Khôi Phạm in Vietnam
6 Saigon Streets That Were Named After Lesser-Known Female Historical Figures
Any place is a great learning opportunity if you know where to look. A brisk walk in Saigon can be amazing fodder for history aficionados to exercise their brain muscles — just look at street titles and the amazing people they were named after.
How Did Vietnam Start Celebrating International Women's Day on March 8?
In the hyper-commercialized world we now live in, it might be impossible to associate anything but overpriced flower bouquets and corporate sponsorships with International Women’s Day (IWD), but the widely celebrated occasion actually has a rich history of over 100 years of the women’s rights movement.
A Collection of Illusory Saigon Nightscapes From 1938 by Eli Lotar
A rare glimpse into colonial Saigon after sunset.
The Rickety Last Days of Hanoi's Tramway System in the 1990s
Vietnam residents are rightfully celebrating recent advances in public transit.
Uyên Đỗ in Vietnam
How the National Lottery Reflects Vietnam's Socio-Economic Realities Through Time
For nearly a century, lottery tickets and their strings of lucky numbers have occupied a special role in Vietnamese society: both as a lifeline for dreams of better fortune and as a mirror reflecting the socio-economic realities of the times.
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.
Uyên Đỗ in Saigon
The Forgotten History Behind Saigon's CEE Colonial Substations
Woven into the fabric of modern-day streets, the aging electrical substations of Saigon stand as quiet witnesses to a historical era shaped by the complex legacy of French colonialism.
Hanoi's Soviet-Style Khu Gia Binh and Life Amid Vietnam's Growing Pains
Hanoi is often known in Vietnam as the land of a millennium-old civilization, a living archive of past Vietnam life. Each tiny alley within the capital can evoke a strong sense of nostalgia in visitors, as those locations encapsulate both wartime memories and charming quotidien moments. There’s one special place in Hanoi that has contributed to the city’s languid pace of life amid the nation’s rapid developments — khu gia binh.
27 Rare Photos Of Hanoi From 120 Years Ago
To mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and Vietnam, the National Library of Vietnam has released a collection of more than 200 photos taken by Governor General of Ind...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Old Saigon Building of the Week: Former Nestlé Headquarters
The Swiss company Nestlé, founded in 1905 following the merger of Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé (1866) and the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company (1866), established its first trading office in Saigon in 1912.
Street Cred: Ham Nghi
“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” This quote from Shakespeare’s Henry IV basically sums up the political climate of Vietnam in 1883. In that year alone, four different men played the part of ...
Brian Letwin in Vietnam
When the Japanese Occupied Vietnam: Part 2
Read When the Japanese Occupied Vietnam – Part I here. Japanese occupation breathed new life into a Vietnamese independence movement that had seen little success after the failed Yen Bai Mutiny (1930...
Brian Letwin in Saigon
[Photos] Saigon Past and Present
Saigon is a city in constant flux. One minute a crumbling old building is there and the next week it’s a parking lot. Fortunately, there are a few buildings, such as the Saigon Post Office, the Opera ...
Brian Letwin in Vietnam
When the Japanese Occupied Vietnam: Part 1
When foreign occupation is discussed in Vietnam, the bulk of the conversation focuses on the Chinese and the French, rightfully so. However, while short-lived, the Japanese occupation of the country n...
[Photos] Changes Over Time: Saigon's Canals (2002 - 2014) Part II
Due to the popularity of our previous piece which illustrated the physical changes along Saigon’s canals, we’ve managed to cobble together a new set of photos.
Tim Doling in Saigon
Bót Catinat: Saigon's "Gold Land"
Located on a prime site in one of Hồ Chí Minh City’s numerous “đất vàng” (gold land) areas and already earmarked for redevelopment, the headquarters of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism at...
Street Cred: Yersin
If you’ve been following this column, then you’ve probably noticed the pattern of folks getting famous for taking a stance and sticking up for Vietnam. By now, you should know that Vietnamese people a...
Brian Letwin in Saigon
Fun With Old Maps: Saigon (1895)
While not the oldest map of Saigon we’ve come across, this 1895 map, “Plan des environs de Saïgon” shows not only downtown, but the surrounding countryside. Even after 36 years of French occupation, t...
Dung Ha: Vietnam’s Lesbian Mob Boss
Among the infamous women of Vietnam’s criminal underworld, Dung Ha was one of the most notorious. Though her reign was short, it was characterized by wealth, power and love affairs that still draw cur...
Brian Letwin in Vietnam
17 Rare Photos of Vietnam Taken 120 Years Ago
To mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and Vietnam, the National Library of Vietnam has released a collection of more than 200 photos taken by Governor General of Ind...
Street Cred: Phan Xích Long
Like a page straight out of Bizzaro World, fast food franchises have a heightened social status here in Vietnam.
Tim Doling in Saigon
Old Saigon Building of the Week: Maison du Combattant
The project to create a Maison du Combattant (War Veterans Centre) was launched in 1929 by the Amicale Cochinchinoise des Anciens Combattants de la Grande Guerre (Cochinchina Friendly Association of G...
Brian Letwin in Saigon
The Lost History of Germans in Saigon
Though it was a French colony, companies from all over Europe were engaged in trade and production in Indochina, especially in Saigon. Germans in particular played a major role in the city’s turn-of-t...
The Incredible History of Saigon’s Racetracks
Although it closed 3 years ago, for the city’s older citizens, District 11’s Phu Tho Horse Racing Ground represents a bygone era of racing and gambling in Saigon. While an important but fading cultura...
Street Cred: Lý Thường Kiệt
Over mountains and rivers of the South, reigns the Emperor of the South. This fate is written in the Book of Heaven. How dare those barbarians invade our land? Your armies, without pity, will be annih...
[Photos] Women's Fashion in 1960s and 70s Saigon
Before 1975, fashion in Vietnam differed greatly between North (which preferred traditional styles) and South (which put a spin on customary dress and adopted Western attire).
Tim Doling in Saigon
Jean-Baptiste Louis-Pierre: The Father of Saigon's Green Spaces
As traffic congestion and air pollution intensifies, Hồ Chí Minh City’s urban greenbelt has assumed increased significance as the “green lung” which helps to disperse pollutants, check the flow of dus...
Gangsters of Saigon: Dai Cathay - Part 2
In the 1960s, the height of existentialism and hippy ideals in Saigon, many of the city’s wealthy hung out at restaurants, discotheques and drug dens in Districts 1 and 3. Dai became a familiar face i...
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