Every day hundreds of tourists stroll along Dong Khoi -- the tree-lined artery that runs along the southwest side of the Caravelle Hotel -- oblivious to the stories contained within its buildings.   Many of the landmark structures in Graham Greene’s novel, ‘The Quiet American’, the historical reference points we associate with the country’s notorious war, and the best signs of emerging Vietnamese enterprise are clustered side-by-side on Dong Khoi’s pic... [More]

Seems I can’t open a magazine these days, or browse a news Web site that hasn’t cataloged the Top 5 This or the Top Five That. It’s as if media the world over have decided we can’t bother reading stuff that’s not bulleted or otherwise numbered in terms of priority. I can’t say I mind this trend. And thus I’m prepared to talk a bit here about the top five attractions, and why I like them, along Dong Khoi Street, which runs by one side of the Caravelle Hot... [More]