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.
The Lowdown on Chi Hoa, Saigon's Maximum-Security Prison
Chi Hoa Prison, located in the northern half of District 10, is one of Vietnam's most famous high-security facilities. Though it was built over a half-century ago, the seven-hectare prison remains in ...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Saigon’s Famous Streets and Squares: Ham Nghi Boulevard, Part 2
Home to a tramway terminus, a grand hotel and the first United States Embassy in Saigon, Hàm Nghi's 20th-century story mirrors Vietnam's tumultuous journey. This is the second installment of a two-par...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Saigon’s Famous Streets and Squares: Ham Nghi Boulevard, Part 1
Once a downtown canal, a breeding ground for crocodiles and the heart of Saigon’s own Chinatown, Hàm Nghi is one of the city’s three widest boulevards.
20 Images of Hanoi's Old Quarter in 1896
Even as Hanoi charges into the future with flashy new skyscrapers and brand-new metro lines, the capital manages to hang on to its traditions. Particularly in busy downtown neighborhoods like the Old ...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Icons of Old Saigon: The Artists’ Pagoda and Cemetery in Gò Vấp
The Artists' Pagoda (Chùa Nghệ Sĩ, also known as Nhựt Quang Tự or Phật Quang Tự) and Cemetery in Gò Vấp is the last resting place for practitioners of cải lương ("Reformed Opera"), a popular form of t...
18 Old Postcards That Capture Da Lat’s Fading Charm
These 18 old postcards of Da Lat provide a flashback to the early twentieth century, a time when healthy pine trees shaded the town’s valleys and streets, while magnificent villas graced its hills.
[Photos] Northern Vietnam at the Turn of the 20th Century
Northern Vietnam has arguably the most charm of any region in a country graced with an abundance of natural beauty.
Tim Doling in Saigon
Icons of Old Saigon: The Lost Paris Foreign Missions Society Chapel
Hidden behind the Department of Foreign Affairs building at 4-6 Alexandre de Rhodes is the last surviving relic of that neighbourhood’s long association with the Roman Catholic Church – an abandoned c...
Vietnam's 19th-Century Boats, Courtesy of an Artsy French Lieutenant
With over 3,200 kilometers of coastline, it makes perfect sense that Vietnam has a long and complex relationship with the sea. Whether fishing, fighting or traveling, the country's boats are a reflect...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Old Saigon Building of the Week: Phương Nam Mansion at 110-112 Võ Văn Tần
After being sold at the astronomical price of US$35 million, it’s beginning to look like one of the city's most exquisite works of colonial architecture has been saved for future generations.
Tim Doling in Saigon
Officials Approve Demolition of French Mansion at 606 Tran Hung Dao
Permission has now been given to demolish another of the city’s old French buildings, the former SAMIPIC mansion at 606 Trần Hưng Đạo.
Long An Officials Will Proceed With Demolition of 1930s Bridge
A piece of Mekong Delta history is about to disappear, as officials in Long An province move ahead with the demolition of a decades-old bridge across the Bao Dinh River.
[Photos] 20 Vintage Postcards of Turn-of-the-Century Nam Dinh Province
At the turn of the 20th century, northern Nam Dinh province was an ever-growing combination of Vietnamese and French influences. The local houses and marketplaces of the Vietnamese occupied the same t...
Old Saigon Building of the Week: Former Saigon Adventist Hospital
The Phú Nhuận Red Cross Association building at 2 Hoàng Văn Thụ originated in 1960-1961 as the Saigon Adventist Hospital.
Architects Lament the Demolition of Saigon's Old Buildings
With limited space in downtown Saigon, it's pretty well-known that the city's heritage buildings are often in danger of being lost to newer, flashier development projects. More than a few historical s...
[Video] Watch Vietnamese History Unfold in This 1896-1945 Video
For a 14-minute crash course in early 20th century Vietnamese history, look no further than the following video, posted to YouTube by user Duc Duong. Beginning as far back as 1896, its choppy black-an...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Date With the Wrecking Ball: Thu Thiem Parish Church and Lovers of the Holy Cross Convent
Two of Saigon’s oldest Roman Catholic institutions, located across the river in Thủ Thiêm, may soon be gone.
[Photos] Welcome to Hue Circa 1896
Few photographic records exist of Vietnam – or anywhere, for that matter – before the 20th century. Still, Flickr user and master of vintage Vietnamese photos manhhai managed to dig up a series o...
Tim Doling in Heritage
Icons of Old Saigon: The Gambetta Monument
This week, we trace the saga of colonial Saigon’s monuments to French republican statesman Léon Gambetta (April 2, 1838 – December 31, 1882), whose statue was commissioned twice by mistake and th...
[Photos] Take a Trip Back in Time to 1969 Can Tho
For decades, Can Tho has been the capital of the Mekong Delta, drawing people from across southwestern Vietnam to its sleepy, riverside town. But while the city is developing a more modern edge these ...
