Saigoneer in Vietnam
These Rare Paintings Depict Life in Vietnam in the 17th and 18th Centuries
Now we can envision Vietnam well before the advent of photography.
Saigoneer in Vietnam
Last Surviving Imperial Maid of Nguyen Dynasty Passes Away at 102
An important historical figure of the Nguyen Dynasty has left us this week.
Saigoneer in Saigon
[Photos] Getting Lost in Traffic on Late 1960s Chau Van Liem Boulevard
Old photos of Vietnam and cheese: two things you can never too much of.
Saigoneer in Saigon
Cột Cờ Thủ Ngữ: Overlooked Saigon Landmark Gets a Makeover
Flanked by a busy road and overshadowed by an unfinished skyscraper , you'd be forgiven if you rarely noticed the Signal M...
Saigoneer in Vietnam
[Photos] Black-and-White Shots Depict Quotidian Details of 19th-Century Vietnam
These black-and-white shots are among the highest-quality documentation attempts of Vietnam at the end of the 19th century.
Saigoneer in Asia
[Photos] An Idyllic Slice of 1957 Cambodian Life
Vietnam isn't the only country in the region to change dramatically over the last several decades.
Saigoneer in Vietnam
[Photos] The Small-Town Charm of Vung Tau in the 1960s
From remembering fond memories with loved ones to selling products and even gaining clues to a grisly crime, photos have many uses.
Mark F in Vietnam
[Photos] Views of 1993 Vietnam From Behind the Lens of a Past War Orphan
I have been carrying this film around for over a quarter-century from Hanoi to Saigon to Boston and to New York.
Saigoneer in Vietnam
[Slideshow] The Story of the Hanoi Defense Motorcycle Club
Before the American War was in full swing, the Hanoi Department of Defense founded the Hanoi Defense Motorcycle Club, a collection of young men and women who were trained to do various tricks and “fly...
Saigoneer in Saigon
The Saigon Monorail That Could Have Been (1966)
Saigon has been without an urban railway since the last streetcars were removed from its streets in 1957. With explosive population growth over the past 20 years, city planners commissioned a US$154 b...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Old Saigon Building of the Week: 14 Cách Mạng Tháng 8
The art deco style building at 14 Cách mạng Tháng 8 was inaugurated in 1937 as the headquarters of the Cercle Indochinois at 14 rue Verdun.
Saigoneer in Vietnam
Slideshow: 15 Pictures of Vietnamese Children During Wartime
Vietnam Net recently published a set of photos from German photographer, Bill Thomas Hardt who documented the horrors of the American War.
Saigoneer in Saigon
Slideshow: How Saigon Changed From 1955 – 2005
In 2005, the French Consulate in Saigon commissioned a publication called Saigon 1955 – Ho Chi Minh City. As the title suggests, the book compares well-known Saigon locations from photo...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Old Saigon Building of the Week: Cercle des Officiers Building
The grand colonial old pile at 47 Lê Duẩn, right opposite the Diamond Plaza, is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the city.
Saigoneer in Saigon
Looking Back at Graham Greene's Saigon
Graham Greene’s The Quiet American is a must-read if one seeks to get a better picture of what Saigon was like in 50s or if you just enjoy a good novel (or both!). Saigoneer historian, Tim Doling rece...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Old Saigon Building of the Week: Liên Thành Fish Sauce Company HQ
Now one of the few surviving heritage buildings in District 4, the ornate colonial edifice at 243 Bến Vân Đồn was constructed in 1922 as the second Saigon office of the famous Phan Thiết-based fish sa...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Old Saigon Building of the Week: 141 Võ Văn Tần
The colonial villa at 141 Võ Văn Tần, next door to the Estar office building, is the house where acclaimed French writer Marguerite Duras (1914-1996) spent her last year in Sài Gòn.
Saigoneer in Saigon
10 Old Pictures of Art Deco Buildings in Saigon
Art deco is by far our favorite architectural style, one which luckily, Saigon has in spades. However, with each passing day, these buildings are being torn down to make way for modern structures whic...
Saigoneer in Saigon
10 Old Pictures of Workers in Saigon
As Vietnam's economy has become increasingly intertwined with the global free market over the past decade, some elements of Saigon's pre-war, western-oriented economy have reappeared - Factories aroun...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Old Saigon Building of the Week: French Masonic Lodge Le Réveil de L'orient
Saigon got its first French masonic lodge in the 1870s, when the Société civile le Réveil de l'Orient set up the Hôtel de la Loge Maçonnique Le Réveil de l'orient (Awakening of the East) at 17 rue d’E...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Old Saigon Building of the Week: Former Chambre de Commerce
Over the years, Mê Linh square – known immediately after the French arrived as the Rond-point and later as place Rigault de Genouilly – has lost many of its old buildings, including the imposing Commi...
Saigoneer in Vietnam
10 Sketches of Indochina From the 19th Century
Though already in existence, cameras were not the main tool used by the French to make visual records of their holdings in Indochina during the 19th century. In their infancy during this time, th...
Saigoneer in Saigon
The History of The Nguyễn Văn Hảo Building, Saigon's Art Deco Flatiron
The Nguyễn Văn Hảo building is perhaps Saigon's best example of art deco flatirons. Standing just across from Ben Thanh market, many of us pass it each day with no knowledge of its history. We've agai...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Saigon's Cầu Mống and the Remnants of Gustave Eiffel's Work in Vietnam
Many people will be familiar with the spurious claims that French civil engineer and architect Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923) was responsible for two of Vietnam’s most iconic buildings, the Long Biên Brid...
Brian Letwin in Saigon
Nguyen Hue Street (1871)
Nguyen Hue Street, one of Saigon’s oldest thoroughfares, has undergone numerous transformations over its history. With the craziness of the holidays and accompanying sea of motorbikes, it's hard to im...
Saigoneer in Saigon
Old Saigon Picture of the Day: Cyclo Drivers
Even though Saigon has gone through many changes over the last century, there are certain characteristics of the city that have endured. Before the age of the motorbike, cyclos were one of the most c...
Saigoneer in Saigon
The History of Saigon's Streetcars
We’ve posted images of Saigon’s old streetcars in the past but were unable to find much information written about them. Thankfully, Saigon historian, Tim Doling, recently published a piece about their...
Saigoneer in Saigon
Massive Old Map of Saigon (1968)
Since most of the old maps we dig up are limited in scope, focusing on the city center, we were excited to come across this comprehensive map of Saigon from 1968.
