in Saigon

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 Saigon that remains a crucial cornerstone of many city dwellers' memories.

in Vietnam

The Vintage Charm of 1995 Vietnam on Kodachrome Film Slides

While editing a retrospective of my recent work from Vietnam in the summer of 2019, I discovered 50 yellow boxes of Kodachrome slides in my basement that were shot in 1995. The images were from my first trip to Vietnam.

in Saigon

The Tumultuous Tale of Three Ga Sài Gòn Locations, From 1885 Until Now

Travelers arriving by train in Hồ Chí Minh City sometimes express surprise that the main Saigon Railway Station is located in Hòa Hưng, some distance from the central business district. In fact, this is the third railway terminus in a city where each successive station has been built further away from the river.

in Saigon

A Brief History of the Vietnam Railways Building Before Its 110th Birthday

The iconic Bến Thành Market is not the only Saigon landmark that has endured for more than a century. The Vietnam Railways building at 138 Hàm Nghi, given its inauguration in 1914, is pushing the 110-year milestone in less than six months.

in Vietnam

My Great-Great-Grandfathers Were in Indochina in the 1880s to Build the Railway

We often see archival images of old Hanoi, but these photos are different — they are personal. The following shots, which come from a collection of five photo albums, are the only surviving record of my two great-great-grandfathers’ presence in what was then Indochina.

in Vietnam

From Saigon to Đà Lạt: A Tourist's Journey Through Vietnam in 1963

Old archives of images from 1960s Saigon are easy to come by, but how often does one get to have a peek into the past version of Đà Lạt.

in Vietnam

A Brake Failure and 200 Victims: Remembering Vietnam's Deadliest Rail Accident

About 55 kilometers from Saigon, in the small commune of Tây Hoà rests the 17/03/1982 Railway Cemetery. It currently houses 85 unidentified graves of victims of the Train 183 Disaster, the deadliest railway accident in Vietnamese history.

in Hanoi

Street Photos in 1973 Capture a Rebuilding Hanoi After Linebacker II

In this collection of black-and-white photos taken by German photographer Horst Faas, Hanoi's streets seem bursting with life, but lurking behind innocent smiling children and packed tram rides are the undeniable remnants of an ongoing war.

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in Saigon

The Story of Quách Đàm, the Man Who Shaped Modern Chợ Lớn — Part 1

Hải Thượng Lãn Ông Boulevard (the former quai Gaudot) in central Chợ Lớn preserves several elegant old colonial shophouse buildings, but perhaps the most interesting of all is the one at No. 45, once ...

in Saigon

It's (Almost) Always Sunny in Saigon: A Glimpse Into Street Fashion in the Early 1970s

You can deduce a lot from a photo.

in Hanoi

Once Home to Hanoi's Greatest Tailors, Làng Cựu Is Fading Into History

Làng Cựu, a village about 40 kilometers south of Hanoi, houses nearly 50 mansions that showcase the best of French and Sino-Vietnamese architecture from the turn of the century. It was built with the ...

in Vietnam

From North to South, Glimpses of Street Life in Vietnam in the Early 1990s

If there’s a thing this writer remembers distinctly about the early 1990s, it would be nothing, because I was barely a person that could eat and survive by myself.

in Saigon

Portrait of a Jubilant Saigon on the Precipice of Tết in 1992

Tết in 1992 was an especially fortuitous time to be a foreign arrival to Saigon. 

in Saigon

Hidden in the Heart of D5, an Architectural Vestige of 1970s Vietnam-Korea History

For years now, the verdant pine green pavilion in the heart of Hòa Bình Park in District 5 has been a familiar landmark for denizens of Chợ Lớn.

in Vietnam

On the Tourist Trail Across Vietnam in 1996

In 1996, it had been one year since Vietnam officially joined ASEAN, the first legitimate volume of Doraemon was released, and some of us at Saigoneer were actually alive.

in Hanoi

The Legends of Thăng Long Tứ Trấn, the 4 Guardian Temples Protecting Hanoi

In the edict to move Vietnam’s capital to Hanoi, Emperor Lý Thái Tổ described this land as the middle of heaven and earth, the center of the four directions. Such a place would bring peace and prosper...

in Vietnam

Slices of Life in Saigon, Huế, Hanoi in 1989 on Film

What is it about coming across old photos that tugs on our heartstrings so much, even when they depict a time when some of us weren’t alive yet?

in Saigon

Exploring Chợ Quán Asylum, Saigon’s Oldest Prisoner-of-War Camp

In a secluded corner of Saigon’s Bệnh viện Nhiệt đới, or Hospital for Tropical Diseases, a prison continues its century-long existence hidden from public memory and discourse.

in Vietnam

Mang Thít, Vĩnh Long's 'Kingdom of Brick Kilns,' Is on Its Last Legs

Along the rivers and canals of Mang Thít, clouds of smoke from the Mekong Delta’s last brick kilns languidly stream into the air.

in Saigon

[Photos] Amble in Downtown Saigon via These Street Photography Shots in 1962

In this collection of old film photos from 1962 taken by an unknown photographer, perhaps the most eye-catching feature is the fashion. Saigon men appear in simple attire of white shirts and pants, bu...

in Vietnam

[Video] Vintage VHS Travelogue Takes You to Đà Lạt in 1992

Get ready for a road trip with nostalgia riding shotgun.

in Vietnam

The Splendor of Hát Bội, as Depicted in Vintage Posters for the 1889 Paris World's Fair

From the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, hát bội left a major mark on the hearts and minds of many viewers, including French colonizers. The French brought this form of f...

in Hanoi

[Photos] Look Back at Hanoi's Nội Bài Airport in 1995

In February, 1995, Yuichi Kobayashi, a Japanese businessman, came to Vietnam with a mission to set up a factory here.

in Vietnam

What a Set of Art Homework From 1930 Long Xuyên Teaches Us About Past Vietnam

Much like their descendants today, schoolchildren of 1930s Vietnam also took art classes as part of their syllabus. In this rare collection of what was essentially our grandparents’ homework, we can s...

in Saigon

Saigon Designates 6 Areas With Architectural Heritage to Be Conserved

Is six enough?

in Vietnam

[Photos] A Journey Back in Time Through Northern Vietnam Around 1900

Vietnam is certainly a country looking to the future, but sometimes it's worth looking back at the past as well.

in Vietnam

Hanoi Demolishes Colonial-Era Factory to Make Room for Office Complex

A French-built factory at 61 Trần Phú, Hanoi is being destroyed to make way for a multi-purpose building.   

in Vietnam

Huế Plans to Relocate 100-Year-Old French Mansion to Make Room for Hotel

To make room for new developments, Huế authorities are mulling options to uproot and relocate a century-old villa.