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Brian is the Co-Founder of Saigoneer and pasta enthusiast who likes to explore the hidden corners of Saigon's urban fabric.
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Film & TV
If you enjoy making short films and have a place in your heart for Vietnamese street food, a new competition, "Vietnamese street cuisine" should be right up your alley. Oh, and the winning films will fetch VND20 million in prize money.
Vietnam
98-year-old Tran Van Tiep of Ho Chi Minh City has been given permission to continue his hunt for Japanese treasure he believes is buried at Tau Mountain in Binh Thuan Province.
![[Updated] Vietnam Releases First Domestic Smartphone](https://media.urbanistnetwork.com/saigoneer/article-images/legacy/N3Pq0P6b.jpg)
Tech
[Update Below] Well, we may be a step behind North Korea but Vietnam has just released its first, domestically produced smartphone fittingly named the Lotus.
Roundups
Vietnam Government Clarifies its 'Buy-Local' Policy [FutureGov] Toxic waste continues to flood into Viet Nam [Vietnam Net] Refinery investment to double [VNS] City prepares supply of commodities for Tet holiday season [SGGP]
Saigon
1945 was a tumultuous year for Vietnam. After the Japanese were defeated by the Allies in 1945, Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnamese independence from France, unaware that Allied leaders had agreed at the Potsdam Conference to divide the the former French colony at the 17th parallel. Under the agreement, the British occupied the south and the Chinese nationalists the north until French colonial authority could be reestablished.
Saigon
In what's becoming a seemingly weekly occurrence, another foreign national has died in Saigon. Korean Kim Tea Sik was found dead in his HCMC apartment yesterday morning. Sik's naked body was discovered by relatives who told police they visited his apartment after attempts to reach him by phone had failed.
Roundups
Vietnam, Myanmar agree upon visa exemption [VoV] Vietnam workers indifferent to minimum wage hike, employers fret [Thanh Nien] Thousands pay respects to Vietnam's General Giap [France24]
Development
Taking the train in Vietnam is set to get faster and more convenient by 2020. Last Friday, the Vietnam Railways Administration (VRA) announced plans to change the face of rail in Vietnam with eight new railways, at a total estimated cost of VND341,261 billion (US$16.1billion). Most of the lines will focus on the country’s southern corridor with the central hub located in Saigon.
Culture
In Vietnam, the land of cheap clothes, western-style thrift shops have yet to take off. Mayhem, a new shop located just behind Ben Thanh Market is looking to change this, offering up stylish, imported used clothing from Japan.
Vietnam
It's been all over the news this weekend but in case you missed it, General Vo Nguyen Giap, who ousted both the French and Americans from Vietnam died in Hanoi last Friday at the age of 102. Later in life, he advocated for closer economic ties with the west and warned about the environmental costs of industrialization.
Food Culture
Yes, we know that Saigonese take their cafe sữa with đá (ice) and that the background music is from Thailand. Nonetheless, this playful video by food videographer, Eric Slatkin is well done and worth a watch. Honestly, since we buy most of our coffee from street cafes, this was quite helpful in case there's ever a time we actually make a cup of our own.
Development
When investors approached locals in Quang Nam about building a large hydropower plant, they promised fair resettlement compensation, shared water rights/ownership, infrastructure improvements and environmental protections. But since the plant opened, residents say that managers and investors are not only ignoring these contractual responsibilities, but releasing vast amounts of water without warning, destroying homes and fields.
Culture
A new government decree, set to go into effect on November 11, 2013, will remove the current fines associated with same-sex marriages in Vietnam. While an important step for LGBT rights in the country, the decree stops short of legalizing same-sex marriage.
Music & Arts
Yesterday, we posted Pierre Ogeron’s awesome time lapse film of Saigon which proved to be quite a hit. We got in touch with Pierre who was kind enough to answer some of our questions about his motivation, production techniques and future plans.
Culture
Though eating dog has long been part of Vietnamese culture, the illicit dog meat trade in SE Asia has been growing rapidly over the past few years. Recently, cross-border smuggling of the animals has become so prevalent that Vietnam, along with 3 other ASEAN neighbors have been working on high-level agreements to stop the trade which is estimated at over 5 million dogs per year.
Roundups
Vietnam’s New Crop Coffee Premium Seen 58% Below 2012-13 Beans [Bloomberg] Vietnam considers selling a bank to foreigners [Vietnam Net] Vietnam state firm chief cops golfing ban for whacking caddy [Thanh Nien]
Saigon
Have you ever been stuck in Saigon traffic and wished that you were on comfy couch in Cho Lon, chilling with some Chinese guys ' chasing the dragon ' instead? Yeah, probably not (but for those who answered yes, stay awesome. Just kidding, drugs are bad).
Health
Though drunk driving is a well-known problem in Vietnam, it is still prevalent, resulting in not only in the loss of life, but serious economic ramifications. To address this, the National Traffic Safety Committee has launched a three-month campaign to stop drunk drivers in their tracks.
Development
Though more and more green buildings have been sprouting up across Vietnam over the last few years, the practice is far established. Subsidized electricity, price gouging and low awareness are major obstacles that must be overcome before green building can be standardized in the country, according to a new piece in Ecology .
Music & Arts
We've seen a number of great Saigon time lapse videos recently. With the city's streams of constant movement, it's a natural location for this cinematic technique. A new time lapse by Pierre Ogeron goes a step further than some of the other videos, filming in dozens of locations around the city over a 4 month period.
Roundups
Vietnam builds first power plant fueled by rice husks [Vietnam Net] Vietnam reports 124 mln USD trade deficit in 9 months [Global Times] Big test for ageing economic system [Vietnam Net]
Tech
It looks like Vietnam’s rich may be using some of their rhino horn money to obtain the world’s newest status symbol, the iPhone 5s. Prices of the phones are skyrocketing in Vietnam with the coveted gold version fetching up to VND33 million.
Saigon
In what seems to be a worrying trend, another foreigner has died in Saigon, this time a Japanese lecturer on her way home from school. The 50-year-old victim was a teacher of Oriental Studies at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities.
Culture
Earlier this year, Graphic designer, Nhat Le created a book depicting the many cultural differences between Hanoi and Saigon . Now, the Pho Team has taken the regional battle a step further with the hilarious video below.