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 and shoot, from a few to numerous, giving off an unpleasant funk of rotten sap. My dad says that these trees are infested with đuông, and we must chop them all down lest we lose the entire grove.

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 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 scene, offering sterling brews, spacious seats, and, in some cases, delightful interior design that blends modern cafe conventions with uniquely local flairs.

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? 

Back Society

in Development

[Slideshow] A Morning on the Bitexco Tower's Helipad

Since it’s rarely (if ever) used for helicopters, the Bitexco Tower’s notoriously underutilized helicopter landing pad has become something of an urban legend. Last month, the editors of the TP. Hồ Ch...

in Development

Hoi An’s $4 Billion Casino Project Back on Track

As Vietnamese authorities continue to debate reducing gambling restrictions on locals, the long-stalled $4 billion casino project appears to be back on track with a US investor recently taking over th...

in Tech

Behold: The Mekong Delta as Viewed from Space

This sweet image of the Mekong Delta is a composite of 3 pictures taken between January and November 2007 by Envisat, an Earth-observing satellite.

in Tech

TechcampSaigon @RMIT

From the organizer: TechcampSaigon is a new evolution in the BarcampSaigon family. Our goal is to create an event that is the most innovative and high quality event in Vietnam around technology.

in Development

Hanoi's 7×18 House: Rethinking Urban Housing in Vietnam

Hanoi-based, AHL architects associates continues to develop designs for sustainable urban housing in Vietnam. Their latest project, the 7×18 house, was built with local materials while taking int...

in Development

Future Saigon: Renderings of Nguyen Cu Trinh Centre

There are big plans in the works to remake the intersection of Tran Dinh Xu, Nguyen Trai, Cong Quynh and Nguyen Cu Trinh in District 1.

in Development

Vietnam Targets 20,000 More PhDs by 2020

One of Vietnam’s many 2020 goals includes producing 20,000 additional PhD holders; one that many doubt is attainable, according to VietNamNet. 

Brian Letwin

in Sports

Vietnamese Football Team Ranked 1st in SE Asia

Vietnam has recaptured 1st place in the SE Asian FIFA rankings which were announced last week. While we applaud the team’s accomplishment, there’s still some room for improvement - they are ranked 17t...

in Development

“Meandering Through the City” Exhibition - Urban Development in Hồ Chí Minh City and Lyon

From the organizer: In the framework of cooperation between the Rhône Alpes region, Greater Lyon and Hồ Chí Minh City, an exhibition featuring urban mutations in the two metropolises will be held fro...

in Tech

This Vietnamese Education Startup Is Using Google Glass to Teach English

According to TechinAsia, Topica, “one of Vietnam’s most successful online learning platforms” has launched new program, Topmito, which employs Google Glass help improve the English speaking skills of ...

in Tech

These Are Probably the Sexiest Electric Bikes We’ve Ever Seen

Electric bikes are typically function-focused, with aesthetics being an afterthought. But in China, the capital of electric bikes, a new startup is seeking to change the perception of what electric bi...

in Development

TP. Hồ Chí Minh: MEGA City - The Soul of the Mega City

Saigoneer is proud to be the media sponsor of the TP. Hồ Chí Minh: MEGA City photo book. Over the course of the next few weeks, we’ll be giving you an overview of the book's fantastic photos. Tod...

in Tech

Dong Nguyen: ‘Flappy Bird’ May Fly Again

Rolling Stone recently secured an interview with elusive ‘Flappy Bird’ maker, Dong Nguyen. In the long article, which is well worth reading in its entirety, Nguyen hinted that his epically popular gam...

in Development

Future Saigon: Renderings of Lavenue Crown

You may have noticed the quiet parking lot next to Diamond Plaza in District 1 that seems destined to become something more. This is the site of the proposed Lavenue Crown, one of the many victims of ...

in Development

TP. Hồ Chí Minh: MEGA City - Urban Transport in the Mega City

Saigoneer is proud to be the media sponsor of the TP. Hồ Chí Minh: MEGA City photo book. Over the course of the next few weeks, we’ll be giving you an overview of the book's fantastic photos. Tod...

in Development

TP. Hồ Chí Minh: MEGA City - People in the Mega City

Saigoneer is proud to be the media sponsor of the TP. Hồ Chí Minh: MEGA City photo book which was formally released on February 19. It is split into 8 chapters, each covering a major theme related to ...

in Development

Massive Electric Trolleys Proposed for HCMC

VNS reports that the HCMC Transport Department has submitted a proposal for a pilot program that would add 50 electric trolleys to provide better transportation services in the city center.

in Health

300 Years to Clean up 800,000 Tons of Unexploded Ordinance in Vietnam: Official

At a conference on unexploded ordnance in Vietnam, an official announced that it may take up to 300 years to clear the country of the deadly war remnants that are still inflicting casualties to this d...

in Tech

Should Smart-Phones and Tablets be Allowed in Vietnamese Classrooms?

With rapid growth of the availability of technology in Vietnam, especially smartphones, tablets and phablets, teachers and authorities are starting to question their use by students in the classroom, ...

in Development

UK Tapped as Development Partner for Thu Thiem

Last Thursday, David Puttnam, the Prime Ministerial Trade Envoy to Vietnam, met with the HCMC mayor’s office to discuss “cooperation with the city in developing its new Central Business District,” rep...