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Long-time HCMC resident, writer, and editor.
200 stories
Development
In a region where rapid urbanization, hydropower development and resource demand is devastating natural ecosystems, a dedicated team is working hard to preserve Laos’ unique plant species.
![[Photos] Saigoneer Getaways: The Serenity of Japan's Countryside](https://media.urbanistnetwork.com/saigoneer/article-images/legacy/TIB9NAUb.jpg)
Japan is rightfully famous for its exciting, neon-bathed major cities. Every year, Tokyo and Osaka draw millions of visitors with their incredible food and bars, as well as their mix of traditional and uber-modern. The countryside, however, is where one really gets a sense of Japan's orderly beauty.
Music & Arts
A new art exhibition in Saigon looks at the relationship between humans and nature, as well as the importance of clean water in daily life.
![[Photos] Saigoneer Getaways: Tokyo's Historic Tsukiji Fish Market After the Morning Rush](https://media.urbanistnetwork.com/saigoneer/article-images/legacy/stXG1wRb.jpg)
Travel
Tsukiji Market is one of Tokyo's most well-known destinations, famous for its early-morning tuna auctions and frenetic wholesale seafood stalls. However, visiting the market once the action has died down is a whole different experience from the one you read about in tourism guides.
Development
Across the Saigon River from central District 1’s glass-and-steel skyscrapers, the Thu Thiem New Urban Area is slowly – very slowly – taking shape. Named after the swampy peninsula on which it sits, this long-gestating development will, perhaps, someday become a new financial, residential and commercial center, taking pressure off Saigon’s overcrowded interior districts.
Saigon Hẻm Gems
Now that I'm on my fourth chicken-centric Hẻm Gem, I guess I might as well start carrying out these assignments dressed as a chicken.
Arts & Culture
Observe public spaces in Saigon for any amount of time and you'll quickly notice many interactions take place in both the physical world and within the virtual sphere. Whether it’s teenagers taking Instagram selfies at Takashimaya or grandmas filming their grandkids on Nguyen Hue, the digital world is integral to daily urban life.
Saigon Hẻm Gems
Thanks to central Saigon's blistering pace of development and the short-lived sidewalk-clearing campaign of 2017's early months, the downtown area can be something of a street food desert.
![[Photos] Taipei's Ghostly Disused Leprosy Sanitarium](https://media.urbanistnetwork.com/saigoneer/article-images/legacy/lqHejdhb.jpg)
Arts & Culture
Taipei is known as a highly advanced, efficient city famous for modern marvels such as the Taipei 101 and a fantastic metro system.
Saigon Hẻm Gems
There is no shortage of restaurants slinging beef-based dishes in Saigon, but every now and then one comes along and stands out from the pack.
Literature
For Minh Bui Jones, editor and founder of the Mekong Review , the greatest pleasure of his work is discovering an exciting book or writer that he has never heard of before.
Saigon Hẻm Gems
Every once in a while, you come across a simple Vietnamese restaurant that absolutely blows you away.
Music & Arts
Southeast Asia isn’t particularly well-known for its live music scene. Major international acts might only play Bangkok or Singapore, if they stop in the region at all. Home-grown acts are common, but often face challenges such as finding venues to play and outlets to build a fan base, as anyone familiar with the scene in Saigon knows too well.
![[Photos] A Peek Inside Da Lat's Abandoned Franciscan Mission](https://media.urbanistnetwork.com/saigoneer/article-images/legacy/Gz50QN5b.jpg)
Travel
Da Lat is rightfully beloved for its cool climate, pine-scented air and verdant mountains. However, there is more to this popular Central Highlands city than just natural escapes.
Development
Sun Group has begun construction of a US$3 billion resort and entertainment complex on Cat Ba Island in northern Vietnam.
Saigon Hẻm Gems
Saigon is a city of a million cơm tấm carts, meaning it is easy to pick one at random and chow down. But some stand out from the crowd.
Saigon Hẻm Gems
Around the Saigoneer office I've become the go-to scribe when it comes to chicken-related Hẻm Gems. Therefore, when a friend described a Binh Thanh-based restaurant with dozens of chickens hanging above a grill, I knew what I had to do.
Society
As Doan Ngoc Hai, the leader of Saigon’s most aggressive sidewalk-clearing campaign in recent memory, takes a brief hiatus , headlines about towed cars and demolished buildings often obscure the reality that many people rely on that coveted space between the street and a building for their livelihood.
Travel
The village of Cu Lac in central Vietnam is a postcard image of rural life. Water buffaloes and cattle graze among low-slung houses, and verdant rice paddies stretch to the nearby Ho Chi Minh Highway. The broad, green-tinged Son River flows past the length of Cu Lac, while a breeze whispers through the bamboo trees lining its banks.
Travel
The dense, untouched forests of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh province hide some of the world’s greatest underground geological formations. Beneath the park’s stunning limestone mountains lie Son Doong, the largest cave on the planet, and Hang En, the third-largest behind Deer Cave in Malaysian Borneo.
Society
Ahead of Saigon’s first major international comedy festival later this month, Saigoneer talks to members of the local stand-up community, from veterans to relative newcomers, to find out where the jokes are headed.
Saigon Hẻm Gems
In the pantheon of great street food locations in Saigon, many of my favorite places to chow down can barely even be considered restaurants. Is there really a need for four walls and real furniture when the food is amazing?
Heritage
Over the weekend, Saigon’s iconic Quach Thi Trang Square disappeared behind a wall of blue fencing in preparation for further metro construction.
![[Photos] Saigoneer Getaways: Outdoor Adventures Abound on Cat Ba Island](https://media.urbanistnetwork.com/saigoneer/article-images/legacy/svNKYsBb.jpg)
Travel
Our smooth ride down the Hanoi-Hai Phong expressway comes to an abrupt end when our bus lurches into Dinh Vu Port, a hopelessly run-down facility beyond the huge factories of the city’s industrial park. A 20-minute express boat ride delivers travelers from the derelict port to Cat Ba Island on the southern edge of Ha Long Bay.
