first day of Tết

My first day of the Lunar New Year unfolded in a peaceful and somehow enlightened way. The cold lingered, but the sun stayed with me the whole journey to Linh Son Pagoda in Lewisham.

Experiencing the most important day of the year for so many Asians in a place where life continued as usual brought a mix of amusement and curiosity. I still remember the surprised smiles from people I wished a happy Lunar New Year. In contrast, the atmosphere inside Linh Son felt like home, the decorations, the wishes, the familiar spirit that only Vietnamese people can truly sense.

Perhaps it was my second time travelling that far into Greater London, watching life pass through train windows, bus routes, and the small grocery shops run by immigrants. Many thoughts surfaced, but I simply just breathed, letting them clearly shape in my mind like someone once said, imagining them as balloons that later you released them into the sky. 

I did not count how many balloons drifted, but I felt a deep contentment watching each one rise, with colours dissolving into the limitless blue of the first day of Lunar 2026.