Vietnam's
For many, the Dragon Bridge, fireworks, and the Golden Bridge define Da Nang. But the Da Nang I grew up with was a city in constant transformation, construction sites everywhere, the old slowly giving way to the polished new skyline. That change continues as overhead cables along Hung Vuong Street are finally being buried. Capturing these moments feels like holding onto a fading piece of the old Da Nang, something personal, quietly disappearing with time.
No one really knows how long this bike mechanic has been sitting at the Le Duan–Le Loi intersection. His entire world is stacked onto a battered cart, tools and belongings fused into one mobile universe, as if he lives on it. They say he once lived wildly; now he’s a devoted Buddhist, quietly fixing bikes each day. I reimagined him in a subtle sci-fi mecha style part street legend, part urban machine.
A little coffee shop tucked away in a dead-quiet Pasteur alley at noon, completely ignoring the chaos of traffic and the sun beating down after a week of relentless rain. The lady running the place is hunched over her lunchbox behind the drink cart, barely looking up when a customer walks in, half-surprised, half-dead inside. Was it the heat? Was she lost in thought? Or was it more of a "bruh, what kinda weirdo sits down for a coffee at this hour? I’m tryna eat here!" kinda vibe? Whatever, the coffee's good. Saigon, Sep'24
Best Bún Riêu in Sài Gòn Living on this road for a spell. The neighbourhood has many delis enough to feed me new dishes daily for a whole year. However, this tiny crab rice noodle shop is apart, it served me regular meals almost every day. We usually didn’t talk much, I just took a seat, nodded and smiled to the chef to mean my special order " 2 pork pies, fresh herbs and no blood", and snap, ready. Until the final day before I left Saigon, we had a chance to chat finally. She said she used to be a cook at the 5-star hotel New World, also she had denied a couple of offers to expand the shop, "Just like this, 2-table-shop at the house-porch with my regular customers and I'm happy" she smiled.
The veggie vendors – I’m not sure how long they’ve been doing it, but often when I was up at dawn for exercise, I could already see their bikes parked there, their lively chatter filling the air. Rain or shine, they’re always there. I heard they drive all the way from the countryside in Quang Nam, traveling for hours before dawn to set up here, and they stay until the shops start opening before making the journey back. They never miss a day. When I came back, they laughed heartily and asked, 'Home for Tet, kid?'. Danang, Tet 2022.
It’s been slow lately, but I still have regular customers, son - a xe om driver.
Take Grandpa to the barber’s Grandpa is almost 100. He gets skinnier every my homecoming. He has a serve of Banh Cuon and a coffee for every brekky, then rice and another coffee for lunch, rice again for dinner before bed at 9. He’s been experiencing declining memories in the last few years. Sometimes he can’t remember whether he finishes the meal or not yet. He also can't recognize anyone anymore but my dad, mum, aunty and uncle. When I visited home after years away and said hi gladly, he just smiled then "who’s this ?". Few days before go again, I took him to the barber's for the first time. 🙂
December 2019
An Bang Beach - Hoi An June 2016.
Saigon 2013, is one of my first and favorite sketches for a canceled project Homeclick. Well, I'm quite glad that was abandoned since I had totally no idea what I was assigned to work on back then. It would be a shame if my terrible work was published at that time.
This old sketch and some threads on Reddit I read a few days ago rake over old ashes. In the past, when I studied in Saigon, I was an idle and wild uni-boy, so I usually flunked a few subjects every semester. One before the Tet holiday that year, as usual, I dropped 2, and suddenly that morning my dad called me to ask how I was doing in the exam. I was carefree to say I had to stay another week to retake a few subjects, but also I heard my house was a bit noisy. He smiled and said so, we are cleaning the house for Tet, also you can rest assured to take the exam, don't worry. It wasn't until the week after I had finished the exam that dad called back to tell me, that my grandma had passed away a week before. It was the first time in my life that I lost a loved one and couldn't see her last, so my heart suddenly collapsed, tears flowed out, my dad's voice was cracked when heard that and we both cried over the phone. My grandma suffered from Parkinson's disease so although she was very weak, she was still lucid and respectful. Usually when she wanted to stand up or lie down, she needed help but she was afraid to call for help, if she did, she would call politely and said thank you. I also helped but sometimes was a bit irritable and raised my voice at her. I was only told later that in the last days of her life, she suffered greatly. This and the last inability to see her still wears my mind up to now...
Australia's
Tet the 3rd day, I'm in good spirits and can do any stupid things with joy, so please excuse me if I'm telling a boring story here. Was treated a big KFC meal by Patrick then dropped him home. On the way back home, I stopped at Melbourne building intersection's red light and "We Shall Destroy - Amon Amarth" was played suddenly by random mode so I had to pull the window up to block the noise. As usual, an unkempt hair bearer came up to ask for cleaning the car's glass and I shook my hands to say no as always. He balked a bit then still kept coming closer, so I thought oh hell, must get some coins for him to avoid any troubles. Surprisingly, he worked and sang along the music with passion, even did not pay any attention to the money trying to give him. When the lights turned green, he knocked on the glass window, made a fist on his chest and nod. I shivered involuntarily.
Sketched this at Lake Ginninderra, right before the infamous 2020 bushfire smoke covered the entire city like a blanket of doom.
Of course I had a side job. Started doing food delivery for a Thai restaurant in Dickson, great food, chaotic staff, and somehow I stayed for almost 6 years. Two Sisters Lao Thai Restaurant- Dickson ACT June 2018
Canberra lockdown during COVID: one hour of outdoor time allowed. I packed coffee and my iPad, walked into the woods, and made peace with the birds.
Bánh mì is already famous, but in Australia, many say it’s even better than in Vietnam. I found this one in Chatswood, Sydney, a wealthy Chinatown far from home. Surrounded by unfamiliar streets and communities, discovering my favorite food felt strangely comforting. In those years of homesickness, this simple bánh mì became a small, lovable reminder that even far away, pieces of home still find you.
Rented a room 5 minutes from uni, thinking I’d stay for a bit. Ended up living there for 7 years. Survived leaky roofs, broken laptops, rotating flatmates, and lonely Tết nights in a giant, echoey house.
15min sketch, Easter 2017, Cabramatta Sydney
I also worked as a waiter at a classic café called Essen (RIP). This was my last shift before the lovely owners moved to Melbourne. I gave them this sketch as a goodbye gift.
Maintenance days at my go-to garage, run by a Cambodian-Aussie uncle who speaks Vietnamese like a pro. He once left me alone mid-repair to go pick up his kid. So I sketched.
I was driving a tour group of 16 around the Sydney Opera House. While they were out there living their best lives, we parked along Macquarie Street, yawning our way through the wait. So, naturally, I pulled out my sketchbook. Again. Sep 2019
There was a concert that I had planned for a whole year to make it real. A few invitations were sent, some said yes and ended up only me showing up. Still satisfied then, the dream came true. Decided to catch the earliest bus heading back to Canberra at 5am, so spent almost the whole night at this Macca's. A really interesting experience. Sydney April 2018
Tet the 3rd day, I'm in good spirits and can do any stupid things with joy, so please excuse me if I'm telling a boring story here. Was treated a big KFC meal by Patrick then dropped him home. On the way back home, I stopped at Melbourne building intersection's red light and "We Shall Destroy - Amon Amarth" was played suddenly by random mode so I had to pull the window up to block the noise. As usual, an unkempt hair bearer came up to ask for cleaning the car's glass and I shook my hands to say no as always. He balked a bit then still kept coming closer, so I thought oh hell, must get some coins for him to avoid any troubles. Surprisingly, he worked and sang along to the music with passion, and did not pay any attention to the money that was being given to him. When the lights turned green, he knocked on the glass window, made a fist on his chest and nodded. I shivered involuntarily. Canberra Feb 2019
Tết isn’t a public holiday in Australia, but the Vietnamese temple in Canberra always did something. I came for the lion dance, firecrackers, and a little taste of home.
This messy corner? That’s where the magic (and all-nighters and instant noodles) happened.
This was my internship office in Civic, later became my actual job. Here’s me doing overtime in a very empty office.
Throwback to an unforgettable time, spending countless hours, days, and nights at the University of Canberra Library. During my three years there, this was one of my favourite spots. I quickly realised nowhere was more productive for finishing projects than the library. Funny enough, I barely ever borrowed books, the ground floor was where everything happened, filled with study corners, public computers, and familiar faces. It was a place for both work and connection. Sometimes just a quick hello, sometimes hours of chatting before going out for food or a walk. Early and mid-semester felt easy, but by the final weeks, deadlines would close in. Because of my chronic procrastination and part-time work, I often only truly started in the last ten days. That pressure somehow brought the best ideas, along with sleepless nights spent working in the library. This place holds some of my strongest memories from my student years abroad, arriving with broken English, awkward moments, strange little romances, great friends, and the beginning of my very first job in the creative field. A lot started here. Sydney, 1am-11/05/23
When I wasn’t working or dying over deadlines, I hit up a pub in Braddon for life drawing. Yes, it was all very professional. Totally not just an excuse to draw naked people.
He looked worn out but friendly, smiled like wouldn't hurt a fly. He waved the squeezee for "clean, yes?" expression, suddenly I nodded and then aware that no any cash left. Feverishly searching for some change while he almost sprawled on the car scrubbing the far side of the window. Gave him a couple of 20-cent coins, all cash I had that time, and waited for his disappointed expression. The strange thing was he grinned like a kid, kept saying "thank you very much", "have a lovely night," "happy new year!". That made me feel so sorry and promised myself he would get much more than that in the next time. There was no "next time" anymore, he passed away two days after. He had suffered severe long-term illness but refused medical treatment, said reporter. He worked as a window washer at that intersection more than 20 years but was still hard-working and still really nice until his last days. Months later, that corner was still full of flowers and messages. Ian "Scrubbie" Stokes, for the first and also the last.