The Night is Always Young in Saigon

By: Bonnie Teh, Joanna Maria and Lim Feixiang

Photos by Audrey Samuel and Lim Feixiang

Let us just put it out blatantly for everyone to see- Saigon’s nightlife is very much alive and thriving. For all the hustle and bustle of the city during the day, Saigon can easily join Kuala Lumpur as the city that never sleeps in South East Asia. With the many tourists and locals who make the vibrant city streets come alive at night, Saigon cannot be painted in words. At night, Saigon must be experienced through the many senses - sight, sound and smell. Like many other cities, the local hotspots at night are flooded with tourists out for different kinds of ‘fun’. Crossing the streets can be just as hazardous during the night as in the day, with motorcycles and taxis weaving past and surrounding you like flies- not to mention the amount of honking going down during the night that can drive you a little insane.

             

Perhaps the question on everyone’s mind, where nightlife is concerned, is whether alcohol is cheap. Regular cocktails are a little cheaper than back home, going for approx. RM18-22. As far as beer goes though, the answer is a resounding yes. One of our easy-going nights out took us down the alley of our hotel to a small corner shop where we enjoyed some beer with our new Vietnamese friends. Their local Saigon brew cost only RM1 for a mug and roughly RM2 for your standard bottle of beer. Heaven indeed!

             

The seating culture in Vietnam public places is a very strange and interesting feature to point out. On our first night out, we saw stools and seats half their usual size, with which we made ourselves comfortable, on a freshly set table in the alley. It was packed tight with tourists and locals making merry over beers, with the occasional ‘Yoh!’ (CHEERS!) shouted out every once in a while. We joined in of course, how could we refuse good Vietnamese hospitality?

             

After only a couple of rounds, we began sharing laughs and stories with our Vietnamese counterparts, and before long, it was as if we’ve known each other for the longest time ever. After a simple outing like this, we’ve come to realise how many similarities we share despite our cultural differences. It is indeed interesting to see how friendships can be formed and strengthened over a couple of beers. 

           

It is important to note however, that the fun stuff does not always happen in the bars. Take a walk around the park at the backpacker’s street at night and you will find a flurry of activity to partake in. We ‘patronized’ the public park on some nights and mingled with local Vietnamese people who were just as eager to get to know us as we, them. The sight of both the young and old kicking about a shuttlecock-looking object, called sutecock, attracted our attention. A popular sport among the locals, they kick around the contraption with their legs, shoulders, head and even their belly. The amount of skill they possess is phenomenal. They can tackle, juggle and handle the shuttlecock without even looking – it is as if they have memorized the shuttlecock trajectory through years of practice.

             

The Vietnamese notion of public parks is also rather different from ours in Malaysia. We discovered something most fascinating- the Vietnamese have a culture of getting together casually to not only learn, but also practice English at night. Not to say that anyone amongst them was qualified professionally to teach the language, but they exchanged what they knew. It was a touching sight as most of us take English for granted back home. The fact that some of us were fortunate enough to grow up speaking English at home made us blind to the value of so precious a language.

Public parks: the place to be

           

Perhaps its the night sky that makes everyone friendlier- because once we became acquainted with one local, the rest followed suit and asked question after question about where we were from and what we do. We were like mini celebrities. There was even a man in his 40s who rapped for us in English. Not too bad, we’d say!

           

It also warmed our hearts to see parents take their kids out to the park. They let the kids run, play and mingle with other kids. To make the most of the situation were vendors who selling street food and toys. There were also people who doing their routine jogs and exercises. The park really is a one stop area for everything, making us think of the symbolism public places hold.

             

Following relentless days and nights of visiting historic places, learning the culture of and mingling with the natives, the Saigon explorers set out to experience and understand the nightlife in Saigon city. Being typical young adults, we headed to not one, but two nightlife locations in Saigon city. Upon entering the clubs, one can’t help but be captured by its liveliness, the steady beat of music and the roaring of the crowd. People were comfortably dancing and mingling with each other as the DJ worked hard to keep the “people in the house” alive. The foremost thought to cross my mind was the lack of stuffiness and smoke hanging in the air unlike the clubs back home. The main patrons of the club were of course, Vietnamese people dressed to the nines.

We soon realized at our first stop that it is a Vietnamese tradition to serve a big ‘fruit bowl’ in a club. This encompasses a variety of fruits such as watermelon, grapes, rambutan and other assortment of fruits arranged beautifully in a clear bowl of ice. However due to miscommunication, the bowl of fruits which we thought was complimentary, ended up costing us each 50, 000 VND (approximately RM 8) but we went along with the flow as we did not want to let such a small matter damper our spirits. At our next stop however, we declined their offer of serving us another fruit bowl. Soon enough, we settled in and started swaying to the sound of music. As the night progressed, we realized that there are certain differences worth pointing out about partying in Saigon.

The fruits from hell

The first thing that stands out when entering a club in Saigon is the number of security personnel present. While it is common to have security or bouncers by the door, it was the first time many of us experienced tight security within the club. Through observation it appeared that the main duty of the security personnel was to ensure that there were no misfortunate incidents occurring within the club. Due to the jam-packed nature of clubs, these security guards also double as human barricades to allow people to pass through, making navigation through the night club a tad bit easier. Nonetheless some of us had the misfortune to experience the rudeness and unfriendliness of the security personnel, accidently shoving us and pulling our hands to get us walking faster. However, annoyance aside, we recognize that they were trying to do their jobs in order to ensure the safety and smooth operation of the club. Another interesting factoid about clubbing in Vietnam is that there are no identity card checks at clubs, as our student guides informed us that there is no lawful legal age for alcohol consumption in Vietnam.

Party rocking in Saigon

Interestingly enough, the music that was being played in both the locations visited was modern English music. In fact, the main attraction of the second club was an international DJ who was visiting Saigon for a short time. Featuring songs ranging from Lady Gaga to Tina Turner, the crowds were going crazy, dancing and singing along. One of our student guides informed us that partying goes on till 2am, as that is the standard closing time for nightlife spots in Saigon, an hour earlier than Malaysian hot spots but ample time to soak in the music and environment. A few Vietnamese from the adjacent table even offered ‘cheers’ to us a couple of times. Perhaps it was their way of welcoming us, as we evidently stood out amongst the locals.

As in many countries including Malaysia, due to entrance fees as well as the prices of food and beverages, only those who are financially privileged are able to enjoy such luxuries. Nevertheless, if only for once, every traveller visiting Saigon ought to pay nightclubs a visit one time to party rock- Vietnam style.


Bloggers' Profiles 

Bonnie Teh, 22 years young, currently pursuing Journalism and International Studies at Monash Malaysia. Believes that opportunities are not made, but seen. Tries to maintain a healthy balance between academics, an active lifestyle and a meaningful existence.

Lim Feixiang, is a Marketing and Communications double degree student. Alongside headlining this year’s Photography team, he can be found breaking hearts in the cafeteria, flexing biceps and on occasion, triceps.

 

JoannaMaria, 25, is an Honours student doing a thesis on female gamers and identity negotiation.

Diary Entry Day 7

By Lim Fei Xiang

Photos by Lim Fei Xiang

After a long night of editing pieces and chasing deadlines, morning came with the joy of taking a break from Saigon and making our way further south towards the Mekong Delta. The journey which took us roughly two and a half hours was indeed a quiet one, with many of us catching up on some good wholesome sleep. Our journey was graced by two new English friends, Jemma and Sarah. After a short introduction and a little ‘hard love’ by Abeer about the condition of our blog, we were well on our way.

Our journey was indeed a long one, our first stop was Cai Be town, situated along the banks of the Mekong River. You may first think that Cai Be is solely a fishing village because it is situated next to the river, but there are other many products available for trade. Fruits, vegetables, and even construction materials like bricks and sand are traded. Most houses and shops are built along the river bank, with some families living in their boats. The Mekong River is massive and crosses through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia. It is the source of livelihood for many people and is rich with history and tradition. The boat ride was beautiful and tranquil, with some of us travellers attempting to soak up some sun and break into a golden tan.

Boat rides made more fun

From the bus, we boarded our own private boat and headed upstream towards our first stop - the local bee farm – where we were treated to some brewed hot tea with fresh honey and lime. A truly refreshing drink indeed, especially for those of us who were suffering from sore throats and coughs. We also witnessed how traditional paper rice rolls were made.  It was your average ‘poh piah’, but made with a Vietnamese twist. It was here as well that some of us managed to finally summon enough bravery to give Snake Wine a go. The sight of fermented snakes and scorpions in a bottle isn’t something I was brought up with, but after most of the female travellers had a go at it, my ego was on the line. So, yes, I did indeed have a go at it. Pretty decent really! Strangely enough, it tasted like a mix of ‘bak kut teh’ and tea.

Our journey then took a very interesting twist as we boarded traditional Vietnamese wooden boats, where local women manually row passengers upstream towards An Binh Island – yes, the river is so large that islands can be found along it. We enjoyed a simple lunch and were introduced to the local delicacy, the Elephant Ear Fish. As strange as it sounds, it was quite tasty. Eaten with the rice paper roll we saw being made earlier and some vegetables, it was as Vietnamese as Vietnam can get.

Your local boat dude

After lunch, we had the privilege of experiencing how locals travel on land by riding rusty and old bicycles. After a week of not having any proper exercise, this was a good chance to burn off some of the Saigon fat. Some of us covered about five kilometres along a stretch of road that seemed endless. We found our way to a road side store where we had some extremely sweet local coffee. Let me try and put this coffee into perspective, 1/4 condensed milk, 1/4 coffee syrup, and the rest was ice. So, you can imagine the kind of sweetness running down our throats, into our stomachs, and clogging up our hearts. It was all forgiven though, when the sweltering Vietnam heat made many of us crispy and a tad bit burnt.                

The only way to travel

Finally we made our way into Vinh Long, a local town further upstream where we managed to shop around for some local fruits. As usual, fruits here are a bargain and when converted, cost almost nothing for us Malaysians. Imagine 1kg of durian for only RM3? Heaven for some of you I’m sure. But the durian here looked and tasted more like expired durian cake, than your average pulpy bittersweet goodness.

The bus finally pulled in and we discovered that it was another one hour journey to the hotel where we were to stay. To be truly honest, I wasn’t very sure where we were going. The heat got the best of us and a little ‘siesta’ in the bus was much needed. Upon arrival we made our way into our hotel rooms and jumped right into the showers. Hotel policy here states that if you want air conditioning, fork out another $5USD, which we gladly obliged to of course.

We had dinner on the banks of the Mekong with local food on the menu. It is now 10.30 p.m as I write this. This diary entry is due in 30 minutes and I wouldn’t want to annoy our diligent editors with anymore delays. This is Fei, signing off with much love and joy! Day Eight shall be another exciting day. Stay tuned! 

Lim Feixiang, is a Marketing and Communications double degree student. Alongside headlining this year’s Photography team, he can be found breaking hearts in the cafeteria, flexing biceps and on occasion, triceps.