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 sắt vụn bán nào…” This familiar scene, no matter how nostalgic, might change soon.

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.

Back Society

in Environment

Vietnam Ranks Near Bottom of New Sustainable Tourism Index

What are you doing to be a sustainable tourist?

in Sports

Vietnam National University to Add Golf to PE Curriculum in Pilot Program

Fore!

in Health

Dầu Gió, a Poignant Link Between My Family Legacy and Traditional Medicine

This is an excerpt from Chapter 2 of the book Pills, Teas, and Songs: Stories of Medicine Around the World by Debby Nguyen, republished with permission. Debby's family of pharmacists and doc...

in Society

Three Nha Trang Residents on How Covid-19 Affected Their Livelihood

Normally, Nha Trang is one of Vietnam’s most famous tourism destinations.

in Architecture

[Photos] Colorful New Coffee Shop Brings Cargotecture to Can Tho

Do you sometimes find vintage coffee shops too cluttered and just want to experience something different?

in Architecture

Architecture College to Renovate Da Lat's Abandoned Franciscan Mission

Recently, the University of Architecture HCMC (UAHCMC) announced plans to renovate Da Lat’s abandoned Franciscan mission. Due to the popularity of the complex among locals and tourists, the building’s...

in Health

Vietnam Begins Covid-19 Vaccinations With Hospital Staff in Hanoi, Saigon, Hai Duong

Less than two weeks after the first batch of vaccine doses landed, Vietnam officially began its national vaccination campaign against COVID-19.

in Development

Ambitious Expressway, Drainage Tunnel Proposed Along To Lich River

The To Lich River could become a crucial urban artery of Hanoi should the proposal is approved.

in Development

Saigon Metro's Foreign Experts to Be Paid at Least $23,000 Per Month

Teaching train driving is a bankable field nowadays.

in Tech

Indonesian Farming Game Raises Over $1.4m in Fundraising Campaign

Imagine if The Sims included social justice issues instead of the ability to ignite your home in a wicker furniture inferno.

in Environment

After Backlash, Mitsubishi Pulls out of Binh Thuan Coal-Fired Power Plant Project

Global companies face growing pressure to stop backing thermal power.

in Tech

3 Vsmart Phones Now on Sale in the US, Albeit Sold Under AT&T Brand

Can you hear me now?

in Environment

Hanoi Greenlights Pilot Project to Install Solar Panels Atop Dong Xuan Market

Some new additions to the roof of Dong Xuan Market will pave the way for more green developments in the city to come.

in Architecture

[Photos] Da Nang Architects Turn Old 1970s House Into New Coffee Shop

If only more new building projects in Vietnam could take a moment to consider which old elements can be improved, instead of going straight for the wrecking ball.

in Health

Hanoi Proposes Plan to Vaccinate 7.5m Residents Over 18 Against Covid-19

As part of a double-inoculation plan, 7.5 million Hanoi residents over the age of 18 would receive the vaccine.

in Health

First Covid-19 Vaccine Doses Arrive in Vietnam. Who Will Get It First?

Vietnam's COVID-19 vaccination drive is about to begin.

in Health

Vietnam to Receive 1st Batch of Oxford Covid-19 Vaccine Doses This Sunday

We are ready!

Govi Snell

in Environment

The Story of Hồng Hoàng: From the 1st Vietnamese in Antarctica to a Fervent Wildlife Activist

For Hồng Hoàng, a career in environmental activism in Vietnam began with a polar expedition.

in Tech

Vietnam has World's Second-Highest Rate of Cryptocurrency Use: Report

Do you crypto?

in Sports

Vietnam's Bobsled Team Prepares for Winter Olympics

If the athletes qualify, it would be the first time Vietnam has ever competed in the Winter Olympics.