10/06/23

I moved to Saigon 7 years ago today! The first week we were there, Sadhbh and I were on a bike tour and I remember driving over an overpass for the first time. I felt pure awe at the scale of the space above and below me and it was the closest I've felt to flight. I remember the man driving next to us was doing double takes at the look on my face and grinning and laughing at my expression.

At night this feeling was even more heightened. With a crowd driving at more or less the same speed, the space between you (however small) remains the same as you move up a dark overpass that's the same colour as the night sky.   It feels like you’ve taken off and you’re zooming through space, surrounded by bike lights that become stars and comets.

This pin is the view from my bike driving home over the bridge to District 2. I also used to listen to Strangers by The Kinks nonstop while driving because I’d just heard it for the first time, to the point where I made a playlist that was just that song on repeat. Hence the title!

This specific image and feeling was something I noted for my whole time there: the first week in, a month in when I drove for the first time, months later when I was driving home and realised I hadn’t thought of anywhere outside of Saigon for a long time, and many months later again on my last night going for my last drink. Beep beep!

• 7.5cm x 2.5cm
• Soft enamel pin
• CMYK printing with silver plating
• 2 black rubber clutches
• Engraved with the Mink: In Dreams logo
• Special edition backing card
• Guaranteed good time