The Note Coffee, I hope some of these words make you smile

Mary-Grace
1 day ago
3 min read

Updated: 5 hours ago

Hanoi - 64 Lương Văn Can, Hoàn Kiếm District. - 12 November 2025 at 13:20pm

This new Vietnam series isn't in order, but it's the first of many moments, places, people and experiences that changed me forever. When I stepped on the plane beginning November 2025 for my first solo trip I was far from knowing that Vietnam would heal me. There is rarely a week that passes without me thinking about these memories. I always heard how solo travelling is life changing, now I understand why.

I saw this place: The Note Coffee everywhere on social media as if we couldn't visit Hanoi without visiting this place. It's instagrammable with good coffee but it was more than that. That place felt like I was in communion with thousands of sticky notes left by travellers and residents. These sticky notes held words of encouragement, hope, motivation and support. I wish I had spent more time reading these notes but I hope the ones I captured can make you smile.

I bought a coconut coffee, found a cosy space overlooking Hoan Kiem Lake in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. I grabbed a few sticky notes to ink my feelings down...

The whole process felt like a prayer - meditating on my words. I was writing notes to my mom, my grandparents and to strangers. My grandfather passed away but he was with me at that moment. My family would never see my words of gratitude but it was important to leave these words behind. On these walls, 6,860 kilometers from Mauritius.

I wouldn’t be in Hanoi, in that Coffee Shop without their love, support and sacrifices. I grew up in a caring household and I'm forever grateful for everything they did for me.

NEVER STOP SMILING, DREAM BIG, LOVE HARD

HAVE NO REGRETS IN LIFE, DO WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY!

For a decade people visited The Note Coffee and left a word behind. That’s a lot of fingerprints pressed against the walls. Minds thinking out loud to drop or scribble on paper. Strangers leaving words to strangers to encourage them or to connect. When I read these notes it felt like these people were speaking to me directly. I could even hear their accent, distress, hope and peace.

Every inch of these walls were covered with layers of sticky notes. Some were buried under new notes, others were ripped or faintly visible. It was an unorganised mosaic of words to witness. Trying to read what was, thinking about who could have left these words.

Would it take a day, months to retrieve all these words and read them one by one?

From Iqra to Gaza: YOUR LIVES MATTER FREE FREE PALESTINE

While some of these words were personal others carried the weight of the world

LE BONHEUR EST PARTOUT POUR QUI VEUT BIEN LE VOIR! À MÉDITER!

On these walls these words caught my attention: dreams, never give up, Jesus, happiness... I just realised I used some of these words in my notes unknowingly. We are all in search for something. It could be the same thing. We are not that different. In that little Coffee Shop even from different backgrounds and cultures, our similarities collided.

NEVER GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS, GET UP AND KEEP MOVING, JESUS IS ALWAYS BY YOUR SIDE.

WHAT MATTERS IN LIFE IS FAMILY. I'M GRATEFUL FOR THE TIME I WAS BLESSED TO SPEND WITH THE PEOPLE I LOVE

It feels so distant yet so peaceful to think i sat in this spot, viewed this lake in Vietnam last November. I want to go back to this place and sit there for hours. The sky was blue, the sun was blazing and the lake was twinkling. I was sipping my cold drink and somewhat that was enough.