Public Scribe, Ho Chi Minh City

OAT
Asia

Scribe

A public scribe offers handwritten letters inside Saigon’s historic central post office.

Inside the vaulted hall of Ho Chi Minh City’s central post office, a public scribe sits at a small wooden desk, ready to prepare a message in the echoing light. He writes letters on behalf of those who want their words shaped with care — migrants sending news home, elders preserving a tradition of formal script, visitors seeking a keepsake touched by human hands. The hum of the city is replaced by the scratch of ink and the quiet dignity of a craft that endures in this digital age.

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