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Connla Stokes

Falling for Saigon

Some cities capture your curiosity. Others steal your heart.

When Dublin-born writer Connla Stokes first arrived in Vietnam, he never imagined he’d stay. But like so many before him, he found himself drawn into the intoxicating pull of Saigon—its relentless energy, its chaotic charm, and the quiet magic that lingers in its alleyways and street-side cafes. What began as an adventure became something deeper: an inexplicable connection to a place that felt like fate.

Fifty years after the war, Ho Chi Minh City is no longer just a city of memory—it’s a city of movement, where old and new collide in dazzling, unpredictable ways. In Falling for Saigon, Stokes shares ten vivid, affectionate essays about life in a metropolis that never seems to catch its breath. From the joy of nhau—those endless feasts of food, drink, and laughter—to the irresistible pull of a well-worn cafe stool on a rainy afternoon, he captures the nostalgia that so many feel for this place, whether they’ve left it behind or are still caught in its embrace.

A love letter to Saigon’s past and present, this book invites you to get lost in its streets, taste its flavours, and—just maybe—fall for it, too.

Publication date 1 May 2025
160 pages | 978-1-7394243-9-8 | Paperback

Early reviews of Falling for Saigon

"Forget the travel guides. Read Falling for Saigon, a clear-eyed and lyrical love letter to modern Vietnam that flips the stale wartime image of the city. Connla Stokes eschews politics in his unpretentious testimony to Saigon’s charm: its ambience of food, families, friends, alleys and traffic and, always, more food.”

Elizabeth Becker, author of Overbooked and You Don’t Belong Here

The author

Born in Dublin, just four months after Vietnam was reunified in April 1975, Connla Stokes moved to Vietnam in 1999, where he worked as a teacher and later as the editor of a local Timeout. Connla has written about Vietnam and Vietnamese culture for Monocle, the Guardian Weekly, CNN Travel, Travel + Leisure Asia, Mekong Review, and many other publications.

Connla Stokes

Falling for Saigon

Some cities capture your curiosity. Others steal your heart.

When Dublin-born writer Connla Stokes first arrived in Vietnam, he never imagined he’d stay. But like so many before him, he found himself drawn into the intoxicating pull of Saigon—its relentless energy, its chaotic charm, and the quiet magic that lingers in its alleyways and street-side cafes. What began as an adventure became something deeper: an inexplicable connection to a place that felt like fate.

Fifty years after the war, Ho Chi Minh City is no longer just a city of memory—it’s a city of movement, where old and new collide in dazzling, unpredictable ways. In Falling for Saigon, Stokes shares ten vivid, affectionate essays about life in a metropolis that never seems to catch its breath. From the joy of nhau—those endless feasts of food, drink, and laughter—to the irresistible pull of a well-worn cafe stool on a rainy afternoon, he captures the nostalgia that so many feel for this place, whether they’ve left it behind or are still caught in its embrace.

A love letter to Saigon’s past and present, this book invites you to get lost in its streets, taste its flavours, and—just maybe—fall for it, too.

Publication date 1 May 2025
160 pages | 978-1-7394243-9-8 | Paperback

Early reviews of Falling for Saigon

"Forget the travel guides. Read Falling for Saigon, a clear-eyed and lyrical love letter to modern Vietnam that flips the stale wartime image of the city. Connla Stokes eschews politics in his unpretentious testimony to Saigon’s charm: its ambience of food, families, friends, alleys and traffic and, always, more food.”

Elizabeth Becker, author of Overbooked and You Don’t Belong Here

The author

Born in Dublin, just four months after Vietnam was reunified in April 1975, Connla Stokes moved to Vietnam in 1999, where he worked as a teacher and later as the editor of a local Timeout. Connla has written about Vietnam and Vietnamese culture for Monocle, the Guardian Weekly, CNN Travel, Travel + Leisure Asia, Mekong Review, and many other publications.

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