The Saigon Courthouse

The Courthouse is located at 131 Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny street

Caravelle Hotel

The Hotel Caravelle opened in 1959, at the time, it was located on Francis Garnier Square (Theater).
It housed numerous foreign embassies during the 1960's, as well as the bureaus of the "New York Times" and the "Washington Post". In August 1964 it was the target of a bombing, and in 1975 the hotel was nationalized by the new regime.
It returned to its original name in 1998 following a complete renovation on the square presently known as Lam Son.

In the 60's:
"Air-France" Agency is located at Caravelle Hotel ground floor at the corner of Tu Do Street (formeley Catinat) and Law Son Square (formely Francis Garnier or Theater).

The Vièn Dông department store

The Vièn Dông stores are located at the corner of 124 Pellerin street (now Pasteur street) and 57-59 Bonard boulevard (now Lê Loi).

Asianis the Pastis from Saigon

Made by SOFIE Limited at 446, General Chanson boulevard.

The Lien-Seng Stores

The Lien-Seng stores are located at:
14-16-18, Francis Garnier Square
(Theater)

From Paris to Saigon
18,000 Kilometers by bicycle
Lionel Brans

A craftsman-manufacturer of bicycles and cycling-traveler, Lionel Brans leaves from the Zero Km. Marker in front of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on November 11th, 1948, and arrives in Calcutta on July 25, 1949.
He’ll reach Saigon by plane from Calcutta on August 6th, 1949 because of the war in Burma and South Indochina. .
He carried 41 Kg. (90 lbs.) of baggage on his bicycle (including a center-pole tent, a comforter, two spare tires, all the necessary tools to make repairs, and even canned food just in case…).
He survived a winter crossing of the Balkans (down to – 22 deg. F), which would be marked by an attack by wolves as well as the heat of the desert. He would be attacked by bandits, dodged gunfire, came nose-to-nose (or to muzzle) with a tiger in India, escaped illness… but arrived safely!.
With letters of introduction that would help him with administrative procedures and with border-crossings, it would be clippings from local newspapers that he would show to suspicious police and customs officers.

Saigon-Paris by scooter Peugeot

Riding Peugeot scooters, two quartermasters from (French) naval aviation, Michel Vaslin and Serge Cracuin, traveled from Saigon to Paris in 1956. Departing Saigon on April 21st, they arrived in Paris on August 25th, having crossed Cambodia, Siam (Thailand), India, Iran, Turkey, Yugoslavia and Italy... on their strictly stock 125 cc Peugeot scooters.
Only one flat tire in 17,000 Km traveled!

Tan Son Nhut Airport

The airport is a small village protected by barbed wire, watch towers, floodlights, soldiers and machine guns. It's the heart of Indochina with intense traffic of an airplane a minute for each minute of the day. It's closed at night.

Saigon residents can travel to the interior of Indochina thanks to companies such as C.O.S.A.R.A. and the Taxi Planes of Indochina that were created in a few months or even a few weeks by former civilian or military pilots – adventurers who had mysterious startup capital and contacts among the well-off Annamites.

Lucien Bodart, in his book “L'Enlisement” (The Bogging-down), wrote :
« Than Son Nhut plays an essential role in the worldly life of the people of Saigon who come to greet those who are arriving and departing…the importance of travelers can almost be measured mathematically at the airport by the number of people who take time out in their honor »
The beginning of the ‘50’s would see the birth of a new company, Air Vietnam, co-owned in equal parts by Air France and the Vietnamese government.

Air Vietnam

123, Bonard boulevard
12, Norodom boulevard

The beginning of the ‘50’s would see the birth of a new company, Air Vietnam, co-owned in equal parts by Air France and the Vietnamese government.

Air Vietnam Caravelle

Caravelle III (XV-NJA)

Far-East Air Transport Society
Cosara

Far-East Air Transport Society
Chartered by “ Cosara ”
The best organization of Private aviation in Indochina
5 à 13, Turc street
Saigon

Shuttle Buses between Turc street and Tan Son Nhut airport. Cosara flights Saigon to the Cap Saint-Jacques, Soctrang, Pnom-Penh, Phanthiet, Dalat, Banméthuot, Pleiku, Nhatrang, Pleiku, Natrang, Tourane, Donghoï, Hue and Hanoï.

Taxi Planes of Indochina

92, Pellerin street

Societé Indochinoise de Transports Aériens
(Indochina Air Transport Company)
SITA

5, Le Myre de Villers Embankment

Eventually these companies will acquire “Dakotas” (C-47’s, A.K.A. DC-3’s) and obtain partnerships for some of them from Air France which has just taken over "Air Orient"

Air France

12, Norodom boulevard
122-130 Tu Do street (formely Catinat)
1, Fou-Kien street Cholon

« Air France » was the only flight from Saigon to Europe.

Aigle Azur

65, Le Loi street
Saigon