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.
[Photos] Da Lat's Charming Green Landscapes as Seen in 1969
The mountain escape was a thriving farming area long before the recent boom in organic produce.
[Photos] An Enchanting Hue and Da Nang in 1967 Captured by Winfield Parks
Travel back to a time when drones were just airplanes.
[Photos] A Peek Back at Saigon's Enduring Street Vendors in 1950
Where else can you buy whatever you need without having to step inside a building?
[Photos] A Dynamic Bangkok in 1984 via the Lens of Photographer Doi Kuro
Before the days of mega-malls and the Skytrain, Bangkok was still plenty busy.
Vintage Illustrations From 1931 Showcase Native Birds of Indochina
Somebody definitely paid attention in art class.
[Photos] Amble Around Downtown Tay Ninh in These Photos From 1965
Just a short car ride from Ho Chi Minh City, Tay Ninh remains among the favorite spiritual destinations of worshipers in the region to visit for a weekend getaway.
[Photos] A Game of Trade: Hanoi’s First International Trade Fair Complex
Hanoi has had many names in its life time; among the lesser-known ones is Ke Cho, which literally means "the market people."
[Photos] 10 Black-and-White Images of Saigon in 1970
A trip to Saigon in 1970 by photographer Jerry Bosworth yielded a small cache of black-and-white images that vividly depict a city in flux.
[Photos] Long Xuyen, an Enterprising Mekong Delta Trading Hub in the 1920s
Founded on the banks of the Hau River, Long Xuyen began as a trading post and has prospered into one of the Mekong Delta’s major cities today.
[Photos] Black-and-White Photos Depict a Spirited Hanoi in 1973
The capital in 1973 provided many examples of normalcy amidst upheaval.
[Photos] Rare Aerial Photos Depict the Urban Contours of Saigon in 1950
In the French photo book titled Indochine – Couverture. Saigon-Cholon – Photographie Aerienne 1950, a fascinating set of aerial images showcases the urban layout of Saigon in 1950.
[Photos] The Frenetic Energy of 1960s Chợ Lớn
Comic books and bread, cigarettes and rickshaw rides: Saigon has always reveled in the exchange of goods and services for money.
[Photos] Fly Over Vietnam in the 1930s via These Rare Black-and-White Shots
What if you had a time machine and traveled 90 years into the past with a drone?
[Photos] Immerse in the Small-Town Charm of 1960s Vinh Long
Thanks to its tangled snarl of canals, estuaries, streams and rivers, one associates the Mekong Delta with boats.
[Photos] The Arduous Pilgrimage to Chùa Hương Over 30 Years Ago
Every year, with the arrival of spring comes a grand journey.
These Rare Paintings Depict Life in Vietnam in the 17th and 18th Centuries
Now we can envision Vietnam well before the advent of photography.
[Photos] 20 Photos of Life in Vietnam in 1966–1967
Motorbikes and buffalo carts, marching bands and xích lô.
Last Surviving Imperial Maid of Nguyen Dynasty Passes Away at 102
An important historical figure of the Nguyen Dynasty has left us this week.
[Photos] A Sepia-Toned Tour of 1902 Saigon
Long before Saigon became a maelstrom of motorbikes zipping past bubble tea shops, convenience stores, and cellphone sellers, it was a sleepy town where sampan boats cluttered placid canals, locals sn...
[Photos] A Glimpse of Turn-of-the-Century Indochina
France didn't colonize Vietnam overnight.
