Khôi Phạm in Natural Selection
A Case for the Sweet-and-Sour Tamarind as Saigon's Official Municipal Tree
What is the municipal tree of Saigon? In popular culture, Hanoi is perhaps intricately linked with the paralyzing but often romanticized aroma of hoa sữa, while just over a hundred kilometers to the e...
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 colon...
Century-Old Historic Villa in Đồng Nai Faces Demolition Due to Road Project
It’s yet another case of new infrastructure versus old heritage building — one of Vietnam’s most common urban planning clashes in recent years.
Paul Christiansen in Dishcovery
A Flaky Pâté Chaud That's Been a Saigon Institution Since 1930
It took me 37 years to have my first pâté chaud.
The Tumultuous Tale of Three Ga Sài Gòn Locations, From 1885 Until Now
Travelers arriving by train in Hồ Chí Minh City sometimes express surprise that the main Saigon Railway Station is located in Hòa Hưng, some distance from the central business district. In fact, this ...
A Brief History of the Vietnam Railways Building Before Its 110th Birthday
The iconic Bến Thành Market is not the only Saigon landmark that has endured for more than a century. The Vietnam Railways building at 138 Hàm Nghi, given its inauguration in 1914, is pushing the 110-...
A Brief History of Cung Văn Hóa Lao Động and Saigon's First Swimming Pool
Once a fashionable rendezvous for the elite of colonial society, the Labour Culture Palace (Cung Văn hoá Lao động) at 55B Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai is today one of Hồ Chí Minh City’s most popular spor...
Officials Announce (Yet Another) Plan to Restore Historic Đà Lạt-Tháp Chàm Railway
The 84-km railway line connecting Đà Lạt and Tháp Chàm (Phan Rang) was built between 1908 and 1932 and abandoned in 1976.
