Vietnam 30 Years Ago: Photographer's Candid Record of Daily Life

In the summer of 1995, American photographer Geoffrey Hiller arrived in Vietnam for the first time, driven by curiosity about daily life during the first year of normalized diplomatic relations with the United States. Foreign tourists were still a rare sight across the country. Through 50 processed rolls of Kodachrome color slide film, scenes of Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa), Da Lat (Lam Dong), Hue, and Hanoi unfolded with raw authenticity. On his first day in Ho Chi Minh City, Hiller crossed paths with a group of students exercising outdoors and eagerly showed them photos of his wife and two daughters back home. Nha Trang beach was remarkably tranquil back then, occupied mostly by local residents and domestic holidaymakers. A coastal retreat was just beginning to take shape, absent the dense rows of modern resorts, hotels, and vibrant beach services seen today. During his month-long journey, Hiller relied primarily on the Thong Nhat (Reunification) train to travel from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, breaking up the route with stops in Nha Trang and Hue, along with a bus detour to Da Lat. The passenger bus between Nha Trang and Da Lat was cramped and rattled along rutted roads, forcing passengers shoulder-to-shoulder. Still, he relished the experience, captivated by sunrises breaking over Central Vietnam’s rural fields. Two young girls in vibrant outfits sit watching the steady stream of travelers at the Da Lat bus station. Once located in the city center to welcome visitors arriving in the “City of Flowers,” long-distance bus operations have since shifted to Da Lat’s modern interprovincial terminal. Xom Bong Bridge, built across the Cai River in Nha Trang by the French in 1925, also caught his eye. In 2024, authorities dismantled the old bridge pier structures to ensure waterway navigation safety. The year 1995 predated mainstream digital photography, a time when early professional 35 mm digital cameras commanded prices upwards of $20,000. That made Hiller’s analog film archive of Vietnam even more precious to him. In Hue, he ate almost every meal at a warm, welcoming family-run eatery operated by an owner with disabilities. By then, Hue had started welcoming foreign visitors, and printed menus frequently included English translations. Across the whole of 1995, Vietnam welcomed roughly 1.35 million foreign arrivals. What struck the American photographer most about Hanoi were young men exercising along Hoan Kiem Lake, cyclos weaving through traffic, and curbside street-food vendors. “Returning to Hanoi in 2019, I realized the underlying character hadn’t changed all that much—it all preserves a distinct identity unique to the capital,” Hiller told Tri Thuc – Znews. Traveling across different provinces, Hiller repeatedly encountered a familiar scene: groups of young people gathering on sidewalks outside beverage stalls, eyes glued to television screens playing American action films. By his return in 2019, that outdoor pastime had vanished. Central Hanoi showed off historic charm where locals rode motorbikes and wore neatly tucked-in collared shirts. Yet looking closer through his lens, the photographer saw past surface nostalgia. In 1995, the capital still wrestled with economic hardship. Beneath the spans of Long Bien Bridge, modest thatch-and-tile shacks crowded together—a neighborhood that has since transformed under rapid urban development. Rather than lingering exclusively in city centers like many travelers, Hiller was drawn to the rustic outskirts of Central Vietnam. That initial spark inspired repeated visits between 2015 and 2019. “I fell in love with Vietnam the moment I arrived,” Hiller reflected. “The culture, the people, and the landscapes remain etched in my memory to this day.”