in Hanoi

Rare Black-and-White Album Depicts a Historic Flooding in 1952 Hanoi

The extreme weather patterns in recent years might make you worry that Vietnam’s drainage network is buckling under the pressure of rapid urbanization, but looking at these rare photos taken of a flood in Hanoi over half a century ago provides strange comfort that our soggy reality today might not be all that bizarre.

in Vietnam

Back in Time to the 1990s, When Vintage Renault Goélette Roamed Vietnam

A sturdy, stately vehicle roamed Vietnam's city streets and rural roads not too long ago.

in Hanoi

How Hanoi's Infectious Rats and Impish Locals Bamboozled the French in 1902

When facing a bubonic plague epidemic, is it wiser to delve into sewers and cull infected rats yourself or offer payment to Vietnamese for deliveries of severed tails instead? For Hanoi’s French colonial rulers, the answer to this question was never in doubt, yet the consequences led to one of most humiliating periods of their rule.

Paul Christiansen

in Saigon

The Saigon Post Office, Benjamin Franklin, and a Source of Unexpected Pride

It’s not hard to find snippets of America in Saigon.

in Vietnam

In 1965, Life in Cần Thơ Was Tightly Interwoven With the Mekong River

With more than 1.5 million citizens and many indicators of a modern metropolis, from the international airport to several Vincom malls, Cần Thơ is firmly established as the Mekong Delta's largest city. But before it was the most important regional hub for business, education and culture, it was a relatively small port dedicated to fishing and trading. Wooden boats gather to offload people and products. In 1965,  Cần Thơ carried an unmistakable vibe of agricultural commerce. Its position on the Hậu River, a distributary of the Mekong not too far upstream from the fertile coast, brought boats from all directions carrying fruit, vegetables, and seafood. Away from the waterways, bicycles were a predominant mode of transportation, ferrying locals to markets, homes, and shops. The camera captures local commotion.  This collection of images taken by an unknown photographer and gathered by Flickr archivist extraordinaire manhhai reveals a more austere version of Cần Thơ that exists mostly in memory and stories. Clothing without a single name brand long, nón lá covering nearly every head in the markets and rows of storefronts absent of any neon bulbs: it's a very different Cần Thơ. Have a look and consider how much has changed in six decades:  Spokes, chains, peddles and thighs powered locomotion. Local children who would be elderly by now.  The cause of this dour expression in front of the river will never be known. Comings and going via all variety of wooden boats. Was this the first time some of these children ever had their photo taken? While less common than bicycles, trucks, vans and cars rumbled through town. A panoply of daily life and rustic routines. Not enough glory is reserved for the day laborers.  Even the sweet potatoes get covered during a downpour. A simple fishing boat pushes out to fill its net. These photos are all, really, a matter of perspective. Scenes of an informal economy.  Selling fruits to feed the baby. What is the average age at which one graduates from baby cap to nón lá? Bananas were a popular fruit and they still are. Typical activity on an unpaved road. Not a single plastic stool in sight during lunchtime. Trudging barefoot with heavy baskets. It's not too hard to imagine the cacophony of orderly chaos. Routine daily commute via boat. The doors are open so the activity spills onto the streets.  Thats a lot of children. Imagine what your Grab app would look like here. Moments of happiness abound in the simple experiences.

in Saigon

Reminiscing About the Last Days of Downtown Saigon’s Pigeon Coop

The first time I pay a visit to the Pasteur pigeon coop, Lê Văn Âu assures me the place is probably not going anywhere.

in Vietnam

A Visual Timeline of Hội An's Historic Chùa Cầu Through the Eras

With the recent makeover of Hội An's Chùa Cầu sparking divisive chatter , it's a great time to gaze at the iconi...

in Vietnam

There's a Dark Context Behind These Seemingly Random 1930 French Sketches

Can visual representations of colonial activities produced with immoral intent become works of art?

Back Heritage

in Saigon

[Photos] Changes Over Time: Saigon's Canals (2002 - 2014) Part II

Due to the popularity of our previous piece which illustrated the physical changes along Saigon’s canals, we’ve managed to cobble together a new set of photos.

in Saigon

Bót Catinat: Saigon's "Gold Land"

Located on a prime site in one of Hồ Chí Minh City’s numerous “đất vàng” (gold land) areas and already earmarked for redevelopment, the headquarters of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism at...

in Saigon

Street Cred: Yersin

If you’ve been following this column, then you’ve probably noticed the pattern of folks getting famous for taking a stance and sticking up for Vietnam. By now, you should know that Vietnamese people a...

Brian Letwin

in Saigon

Fun With Old Maps: Saigon (1895)

While not the oldest map of Saigon we’ve come across, this 1895 map, “Plan des environs de Saïgon” shows not only downtown, but the surrounding countryside. Even after 36 years of French occupation, t...

in Vietnam

Dung Ha: Vietnam’s Lesbian Mob Boss

Among the infamous women of Vietnam’s criminal underworld, Dung Ha was one of the most notorious. Though her reign was short, it was characterized by wealth, power and love affairs that still draw cur...

Brian Letwin

in Vietnam

17 Rare Photos of Vietnam Taken 120 Years Ago

To mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and Vietnam, the National Library of Vietnam has released a collection of more than 200 photos taken by Governor General of Ind...

in Saigon

Street Cred: Phan Xích Long

Like a page straight out of Bizzaro World, fast food franchises have a heightened social status here in Vietnam.

in Saigon

Old Saigon Building of the Week: Maison du Combattant

The project to create a Maison du Combattant (War Veterans Centre) was launched in 1929 by the Amicale Cochinchinoise des Anciens Combattants de la Grande Guerre (Cochinchina Friendly Association of G...

Brian Letwin

in Saigon

The Lost History of Germans in Saigon

Though it was a French colony, companies from all over Europe were engaged in trade and production in Indochina, especially in Saigon. Germans in particular played a major role in the city’s turn-of-t...

in Saigon

The Incredible History of Saigon’s Racetracks

Although it closed 3 years ago, for the city’s older citizens, District 11’s Phu Tho Horse Racing Ground represents a bygone era of racing and gambling in Saigon. While an important but fading cultura...

in Saigon

Street Cred: Lý Thường Kiệt

Over mountains and rivers of the South, reigns the Emperor of the South. This fate is written in the Book of Heaven. How dare those barbarians invade our land? Your armies, without pity, will be annih...

in Saigon

[Photos] Women's Fashion in 1960s and 70s Saigon

Before 1975, fashion in Vietnam differed greatly between North (which preferred traditional styles) and South (which put a spin on customary dress and adopted Western attire).

in Saigon

Jean-Baptiste Louis-Pierre: The Father of Saigon's Green Spaces

As traffic congestion and air pollution intensifies, Hồ Chí Minh City’s urban greenbelt has assumed increased significance as the “green lung” which helps to disperse pollutants, check the flow of dus...

in Saigon

Gangsters of Saigon: Dai Cathay - Part 2

In the 1960s, the height of existentialism and hippy ideals in Saigon, many of the city’s wealthy hung out at restaurants, discotheques and drug dens in Districts 1 and 3. Dai became a familiar face i...

in Saigon

Gangsters of Saigon: Dai Cathay - Part 1

"First Dai, second Ty, third Cai, fourth The" was a saying about the 4 'kings' of Saigon's gangs before 1975. This implies that the most badass of the group was Dai, also known as Dai Cathay, who...

Brian Letwin

in Saigon

Old Pictures of Saigon's Canals

Canals used to serve as the Saigon's main commercial highway, connecting the city to the Saigon river and in turn the web of rivers that traverse Vietnam.

in Saigon

Street Cred: Vo Thi Sau

Life, like the streets and alleys of Saigon, certainly has its fair share of twists and turns. One moment, you’re comfortably cruising down one direction, and suddenly, you encounter a detour. You try...

in Vietnam

25 Old Photos of Bicycles in Vietnam

Before motorbikes, bicycles were the main method of transportation for Vietnamese. According to VietNamNet, bikes were once sold for as much as a teal of gold (around $1,600 in present-day value) and ...

in Saigon

The Curious Case of Saigon's Vanishing Revolutionary Monuments

It’s often assumed that it’s only Hồ Chí Minh City’s colonial-era heritage buildings which are under threat. But during the research for his forthcoming book of walking tours, Tim Doling discovered th...

in Vietnam

Fun With Old Maps: Cochinchine (1881)

In 1858, the French began their conquest of South Vietnam and, by the time this map was created in 1881, the colonialists had consolidated their concessions in the region which stretched from the Meko...