In Ê-đê Villages, Bến Nước Is the Heart Pumping Water Across the Community
Ever since the beginning of time, Ê-đê people have treated water as a respected resource of the community. Water, in their belief, is the life force bringing about bountiful harvests for the villages....
Meet the Saigon Man Whose Home Is an Archive of Traditional Musical Instruments
“These instruments serve our everyday life, or even our spiritual life. For example, they mark the transitions of life. When a baby is born or a person passes away, people play these instruments to we...
In Quện's Live Sets, Đà Lạt's Everyday Corners Turn Spontaneous Stages
All attention was aimed towards the same direction, the one where an accident had just taken place. Near 24C, Hoàng Diệu Street in the city of Đà Lạt, two vehicles collided. The shock and chaos attrac...
Khôi Phạm in Saigon Hẻm Gems
Hẻm Gems: What Bún Cua Gia Lai Taught Me About Vietnam's Bond With Bún
Not being a picky eater was somewhat of a personal point of pride for me growing up. I have my family to thank for this, as their immense patience and open-mindedness have encouraged me to explore as ...
Paul Christiansen in Environment
Vignette: Local Ox Rampages Airport, Stops Flights, Gets Put in Museum in Huế
Name a famous buffalo.
Hẻm Gems: Đà Lạt's Nomadic 'Cafe' Has No Menu, No Store, and One Table
During a recent trip to Đà Lạt, a friend invited me for coffee at 5:30am. The frosty climate of the Central Highlands mornings concerned me, but upon hearing the pitch about a whimsical cafe that oper...
Review: ‘Bên Trong Vỏ Kén Vàng’ Is a Soul-Searching Mission in the Lâm Đồng Mist
On the pastures of slow cinema where Andrei Tarkovsky, Tsai Ming-liang and Theo Angelopoulos reside, Phạm Thiên Ân's debut feature, Bên Trong Vỏ Kén Vàng (Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell), has made its...
Learning to Coexist in Peace Is the First Step to Protect Vietnam's Last Remaining Elephants
A trail of enormous footprints, criss-crossing slabs of cracked concrete, lead to a battered ranger station in Vietnam’s Pù Mát National Park. Park staff say the wild Asian elephant that left the trac...
Cannes Caméra D'or Winner 'Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell' to Hit Vietnam Theaters in August
Following its win at the latest Cannes Film Festival, Bên Trong Vỏ Kén Vàng (Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell) will officially premiere in theaters across Vietnam next month.
Ngõ Nooks: A Ngõ Cafe Houses Big Dreams for Buôn Ma Thuột Beans
A well-known singer from the Central Highlands city of Buôn Ma Thuột, Mai Trang is taking an extended break from show business to focus on her other passion: coffee.
Hẻm Gems: In a Saigon Hẻm Lives a House for Rare Regional Delights
One fine day a few months ago, I embarked on a search for the flavors of faraway lands across Vietnam, all of which are present in a hẻm in the middle of Saigon.
I Went Cloud-Hunting and Found Peace Atop Đà Lạt's Tea Hill
Northern California is blessed with serene nature. Growing up there, pathless trails and cloudy mountain peaks were my safe havens, and when returning home on break from college, it was a tradition to...
Đà Lạt to Debut Double-Decker Bus Tours by End of 2022
Following in the wake of popular open-bus tours in some of Vietnam's other metropolises, Đà Lạt will begin the service by the end of the year as part of a pilot program.
Đắk Lắk Receives $2.2m in Financial Support to End Elephant Rides by 2026
To be distributed between now and the end of 2026, the VND55 billion (US$2.2 million) provided by the Animals Asia Foundation (AAF) will be used to help tourism centers in Đắk Lắk Province b...
How Young Artists Are Bringing Mural Arts to Schools in Rural Vietnam
On their fifth journey off the beaten paths, Tô Đậm is heading to the highland of Ma Bó, Lâm Đồng Province for a new season of lessons, stories, and adventures previously unfolded.
In Đà Lạt, Greenhouses Revolutionize Farming, but at What Environmental Cost?
Plastic greenhouses in the city of Đà Lạt may protect farmers from the impacts of erratic weather, but the environmental toll of agri-plastics is building in the agriculture-dependent region.
[Photos] This Buôn Ma Thuột House Is a Cottagecore Dreamland
In recent years, the Central Highlands has slowly become one of the most sought-after regions in Vietnam for young people to travel and live in.
[Video] Vintage VHS Travelogue Takes You to Đà Lạt in 1992
Get ready for a road trip with nostalgia riding shotgun.
Searching for the World's Largest Woodpecker Species in Yok Đôn National Park
You first know she’s approaching by the sound of her wings; her broad shadow flashing across the forest floor. Even from far below, her body looks enormous. At half a meter long, she is roughly five t...
Pack a Basket, Fill up Your Water Bottle, It's Sugarcane Harvest Season in Đắk Lắk
In March, at early dawn in M'Drắk, long baskets follow farmers to sugarcane farms to bring back wealth. The people here were in the midst of a sweaty and sweet season.
A Gia Lai Entrepreneur Brings Her Hometown's Brocade Art to Modern Jewelry
Vũ Thị Thanh Vân had a simple wish: she wanted to find a well-crafted brocade gift for a friend but the only items she could find were generic, run-of-the-mill fillers sold at tourist sites. Thus bega...
Da Lat Installs First-Ever Traffic Lights to Stem Road Congestion
A new era has begun for the increasingly busy mountain city.
Paul Christiansen in Natural Selection
Voi: From Hai Bà Trưng's Fearsome Companions to Tourism Servants
Does art need a purpose?
Vietnam Considers Eventually Merging Small, Sparsely Populated Provinces
Any plans to combine sparsely populated locales will, however, not happen anytime soon, as significant research and time for public input is needed.
In Suburban Đà Lạt, With Spring Comes Mai Anh Đào's Breathtaking Pink Tapestry
Mai anh đào, or wild Himalayan cherry flower trees, blooms the brightest and most intensely in Lâm Đồng Province for a few short weeks from the end of January until mid February.
Khoi Pham in Vietnam Hẻm Gems
Hẻm Gems: Da Lat's Ngàn Cafe Is as Comforting as an Embrace
Walking down Da Lat’s Robin Hill amid emerald pine trees and languid fluffs of cloud, one’s eyes will inevitably encounter a visual disturbance in the form of bright orange plastic maple trees. They a...
Dak Lak Will End Elephant Rides for Tourists, Official Says
Province officials cite safety concerns and animal welfare as reasons why the tourism activity should be stopped across all of Dak Lak.
The Small-Town Charms of Gia Nghia, Vietnam's Youngest Provincial Capital
Set amongst softly undulating hills covered in scenic farmland and coffee trees that slowly give rise to massive, densely forested mountains is a quiet city far off both the domestic and international...
Central Highlands Coffee Farmers on Tenterhooks as Lack of Rainfall Dries Region
While the Mekong Delta struggles through a historic drought, the Central Highlands is dealing with its own lack of rainfall.
[Photos] In a H'Mong Village, Harvest Time Is When Perseverance Pays Off
Tending to a crop takes dedication. Workers are subjected to early mornings, sore bodies and weary minds. However, after all the trials and tribulations, harvest time — the world over — is usually a t...
[Photos] An Aerial Perspective of Pleiku and Kon Tum in 1970
In today’s Vietnam, Pleiku in Gia Lai Province is the Central Highlands’ third-biggest city, after Da Lat and Buon Ma Thuot.
Thi Nguyen in Music & Arts
Through Vietnam's Stories of Coffee and Rice, a Trio Finds Where Art and History Meet
Without notice, a gust of July rain swept through the museum of animals and plants' foyer, knocking down several paintings, strewing paper coffee cups and shattering the monitor that had been pla...
[Photos] A Flight Over Da Lat in 1968–1971 Before the Tourism Boom
If you’ve taken a trip to Lam Dong within the last few years, these scenes seem like a distant dream of a sparsely populated and verdant Da Lat that’s engulfed by nature.
Michael Tatarski in Environment
How Vietnam's Robusta Farms Could Transform Into Vital Carbon Sinks
Coffee is one of Vietnam’s most important agricultural products, a crop that grows so well in the country’s Central Highlands that it has become the world’s second-largest coffee producer.
[Photos] Tractors and Cabbages: A Different Da Lat Away From Urban Chaos
Not looking for a fancy destination, I sought out Da Lat for a different perspective that’s comfier, simpler and quieter.
Michael Tatarski in Environment
Coffee Production in Vietnam Faces Dark Future Under Climate Change
Rising temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns may cost Vietnam 50% of its current Robusta coffee production areas by 2050. Experts agree the situation looks dire, but there is hope that the count...
Brian Letwin in Development
From French Villas to Slums, Da Lat's Lost Charm
Da Lat, once a sleepy French vacation town, full of ornate villas and majestic pine forests, is in danger of losing what charm still remains. Earlier this year, it was revealed that the city’s pine tr...
