The City That Never Sits Still: Traffic in 1994 Saigon via Photos by Ed Kashi
In Saigon on Wheels, American photojournalist Ed Kashi managed to capture the pulse of a simpler Saigon.
Paul Christiansen in Culture
An Argument for Why Võng Should Be a Staple Amenity in Every Home
Everyone should have a võng in their home.
I Know Where the Caged Bird Sings: The Joy of Saigon's Birdsong Competition
One by one, motorbikes arrived, carrying the tell-tale cages covered with cloth and parked in the gravel lot beside the coffee shop where Saigoneer sat listening to the caged birds suspended above a p...
Paul Christiansen in Culture
Are We Living in the Final Days of Cô Mía?
They say a person dies twice: once when their heart stops beating and a second time when people stop mentioning their name. If we alter this phrase a bit to include the last time one’s image is seen, ...
From a Blend of Cultures, Phá Lấu Became a Beloved Saigon Street Snack
When the word phá lấu is mentioned, two genres of dishes will appear in the mind of Vietnamese. One is a small bowl of orange broth that sings of coconut milk, another is slices of caramelized offal a...
How Saigon's Free Water Coolers Quench Thirst and Spread Kindness
In recent years, stories about climate change's impacts on the lives of Vietnamese people have been increasingly making the news.
Sấu Ushers in a Hanoian Summer of Sweet-and-Sour Nostalgia
A former coworker called me to playfully nag me about my previous plan to visit Hanoi: “Are you waiting for all the sấu to drop before making a move?”
Khôi Phạm in Culture
Xe Trái Cây: If You Can't Find Lovingly Sliced Fruit at Home, Cart-Bought Is Fine
Nature has numerous ways to make itself known: male peacocks fan out their glorious tail made up of iridescent eye-patterned feathers to attract peafowls; blue-ringed octopuses don’t need to invent an...
Paul Christiansen in In Plain Sight
On a Boat Ride Through Nhiêu Lộc Canal, a Fish's-Eye View of Saigon
Could your life in Saigon be made into a quirky indie film?
Lemaire's Campaigns Blend Vietnam's Street Scenes, French Fashion
Stuck in traffic on a Honda Cub, but make it fashion.
TIMEZONES Podcast Spotlights Soundscapes, Sound Artists of Hanoi
The 18th episode of the TIMEZONES podcast series focuses on Hanoi's soundscape through the lens of three female artists. More carefully produced and artistically arranged than the average podcast...
In Remembrance of Saigon Street Calls Past
Drowned out by the noises of modernization, sounds that once served as the background to a simpler time have begun to shrink, and eventually become lost in the wheel of progress. Tiếng rao, or street ...
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...
An Homage to Rastaclat, the Coolest Bracelets of Our High School Years
During my teenage years when a lot of us were trying new things, I can remember certain trending items affected our lifestyle. For me, amongst the most memorable was the Hypebeast culture that ca...
A Day in the Life of Phùng Hưng, a D5 Street With Two Personalities
Nestled in the historic Chợ Lớn section of District 5, Phùng Hưng Street runs from the canal along Võ Văn Kiệt through to Hồng Bàng. Within its length, the street has two distinct personalities.
Illustration Series 'Phố Trong Hộp' Preserves Our Street Corners in a Tin Can
The cheeky illustration project “Phố Trong Hộp” (City in a Box) was conceived when its author Khánh Băng started merging Vietnam’s quaint street corners with some of the country’s most iconic FMCG pro...
Ngõ Nooks: Cafe Yên, Where the Line Between Coffee Shop and Alley Blurs
Yên (adj): quiet, unmoved.
At Saigon's Oldest Ornamental Fish Market, Fish Are Friends, Not Food
It is a street, not a river, that comes to mind when people talk about vibrant fish in Saigon. Located in District 5, Lưu Xuân Tín Street is only approximately 500 meters long, but it is home to ...
Saigon Police Want Nhậu Eateries to Report Drunk Customers Who Try to Drive
Now that public gathering is no longer a health hazard, Saigon’s drunk driving epidemic is back in full swing.
Saigon Postcard No. 30: The Cacophony of a Healed Saigon
It doesn’t feel so long ago that Saigon went into battle mode against invaders of microscopic scales.
Paul Christiansen in In Plain Sight
Saigon's Mobile Laminators Preserve ID Cards, Licenses, and Occasionally, Memories Too
How much would you pay for a memory? What is it worth to ensure that you’ll forever be able to recall a certain moment of happiness, important gathering, or achievement? What if I told you that all yo...
Here Are the Fabulous Finalists of Miss Universe's National Costume Design Competition
From feng shui to bánh tráng trộn, the chosen designers find their inspiration everywhere.
Graffiti Artist Nguyễn Tấn Lực Is Serious About Changing Public Opinion of Street Art
As an art form deeply rooted in the streets, graffiti embodies the liberation of creativity from strict societal framing. But like other street creations, it’s never free from public scrutiny due to i...
What Is Hanoi to You? A New Art Competition Seeks Answers From Young Designers.
What is Hanoi to you? Is it the mesmerizing old architecture, the thousand-year legacy, the usual traffic craze, or a warm bowl of phở in the morning?
For Vietnam's Millennials, Sneakers Reflect American Ideals, Self-Expression and Nostalgia
My memories of sneakers date back to when I was halfway through 7th grade, when a pair of Chuck Taylor All Star 70’s was given to me by my parents to commemorate my good end-of-semester results. The s...
Documentary Project on Vietnam's Motorbike Culture Releases Call for Submissions
Dust & Metal, a documentary film on Vietnam's love affair with motorbikes, is inviting you to take part in their project.
Vietnamese Agency Wins Dieline Design Award for Guta Rebranding Campaign
The masterminds behind the eye-catching brand identity of homegrown cafe chain Guta have been bestowed a shiny new award.
Paul Christiansen in Music & Arts
Pull up a Plastic Stool, Break out the Watercolor, We're Painting Saigon
What is worthy of being painted?
Inside 'Little Lotus,' the Adorable Japanese Manga Set in Saigon
Images of a Japanese manga with scenes of modern Vietnam have won the hearts of Vietnamese netizens recently.
Hẻm Gems: Xôi Khâu Nhục, the Cantonese Breakfast for Pork Belly Lovers
I first found out about khâu nhục where I find all my Saigon information: Facebook.
[Videos] Get up Close and Personal to Hanoi's Myriad of Urban Textures
To walk through Hanoi is to move simultaneously forwards and backwards in time.
Ngõ Nooks: A Stylish Urban Brew at the Effortlessly Hip Cà Thiều
Occupying a few meters of the sidewalk on Pho Nguyen Gia Thieu, a lovely leafy lane in the residential south of the French Quarter, Cà Thiều is nestled at the entrance of a dusty, unassuming apartment...
Hẻm Gems: It Doesn't Get More Coconut Than This Streetside Ice Cream
Head to Tân Bình District if the idea of coconut ice cream served in a coconut with a crunchy coconut topping excites you.
[Video] Rappers Hit Hanoi Streets in Fiery 'Thủ Đô Cypher' Collaboration
Four up-and-coming Hanoi rappers spit rapid-fire rhymes across the capital city.
[Video] Watch Saigon Shine in New MV 'Alane' by German DJ Robin Schulz
Vietnamese listeners of Robin Schulz’s latest summer release might notice some familiar scenes in the song’s dynamic music video.
[Video] An Effortlessly Cool Hanoi in Biti's Hunter's New Collection Promo
Hanoi's aesthetic can rightly be likened to a patchwork quilt: a chaotic assemblage of colors, styles, influences, eras and atmospheres.
Khoi Pham in Film & TV
Review: When Indie Music Meets Indie Cinema on a Grab in Saigon
In today’s aggressive stream of Marvel blockbusters, doll- and shark-themed horror flicks, and gratuitous comedies, Troi Sang Roi, Ta Ngu Di Thoi (Good Morning and Good Night) is like a stubborn wild ...
[Illustrations] Whimsical Vignettes of Everyday Hanoian Street Scenes
The menacing, irritating presence of a black SUV in a narrow alleyway, rain-soaked commuters, bird-like characters riding motorbikes in the capital; Olivier Blanchin's vision of Hanoi is quotidian and...
[Video] Sidewalk Barbers: The Very Saigon Comfort of Getting a Haircut on the Street
Sidewalk barbershops are a symbol of old Saigon. In the face of globalization and its demands for westernization, the sight of a simple chair placed beneath an awning where one can get an affordable t...
Chris Humphrey in Postcards
Hanoi Postcard No. 6: Hoa Sữa by Any Other Name Would Still Smell as Caustic
The fragrance of hoa sữa, or milk flower, is so deeply embedded in the mythology of Hanoi’s autumnal days that singers, poets and authors alike have all sung its praises.
[Illustrations] A Halcyon Hanoi Through Artist Pham Anh's Ultra-Realistic Oil Paintings
Living in the same neighborhood for an extended period of time can lead one to take it for granted. But it only requires the perspective of an artistically inclined outsider to make you fall in love w...
Chris Humphrey in Postcards
Hanoi Postcard No. 2: Coming up Roses
Hanoi Postcards is our series of love notes to the city we call home. This second offering is of a flower seller cycling along with her florets. With sunlight shining through an audience of trees, her...
[Illustrations] Local Artist Turns Saigon Street Snapshots Into Wholesome Postcards
If you’ve been fond of our Saigon Postcard series, you’ll come to love these wholesome illustrations by a local comic artist.
Khôi Phạm in Arts & Culture
The Unsolved Riddle Behind Cô Mía, Vietnam's Sugarcane Juice Muse
“Oh this drawing?” chị Liên shouted in Vietnamese over the juicer’s raucous purring. “I don’t know who she is. Isn’t it just an advertisement?”
Paul Christiansen in Postcards
Saigon Postcard No. 3: The Best Kind of Air 'Pollution'
The third entry in the Saigon Postcards series, our loving messages to the city we call home, focuses on a simple pleasure.
Khoi Pham in Music & Arts
Sketching Saigon: Charming Indie Cafes Through the Eyes of Taiwanese Illustrator
In Shao-Chen Lin’s new sketchbook, On-the-spot Sketching at Cafes in Saigon, Vietnam, the southern metropolis is defined by its most charming aspect: a robust coffee culture that permeates every ...
