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.
Tim Doling in Saigon
Date With The Wrecking Ball: The Nguyen Van Cua Imprimerie de l'Union Building
Located close to the Saigon Post Office, the unassuming two-storey white shophouse building at 49-57 Nguyễn Du was once the headquarters of one of the most successful colonial-era printing companies.
[Photos] Saigon Then & Now: Part 2
We’re back with another set of our “Then and Now” photos which contrast old images of Saigon with their present day counterparts. For a much larger collection, head over to the Saïgon-Chợ Lớn Then & N...
50 Old Photos of Cần Thơ
Now the 4th largest city in Vietnam with 1.2 million people, Cần Thơ is the “capital of the West” and the central of hub of commerce in the Mekong Delta.
Icons of Old Saigon: André Pancrazi's Café de la Musique and Grand Hôtel des Nations
One of many French settlers of Corsican descent who made names for themselves in colonial Saigon, André Pancrazi is remembered as the proprietor of two old Saigon icons – the Café de la Musique and th...
Lee Starnes in Vietnam
[Photos] The Vietnamese Soldiers Of WWI
Whereas the story of World War I traditionally filters through the lens of the major European powers, colonial ties produced a transcontinental story with the militaries of France and Britain comprise...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Old Saigon Building Of The Week: 93-95 Đồng Khởi
One of the most elegant old colonial buildings in the centre of the city, 93-95 Đồng Khởi – originally 93-95 rue Catinat – is believed to have been constructed in the period 1900-1910.
24 Late 19th Century Photos Of Vietnam
These 24 photos taken between 1880 and 1898 show Vietnam just as France was settling into their role as colonial occupier.
20 Beautiful Old Maps of Hanoi
Unlike Saigon, Hanoi has been a major urban center for over a millennia, so while the oldest maps of Saigon date back to around 1790, those of the capital go back far further.
40 Striking Photos of War Seen From the Perspective of the North
Photos of U.S. troops in rice paddies, anti-war protests and skies full of Iroquois helicopters have become ubiquitous images of the American War, incubated by countless blockbuster films, documentari...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Date With The Wrecking Ball: Cercle des Officiers
Last week it was announced that yet another old French civic building, featured earlier this year in Saigoneer as an “Old Saigon Building of the Week,” will soon be demolished.
20 Photos of Saigon From the Early 1990s
By the early 1990s, Saigon had yet to emerge from its post-war cocoon. Having lost its colonial sheen and cosmopolitan character, it would be another few yeas before the effects of the Doi Moi reforms...
The Mysterious Tunnels That Lie Beneath Saigon
While the tunnels under Independence Palace and the Ho Chi Minh City Museum are open to tourists, new research shows that they are part of a more extensive tunnel network that lies under the streets o...
[Photos] Abandoned Nam Dinh Church Being Swallowed by the Sea
Nam Định Province is full of beautiful churches, but while many remain in good condition, the Heart Church, located on Xương Điền beach, has seen better times. With each passing day, the now aban...
30 Color Photos Of Peaceful 1956 Saigon
1956 was the calm before the storm of violent conflict that would characterize the next 2 decades and transform Saigon into a militarized city, plagued by bombings and overcrowded by war refugees.
Tim Doling in Saigon
Old Saigon Building Of The Week: 128 Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai
In the early 20th century, the colonial villa at 128 Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai (the former rue Chasseloup-Laubat) was home to one of Saigon’s best-known Corsican families, the Canavaggios.
26 Old Photos Of Hanoi’s Majestic Long Biên Bridge
Described by one writer as “a misshapen but essential component of Hà Nội’s heritage,” the Long Biên Bridge has seen better days. These 17 photos show the beloved Bridge during its golden years.
Tim Doling in Saigon
Icons Of Old Saigon: The Hotel de L’univers
Contrary to what many tourist websites would have us believe, the Grand Hôtel Continental was not Saigon’s first up-market hotel.
[Photos] The Streets of 1970 Saigon Captured by Jerry Bosworth
Saigon has come a long way from 1970 when it was truly feeling the effects of war. During this time, much of the government’s funds were going towards military equipment, leaving little for infrastruc...
[Photos] Saigon Then & Now: Part 1
We’re back with a new series of “Then and Now” photos of Saigon featuring the Continental Hotel, the city’s former opium refinery and a few other iconic places you may recognize.
Tim Doling in Saigon
Old Saigon Building Of The Week: 39 Trần Quốc Thảo
One of District 3’s grandest old colonial mansions, the Quận ủy (District council) building at 39 Trần Quốc Thảo (the former rue Eyriaud-des-Vergnes) was once the plush managerial residence of the Lyo...
