100 Views of Saigon
Saigon is more than its misconceptions and its tragedies in the past, like a lotus, it blooms in this place of many dreams that thrive and grow so progressively.
Take a look around this vibrant city with fresh eyes and find new perspectives from what you’ve ever known.
SGN001 On Nguyễn Hữu Cảnh, passing by Convent Saint Paul de Chartres
SGN002 In front of the “Pink Church” Nhà Thờ Tân Định
SGN003 In the kitchen of Bánh Xèo 46A
SG004 The old banyan tree at Bach Tung Diep Park
SGN005 Blooming flowers at Bonjour Cafe the Art
SGN006 Morning coffee at Cafe Blooming
SGN007 Afternoon Ride along Trường Sa Street in Dakao
SGN008 Sidewalk morning coffee along Nguyễn Thái Bình, District 1
SGN009 Afternoon chat over Bún Bò at Quán Bún Bò Bà Ba
SGN010 The Rainbow Bridge at night | Cầu Mống
SGN011 Under the Saigon Bridge | Cầu Sài Gòn
SGN012 Hot Hủ Tiếu Mì at Tân Định Market
SGN013 Evening hang out at Cafe Cỏ, 1C Mê Linh, Bình Thạnh
SGN014 Coconut seller at Lê Quốc Hùng, Ward 6, District 4
SGN015 Dinner at Cơm Tấm Nhớ 106 Hoàng Diệu, Ward 6, District 4
SGN016 Afternoon stroll along Comptoir Nguyễn Văn Hảo Saigonnais Flatiron Building
SGN0017 Waiting for lunch order at Bún Riêu Gành
SGN018 Chit-chat at Cộng Cà Phê at the Catinat building
SGN019 Afternoon coffee at Cafe Slow Collaboration with Ngoc Sang Le
SGN020 Crossing the street near the National Treasury Building
SGN021 Hotel Grand Saigon at 8 Đồng Khởi, District 1
SGN022 The Hồ Chí Minh City Museum, view from the basement bunker Bảo tàng Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, formerly Gia Long Palace
SGN023 Slurping Phở at Phở Lai in 48/2/4 Mê Linh, Bình Thạnh
SGN024 Chilling along Hoang Sa in Dakao, District 1
SGN025 Late night at Hoa Đông Quán at 121 Lý Tự Trọng, District 1
SGN026 Afternoon coffee at Hue Cafe Roastery at 67B Xuân Thủy, Thảo Điền, District 2
SGN027 Incense Offering at Ha Chuong Hoi Quan Pagoda
SGN028 Passing by Katinat Saigon Kafe at 91 Đồng Khởi, District 1
SGN029 Cửa Tây (West Gate) at the Bến Thành Market
SGN030 Night Street Stall at Lê Công Kiều St at Nguyễn Thái Bình, District 1
SGN031 Shophouses along Lê Công Kiều Street at Nguyễn Thái Bình, District 1
SGN032 Blooming Lotus pond
SGN033 Dinner at Marcel Gourmet Burger at 132 Calmette, Nguyễn Thái Bình, District 1
SGN034 Nightcap at Maison Marou Thảo Điền at 90 Xuân Thủy, Thảo Điền, District 2
SGN035 The Signal Mast at Night from Khanh Hoi Bridge 1865, credited to French Navy Capt. Laurent-Joseph Lejeune
SGN036 Basilique-Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Saïgon Vương cung thánh đường Chính tòa Đức Mẹ Vô nhiễm Nguyên tội
SGN037 Lunchtime Phở at Phở Bắc Hải Số 1 Hà Nội at 33 Quốc Hương, Thảo Điền, District 2
SGN038 At the former USIS (US Information Service) building at 37 Hai Bà Trưng, District 1. 1950s, Arthur Kruze
SGN039 The Tet Flower Market by the Binh Dong Canal Chợ Hoa Tết - Bến Bình Đông, District 8
SGN040 Under the Wishing Tree
SGN041 Arranging flowers at a stall in Ho Thi Ky Flower Market at Chợ Hoa Hồ Thị Kỷ, District 10
SGN042 At the corner of Nguyễn Văn Tráng and Nguyễn Trãi streets, District 1
SGN043 Fishing by the Bến Nghé Canal at Ward 6, District 4
SGN044 Bún Bò Huế by the sidewalk along 126 Võ Thị Sáu, District 3
SGN045 Passing by Đình Tân An Village Hall
SGN046 At the old colonial villas in 214-216 Pasteur
SGN047 Saigon Waterbus Docking at Bạch Đằng Wharf
SGN048 Passing by the “Turtle Lake” | Hồ Con Rùa, Công trường Quốc tế, Ward 6, District 3. 1967, Nguyen Ky
SGN049 After lunch coffee at Tiệm Cafe Mùa Hè
SGN050 Morning walk view of the Church of St. Joan of Arc | Nhà thờ Thánh Jeanne d’Arc at 116A Hùng Vương, District 5
SGN051 Saigon, view from the sky
SGN052 Old Apartment Windows in District 5
SGN053 Picnic by the Museum of Vietnamese History | Bảo tàng Lịch sử Việt Nam Tp. HCM 1926, August Delaval, formerly known as Musée Blanchard de la Brosse
SGN054 Morning Bún Bò Street Stall
SGN055 Passing by an aquarium shop in Chợ Lớn, District 5
SGN056 Walking by the corner of Brodard Café. Formerly a 1930s jewelry shop known as Bijouterie Chambon
SGN057 Lighting incense at Thien Hau Temple | Chùa Bà Thiên Hậu
SGN058 Former legal office at 161 Nguyễn Du, District 1 1935, Louis Chauchon
SGN059 Seventh-day Adventist Church in Cholon at 61 An D. Vương District 5
SGN060 An Apartment on Thái Văn Lung St., District 1
SGN061 Passing by Tân Hàng St in Chợ Lớn
SGN063 The pond at Tao Đàn Park | Công viên Tao Đàn, District 1
SGN062 Going around the courtyard at Thanh Da Housing Cư xá Thanh Đa, Bình Thạnh (1960s)
SGN064 Looking over the courtyard of the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts Bảo tàng Mỹ thuật Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh Formerly the Société immobilière Hui Bon Hoa, 1929-1934
SGN065 Sunday Kite-flying at Thu Thiem
SGN066 Enjoying Sủi Cảo dumplings at Hà Tôn Quyền Street, District 11
SGN067 Walking along Hai Bà Trưng Street in District 1
SGN068 Towered Shophouse along Ngô Quyền, District 5
SGN069 Afternoon chat at Lacàph Coffee Bar at Art Arcade, 151 Dong Khoi
SGN070 Đổi mới train passing through the new Bình Lợi Railway Bridge
SGN071 At the Chợ Lớn Central Post Office | Bưu Điện Trung Tâm Chợ Lớn
SGN072 View from inside the Independence Palace windows Dinh Độc Lập, 1962, Ngô Viết Thụ
SGN073 Bia Sài Gòn Brewery at 187 Nguyễn Chí Thanh, Ward 12, District 5
SGN074 Xe Ôm* driver taking a break, along Calmette and Lê Thị Hồng Gấm Streets
SGN075 Afternoon light at the former Etablissements Brossard et Mopin headquarters at 48 Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, Đa Kao, District 1
SGN076 The statue of Trần Hưng Đạo at the Mê Linh roundabout | Tượng Trần Hưng Đạo
SGN077 Walking by the former Secrétariat du Gouvernement Building, 1888 presently the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade Sở Công Thương thành phố Hồ Chí Minh
SGN078 Breakfast at Bánh Mì Hòa Mã at 53 Cao Thắng, District 3
SGN079 After the Sunday afternoon mass at Thu Thiem Parish Church Nhà thờ Thủ Thiêm, 1859
SGN080 Chị Ơi’s Fresh Fried Bananas (Chuối chiên) at Hẻm 53 Cao Thắng, District 3
SGN081 Waterbus passing by Landmark 81 along the Saigon River
SGN082 Driving by the Điện Biên Phủ Roundabout
SGN083 Cart of Fresh Ripe Rambutans (Chôm chôm)
SGN084 Going to Bình Tây Market | Chợ Bình Tây
SGN085 A light sunshower at the old apartments in Dakao
SGN086 Rainbow Sunset over the Saigon River
SGN087 Boarding the train at Saigon Station | Ga Sài Gòn at 1 Nguyễn Thông St., District 3
SGN088 Afternoon sun at Phở 24 at 121 Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm
SGN089 The Port of Saigon | Cảng Sài Gòn
SGN90 Coffee Time at Local Saigon Cafe at 12 Thủ Khoa Huân, District 1
SGN091 Visiting the Vietnamese National Pagoda | Việt Nam Quốc Tự at 244 Ba Tháng Hai, District 10
SGN092 Saigon Skyline at Dusk
SGN093 View of Bitexco Financial Tower | State Bank of Vietnam | Thu Thiem Tunnel Tháp Tài chính Bitexco | Ngân hàng Nhà nước Việt Nam Tp. HCM | Hầm Thủ Thiêm
SGN094 Evening dessert Chè Mè Đen (black sesame sweet soup) at 149 Nguyễn Thái Bình, District 1
SGN095 At the Saigon Municipal Opera House | Nhà hát Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh Opėra Municipal de Saigon, 1897, Eugène Ferret
SGN096 At the Saigon Central Post Office| Bưu điện Trung tâm Sài Gòn Poste centrale de Saïgon,1886-91, Alfred Foulhoux
SGN097 The Orchid House at the Saigon Zoo And Botanical Garden Thảo Cầm Viên Sài Gòn - Nhà Hoa Lan
SGN098 View of The Eye Hospital Of Hồ Chí Minh City | Bệnh Viện Mắt Thành Phố Hồ Chí Minh, formerly Clinique Saint-Paul, 1936-37, Louis Chauchon
SGN099 Evening walk at Lê Văn Tám Park | Công viên Lê Văn Tám
SGN100 An evening at the Nguyễn Huệ Walking Street Phố đi bộ Nguyễn Huệ Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh
SGN047B: Chilling by the “Turtle Lake” | Hồ Con Rùa Công trường Quốc tế, 1967, Nguyen Ky
SGN101 Chatting at Workshop Coffee
SGN102 Morning bread from Breadventure
SGN 103 Drawing at Okkio Caffè
SGN104 Passing by a corner of Marie Curie High School at Điện Biên Phủ
SGN105 Bến Thành Market at Dusk
I first arrived in Saigon during Tết Lunar New Year of 2019. It was a new adventure for me, not knowing what to expect for the next few years of my life moving here. After a week, I’d say I fell in love, and maybe I still am, fast forward to more than two years - especially now that I have just finished 100 Views of Saigon.
This project has been a journey in many ways as it takes after my previous series of 100 Views of Manila. I wasn’t actually planning to work on it as I had initially planned for other projects to work on. But after friends encouraging me, and not knowing much about the city or Vietnam except for typical touristy information and the misconceptions about it, I sought for a way to discover about Saigon and look at it in detail, in a different perspective, drawing and painting it not only on canvas, but also in my heart and memory.
Same as how I wanted to capture Manila, I would like people to see Saigon, through this project, with fresh eyes. I would like to share a whole new feeling for those who currently live here, those who have, and those who have never been.
Saigon is more than just its misconceptions and its tragedies in the past, like a lotus, it blooms in this place of many dreams that thrive and grow so progressively.
It’s not perfect, as with any other place, but that’s also what makes it a place that so many people love so much.
The hardest part of this project was choosing which views to put in, because for sure, there are more than a hundred views to capture the different moods and feelings of Saigon. So this is not a definitive list, but more of what I felt was memorable for me during the time I’m working on it, a starting point, a guide to people who may want to make their own 100 views, or even more!
To capture the mood, the feeling, the essence of a place as a foreigner, I was initially scared as I felt that I may not be able to do it properly, yet I still proceeded. I’ve met so many people that inspired me and made so many friends, all thanks to this project. Saigon, and Vietnam as a whole, has given me so much, and I am forever grateful for all your support to follow me this far.
When we go out, let’s look at Saigon, or even wherever we may be in the world, with fresh eyes and excitement, to look forward to experience something new even if it’s a place we’ve been to so many times.
February 2020 - June 2021
