THE INSTANT CAMERA GUY

Calling all instant camera lovers!

Yesterday, I hang out with my friend Chau Anh for a lost ride, which means we kept going but had no idea where we were heading to. As both of us were broke, we had a quick dinner with French fries and coke, then went straight to the Old Quarter. At first, I thought we might end up at Cong Caphe as usual. But Chau Anh caught sight of an instant camera shop on Au Trieu street, so we stopped by and took a look inside.

Even though I wasn’t a fan of this camera type, excitement ran through me when we walked in. While Chau Anh got absorbed into the interior, I immediately fell in love with a specific camera. It had black leather, two extra functions and most of all, it didn’t look roundish. Chau Anh's preference was the brown one and the two options confused me. But then I was sure I preferred the black one. 

The camera cost 4.000.000 VND and it was on sale for 3.800.000 VND. The film's price was 150K/pack, which contained 10 pieces for 10 shots. A larger film would cost 180K/pack. I asked anh Tan, the owner of the store, whether it was worth buying this camera. He told me that the camera I liked was the best type and the film itself had a very good quality that could last over 20 years. Plus, they had waterproof cover! So it’s absolutely worth it.

As I was about to head outside, my friend lingered in the store. After seconds of hesitation, she popped questions to the hospitable owner about the interior decoration of the shop. The story immediately got much more interesting. He openly shared about the design of his shop and even his work. Turned out it took him two years selling online to finally be able to buy a house and make it his own store.

The vibe there was beyond our expectation for a normal summer night. We had been wandering around Hanoi, and there we were, sitting in an awesome space, meeting a cool person just by chance, and getting to know his great independence and a story about following one’s dream. The night couldn't have been better. And so was the chocolate that he offered us, or at least that was what my friend said  becaused I was so keen on taking photos that  I barely touched any.

As we said goodbye, anh Tan saw us off the door and told us to feel free to come back. We looked at the whole house again and couldn’t help thinking about our future apartments. Needless to say, what we saw yesterday inspired us in so many ways.