In 1992 Vietnam, the Streets Were Brimming With Love and Life
How has your life been transformed in the past 30 years? Changes might materialize overnight, but some tend to creep up on you at a glacial pace. Through this collection of images from 1992, mull over how Vietnam as a country has grown with every 12-month cycle.
Tim Doling in Saigon
A Brief History of Saigon's Art Deco Eye Hospital, Formerly the Clinique Saint-Paul
For those condemned to a long daily commute along that busiest of city arteries, Điện Biên Phủ Street, the clean, elegant lines of the Hồ Chí Minh City Eye Hospital offer a refreshing contrast to the surrounding urban clutter. The compound was formerly known as Clinique Saint-Paul, so many older Saigoneers still refer to it by the name Bệnh viện Xanh-Pôn.
Tuyết Nhi in Saigon
Exploring Chợ Quán Asylum, Saigon’s Oldest Prisoner-of-War Camp
In a secluded corner of Saigon’s Bệnh viện Nhiệt đới, or Hospital for Tropical Diseases, a prison continues its century-long existence hidden from public memory and discourse.
An Early View of a Barely Developed Saigon in the 1860s
Dropping a modern Saigoneer into the 1860s version of the city would be a wildly disorienting experience.
Vietnam's 1969 Street Fashion Story as Told Through Honda Cubs
The very definition of cool was established decades ago in Vietnam, and it was badass women in áo dài dashing on the street in slick sunglasses.
From D4's Village Past to Now, History Keeps Wanting to Widen Nguyễn Tất Thành Street
A century before today's bulldozers, colonial planners were already wrestling with the same congested waterfront corridor — and the same promises of transformation.
Paul Christiansen in Vietnam
Vietnam Sound Library Races to Capture Saigon's Sounds Before They Disappear
Thwunk! Thwunk! Thwunk! Thwunk! The vendor’s cleaver struck the heavy wooden chopping board again and again after slicing through duck meat. Centimeters away, a microphone hovered, capturing each strike.
Vua Versus Volcano: How the 1883 Eruption of Krakatoa Upset the Nguyễn Dynasty
On September 9, 1883, ominous smoke hung over Huế. The sun was blue-green, and throughout the day, people on the streets had no shadows. As their legitimacy relied on maintaining the Mandate of Heaven, the Nguyễn royal court was alarmed. Three high-ranking mandarins rushed to advise the Emperor to change his ways to regain Heaven’s favor. While this strange incident can be easily dismissed as another case of outdated superstitions, a closer look reveals it as a rare conjunction of astrology, power, and — given the source of the smoke — volcanism, all set against the backdrop of France’s rapid incursion into Vietnam.
The Story of Hanoi’s Statue of Liberty
Though New York City claims the most famous rendition of Lady Liberty, in the late 19th century, numerous cities around the globe built or received their own versions of the Statue of Liberty, includi...
Street Cred: Ngo Quyen
Northern Vietnam's Bach Dang River may be overshadowed by the buzzing tourist attractions of Ha Long Bay, however this historic river has played an instrumental role in Vietnamese history for centurie...
Tim Doling in Vietnam
Truong Van Ben and the Story of Co Ba Soap
Once one of Saigon-Chợ Lớn’s most recognizable local brand names, Cô Ba soap was the crowning achievement of Trương Văn Bền’s long and successful business career.
[Video] Travel Back to 1902 Hanoi With This Rare Footage
Today, Hanoi's traffic is a force with which to be reckoned. But while the motorbikes, SUVs and public buses of the present create pandemonium in the capital's Old Quarter, the area around Dong Xuan M...
Tim Doling in Vietnam
The Lost Railway That Once Connected Da Nang and Hoi An
One hundred years ago, visitors to Tourane (Đa Nẵng) could alight from their train right outside the Hàn Market and, after crossing the Hàn River by ferry, take a steam train all the way to Hội An.
[Photos] 28 Advertisements From Old Saigon
For as much advertising as Saigon has today, the city's billboards and storefronts have made the switch from hand-painted lettering and retro designs to a more modern – and sometimes more generic – fo...
Reunification Palace Opens 2 New Rooms to Visitors
One of the city's most famous landmarks has opened two new rooms for visitors.
Tim Doling in Saigon
Date With the Wrecking Ball: Ernst Thälmann Secondary School
In the wake of last week’s announcement in Thanh Nien newspaper that Korean construction company Jimiro will build three 55-story office buildings, a 30-story five-star hotel and a 10-story commercial...
[Photos] 30 Images of 1975 Saigon
Over the weekend, Vietnam marked 41 years since the end of the American War. While Saigon has changed dramatically in those four decades, transforming into the economic heart of the country as well as...
Tim Doling in Heritage
Saigon on the Silver Screen: The Quiet American, 1958 and 2002
Graham Greene’s acclaimed anti-war novel The Quiet American has been filmed twice, on both occasions using Saigon locations. While Phillip Noyce’s 2002 remake is a far more faithful adaptation of the ...
[Photos] An Ode to Nguyen Hue's Demolished Fountain
While Saigon's collective memory seems to be pretty short, it wasn't that long ago that the wide, low fountain intersecting Le Loi and Nguyen Hue streets still existed.
Tim Doling in Saigon
Saigon’s Old French Planter Villas
Despite the ongoing destruction of colonial buildings in Saigon, there’s still a small quarter of District 3 where it’s possible to identify villas which were once occupied by rich French rubber plant...
[Photos] Check out Northern Vietnam's Stunning French Colonial High School
In northern Nam Dinh province, Nguyen Khuyen High School isn't your average teaching facility.
Tim Doling in Saigon
Saigon’s Favorite Churches: Huyen Sy Church
Widely regarded as one of the most beautiful churches in the city, the Église Huyện Sỹ in District 1 was constructed in 1902-1905 on the corner of Rue Frère Louis (now Nguyễn Trãi Street) and Rue Frèr...
[Video] 1960s Phnom Penh: Pearl of Asia
While we spend a great deal of time at Saigoneer posting photos and writing stories about old Saigon, formerly known as the “Pearl of the Orient”, Cambodia’s capital once shared a similar moniker...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Marshal Joffre’s 1921 Visit to Saigon
French government photographers have left us a detailed photographic record of Great War hero Marshal Joffre’s December 1921 visit to Saigon.
1969 My Tho Through the Eyes of an American Serviceman
In 1968, American soldier Lance Nix arrived in Vietnam on his first tour with the US military. While the country was torn apart elsewhere, Nix and his fellow soldiers in the MACV Team 66 stationed in ...
The Story of Saigon's First Supermarket
Way back in 1967, Saigon opened the doors of its first-ever modern supermarket.
30 Photos of 1980s-1990s Saigon
In full swing just after the country’s 1986 đổi mới economic reform, Saigon's lively, optimistic energy shines through in these images from Japanese photographer Doi Kuro, who visi...
Hoi An's Great Flood of 1964
Every year, Hoi An's annual floods blanket the riverside streets of the Old Town in a murky, blue-green water, making for plenty of tourist photo opportunities. By this point, local residents are used...
