Repost of an essay about the time I went in search of a bookstore in #HCMC called Kafka but before I even got there I was sidetracked by a story about a far-out mystic who believed he could overthrow the French in #Saigon and become the ruler of Heaven and Earth. connla.substack.com/p/phan-xich-...

Repost of an essay about the time I went in search of a bookstore in #HCMC called Kafka but before I even got there I was sidetracked by a story about a far-out mystic who believed he could overthrow the French in #Saigon and become the ruler of Heaven and Earth. connla.substack.com/p/phan-xich-...

There’s another wave of author impersonators offering consultations/mentoring for a price. (I got one from “Claire Keegan” telling me I’m very promising!) I’m sure you are great, but I didn’t email to tell you how swell you are. Here’s info on book scams: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/prh-fraud/

Pictures in post below are by Eddie Adams, I have been kindly informed elsewhere. And these two are by Thomas Southall — taken in 1967. #saigon #rainydays #floodseason

A few pictures of a rainy #Saigon for another rainy day in Ho Chi Minh City. Not sure what year or what the source — please let me know if anyone knows!

#booksky Must track this down… “This book follows a first-person narrator as he takes a walk through an unnamed Brazilian city. It depicts the narrator's wandering both physically and mentally through an unfamiliar environment that reminds him of other walks he has taken in other cities.”

Besides the grub, it's clear that having spaces to play their own music was also part of the appeal to the bars / restos that Black soldiers visited. Here's a Spotify playlist with some of the tunes that I mentioned in the essay (w/ a few others) from that period: open.spotify.com/playlist/34U...

Unfortunately I couldn't find Heat Wave by Ahmad Jamal on Spotify but here's a YouTube version: www.youtube.com/watch?v=klm3... Love the thought of some dudes (high as kites) bopping around in a bar (in the middle of the day) over in Saigon's 'Soulsville" in 1970 listening to this...

And also came across this gem — wish I knew which bar this was taken in.

And also came across this gem — wish I knew which bar this was taken in.

A few pictures I sourced when researching my latest story for Substack — it's about Soul Food in wartime Saigon and the racial division that made 'Soul Alley' (in all of its manifestations) such a refuge for Black soldiers in #Saigon. Story is here: connla.substack.com/p/a-history-...

Where were the soul food Restos and soul brother bars of #Saigon? And what can they tell us about the men who frequented them and the #racism they experienced when serving in the US Army in Vietnam? Quite a lot, I’d argue! My latest long read on Substack is here: connla.substack.com/p/a-history-...

Where were the soul food Restos and soul brother bars of #Saigon? And what can they tell us about the men who frequented them and the #racism they experienced when serving in the US Army in Vietnam? Quite a lot, I’d argue! My latest long read on Substack is here: connla.substack.com/p/a-history-...

“Paris Dreambook: An unconventional guide to the splendor and squalor of the city.” An out of print book (published in 1990) by Lawrence Osborne. I snagged it online. Love the idea of an “unconventional guide” — are there others like this out there that anyone would recommend?

[𝐍𝐄𝐖 @asiancha.bsky.social 𝐄𝐗𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐕𝐄] Zalman S. Davis’s piece portrays Wong Bar Wine in Hanoi as a cinematic refuge inspired by Wong Kar-Wai. "The tribute to Wong Kar-Wai is unmistakable. [A] three-dimensional cinematic moment brought to life." ⧉ 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝: chajournal.blog/2025/11/04/w... 。。。。。

𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐧𝐚𝐦. We'd love to publish reviews of these books in @asiancha.bsky.social in 2026. If you are interested in reading any of these titles, please send an email to [email protected] to discuss further. 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1... 。。。。。

𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐧𝐚𝐦. We'd love to publish reviews of these books in @asiancha.bsky.social in 2026. If you are interested in reading any of these titles, please send an email to [email protected] to discuss further.

Really looking forward to everyone reading our tenth anniversary edition! It’ll be with our stockists in November, and is already at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival bookstore 🤩🤩🤩

Thanks to Pandan Weekly for publishing this ‘Writer’s Cut’ version of an essay that first appeared in @mekongreview.com For me, this is a story that will never get old. In these past couple of years, as bombs have rained down on Gaza and Ukraine, I have, alas, often thought of the Peace Plane.

By complete coincidence, the artist Bradford Edwards died exactly six years ago in Phnom Penh — I’m delighted that his ‘Peace Plane’ (co-created with the #Vietnamese artist Nguyen Manh Hung) gets to fly again — and its simple message will be seen once more pandanweekly.substack.com/p/peace-plan...

Here are a few pix of the Peace Plane, assembled in the garden of Đào Anh Khánh in Hanoi's Gia Lam district — just about 19 years ago, and just as APEC assembled in the Vietnamese capital.

Thanks to Pandan Weekly for publishing this ‘Writer’s Cut’ version of an essay that first appeared in @mekongreview.com For me, this is a story that will never get old. In these past couple of years, as bombs have rained down on Gaza and Ukraine, I have, alas, often thought of the Peace Plane.

By complete coincidence, the artist Bradford Edwards died exactly six years ago in Phnom Penh — I’m delighted that his ‘Peace Plane’ (co-created with the #Vietnamese artist Nguyen Manh Hung) gets to fly again — and its simple message will be seen once more pandanweekly.substack.com/p/peace-plan...

Some pix from a brief walk on a rainy day into Saigon’s Ða Kao neighborhood with Mr. Bui Jones 1/3

The American artist Bradford Edwards (1954 - 2019) famously collected Zippos that had been purchased and personalised by American soldiers in Vietnam during the War. This one, with the words "You Can Surf Later" etched into it, was his personal favourite:

A few pix from a cycle over to what is now Phuong Khánh Hội (formerly a part of District 4) in Ho Chi Minh City — a part of town I don’t know very well.

And a few other shots from that same feature, which was accompanied by an article written by Peter T. White.

A Moroccan soldier, near Lai Chau (north Vietnam, close to the border with China) in 1953. The image was taken by the combat photographer David Douglas Duncan for a feature that ran in LIFE magazine in August, 1953.

Ho Chi Minh City, October 23, and the first Christmas song is launched into the not-so-festive air .... And it's Happy Xmas (War Is Over) So at least it's a good one. (Jingle Bells is next). (66 days to go)

In a recent Substack article, I retold a Richard West anecdote about an American photographer that had managed to take a picture of Minh Mang’s tomb in Hue in 1966 only because the US army launched an offensive on his behalf to clear the area—so, I now know … 1/2 connla.substack.com/p/somewhat-f...

Don't think I have watched In the Mood of Love for 23 or so years — it's now '25 years old' — and can confirm it's still an absolute treat to watch... Side note: Only discovered last night that the title in Chinese 花樣年華 or 花样年华 translates to 'Flower-like Years', as in 'the prime of one's youth'

I managed to find a picture of one of the kinds of plaques mentioned in my last story about Kipling in #Saigon. They were apparently popular with American officers and soldiers stationed in #Vietnam.

Can also be read on a Monday, or a Tuesday, or... New piece on Substack. About 'Kipling' (and other Britons) in Saigon, empires and imperialism, and Kipling's strange afterlife in Vietnam.

Can also be read on a Monday, or a Tuesday, or... New piece on Substack. About 'Kipling' (and other Britons) in Saigon, empires and imperialism, and Kipling's strange afterlife in Vietnam.

If you need a Sunday afternoon/ evening read... About Kipling, imperialism, a consequential British intervention in Vietnam -- and more. connla.substack.com/p/kipling-in...

Info on Books By People here: booksbypeople.org

A map of Saigon - Cholon from 1952 Source: www.entreprises-coloniales.fr/inde-indochi...

I just re-posted this short story (slightly updated), which I wrote earlier this year, about an old Vet who gets stuck in Khe Sanh all over again. connla.substack.com/p/stuck-in-k... [Tried and failed to find a home for this one which is why I took it down 4-5 months ago].

ARB newsletter for 13 October 2025: reviews, podcasts of history, travel-writing, fiction, short stories and poetry in translation mailchi.mp/213c3aed0162...

Performatively reading in the cafe, but wearing white gloves so I'm still venerating the Book As Object, with a t-shirt saying "I know archivists don't wear gloves" so people know the gloves are performative.

A new review of ‘Falling for Saigon’ by @asianreviewofbooks.bsky.social : asianreviewofbooks.com/falling-for-...

Seven years ago, I came across a strange novel about a woman who tries to raise a orangutan as a human. In 2020, with the help of @meandmybigmouth.bsky.social, Gertrude Trevelyan's Appius and Virginia saw print again after almost 90 years—and now her renaissance continues. neglectedbooks.com/?...

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... —excellent piece on the latest wave of youth protests, which brings in some resonances with the Milk Tea Alliance and mentions my book on that topic (the protests in Hong Kong, Thailand and Myanmar during an earlier wave)

Spotted nestling into a Pennsylvanian cornfield — thanks to Calvin for these generous words that he shared on Instagram. #booksky #fallingforsaigon

I really enjoyed discovering that Gerald Scarfe visited Vietnam in the 60s — and a big part of that enjoyment was because I got to read Richard West’s little vignettes, some of which made it into this piece:

In the mid 60s, the revered British illustrator Gerald Scarfe took his sharp eye – and sharper pen – to Vietnam, capturing the madness (and sadness) of war with dark wit and brutal honesty. Here’s what I found out about his time in Saigon and beyond. open.substack.com/pub/connla/p...

In the mid 60s, the revered British illustrator Gerald Scarfe took his sharp eye – and sharper pen – to Vietnam, capturing the madness (and sadness) of war with dark wit and brutal honesty. Here’s what I found out about his time in Saigon and beyond. open.substack.com/pub/connla/p...

“Where do you get your ideas from, Ms Le Guin?” From forgetting Dostoyevsky and reading road signs backwards, naturally. Where else?