Hồn Du Mục
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hondumuc.bsky.social
Hồn Du Mục
@hondumuc.bsky.social
160 followers 600 following 68 posts
Longtime American resident of Việt Nam, Hà Nội & Quảng Ninh mostly. Doesn't believe in ghosts; repeatedly dubbed a ghost by friends and family.

(not a photographer; not looking for photography advice)
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hondumuc.bsky.social
Times City, from Dương Văn Bé Street
#Hanoi, #Vietnam
The cluster of highrise apartment buildings that make up Times City are lit up and reflecting off a pond just outside their grounds of that Vinhomes development in south Hanoi. The pond is ringed by modest row houses and shacks.
November 30, 2025 at 3:30 AM
hondumuc.bsky.social
Nghĩa Tân
#Hanoi, #Vietnam
A tree-lined residential street in the Nghĩa Tân neighborhood of west Hanoi. On the right, we see a pile of discarded wood that looks like the dried out remains of an uprooted tree's roots. It sits before one of the area's aging apartment blocks. A few scattered motorbikes are parked again at the curb down the street which extends all the way until it Ts at a wonton noodle soup restaurant. It is a scene that absolutely exudes autumnal Hanoi.
November 29, 2025 at 3:53 AM
hondumuc.bsky.social
Eel Restaurant
Yên Ninh Street
#Hanoi, #Vietnam
An old school Hanoi restaurant specializing in eel dishes on a small street just north of the Old Quarter. The entrance to the restaurant is to the right of a window into its street-facing open kitchen. Motorbikes are parked to the right and a garbage collector loads her already-quite-full cart with more bags of rubbish left at the curb. Above we see a second story balcony lined with plants, possibly the residence of the restaurant owners. The faded bõ sign above the kitchen window reads "Quán Lươn 34 – Since 1983".
November 28, 2025 at 6:33 AM
hondumuc.bsky.social
Some analysis of the scam center epidemic in SE Asia that is worth the read:

thediplomat.com/2025/11/crac...
Cracking Southeast Asia’s Scam Economy
Washington and London’s recent unprecedented actions showed what global coordination can achieve – and what remains to be done.
thediplomat.com
November 16, 2025 at 5:34 PM
hondumuc.bsky.social
Kim Quan Alleyway
Long Biên
#Hanoi, #Vietnam
A black and white photo of a short, rain slicked alleyway in eastern Hanoi. A pair of motorbikes are parked right against the right side before closed first floor gates. A small tree grows from just within a property on the left and leans out over the alley upwards into the tight space between buildings. A couple plastic bucks sit against the wall just behind it. A single wooden window shutter stands up on the right at the end of the alley.
November 13, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Reposted by Hồn Du Mục
connla-stokes.bsky.social
Repost of an essay about the time I went in search of a bookstore in #HCMC called Kafka but before I even got there I was sidetracked by a story about a far-out mystic who believed he could overthrow the French in #Saigon and become the ruler of Heaven and Earth.
connla.substack.com/p/phan-xich-...
The meaning of Kafka in 21st century Saigon
Before the pandemic, one day I went in search of a shop called Kafka but first I got sidetracked by the story about a far-out mystic who believed he would one day be the ruler of Heaven and Earth.
connla.substack.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:28 AM
hondumuc.bsky.social
Thạch Cầu - Long Biên
#Hanoi, #Vietnam
We are standing in the middle of a dark side road looking north toward a brightly lit residential area. The silhouettes of trees hang over the road to our right while a long metal fence irregularly reflects light from downstreet and adjacent sources. A white ride-hailing car is parked along the fence in a patch of light. We can just make out a motorbike leaning into a left turn at the far end of the street. Row houses and villa tower over the scene on the left, slight yellow-orange in the reflect vapor light. Clouds high above glow from the metropolis below.
November 11, 2025 at 8:36 AM
Reposted by Hồn Du Mục
connla-stokes.bsky.social
Where were the soul food Restos and soul brother bars of #Saigon? And what can they tell us about the men who frequented them and the #racism they experienced when serving in the US Army in Vietnam? Quite a lot, I’d argue! My latest long read on Substack is here:
connla.substack.com/p/a-history-...
A history of Soul Food (and other comforts) for Black soldiers in wartime Saigon
In the late 60s and early 70s, Black American soldiers could dig into authentic Soul Food in Saigon. But where were these restaurants and what can they tell us about the men who ate there?
connla.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:06 PM
hondumuc.bsky.social
Sông Hồng
Long Biên
#Hanoi, #Vietnam
An evening photo of the Red River from the banks of Lông Biên in Hanoi. From where we stand, we see a row of river pilings extending diagonally out into the water. The dark silhouette of a tree frames the left side of the image. Across the wide expanse of the river we see a relatively low-rise skyline of illuminated houses and buildings lining the river with a few larger structures in the faint background. Standing brightly above the scene, however, is the 108 Army Hospital. Its luminous red sign reflects off the river surface. The city lights reflect off splotchy, low clouds.
November 4, 2025 at 2:08 AM
hondumuc.bsky.social
Chuyên Đậu Mơ Nóng
Thạch Cầu, #Hanoi, #Vietnam
A man and a woman tend to their wares in a small, back-alley shop in Hanoi. The woman, in a white shirtsleeve shirt and black-and-white check pants stands behind a row of large receptacles with what appear to be various fermented vegetables waiting to be bagged and taken home. On the right are stacks of eggs in 6x6 foam flats. All sits under a red canopy with yellow lettering. In the background we see a man in a floral-print shirt and black shorts. He has close cropped hair and moves among shelves of ingredients, packaging, and utensils.
October 30, 2025 at 2:21 AM
hondumuc.bsky.social
Bát Tràng home
#Hanoi, #Vietnam
A three-story Vietnamese home on a corner in a neighborhood on the edge of Hanoi. The first floor exterior, enclosed by a low concrete wall and cage-like metalwork, is brightly illuminated on this darkened street. The second floor windows also glow with a subdued warmth. A pattern of shadow and light radiates outward from the home across the empty concrete of nighttime streets.
October 26, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Reposted by Hồn Du Mục
connla-stokes.bsky.social
If you need a Sunday afternoon/ evening read...

About Kipling, imperialism, a consequential British intervention in Vietnam -- and more.

connla.substack.com/p/kipling-in...
Kipling in Saigon - and his curious afterlife in Vietnam
Once upon a time, Saigon had streets named after several Britons, including Rudyard Kipling. Naturally, I had to find out why, and the digging led me down a curious trail of imperial folly and regret
connla.substack.com
October 19, 2025 at 11:57 AM
hondumuc.bsky.social
Drinks stand
Cổ Bi Road
#Hanoi, #Vietnam
A pair of men sit with their backs to us under the orange plastic tarps of a roadside drinks stand in eastern Hanoi. A single motorbike is parked out front of the entrance gate of chain link. Light radiates outward from the loosely enclosed space across the broad sidewalk and rounded curb of a street corner. The irregularly lit leafing of tree canopy undersides produces a reverse dappling with varying shades and intensities of green. Plastic stools, wooden tables, and a red cooler can be made out through the structural and organic clutter.
October 16, 2025 at 6:36 AM
Reposted by Hồn Du Mục
connla-stokes.bsky.social
The new Pandan Weekly (issue #3) is out. I have a story in it —and there's lots more (fiction, essays, poetry) from Southeast Asia in there. And it's all free to download.

So, why wouldn't you ....

pandanweekly.substack.com/p/zine-issue-3
Issue 3 is out now!
Download a copy of the zine here.
pandanweekly.substack.com
August 13, 2025 at 5:38 AM
hondumuc.bsky.social
Power tools
Đường Ngô Gia Tự
#Hanoi, #Vietnam
A man in a blue shirt and grey pants squats on a sidewalk before his power tools sales and repair shop on a commercial thoroughfare in eastern Hanoi. He appears to be attending to some minor repairs. Beyond him stands the front of his shop with terraced rows of plastic wrapped equipment clustered by type. We can see drills, compressors, and mechanical vibratory concrete tempers. One large such tamper lies on its side before him, possibly the piece of equipment being repaired.
August 12, 2025 at 6:44 AM
hondumuc.bsky.social
Nhậu
Định Công Hạ
#Hanoi, #Vietnam
Four men sit at the entrance to a south Hanoi bia hơi. Their yellow plastic chairs surround an end-to-end pair of blue plastic tables. White porcelain bowls and dishes cover the tables while four quintessential bia hơi glasses sit filled with varying amounts of beer. A yellow, red, and white Việt Hà Beer sign stands on the sidewalk just to their left. Empty half kegs sit stacked against a wall of fading yellow paint, crumbling cement, and exposed brick.
August 11, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Reposted by Hồn Du Mục
connla-stokes.bsky.social
Delighted that Shanghai Literary Review has just published this long read of mine about the #Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens, seen through the eyes of the writers who visited through the years starting with Norman Lewis. Please feel free to share.

www.shanghailiterary.com/tslr-online-...
One Day at the Saigon Zoo — The Shanghai Literary Review 上海文藝評論
Irish writer Connla Stokes revisits Saigon Zoo, uncovering its colonial past, wartime secrets, and enduring place in Vietnam’s urban heart.
www.shanghailiterary.com
June 20, 2025 at 9:48 AM
Reposted by Hồn Du Mục
jwassers.bsky.social
[email protected] just published my book on resistance & repression in Asia. I think it's timely but know it's hard to read anything but news. If you listen to things while commuting or exercising, it's out as a skillfully read 2 1/2 hour audio book www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/801233...
The Milk Tea Alliance by Jeffrey Wasserstrom: 9798217168576 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
Why are activists in Thailand, Hong Kong, and Burma willing to court danger to help one another? The political situations in Burma, Thailand, and Hong Kong are radically different. Only Burma is in a...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
June 18, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Reposted by Hồn Du Mục
connla-stokes.bsky.social
Sad news. Just heard that the #Vietnamese American #author Andrew X. Pham has died. He is best known for ‘Catfish and Mandala’, a deeply personal memoir about a year-long cycling odyssey through parts of Mexico, Korea, Japan & #Vietnam. His first novel was just published last year. #booksky
May 9, 2025 at 11:21 AM
hondumuc.bsky.social
Nghĩa Tân Ward
#Hanoi, #Vietnam
The lights of a stylishly designed noodle shop reflect off the upturned side of a wheeled garbage receptacle on a rainy night in Hanoi. We are standing on a sidewalk looking down a misty street onto a row of parked motorbikes in front of the noodle joint. A single patron in a black jacket handles a bike, either parking or leaving.
May 9, 2025 at 3:05 AM
Reposted by Hồn Du Mục
connla-stokes.bsky.social
The cultural scholar Hữu Ngọc has died at the ripe old age of 107. He produced a huge number of #books (in numerous languages) in his lifetime but this is the one that he’s best known for — a huge and rewarding resource that I frequently turned to over the years.

#vietnam #vietnameseculture
May 4, 2025 at 4:23 AM
Reposted by Hồn Du Mục
connla-stokes.bsky.social
My book is officially out today. There's a new cover so this early copy is already vintage :)

It's mostly a tribute to the quotidian charms of Ho Chi Minh City in #Vietnam. The food, the people, the alleys, its inherent musicality, its rapid changes, and even its ghosts.

#booksky #travelwriting
May 1, 2025 at 4:49 AM
Reposted by Hồn Du Mục
connla-stokes.bsky.social
Anything that any one writes about #HCMC can abruptly feel dated. This restructuring of its wards would (once it comes into effect) certainly date my book (out May 1)—and so it goes.

Anyway, noteworthy: Saigon + Cholon will soon be formal names—short summary here:
news.laodong.vn/xa-hoi/thong...
Unifying all 102 wards and communes in Ho Chi Minh City with letter names
HCMC - All 102 new wards and communes are named in letters, of which Saigon, Cho Lon, Gia Dinh are named for new wards in Districts 1, 5, Binh Thanh.
news.laodong.vn
April 18, 2025 at 7:13 AM
Reposted by Hồn Du Mục
connla-stokes.bsky.social
On a similar theme, this travel piece (about Ho Chi Minh City's backstreet appeal) is—just two months on—also dated.

One cafe featured relocated. Another resto I mentioned is gone—I guess Ho Chi Minh City wasn't quite ready for a swanky Hawaiian joint...

www.escapeartist.com/blog/the-hid...
The Hidden Side of Ho Chi Minh City
Discover the hidden gems of Ho Chi Minh City as we venture off the beaten path into the backstreets and alleyways of old Saigon. Uncover local secrets, authentic cuisine, and rich history in this imme...
www.escapeartist.com
April 18, 2025 at 7:32 AM