Văn Tân in Natural Selection
Hoa Bưởi's Fleeting but Fragrant Season Teaches Us to Find Beauty in Impermanence
Every year during this time, I can’t help but hanker for a taste of sugarcane infused with hoa bưởi, or pomelo blossom. Only hoa bưởi’s tender aroma can accentuate the flavor of this humble snack several folds.
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.
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).
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.
Brian Letwin in Health
You Won’t Believe How Many Packs Of Instant Noodles Vietnamese Consume Each Year
Given that Vietnamese munch on 2 billon Choco Pies each year, it may come as no surprise that another mass-produced “food,” instant noodles, are also consumed at an astronomical rate.
Trees On Tôn Đức Thắng Street To Be Cut Down For Bridge To Thủ Thiêm
There’s a price for progress and in Saigon it seems to be trees that are called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice in the name of infrastructure development.
3 Reasons Why Wind Power Has A Strong Future In Vietnam
Not long ago, I traveled to Vietnam’s countryside, mainly in the Mekong Delta provinces. Along the way, I stumbled upon a number of churning wind turbines, showing that the Vietnamese people are becom...
Prime Minister Signs Off On Phan Thiet Airport
Saigon might not be the only one who’s getting a shiny new airport.
Young H’mong Boy Steals The Show At Sapa Mountain Marathon
The second Vietnam Mountain Marathon took place over the weekend of 20-21 September, with almost 400 runners from 40 nations descending on the mountains of Sapa to take on trails of 10, 21, 42 and a m...
Tân Bình Market Set To Be Demolished, Rebuilt
Despite protests from traders, The administration of Ho Chi Minh City’s Tân Bình District plans to move forward with a plan to replace the 50-year-old Tân Bình Market with “a six-story traditional, ci...
Traffic Jams Cost HCMC $1.2bn Each Year: Expert
We knew traffic was getting worse in HCMC, but we had no idea it was this expensive.
Vietnam Pushes Back Construction Of First Nuclear Power Plant
At a meeting of the Science, Technology, and Environmental Committee of the National Assembly last Thursday, Deputy Trade Minister Cao Quoc Hung said that the construction of Vietnam’s first nuclear p...
iPhone 6 Arrives In Hanoi With VND40 Million Price Tag
The new iPhones have arrived in Vietnam, Apple’s hottest market, with some pretty hefty price tags.
Detailed Map Of The Entire HCMC Metro System
Saigon’s Bến Thành–Suối Tiên metro line is something of a teaser, the first of 6 that will serve the sprawling metropolis. While it's hard to say how accurate it is given a lack of official infor...
HCMC Moves To Cut Plastic Bag Use
Following in the footsteps of other large cities around the world, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is pushing HCMC to reduce its reliance on plastic bags, reports Vietnam News.
Future Saigon: Thủ Thiêm’s Đại Quang Minh Project
The Đại Quang Minh Real Estate Corporation’s project in Thủ Thiêm is a mixed development of high-rise apartment buildings and villas that will include schools, shopping centers, cinemas, sports center...
[Video] Take A Virtual Ride On Saigon’s First Metro
Saigon’s metro system won’t be inaugurated for another 4 years or so, but while you wait, take a virtual ride on the Bến Thành–Suối Tiên line.
Brian Letwin in Architecture
[Photos] A Look At The Bygone Era Of “New” Cambodian Architecture
In the 1950s and 60s, Cambodia was developing a unique architectural style, one which blended aspects of the Modern Movement with traditional features found at Angkor. This movement, known as “New Khm...
Nguyen Hue Street To Add Massive Pedestrian-Only Promenade
It may be hard to believe given the current state of the area, but Nguyen Hue Street’s future is paved with granite sidewalks, 3D art and electric trams.
2 Slim Vietnamese Homes Featured In British Architecture Magazine
2 Vietnamese homes designed by Vietnamese architects have made Deezen Magazine’s list of “10 Super Skinny Houses.”
Saigon’s Bus Rapid Transit System Set To Launch In 2018
Along with a new metro, Saigon has launched a project to build a $155 million, 6-line bus rapid transit (BRT) system, with the first to be completed by 2018.
Final Trials Find Dengue Vaccine to Be Highly Effective
Death from dengue fever, which plagues Vietnam and other tropical regions across the globe, may soon be a thing of the past after French drug maker, Sanofi, announced that it had achieved high su...
[Photos] Inside Thu Thiem’s $87 Million Park
Perhaps Ho Chi Minh City has figured out a way to spark part of its long-stalled Thu Thiem Urban Area project – trade land in exchange for development and infrastructure.
BBGV 14th Annual Fun Run For Charity
BBGV Annual Fun Run for Charity is an event which allows you to have fun with your fellow co-workers, friends and family but also participate in something which raises money for disadvantaged people t...
