2016 · Film Photography / FM2 · Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
This year, Pat and I came to Ho Chi Minh City.
It was his first time here — but not mine.
Ho Chi Minh City was the very first place I ever traveled abroad.
I had just gotten into high school.
My parents needed to come here for work, and as a small reward, they decided to take me with them.
To be honest, my memory from that trip was simple:
the food was unbelievably good.
So good that I gained five kilos in one week.
That was my first impression of the world —
heat, noise, endless street food, and the smell of everything cooking at once.
Years later, I returned.
Different time. Different life. Different company.
After two years of learning, adjusting, and growing together,
Pat and I slowly found our way back to a sense of ease with each other.
That afternoon, I noticed a few students walking side by side after class —
talking, laughing, lingering without any particular destination.
Just being together.
I pressed the shutter.
The lightness of that moment didn’t belong only to them.
It quietly echoed something in us, too.
Companionship seems simple,
yet it is never easy.
Some cities matter not because of their landmarks,
but because of who once walked beside you there.