Paul Christiansen in Environment
In Awe of the Mekong Delta's Majestic Sluice Gates
A row of impenetrable watchtowers tasked with inflicting ruthless law and order upon a dystopian borderland seething with marauders, bandits and brigands? No. Sluice gates.
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.
Paul Christiansen in Architecture
The Pedestrian Bridge That Teaches You the Values of Patience
“We need the sweet pain of anticipation to tell us we are really alive.”
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...
Brian Letwin in Saigon
Every Morning, I'm Grateful for My Carless Ride to Work on Hoàng Sa Street
In the decade-plus of Saigoneer’s existence, we’ve had six offices strewn across different parts of Districts 1 and 3. Over that period, my homes have been located in Bình Thạnh and Thảo Điền, requiri...
Sweating out My Sadness on the Canal's Exercise Machines
We're all unlucky in love sometimes. When I am, I go jogging. The body loses water when you jog, so you have none left for tears.
Paul Christiansen in Environment
Charting the Flow of the Nhiêu Lộc Canal From Start to Historical Start
When I fall in love with an album, I seek out the artist's first mixtapes and demos. When I come to admire a poet, I hunt down their early poems and chapbooks. I even linger over the old highlight ree...
Khôi Phạm in Society
Nhiêu Lộc Canal Hosted Trudeau's Night Run. Why Is It Not as Famous as Obama's Bún Chả?
You know how much Vietnamese culture revolves around food by the fact that one of the first questions we pose to any foreign visitor is “What’s your favorite Vietnamese dish?” Asking about other aspec...
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?
Paul Christiansen in Saigon
The Nhiêu Lộc-Thị Nghè Canal's Comeback Story
Water has no hometown.
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....
Brian Letwin in Heritage
Tàu Cánh Ngầm: The Curious Case of Saigon’s Lost Soviet Hydrofoils
Not long ago, hulking “creatures” glided atop the waters between Saigon and Vũng Tàu. Like the dinosaurs that came before them, they slowly disappeared, until all that was left were their skeletons.
Paul Christiansen in Natural Selection
An Ode to Lục Bình, Vietnam's Invasive, Destructive, Beautiful Aquatic Jerk
Knotted gnarls of lush stems, leaves, vines; a verdant scrimmage of tangled plant matter kept afloat by buoyant bladders accented by pleats of pink petals that resemble the skirts of ballerinas trappe...
Relive Your Memories of Saigon Water Park via These Photos by One of Its Makers
Although water parks involve a combination of two of the most tedious human experiences, standing in lines and prolonged direct sun exposure, the now-demolished Saigon Water Park was an icon of 2000s ...
A Visual Homage to the Water Buffalo's Practical and Symbolic Importance in Vietnam
The second animal sign in the 12-year cycle of the Vietnamese zodiac, trâu, has symbolic and practical importance in Vietnam.
Amid a Resort, This Thatched Hut Houses a Zero-Waste Water-Bottling Plant
A humble production hut built with recycled bottles, local timber, thatched roof and simple granito concrete floors is used as a bottling facility for drinking water.
Huế Announces Plan to Transform Hồ Thủy Tiên Waterpark Into Public Space
Authorities are planning to turn the long-abandoned Hồ Thủy Tiên Waterpark into a public space with the construction of a walking path, lighting, drainage system and water supply.
Michael Tatarski in Loạt Soạt
A Study of the Mekong Through Stories Told on the River
Much like humanity, great systems of the natural world rely on connectivity to thrive.
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.
New Proposal to Move Tôn Đức Thắng Underground to Make Room for Walking Plaza
It's ambitious, to say the least.
A Vietnamese French Artist Reunites With His Own Roots Through Painting
On display at Thảo Điền’s Ngõ Art Gallery last year, the watercolor painting exhibition “Dream” is the conclusion of a decades-long artistic journey that has led a French national to learn more about ...
Paul Christiansen in In Plain Sight
Finding Fun and Revelation Aboard Saigon's Wayward Waterbus
Cement, clay, clapboard, spackle, rebar, piping, plaster smears, paint drips, pencil scrawlings: to witness the rise of a building, observe its innards, is to marvel at the pretense of an ego, for wha...
NPO Keep Hanoi Clean Prepares to Collect Plastic Waste After Kitchen God Day
Keep Hanoi Clean is preparing for its biggest event of the year: cleaning up Lễ cúng Ông Táo, or Kitchen God day.
Saigoneer Podcast: Rating 'Bonjour Vietnam,' Plus Waterbus v. Metro
After a brief Covid-related break, we're back with a new episode!
Saigon Proposes 2 New Waterbus Routes Linking Districts 1, 7
Saigoneer's favorite form of transportation has just proposed adding two new routes linking District 7 and District 1.
Saigon Artist Đoàn Quốc Takes Watercolor Paintings to Whole New Heights
As one of the few Vietnamese nationals to have been granted the title of International Watercolor Master, young artist Đoàn Quốc is constantly pushing the frontiers of his creativity to paint a new pa...
Linh Pham in Environment
How China's Upstream Dams Affect Communities Along the Red River
Flooding and biodiversity among concerns for people in Vietnam below the cascade of Red river dams.
Paul Christiansen in Music & Arts
Pull up a Plastic Stool, Break out the Watercolor, We're Painting Saigon
What is worthy of being painted?
Saigoneer Podcast: 'Things We Lost to the Water' Author Eric Nguyen
We hope you had a good, safe holiday weekend!
Saltwater Intrusion Might Damage 40,000ha of Crops in Mekong Delta, Experts Say
Saltwater intrusion will threaten huge stretches of fruit plantations in the coming days and weeks.
These Rare Paintings Depict Life in Vietnam in the 17th and 18th Centuries
Now we can envision Vietnam well before the advent of photography.
Saigon Transport Department Wants $900m for Waterway Development
Water-based public transportation is still considerably underdeveloped for a city with an extensive network of water bodies like Saigon.
Hai Phong Company Fined $4,300 for Sourcing Water From Dirty Ditch
Liem Son sourced its water from a canal filled with agricultural run-off and passed it off as coming from a thousand-year-old source in the mountains.
Vietnam Reports Serious Spike in Waterway Accidents in First 5 Months of 2020
Vietnam has seen a dramatic rise in accidents, injuries and fatalities on its rivers in the first five months of the year.
Drug-Resistant Bacteria Flourish in Southeast Asia's Antibiotic-Filled Sewage
The fetid vapors of a sewer canal may be unpleasant, but what lurks beneath the surface can be a killer.
Hanoi Commences Project to Build Sewer System Below To Lich River
An underground sewer is being constructed beneath the To Lich River to lead wastewater to a treatment plant project.
Mekong Delta Slammed by Worst Drought, Saltwater Intrusion in Decades
While the Covid-19 pandemic has understandably dominated the news recently, a disaster is unfolding in the Mekong Delta.
Vietnam Climate Change Project to Improve Water Security Secures $30.2m Funding
The project deals with improving the resilience of small-scale agricultural production to water security loss due to climate change in the Central Highlands and south-central coast regions of Vietnam....
Saigon Starts $1.5m Project to Clean Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe Canal
Starting from February 26, 122,000 cubic meters of sludge will be removed from the Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe Canal and processed to reduce the stench that negatively impacts local residents.
China to Release Dam Water in Upper Mekong to Aid Droughts
Severe droughts in the Mekong Delta region are being exacerbated by the building and storage of water in dams.
Vietnam Will Have Harsher Dry Season, Fewer Typhoons in 2020, Experts Say
The harsh dry season is predicted to impact all three regions of the country.
[Illustrations] An Art Book of Watercolor Saigon Sketches 3 Years in the Making
How envious we are of those who can render in great detail paper scenes that otherwise could only be accessed through one’s memory.
Ben Tre Declares Emergency as Saltwater Intrusion Reaches Alarming Levels
An environmental emergency has been declared in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre after local saltwater intrusion reached alarming levels
New Wastewater Discharge Fee Proposed for Hanoi Residents
If approved, the fee will be implemented in 12 of the capital's 27 districts.
Saigon to Focus Restoration Efforts on 5 Severely Polluted Drainage Canals
The municipal People’s Committee said recently that it would focus on the restoration of five canals that comprise the city’s drainage system.
Company Fires Director Responsible for Hanoi Water Crisis
The aftermath of the Hanoi water crisis lingers on.
HCMC Wants to Restrict Groundwater Extraction to Curb Subsidence
According to authorities, over-extraction of underground water sources is one of the main driving forces behind land subsidence and water pollution.
Starbucks Closures, Arrests, Confusion: Hanoi's Water Crisis Deepens
Hanoi's ongoing water crisis took several dramatic turns over the last few days.
Saigon Is Sinking Fast Due to Too Much Groundwater Extraction, Experts Say
In late March 2018, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee issued a plan to close groundwater wells in the city.
Michael Tatarski in Travel
[Photos] Hue's Abandoned Waterpark Is a Post-Apocalyptic Beauty
Just south of Hue sits the Ho Thuy Tien Waterpark. Once a sign of aspirational middle-class family entertainment, it now sits abandoned, creating an eerie, graffiti-splashed destination in its own rig...
Vietnam's Mekong Delta Might Vanish in 100 Years Due to Subsidence: Experts
Without extreme measures to alleviate subsidence, Vietnam’s Mekong Delta could cease to exist in 100 years’ time, warned experts at a two-day national conference in Can Tho.
Khoi Pham in Food Culture
A Food Folk Tale: Mai An Tiêm, CEO of Vietnam’s First Watermelon Startup
If you’ve been around a traditional Vietnamese household during Tet, you have probably noticed the presence of gargantuan, child-sized, dark green watermelons on the altar.
