ” — meaning “grass” in the literal sense — is often used to signify that something is locally grown, no frills, and charmingly rustic; grassroots, if you will. Chó cỏ is the general term for the adorable mutts, usually mixes between Vietnam’s native dog species, born without the prestige of named breeds, while gym cỏ and net cỏ denote the casual gyms and internet cafes in one’s neighborhood. In the same vein of logic, may I put forth a new name for a special genre of Vietnamese fruits: trái cỏ?
How Vietnamese Architecture Adopted Modernism and Made It Our Own
Ask a person on the street what Vietnam’s distinctive style of architecture is, and the answer you get might be traditional architecture, like the historic curves of northern Vietnam’s village temples or the ornate regality of Nguyễn-Dynasty palaces. This time-honored style is widely accepted as the hallmark of Vietnam’s cultural wealth. What’s more fascinating but lesser-known is how this cultural vestige — which distinguished our architecture from that of China and Japan — has also managed to evolve in the new age, finding ways to exist right in the middle of our modern lifetime.
Vietnamese Startups Hold Their Own Among Southeast Asia's Top 30 Tech Outfits
Vietnam's tech star is on the rise. These days, startup communities are thriving across the country, new crowdfunding laws are being developed to help burgeoning tech companies get off the ground...
[Photos] Bitexco Group To Transform Thanh Da Into Urban Wasteland
If you've ever been to Thanh Da, you know that it's practically a rural village stuck smack-dab in the middle of Saigon. Rice paddies and fishing ponds take up most of the peninsula, along with a few ...
Saigon Metro Lines Face Delays, Cost Overruns
While work on Saigon’s metro line No. 1 chugs along, two of its brothers, metro lines numbers 2 and 5, are facing a slew of delays and cost overruns.
Agreement Reached on Trans-Pacific Partnership
On Monday, officials from 12 Pacific Rim nations reached an agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the largest regional trade agreement to date.
Construction Kicks off on the Crown Jewel of Thu Thiem
The first, and perhaps most significant of the mega developments planned for Thu Thiem broke ground last week, signaling the peninsula’s evolution from swampland to modern urban center.
[Video] Saigon to Complete Flashy New BRT System by 2018
Saigon is hitting the public transportation hard these days, with new metro construction starting along Ton Duc Thang and talks of a 12-kilometer tramway recently announced.
There Are No Traffic Jams In Saigon: Department of Transport Director
Despite numerous reports to the contrary, the director of Saigon’s Department of Transport told the press last week that there are no traffic jams in the city.
Da Nang Is Buying Citizens' Ideas On How To Improve The City
Last Saturday, Da Nang authorities announced that they are willing to pay for citizens' ideas on how to improve the environment and image of the central city, giving local residents a more active role...
'Thirsty' Concrete Drinks Rainwater, Eliminates Flooding
Concrete isn't exactly a sexy topic. Even though we drive on it and build things with it, the average person seldom gives the gray stuff a second thought.
[Photos] This Nha Trang Cafe Is Not Your Average Roadside Haunt
Who says the old can't be new again?
Volkswagen Chooses Vietnam As Staging Ground For SE Asian Domination
While Volkswagen is knee-deep in bad press following its recent emissions controversy, the German car company announced this week that it will start assembling cars in Vietnam next year.
[Video] Saigon Slaughterhouse Caught Dyeing Chickens With Chemicals
You might want to hold off on the phở gà for a while. Apparently, in order to give its produce that tasty, chicken-fat-yellow hue, one local slaughterhouse has been dipping its freshly-killed chickens...
Saigon Slowly Pushes Ahead With 12km Tramway Line
While Saigon’s future metro system grabs most of the headlines, these trains aren’t the only rail-based mode of transportation in the city’s master infrastructure plan.
Vietnam's Very Own Disneyland Is Coming To Ha Long Bay
When the news arrived earlier this week that Vinpearl Ha Long is set to open this November, your reaction was either a celebration of joy...or a facepalm.
Here's Why Saigon Is Missing From This Pollution Map
If you've ever taken a deep breath during rush hour, you know clean air is not exactly abundant in Saigon.
[Photos] Local Architects Transform One Half of This Twin House Into Green Office Space
In rapidly-developing Hanoi, like most Vietnamese cities, green space is increasingly rare. But for landscape development company Mein Garten, an office with plant life was of utmost importance.
Saigon Eyes Japanese Funding For Two More Metro Lines
As work on Saigon’s first metro line chugs along, city authorities are seeking Japanese loans to fund the construction of two more major lines running through the heart of the city.
Ba Son Should Be Preserved, Not Destroyed: Experts
If you've driven along Ton Duc Thang any time in the last week or so, you might have noticed the large corrugated partition that's gone up just south of Le Thanh Ton. As the area overlooking the Saigo...
[Video] Saigon to Get Another LEED Certified Building Next Year
Saigon’s District 8 will soon be home to a LEED standard apartment project, one of the first in the country to meet the international green building benchmark.
[Photos] Vinpearl Halong Bay Opens This November
Halong Bay, the crown jewel of northern Vietnam's many UNESCO World Heritage sites, is about to receive a new landmark.
