Tâm Lê in Saigon
Street Cred: Phan Đình Phùng, My Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather
An unassuming street named Phan Đình Phùng runs through Saigon’s Phú Nhuận District. It is named after a Vietnamese revolutionary who led rebel armies against French colonial forces in the 1880s and 1890s. He is also my great-great-great-great-great-grandfather.
Lycée Marie Curie: The High School That Has Stood the Test of Time
Marie Curie High School, also called Lycée Marie Curie in French or Trường Trung Học Phổ Thông Marie Curie in Vietnamese, is a public high school located in Saigon’s District 3.
Khôi Phạm in Saigon
Old Saigon Building of the Week: The Glitz and Glam of Tự Do Nightclub
While today’s Đồng Khởi Street is peppered with tourist-centric shops and restaurants, just half a century ago, the downtown street was the nightlife hotspot for Saigon’s cool kids to congregate.
Revisit the Colorful, Diverse Universe of Multinational Xe Đò in 1990s Saigon
Saigoneers who spent their formative years in the 1990s will remember an era of secondhand products of mixed origins. This unique feature of daily life also extended into the transportation realm.
The Double-Edged Allure of Indochic in Postcolonial Vietnam
Bordering the Temple of Literature in Hanoi is Nguyễn Thái Học Boulevard, where a number of art shops sit side by side. Among them, tourists and visitors can find an endless supply of varying iterations of socialist iconography, gold-plated replicas of Đông Sơn drums, and faux-impressionist paintings of colonial Indochina. In Mũi Né, a 127-room resort unironically called The Anam Mui Ne boasts its Indochine allure with “Indochine Charm. Modern Luxury” on its home page. Throughout the resort are paintings depicting women in traditional áo dài and scenes of tranquil fishing villages, gesturing toward the bucolic past of Vietnam. In Saigon, numerous cafes and eateries are decorated in encaustic cement tiles with intricate floral, pastel designs, while brandishing French names and wrought iron railings on their balconies.
Uyên Đỗ in Hanoi
A Slice of Life in Coupon-Era Hanoi via Colorful Vintage Lottery Tickets
What can tiny sheets of paper reveal about a whole time period?
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.
Tim Doling in Saigon
The Surprisingly Recent History Behind Bình Thạnh's Lonely 'Gia-Đinh' Gate
It’s claimed by several tourism websites that a gateway from one of the ancient Gia Định citadels has survived and may be viewed on the Lê Văn Duyệt-Phan Đăng Lưu intersection in Bình Thạnh District, close to the Lê Văn Duyệt Mausoleum. However, a little research into the history of that area reveals that the gateway in question has more recent origins.
[Video] Roam the Streets of 1984 Saigon
Life in 1984 Saigon was harder than it is now, but the lifestyle of the southern hub's residents remains largely unchanged, from our undying love of street food to the eclectic mix of personalities th...
[Photos] Mac Thi Buoi's Black-and-White Past
Through the ages, District 1’s Mac Thi Buoi Street has gone by many different names. However, if this collection of photos is any indication, one thing about the street hasn’t changed: the bustling la...
Street Cred: Ut Tich, Vietnam's 'Mother With a Gun'
A woman with an indomitable spirit for combatting oppression, Ut Tich’s tenacity lives on in the minds of Vietnamese as “the mother with a gun”.
Dana Filek-Gibson in Heritage
Lost and Found: A Trip to Saigon’s Antique Market
The second he sees me, rolling down the crumbling concrete path on a dented bicycle, Chien perks up and heads in my direction.
A Brief History of Saigon's Independence Palace
Fifty years ago today, South Vietnam’s then-president Nguyen Van Thieu inaugurated the city’s Independence Palace on October 31, 1966.
[Photos] Japan's Eerie 'War Tubas'
In the early 1900s, Japan’s military adopted acoustic location, using iconic “war tubas” in order to locate aircrafts and submarines.
[Photos] The Rustic Charm of 1990s Vietnam
We could wax lyrical all day about the changes Vietnam has seen since the 1990s. In the past two decades, the country's buildings have gotten taller, its tourist destinations more crowded, its urban s...
[Photos] The Black-and-White Magic of Saigon in the Early 60s
Saigon is developing at such a dizzying rate that it’s hard to picture a time when the southern hub’s streets weren’t jam-packed with vehicles. Therefore, what this collection of black-and-white photo...
Street Cred: Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Gia Dinh's Downtrodden Poet
Many Vietnamese recognize Nguyen Dinh Chieu as one of the country’s greatest poets whose nationalist and anti-colonist works depicted the dream of a society of integrity and benevolence.
[Video] Meet Saigon's Man of Poetic Photography
In the latest episode of Sai Gon Vi Vu’s documentary series Saigon’s Gentlemen, viewers are given a glimpse into the life of Tao Dan Park’s resident photographer.
South Koreans Apologize for Country's Role in American War
Last week, the Korean-Vietnamese Peace Foundation sent a statue known as Vietnam Pieta – The Last Lullaby to the Da Nang Museum as an apology for South Korea’s involvement in the American War.&nb...
[Photos] A Final Look at Binh Tay Market Before Its Renovation
Will a major upcoming renovation affect Binh Tay Market’s distinct Chinese-style architecture?
Archaeologists May Have Found Quang Trung’s Elusive Tomb
Nguyen Dac Xuan is having a good week.
[Photos] Check out Indochina's Colorful 19th-Century Bank Notes
If you ever get bored of looking at the same set of images on Vietnam’s current bank notes, this set of old Indochinese bills will provide a glimpse into what the region's denizens used to spend when ...
[Photos] What's Left Inside Saigon's Iconic Tax Center
The Saigon Tax Center, a historic icon of old Saigon, has been reduced to a metal skeleton and heaps of rubble.
Demolition of Saigon Tax Center Officially Starts Today
As you’re reading this, Saigon’s iconic Tax Center is meeting its ultimate demise, making room for a new, 40-story skyscraper.
Ancient Tombs of Saigon: The Mass Grave Under Dan Chu Roundabout
Saigoneers living in the vicinity of District 10’s Dan Chu Square may be aghast to discover that their homes could be sitting on the city’s largest mass burial site.
Khoi Pham in Saigon
Street Cred: Bui Vien, the First Vietnamese in America...or Was He?
In today’s Saigon, Bui Vien Street is commonly known as the city’s backpacker paradise, not to mention one of its many nightlife hotspots. It’s unclear whether urban planners in the southern hub had o...
[Map] The Stories Behind Saigon’s French Colonial Street Names
In its relatively young history, Saigon has undergone several makeovers: from quaint colonial town to grand capital of Cochinchina, major metropolis of southern Vietnam and now the buzzing economic hu...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Date With the Wrecking Ball: The Cercle Sportif Saigonnais
Local conservation groups have expressed concern about a plan approved by the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Culture Palace to demolish the much-loved 1925 Cercle Sportif Saigonnais and replace it with a stat...
