Tim Doling in Saigon
How Saigon's Lăng Cha Cả Went From Mausoleum to Roundabout
If you’re just off the plane and heading west into the city, it’s hard to avoid the busy six-way Lăng Cha Cả intersection south of Hồ Chí Minh City’s Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport. But it’s even harder to believe that this was once the site of a national monument: the grand mausoleum of Bishop Pigneau de Béhaine — best known in Vietnam as Giám mục Bá Đa Lộc (Cha Cả).
A Recuperating Vietnam in 1980, as Documented by Philip Jones Griffiths
Released in 1971, Vietnam Inc. by Philip Jones Griffiths was a career-defining work for the Welsh photographer, whose candid...
By Preserving Tradition, Honoring Creativity and Showcasing Sustainability, Young Vietnamese Chefs Excel at Ngon Challenge by Marriott International
The glossy menus, sleek decor, and iconic logos of international hotel restaurants often obscure the human stories behind each dish. While catering to global guests, these restaurants often serve meals with origins in family kitchens and regional culinary traditions. Young, local chefs balance nostalgic associations with contemporary techniques and creative expression to create these menus. Returning for its second year this past September, Ngon Challenge continued to celebrate and nurture Vietnamese culinary talent across Marriott International’s hotels and resorts in Vietnam.
Tim Doling in Saigon
Lycée Chasseloup-Laubat, the Saigon School That Taught Marguerite Duras, Norodom Sihanouk
Lê Quý Đôn High School (Trường Trung học Phổ thông Lê Quý Đôn) at 110 Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai Street is the city’s oldest surviving educational establishment.
Sác-Lô in Hanoi: How a Pre-Industrial Vietnam Captivated Charlie Chaplin in 1936
About 90 years ago, Modern Times was released. Its title carried a warning. The film railed against the new industrial age and the misery it inflicted on workers amid the Great Depression. Yet a film about the dangers of modernity was being told through an almost-silent medium, nearly a decade into the era of sound. Charlie Chaplin, who wrote, directed, produced, and scored the film, in addition to starring in it, was deliberately resisting Hollywood's shift into the future.
The Story of Cà Mên, Vietnam’s Living Fossil From the Wartime and Subsidy Eras
During lunchtime at work, I spot a few aluminum cà mên that my coworkers bring from home to keep their lunch warm. Cà mên was once an indispensable item in my family too, but now it’s rarely used; it's limited to the few occasions when my grandparents or parents pack lunch for the kids.
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.
[Photos] Take a Tour of 1966 Saigon
In 1966, Flickr user Mikey Walters' father, a US serviceman, sent a series of photos to his wife documenting downtown Saigon for the folks at home.
Check out These Vintage Stamps From French Indochina
In the first half of the 20th century, Indochina's stamps served as a miniature window into the people and places of the former French colony.
Tim Doling in Vietnam
Take a Ride on the Langbian Cog Railway, Circa 1927
The Langbian Cog Railway was opened in stages between 1919 and 1932. The first 40 kilometers of the line from Tourcham (Tháp Chàm) to Krông Pha travelled through relatively flat terrain and required o...
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 ...
