“Gratitude for the seemingly insignificant — a seed —
this plants the giant miracle.”

— Ann Voskamp

Dear Saigon,

Thank you for these five days to explore you – a city about which I knew almost nothing before arriving.

Thank you for a new culture to discover – for the women in their conical leaf hats (called nón lá), for the jackfruit and roasting corn I catch whiffs of on the street, and for the many sidewalk restaurants serving up bowls of noodle soup and freshly pressed sugarcane juice.

Thank you for the energy here – a cool, creative buzz that you can feel almost instantly.

Thank you for the musicians in Tao Đàn Park, which borders the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music and is thus filled with students working on their latest assignments.

Thank you for Lensu and his blinged-out guitar.

Thank you for Kieu Anh and Nien, who practice a set of pieces by a Brazilian composer named Celso Machado.

And thank you for Quyết and Đàn, whose whimsical pairing of melodica with guitar is the perfect soundtrack for a Tuesday morning in Saigon.

Thank you for a place to call home. It isn’t much, my room in the My My Art House – heck, it doesn’t even have a window – but still I unpack my clothes for the week, set out my laptop on the little fold-down desk, and feel my roots sink in just enough.

Thank you for breakfast each morning, which costs me exactly one dollar. Thank you for hot omelets, fresh baguettes, and strong coffee.

Thank you for a book to read – Run by Ann Patchett – the only English-language novel on the guesthouse’s pair of bookshelves. Thank you for the chance to finish it here, and for the way this gives my time in Saigon a sense of completion.

Thank you for the friends I make each day, many of them fellow sketch artists. Thank you for Ksyucha from St. Petersburg, Russia, who approaches me as I’m sketching inside the Central Post Office. Thank you for Quang Tiep and Mai, brilliant caricaturists whom I pass on the sidewalk on my way to the airport.

And thank you especially for Hà and Nhan, who say hello while I’m sketching at the Bến Thành Night Market and invite me to sketch with them the next day. We spend my entire last full day in Saigon together – painting in the zoo, feasting on Hanoi-style pho at Phố Nhớ, and sipping iced coffee at Vừng ơi mở ra Café.

Never before I have been welcomed into a city in such a way.

Thank you that it’s possible to travel so far from home and yet find a home here.

Thank you – or as you taught me to say, cảm ơn.

Love,
Candace

21 Comments

  • I love what the photos add to your words of gratitude.

    Today I am grateful for a rare evening out with my honey to see a band. We never get to do that anymore and I’m super excited!

    • Thank you, Carmel! It’s wonderful to hear the photos add something to the post – I was hesitant to include too many, but I’m really glad you enjoyed them. And what band are you and Shawn seeing tonight? Enjoy the night out!

      • I think by now you’ve noticed we all like the photos and no, there are not too many of them. 🙂

        We saw The Dandy Warhols. It was a great show!

        • Okay, okay! I shall never question the number of photos I include ever again 🙂 PS – I’m ashamed to say I haven’t heard of them! Off to Youtube them right now – thanks for the recommendation, and I’m glad you enjoyed the show!

  • Candace, it would be impossible for you to add too many of your photos to a post – they are always so wonderful, and it was really interesting to see more of your experience, from your room to the hostel bookshelf. Such beautiful words and images of gratitude 🙂

    • Hannah, my friend, you are too kind as always 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed a little glimpse into my time in Saigon, though! Any chance you and Lee will be able to venture over to Vietnam before heading to Bali? I think you’d love it!!

      • We’re actually heading to Ho Chi Minh in a few days. I’m looking forward to seeing it for myself after your beautiful description 🙂

        • Yessss! I was so hoping you would be able to make it to Vietnam – any chance you’ll head up north towards Sapa and Ha Long Bay at all? I literally can’t wait to read your posts from Vietnam – I love the way you travel and know that you are going to fall in love with the country 🙂

  • Lovely, lovely. Isn’t it wonderful when a place just opens itself up to you like that. Amazing photos as always.

    • Yes! Absolutely. I was so grateful for each little encounter that kept unfolding in Saigon – and they’re especially fun to look back on and remember here in Virginia 🙂 And thank you for the ‘Dear Life’ inspiration! It’s such a great idea.

  • I had no idea Saigon had such an artistic vibe…really makes me even more stoked to visit it in September! Or maybe you just attract other artistic types whereever you go 😉

    PS…isn’t it funny how you can tell which countries travel more to SE Asia based on the languages in hostel bookshelves? Sure are a lot more Scandinavians out here!!

    • Naomi, I’m so happy to hear you’re heading to Saigon in September! If you couldn’t already tell in this post, it won me over heart and soul 🙂 And you’re absolutely right – never before had I seen just *one* English-language novel on a bookshelf. PS – How is the gig in Luang Prabang going?? I hope you’re loving it!

  • Candace, I remember seeing your updates on Twitter that you were in Saigon and being so excited & hopeful that we might be able to meet up as we were in the city at the same time that you were… Things didn’t work out, which was disappointing, but now I’m doubly bummed because we were staying at MyMy Arthouse as well (though in their second building just a couple alleyways over as that room had a window), so we were so very close! I remember seeing you write something, perhaps on Facebook, about Run and then seeing it on the shelf at MyMy when we stopped by one day to chat with the guy who works reception and always had a smile and some tips for us and I wondered if maybe, just maybe, it had been the copy you read. I guess it was! So crazy just how small the world really is, sometimes. The great thing is that when you meet people and form connections, even big cities like Saigon feel homey.

    • Steph, I was also incredibly bummed we came so close to meeting up in Saigon! And now to hear that you guys not only stayed at MyMy Arthouse, but even saw my beloved copy of “Run” is pretty crazy timing indeed 🙂 And you’re so right about connections helping big cities feel a bit smaller, or at least less intimidating – I was just thinking about the same thing in NYC last week. Hope you and Tony have a great weekend!

    • I love hearing that, Andi! Isn’t it amazing how we find these little homes for ourselves all around the world? 🙂

  • I love your take on Kim’s Dear Life series! Ho Chi Minh is a city I’d love to have roots in one day, if just to eat pho all the time…

    • Thanks so much, Jade! And I could not agree with you more about wanting to set a few roots down in Saigon…it was the kind of place where I almost immediately knew that the time I had there wouldn’t be enough. Hope you’ve been well!

  • This explains those additional sketchers in your book. I hadn’t read about them yet on here and couldn’t place their faces/location.

  • How nice to meet other sketchers as you travel around. I find they are always so welcoming and want to make sure we enjoy their city.

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