Suoi Tien Amusement Park, HCMC (Photo Post)

There are people around the world that like to go to weird amusement/theme parks.

AHEM: ATTENTION THOSE PEOPLE. This one is for you!

For pure goofy, Buddhist, Vietnamese WTF (and a whole lot of culture!), it does NOT get better than Ho Chi Minh City's Suoi Tien Amusement Park.

Located in Tan Phu ward of District 9, HCMC, this is a bit of a trek for the average tourist who will likely spend most of their time downtown. At about 40 minutes away, it's definitely off the beaten path, but if you've got an afternoon to kill, this is Vietnamese weirdness exemplified. It's a total treat, and one that could only happen here in Vietnam.

Take a look in this picture post! (Also, a special thanks to Mariana for letting me use her beautiful face in these pics!)

General Observations on Saigonese Architecture

[NOTE: This post goes out to my friend Jenny, who asked me about architecture in July 2013. Excitingly, it's a much more interesting topic than I assumed! So here's the first post!]

I find myself often looking down out my window, which is located on the 3rd (4th, American-style counting) floor of my house, and find myself succumbing to the question that must be difficult for any Vietnamese architect to resist: why isn't the entire lot filled... the entire vertical distance??

There's about half a meter of a small awning over the entrance to the garage... that would give me (or my poor roomies on the other side of the building, in their small, glass closet-rooms) just a liiiiiitle bit more breathing room.

But this is a form of thinking that I had never encountered as a designer. Form really SHOULD follow function, but it's difficult to resist the idea that an object's aesthetic should be at least equally important.

On one level, though, this extreme interpretation of Form v. Function just makes common sense - people are more important than the building, so stretch the building to the farthest corners of the available land, all the way up, and you'll have slightly more comfortable humans.

Not to mention the fact that in the average Vietnamese home, there are many family members, and, all of a sudden, this doesn't just seem like A way to do it, it becomes THE way to do it. Even in parcels of city land that are surrounded by unsold/unimproved lots, the tube house reigns supreme... because the expectation is that this neighborhood will, in time, be just like every other well-developed neighborhood in the city - packed, walkable, vital, and very, very local.

Park Life: Thac Giang Điền

I wish I'd found this place myself.

However, it's so far off the beaten path of my everyday travels that only looking for it specifically would find it - it's not in Ho Chi Minh City at all, but rather, about about 60 minutes (~45km) outside it in the countryside of Dong Nai Province, northeast of Bien Hoa City.

Join me in the Dong Nai countryside for a relaxing surprise!

Saigon Sights: The Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens

Recently, I visited a place I told myself I'd never go again. On my previous excursion, it was the most depressing zoo outside of Minnesota (looking at you, Little Falls, MN): the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens. And here I was again, ready for round two.

We weren't even supposed to be there!

But, alas, the History Museum was on naptime lockdown (sigh. I feel I'll never get used to that) for an hour and a half, and, with no where else to go, my friend Kasia and I ventured into the zoo next door to take some pictures, stroll around, and generally be snarky and judge-y about the whole thing. We'd both been there before, and, unlike her, I wanted to return to capture the sad on my upgraded camera. We were both afraid of being bummed out, but with nothing else to do, we reluctantly drifted in.

What a shock we had. Merely four months ago, this place was a decrepit wonderland of depression. Animals were skinnier and more despondent, attendance was lower, and it felt kind of run down. This time, admission prices had doubled (from a scant 6000 VND to a slightly less scant 12000 VND, or about .60 cents USD), the grounds had been given a makeover, several new habitats were under construction, and there were people! People everywhere! The most exciting animal in the park!

Continue on to see a few of my favorite pictures and my suggestion for a plan...

Saigon's Canals: The Project From Hell

The revamped main canal.

Ho Chi Minh City's canals are two different stories, which diverge significantly (ha), with many accidental but important lessons learned along the way. Today I want to tell you about what surely must be one of the most compelling sustainable infrastructure projects I've heard of yet: the transformation of the Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe branch of the Saigon canal system.

Over the course of 10 years this branch was transformed from an open sewer spreading disease and destruction to a jewel of central Ho Chi Minh City's park system.

And, to think, it almost didn't happen - at least 4 times. In fact, it was literally abandoned as un-doable at one point by a foreign contractor. Not a good omen, you say?


Hit the jump for just how the longest of these canals turned out, as well as pictures from some of the city's less well-off canals:

Park Life: Công Viên 23 Tháng 9

The lily pond in Công Viên 23 Tháng 9, surrounded by an isolating and deeply relaxing grove of palm trees.

Today I want to take you on a tour of the park where I meet several of my clients, as well as my own personal Vietnamese tutor. On concrete benches beneath the shade of palm trees, in a section far away from the mosquitos that live in the pond, I learn and teach languages. Coupled with a ca phe da (iced coffee), banh mi, and folders full of language notes, my students and I learn languages together in the morning heat.

Leslie Knope would be proud! This repurposed park is today a thriving civic hub, one that I visit at least three times a week.

Park Life: Công viên Lê Văn Tám

I couldn't find much info on this statue, which is
a shame - I like the stylized torch on top.

As one Google user states in their review of Le Van Tam Park (presumably a local, speaking in translated Vietnamese):

"Complicated resident with old construction..."

Couldn't put it better myself (well, mayb. This was the first park I fell in love with, and so it's the first public space I'll cover in depth in my tour of spaces that make Ho Chi Minh City unique.

I love parks. They're good for the mental and physical health of residents, they provide much-needed space for groups to meet, socialize, and exercise, they beautify, they breed civic pride, they can boost tourism, and they help create strong, integral communities with a multitude of opportunities for residents to interact, play, and work. They're an important part of any neighborhood, and cities without parks are just downright boring, as well as have more difficult paths to all the benefits I've already mentioned. A park is simply a wonderful thing to have around, and I have a personal interest in community infrastructure and design... which is why it's pretty much the first type of place I tried to find after moving to Vietnam. I was not disappointed - this park is well-designed and great for all sorts of activities.