Neighborhood Vibes and Modern Comforts Combine at Hotel Indigo Saigon The City
Staying in a local neighborhood means surrounding yourself with the sights, styles, routines, traditions, and history of a locale. Hotel Indigo Saigon The City, a new boutique lifestyle hotel, tells the stories of the iconic Ba Son area via its details, decor, atmosphere, and experiences, so checking in feels like taking part in a celebration of the city.
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.
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 prosperity, he believed, and deserved sacred protection.
Feel the Pulse of a Fast-Changing Vietnam in the 1990s via This Lively Photo Album
By the mid-1990's, Vietnam's astounding economic transformation was well underway.
Street Cred: Dauntless Antiwar Icon Nguyễn Thái Bình and His Tragic Death
If one were to see the streets of Vietnam as a tangled network of people whose names they took, every city would resemble a messy collection of historical fragments.
Linh Phạm in Hanoi
Street Cred: Pháo Đài Láng, Home of Ông Voi and Where the War Began
More often than not, a country’s independence is won with guns. The location where the first shots were fired for Vietnam is memorialized to this day.
[Photos] Take a Quick Trip to Vung Tau in 1967
Due to its proximity to Saigon, Vung Tau is perhaps Saigoneers’ favorite location for a quick weekend trip to unwind. Based on this set of photos taken in 1967 by American veteran Tom Twitty, the slee...
[Photos] 20 Photos of Vietnam's Spartan Rural Provinces in the 1960s
Less than a decade before 1975, Vietnam’s rural provinces were still sparsely developed despite Saigon’s rising position as one of Southeast Asia's major cities.
[Photos] A Dreamlike Saigon in 1964 on Film
What makes Saigon’s 1964 self different from how it is today?
[Photos] A Walk Down Dong Khanh Boulevard in Old Saigon's Cho Lon
Ask anyone who has ever set foot in Saigon and they have undoubtedly heard of Cho Lon. Spanning the western half of District 5 and a few neighborhoods in Districts 6 and 11, the quarter has been one o...
[Photos] Life in 1973 Saigon - Part 3
On his trip to Saigon in 1973, famed American photographer Nick DeWolf spent a lot of time strolling local streets to capture on film numerous slices of life in the southern city just before the ...
[Photos] Vinh Phuc's Tam Dao Hill Station in Its Glory Days
Nestled in a cradle of hills about 85 kilometers northwest of Hanoi is the Tam Dao Hill Station, a former colonial village whose lakes, waterfalls and villas made it known during its heyday as “The Da...
[Photos] A Wistful Reel of Life in Vietnam in 1989
Vietnam is evolving fast. It seems like every day in local metropolises, centuries-old buildings are being demolished to make way for new skyscrapers. The photos below, taken by famed photographer Dav...
[Photos] The Quietude of Saigon in 1965
Thanks to decades of steady economic growth, Saigon is getting more and more crowded as people from all over the country and even overseas decide to settle down in the southern hub.
[Photos] Tet Trung Thu Celebrations in Old Hanoi
As this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, more than a few Saigoneers have shown a renewed interest in the holiday’s traditions.
[Photos] A Visit to Hanoi's 1,000-Year-Old Taoist Temple
Once known as Tran Vu Temple, Quan Thanh Temple is a Taoist temple situated near West Lake in Hanoi.
[Photos] The Quaint Days of 1920s Vinh Long
Across the internet, there is ample documentation of Vietnam’s cities in the days of French colonialism. Turn-of-the-century countryside snaps, however, are a little harder to come by.
[Photos] A Walk Through Downtown District 1 in 1967-68
Saigon’s current growing pains are obvious: streets are fenced off for metro construction, trees are torn down to make way for overpasses and old apartments are obliterated one by one.
Saigon's Iconic 'Rainbow Bridge' Riddled With Large Cracks
One of Saigon’s most recognizable landmarks, the Rainbow Bridge in downtown District 1, is suffering from major structural problems including extensive cracks.
[Photos] Raymond Depardon's 1992 Vietnam: The Many Faces of Hanoi
After his Saigon trip in 1972, famed French photographer Raymond Depardon returned in 1992 to traverse the length of Vietnam.
[Photos] Ben Thanh Market in the Motorbike-Free 1920s
Ben Thanh Market is one of Saigon's most famous landmarks, but that doesn't mean it is loved by all.
[Photos] Lycée Pétrus Ky: Saigon's Famous School for the High-Achieving
Lycée Petrus Ky is the former name of the school now known as Le Hong Phong High School. Established in 1927, it is one of the oldest operating high schools in Vietnam.
[Photos] 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 Truong Trung Hoc Pho Thong Marie Curie in Vietnamese, is a public high school located in Saigon’s District 3.
[Photos] An Intimate Look Into Life in Can Tho in the 1990s
Belgian photographer Harry Gruyaert, known for his use of color and for his striking images of Morocco, India and Egypt, also took a series of photographs in Can Tho two decades ago.
[Photos] Emperor Bao Dai's 1942 Offering of Worship to Heaven and Earth
Throughout Vietnam’s imperial era, ceremonial rituals were an indispensable part of a local monarch’s reign. One such celebration was Nam Giao, an annual ceremony of utmost importance in the king’s ca...
[Photos] The 1920s Students of Hanoi’s Indochina University
In Vietnam, “người không học như ngọc không mài” – an uneducated person is like an unpolished gem. From the founding of Ly Nhan Tong’s Quoc Tu Giam in 1076 to the 14th-century Confucian wisdom of Chu ...
