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 Receives Funding From ADB to Build Major Floating Solar Power Plant

If all goes to plan, the region's largest floating solar power plant is coming to Binh Thuan Province.

in Health

With Steady Increase in Healthcare Seekers, Saigon Embraces Medical Tourism

The number of international visitors who travel to Vietnam for medical services is on the rise.

in Environment

Hanoi's Climate Gathering Calls for Change After AQI Once Again World's Highest

Last Friday, mere days after millions marched in cities around the world demanding action against climate change, a group of 20 passionate Hanoians gathered from 5:30pm to 7pm in front of Sa...

in Tech

Grab Accounts for 73% of Ride-Share Trips in First Half of 2019: Report

ABI Research, a global tech market advisory firm, recently published some of its findings from a market research report on vehicle and mobility market.

in Health

[Video] A Poignant Insight Into the Life of an Undocumented Young Man

What is life like for those who weren't registered at birth, and therefore lack an official identity, even as an adult?

in Health

Vietnam Sees Over 300,000 Abortion Cases Annually, Health Ministry Says

Despite improving maternity health, high abortion rates remain one of Vietnam’s biggest challenge.

in Environment

As Erosion Eats Away 20m of Land a Month, Ca Mau Requests Urgent Funds

Land erosion in the province is threatening lives.

in Architecture

[Photos] Viettel's Green, Airy Education Center in Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park

There is a global architectural trend of designing buildings in harmony with nature, and Vietnam is no exception to this movement. 

in Tech

HCMC Becomes First Locality in Vietnam to Run 5G Trial Program

Saigon has become the first place in Vietnam to have 5G coverage.

in Development

Hanoi to Construct 3 New Bridges Across To Lich River

There's something lovely about being able to walk easily over a death-black river that reeks of the upcoming apocalypse. 

in Tech

Netflix Will Be Removed From Smart TVs in Vietnam Over License, Tax Issues

The Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information under the Ministry of Information and Communications recently issued orders to four popular smart TV brands to remove Netflix access from their...

in Society

[Video] The Colorful Exuberance of Saigon's VietPride Parade 2019

If you were hanging around downtown Saigon last weekend, you would have noticed crowds of revelers dressed in lavish costumes or rainbow-themed attire on their way to the city’s annual Pride event.

in Architecture

[Photos] A Home for Quiet Souls in Thai Nguyen Province

Looking from the outside, this house seems to be a typical city house in a narrow space, yet once inside, the place reveals three large areas surrounding a spacious garden.

in Health

New Draft Decree Requires Alcohol Ads to Include Health Warnings

The oft-debated new draft Law on Preventing Alcohol's Harmful Effects has seen new proposals from the Ministry of Health.

in Development

FLC Group Receives Approval to Build $165m University in Quang Ninh

The university will enroll 600 students in 2020, 6,100 students in 2024, and 10,000 students in 2035.

in Development

Vietnam's New Solar Farm, Southeast Asia's Largest, Opens in Tay Ninh

Construction of the complex began in June 2018 and finished in about 10 months. 

in Tech

Data of 50m Vietnamese Facebook Accounts Leaked Online

The leaked data includes phone numbers, Facebook IDs, genders and location by country.

in Health

African Swine Fever Has Infected All 63 Provinces and Cities in Vietnam

Ninh Thuan, Vietnam’s last stronghold against African swine fever, has fallen.

in Architecture

[Photos] Old Quarter Building a Bridge Between Space and Urban Density

This spacious building, designed by G8A Architecture & Urban Planning, stands out amid the city's claustrophobic Old Quarter.

in Sports

U-23 Vietnam’s Doan Van Hau to Play in Top Dutch Football League

Hau, who is playing full-time for Hanoi FC, is going to the Netherlands on a one-year loan contract.