AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 COCKTAILS AND SKETCHES – NUMBER 23 – CAO BA QUAT , HCMC, VIETNAM.
Cao ba Quat was a Vietnamese poet and revolutionary who led a peasant uprising against Emperor Tu Duc. Her was either executed or killed in the uprising known as the “Locust Revolt”. Many of his poems were destroyed, but about 1400 ( most written in Han Tu ) survive. He is remembered as a great […]
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 COCKTAILS AND SKETCHES – NUMBER 22 – THAI VAN LUNG, HCMC, VIETNAM.
By Richie Fawcett PERSON 1916 – 1946 Thai Van Lung was a member of the National Assembly who took an active role in the revolutionary struggle to prevent the return of the French after World War 2, leading to his capture and death in a French jail aged only 30 years old. STREET The Street […]
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 COCKTAILS AND SKETCHES – NUMBER 21 – CHU MANH TRINH, HCMC, VIETNAM.
PERSON 1862 – 1905 Chu Manh Trinh was a civil Mandarin that was both respected and criticized at the same time. His strengths were that he was noted for his talent in poetry, architectural design and restoration of temples , notably the stunning Huong Tich Tru Pagaoda. He wrote many beautiful poems about the Huong […]
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 COCKTAILS AND SKETCHES – NUMBER 20 – LE THANH TON, HCMC, VIETNAM.
By Richie Fawcett PERSON 1442-1497 Le Thanh Ton was emperor of Vietnam from 1460 until his death in 1497. He is generally regarded as one of the greatest emperors in the Vietnamese history and the Vietnamese people loved him. He cared deeply about introducing Confucian principles in his government and seeing that the land was […]
LOCKDOWN ART FROM THE STUDIO SAIGON -Turning round a negative situation into a new style of art.
By Richie Fawcett Well, were all in the same boat arn’t we? So after a few days in a locked down building in the middle of D1 that’s exactly what I drew…a boat…actually it came out as a First World War dreadnaught battleship suspended in mid air by multicolored balloons. Its an image that sums […]
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 COCKTAILS AND SKETCHES – NUMBER 19 – TON DUC THANG, HCMC, VIETNAM.
By Richie Fawcett PERSON Ton Duc Thang, a Southern revolutionary activist who in 1927 organized the first workers strike in colonial Saigon. He became the second and final president of North Vietnam and the first president of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. He served as president, initially of north Vietnam from September 2nd, 1969, and […]
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 COCKTAILS AND SKETCHES – NUMBER 18 – THE CENTRAL POST OFFICE, HCMC, VIETNAM.
By Richie Fawcett BUILDING Constructed between 1886 and 1891 to a design by Alfred Foulhoux, the Saigon Central Post Office features a style reminiscent of late 19th Century French Industrial architecture. One of the most recognizable landmarks of District 1, the Post Office is fully functioning to this day. Here you can change money, buy […]
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 COCKTAILS AND SKETCHES – NUMBER 17 – THE BUS STATION, HCMC, VIETNAM.
By Richie Fawcett LOCATION This station was located on the Southern side of a busy, wide traffic circle in central HCMC. Not so much a single structure, but rather a series of small buildings, from which different bus companies used to offer their services. This was a fairly noisy, busy place, even tricky to walk […]
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 COCKTAILS AND SKETCHES – NUMBER 16 – TAN SON NHAT AIRPORT
By Richie Fawcett LOCATION Tan Son That airport has its origins in 1926, when the French built an airfield here to replace their earlier Phu Tho airfield (1910). It was further developed by the Japanese Air Force during the Japanese occupation of 1941 -1945. In the late 1950’s, with US aid, a 7200ft (2190m) runway […]
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 COCKTAILS AND SKETCHES – NUMBER 15 – THE OPERA HOUSE, HCMC, VIETNAM.
By Richie Fawcett BUILDING Opened on the 1st January 1900, Saigon Opera house has a current capacity of 500 people. Built in the flamboyant style of the French third Republic, the building has had a history of multi purpose use. It was used as a shelter for French colonialists moving from North Vietnam and was […]
