Straight to the summit: A step forward or back?

Commonly revered as the Roof of Indochina, the 3,143m Fansipan is located in the northern Vietnamese province of Lào Cai. Since the opening of the Fansipan Legend cable car system in February 2016, the peak is now within anyone's reach. But not everyone is happy.

Let’s be clear about our characters

For thousands of years, Viet Nam’s culture and history was recorded in the Han-Nom scripts, which combine Chinese and Chinese-based Vietnamese characters.

 

Remembering Việt Nam’s National Day

Ever since I was young, I studied in the American education system, and consequently, have an American-centric perspective of history. Also, unfortunately, my history classes contributed little to my knowledge of the spirit of September 2nd.

Potential solutions to traffic in Việt Nam

For foreign tourists and expatriates living in Việt Nam, the chaotic scenes of local traffic are quite peculiar and undoubtedly dangerous if they are stuck in the middle of it.

Pokémon Go casts a zombie spell on Hà Nội

On a quiet Tuesday morning, a strong current of wind swept a baby stroller into Xuân Hương lake, carrying with its force a one-year-old child. The boy’s mother had been busy playing Pokémon Go.

Out-of-hospital services

It’s the first time the Health Ministry has proposed a draft on management regulations of privatised services in both State-owned and individual hospitals.

Where did good old fashioned diaries go?

Long before the invasion of the internet that has brought along social networks and online forums to Việt Nam, many people used to write diaries as a way of expressing thoughts and emotions.

Why is Viet Nam so happy?

In 1968, the Beatles came out with a song called Can’t Buy Me Love. The idea that money, or material goods, doesn’t equal happiness has since become somewhat clichéd. But just because it’s a cliché, doesn’t make it less true.

Code of conduct needed at tourism sites

An official of a district-level office in central Hà Tĩnh Province has stirred a wave of outrage from public after his photo was posted on Facebook last Thursday.

Cool reception to fees for hotline calls

Various ministries and agencies have set up hotlines over the years to receive comments and recommendations from the public in order to improve the quality of their service. Hotlines help simplify some bureacratic procedures and signal the public that the ministries are heeding their complaints. But good intentions aside, running hotlines smoothly and effectively is a problem.

King of the road, king of the sidewalk

Much has been said and written about the travails of crossing the street in Việt Nam. Hotels hand out tip sheets to nervous tourists about navigating the endless swarms of seemingly unstoppable motorbikes clogging the streets, tour guides provide contradictory advice (one school of thought has it that it’s best to catch the eye of the motorcyclist bearing down on you in order to make him stop, another rejects this as nonsense). 

Are citizen reports of traffic violators good?

Traffic violation images or video provided by private citizens will be used to help police identify and crack down on violators. The new measures take effect next month under a new Government decree on traffic violations.

Green summer volunteer campaign to be reviewed

The news of the deaths of three students from the Hà Nội-based Foreign Trade University during a volunteer trip to a mountainous district of the northern province of Quảng Ninh in early July has made people across the country feel sad.

What’s most important for our children?

Many parents have pushed their children to study during the three-month-long summer vacation because they are afraid the kids will otherwise spend all their time playing games. They think studying is the most important task for their children.

Swim and slim: VN tackles child obesity

Over the past few years, obesity has spread at an unprecedented rate in the country, which just a few decades ago was stricken by wars and food shortage.

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