Cocktail alchemist and architectural artist Richie Fawcett is a Saigon bar scene personality whose name precedes him in the Vietnamese hospitality industry. The 52-year-old moved his life to Ho Chi Minh City in 2011, head-hunted from a training ground in Hong Kong’s world-class, glitzy nightlife and bars to build a comparable cocktail scene from the clean slate […]
Since relocating to Ho Chi Minh City in 2016, Franklin has developed a close friendship with English artist Richie Fawcett who’s become renowned for his sketches of the city’s ever-changing skyline and currently has an exhibition of his works on the outside walls of the British Consulate General not too far from here. A number of […]
PERSON 1753 – 1792 Nguyne Hue, Also known as Emperor Quang Trung, was the second Emperor of the Tay Son dynasty of Vietnam, reigning from 1788 -1792, he was also one of the most successful military commanders in Vietnam’s histroy. Quang Trung was the regal name taken in 1792 by Ngyuen Hue, one of the Three […]
By Richie Fawcett PERSON 1870 – 1888Ton That Thiep was the son of Ton That Thuyet and the body guard of Ham Nghi. He was killed by Truong Quan Ngoc after being betrayed by him in order to hand Ham Nghi over to the French in November 1888 after a failed rebellion attempt. STREET One […]
PERSON – 1591 -1660 Jesuit missionary Alexandre De Rhodes, who worked in Vietnam between 1642 – 1644, and was the most notable missionary of this period. Among other achievements, he made a significant and lasting contribution Vietnamese culture by working with others to develop a written system of the Vietnamese language. The use of the system, which […]
Home to many French colonial buildings, Dong Khoi street has witnessed many changes in Ho Chi Minh City. During the French occupation, the street was the centre of glamour and was called Rue Catinat. Originally, the street was a royal road leading from the river wharf to the main Southern gate of the 1790 Gia […]
BY Richie Fawcett PEOPLE In Vietnam, women have always been in the forefront in resisting foreign domination. Two of the most famous heroines are the Trung sisters, who led the first national uprising against the harsh rule of a Chinese governor called To Dinh. Some feel that if the sisters had not resisted the Chinese […]
The shipyards founder was Nguyen Phuc Anh, after reoccupying Gia Dinh from the Tay Son rebellion 1790, he established the royal naval workshops in Ben Nghe (Saigon) to assemble a fleet of of modern warships. These ships were used to fight the rebels. After 1862 the shipyard was taken over by The French who stationed […]
By Richie Fawcett BUILDING Demolished in 2015, the Sabeco brewery building was built in the 1920’s as the warehouse of Brasseries et Glacieres de I’ndochine (BGI), a company which originated in the late 19th century as Victor Larue’s “Larue Freres Industriels-Glacieres-Brasseries and sold beer, ice and later soft drinks throughout Indochina. It became well known […]
BUILDING Built in 1914 by the French, the market was initially called Les Halles Centrales before being re-named Ben Thanh Market in 1948. Standing at the intersection of Le Loi and Ham Nghi, the market was built on reclaimed marshland. Today the front entrance of Ben Thanh Market is a popular symbol of the city. […]
