Remnants of a Foreign Empire

Remnants of a Foreign Empire

As I was walking around the evergreen forests of Dalat, in Vietnam, I came across an abandoned French villa, which moved me by its historical significance, and by the lucky survival of this chair, which to me embodied European interference. I pictured French occupants living here decades ago, with oil paintings on the wall and porcelain cutlery laid on the table, somewhat at odds with the local environment. I pictured the conflict of war and Vietcong rebels driving out the owners, burning the place down. I imagined how this place could be perceived today, a haunted ghost house of curious architecture, a remnant of a foreign empire.