Around the World in Analogue: Loving Life and People in Saigon

Vietnam’s largest city, Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as “Saigon”, buzzes with its rich local culture and busy happenings. Its colonial past has turned the city into a diverse, multicultural hub where there’s always unique tastes and twists to everything whether it’s food or architecture. West meets East in Saigon. Lomographer kok watches and observes the daily lives of its city people, appreciating their efforts that subconsciously makes the city so special.

Saigon is a livable city for everyone. In my opinion, it is a city that gathers all cultures from all regions of my country. Saigon has all the specialties of the region, there are specific cultural areas according to each region. People don't care who you are, where you come from, they always treat you well. Everyone is always ready to help each other. You can come across people delivering food anywhere, anytime.

I find life here very comfortable. people are very approachable and fun. Actually, I was born in another place and moved to Saigon to study and work. what I like most is that people never judge you. They are always open to you. Recently, because of the pandemic, everyone's life has been difficult. As all over the world, that is the general situation. I often go to meet and talk with street vendors. Their lives have been greatly affected by the pandemic and I am saddened by that. But the pace of city life slows down. less dust and noise makes me feel more comfortable.

If you are interested in the life of the original Saigon. You can visit the following places: Vinh Hoi Apartment, Ton That Dam Apartment, Thanh Da Residence, Cau Muoi Market (Ong Lanh Bridge)... Or the markets and pagodas in District 5 that are the area. people of Chinese origin but associated with Saigon history.

In Saigon, you can find most of the dishes of all regions of my country. Maybe they were made for the locals. But when it comes to Saigon, you cannot ignore dishes such as: Cơm Tấm (Broken Rice), Banh Mi,Bánh Ướt (Wet Cake).

One thing is that when buying goods in tourist destinations you really pay the price. They often shout prices with foreigners. If you come here to travel and take pictures, you should look for local photography groups. You can contact my friend or me through the group Saigon Analog Film. We are always ready to assist you with equipment, film, and guide you around Saigon taking photos.

I often get help from strangers. Once I was late for the bus, someone saw me jogging to chase the bus when an aunt I was not familiar with drove me by motorbike to follow the bus… and countless other times I have received help from people I don't know so I love this city so much.

Recently, Saigon has had an outbreak of the Covid-19 disease. that directly affects everyone's work and mine. But it helps me get more inspired to take photos of the moments of the poor people's lives who are more attached to the street. My friend and I plan to take street photos while the city is under quarantine. and I'm trying to get some pictures with messages in them. environment example.

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Scritto da cielsan il 2021-08-08 in #luoghi #around-the-world #saigon #around-the-world-in-analogue