Hidden behind the magnificent buildings on Thu Khoa Huan Street in district 1, HCM City is "the alley of box houses".

As their houses are too small, local residents have to prepare meals on stoves put in front of their houses in the alley. The areas in front of their houses are also where they eat and put laundry to dry.

Tran Thi Mung, 65, is a resident of the alley. She has lived there since the day she was born. Mung’s house is tiny, just 6 sq m, and her childhood was filled with the days of wandering, eating and sleeping in the alley, under the eaves of the big houses on the opposite side.

“As there was not enough space for all family members, my mother installed an entresol. However, our family members still had to sleep outside the house, in the alley,” she said.

“When my parents were still alive, 10 family members lived in the matchbox house and all of us never could gather at the same time for meals,” Mung said.

“My mother was a petty merchant at the market, while my father worked for a dumpling shop on the other side of Thu Khoa Huan street. Some of our siblings went to work if they got jobs, while others went to school,” she recalled.

“My mother prepared meals and put them on a table. Who came home first would eat first. If all of us returned home at the same time, we put all the food into a large bowl and carry the bowl away, sitting in different places in the alley to eat,” she said.

After having a shower, we went out again because we could not stay in the small house which was hot and stuffy. My mother and small children slept on the second floor, while Mung and her other siblings took in turn to sleep inside the house, and others had to sleep in the alley, on camp beds. 

In the small alley, all residents know each other. However, Mung said she rarely visits neighbors, because their houses are also cramped. They just sit in front of their houses and talk with each other.

“In fact, we dare not visit each other, because there is no place to sit,” Mung said.

However, despite the difficult living conditions, residents of the alley are sympathetic towards each other.

Le Thi Phan, 72, who has lived there since 1969, said local residents are willing to protect and help one another in time of distress.

Though the alley is getting more crowded as more and more houses have arisen, people keep their habits unchanged. They still support each other when necessary.

“Some years ago, there was a big fire in the alley. At that time, big columns of black smoke arose and people panicked. As this is a blind alley, if the fire spreads out, there would be no way out for us. So, the family at the end of the alley decided to create a way out in his house through which we could escape the fire,” Phan recalled.

Mung said she will never forget the days of her childhood. When Tet came, her family just bought fruits and cakes to worship ancestors. As the house was too small, there was no space for pictures and furnishings to decorate the house on Tet days. 

Many years ago, though the house was as small as a matchbox, Mung allowed three grandchildren to stay and raised the mother in law who was seriously ill.

She said she was inside the house only when she needed to use the toilet or shower, and she spent most of her time outside the house. 

“When I was small, I went working to earn money. When I grew up, I had some suitors and I wanted to get married. But I was afraid of living and raising children in the tiny house, so I have stayed single,” Mung said.

Mung’s younger sister, who had the same conditions, also decided not to get married. As Mung is old now and has contracted many diseases, she stays at home and prepares meals for siblings who have jobs to earn money for her.

Ha Nguyen