The Vietnamese Narrative with Nhan Phan
by Nhan Phan
The Vietnamese Narrative: A Collection of Photographs is available here! https://issuu.com/nhan.phan/docs/viet_narrative_photobook. Follow me as I travel around Vietnam to record stories of historical relics in Vietnamese history and discover how they contributed to the Vietnamese narrative as well as what they reveal about the nature of change within the country. The stories of the past that those relics can offer can tell us a great deal about how far the Vietnamese story had evolved after the war. Join me to discover a heritage-rich side of Vietnam that’s not commonly discovered to both locals and tourists alike.
Episodes
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Episode 13: Conclusion - The Main Lessons
After two months in production, 6 cities, and over 3,850km, my summer adventure is coming to an end. It would only be fitting to write this conclusion episode to sum up the takeaways I gathered from my summer experience. In this final episode, I will be discussing three main themes that I have...
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Episode 12: Saigon 2 - Ben Thanh Market and the Role of the "Marketplace"
In this episode, we will explore the history of Ben Thanh Market, what its function is, as well as the perception of the market from the people who work within them. As this is one of the last episodes, I will examine, from the perspective of a Viet native, what really is the definition of a...
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Episode 11: Hanoi - The Evolution of Northern Cuisine
On this third and final episode in the North of Vietnam, I headed back from my multi-day adventure in Sapa and Lao Cai to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. I embarked on a cuisinal journey to explore the essence of Northern Vietnamese through food. In this episode, we will explore different famous...
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Episode 10: Sapa 2 - Tribal Lives and Tribal Circumstances
On my third day in Sapa, I decided to take a walk around Ta Phin village to take in the scenery in the area. A side road extends off the boulevard, which leads into the village and points towards Suoi Ho, an adjacent town. I decided to walk down that path and see where it leads. Walking past a...
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Episode 9: Sapa 1 - A Descriptive Introduction
I returned from my trip to Buon Me Thuot where I had a couple of days to prepare for my last trip of the summer: a two-week long excursion up North to Sapa and Hanoi. This two-week trip would prove to be the adventure of a lifetime anyone could ever ask for. Hanoi, the historic capital of…
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Episode 8: Buon Me Thuot 2 - Stilt House Culture and Urbanization
I went to three villages, or Buôn as they are called in Vietnamese in Buon Me Thuot: Buôn Buôr, Buôn Kuốp, and Buôn Akô Đhông. Three of these villages are all within the same central Vietnamese area and are all in Dak Lak province. However, three of these villages are all fundamentally different....
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Episode 7: Buon Me Thuot 1 - The Exile House
The Buon Me Thuot Exile house was built by the French government from 1930-1931 to isolate, quarantine, and imprison political figures including leaders of the Xo Viet Nghe Tinh revolution as well as liberationists. The French government had to build the Exile House in the middle of the city to...
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Episode 6: Saigon 1 - The Saigon Post Office
The Saigon Post Office is one of the most famous building works in Saigon, carrying significant historical meaning and evidence of the development of Saigon urban society into Western models of urbanity (more specifically French). The repurposed post office reflects the intersectionality in the...
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Episode 5: Quy Nhon 2 - A Soldier's Wartime Message
Returning to Quy Nhon, there was one person whose stories I am determined to record: my grandpa, Mr. Bien. At 92 years old, he had lived through over 39 years of war against the French, Americans, as well as other minor auxiliary forces. Throughout his time, he has served all ranks in the…
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Episode 4: Quy Nhon 1 - The Vietnamese Train
Though largely fading into Vietnamese societal oblivion, the train is a symbol of the Vietnamese narrative. Just several decades ago, when air travel and roads weren’t as developed, the train was considered the main mode of transportation. To many at the time, their viewpoints of how they see the...
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Episode 3: Phu Quoc 2 - The Ham Ninh Pier Bridge
In 2020, the Phu Quoc government decided to tear down the Ham Ninh pier over safety fears that it might collapse at any moment. The bridge was deemed unsafe only a short period after several nearby restaurants’ construction was completed, prompting some locals to question why the bridge was going...
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Episode 2: Phu Quoc 1 - The Rise of Tourism
In the early 2010s, hotel chains and resort groups raced to build their hotels on the sandy, emerald-watered coasts of Phu Quoc island. Projects to build resort buildings, casinos, tourist attractions, and cable cars were accelerated as tourism thrived. Phu Quoc is experiencing a new life. This...
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Episode 1: Introduction
Welcome to the Vietnamese Narrative Podcast. On April 30, 1975, Saigon had been ceded to the Viet Cong, ending just under 20 years of conflict between the Communist-backed Northern government and the US-backed Southern government. The two halves of the country, then, were unified as the Socialist...
About this show
The Vietnamese Narrative: A Collection of Photographs is available here! https://issuu.com/nhan.phan/docs/viet_narrative_photobook. Follow me as I travel around Vietnam to record stories of historical relics in Vietnamese history and discover how they contributed to the Vietnamese narrative as well as what they reveal about the nature of change within the country. The stories of the past that those relics can offer can tell us a great deal about how far the Vietnamese story had evolved after the war. Join me to discover a heritage-rich side of Vietnam that’s not commonly discovered to both locals and tourists alike.
Hosted by
Nhan Phan