Saigon & Culture
Ho Chi Minh City Layover: Is It Worth Leaving the Airport, and How to Spend the Hours
A Ho Chi Minh City layover is worth leaving the airport for only when the clock allows: under about six hours, stay airside; from…
Journal
Saigon & Culture
Saigon & Culture
Jade Emperor Pagoda: Visiting Saigon’s Taoist Temple in Đa Kao
The Jade Emperor Pagoda (Chùa Ngọc Hoàng) is a working Taoist temple at 73 Mai Thị Lựu, on the northern edge of District 1,…
Saigon & Culture
Vietnamese Teachers’ Day (20 November): A Guide for Expat Parents
Vietnamese Teachers' Day falls on 20 November every year, and for parents it usually means three things: flowers, a card or drawing made by…
Saigon & Culture
Christmas in Ho Chi Minh City: Lights, Mass and Christmas Eve at the Pink Church
Christmas in Ho Chi Minh City is a working day, not a public holiday, yet the city celebrates it loudly, above all on the…
Saigon & Culture
Vietnamese Women’s Day (20 October): A Guide for Expats, and What to Give
Vietnamese Women's Day falls on 20 October every year, and it is not a day off: offices, schools and shops stay open, and the…
Saigon & Culture
Tan Dinh Church: Visiting Saigon’s Pink Church and the Streets Around It
Tan Dinh Church is the pink church at 289 Hai Bà Trưng Street, across the road from Tân Định Market, and you can walk…
Saigon & Culture
Cao Gio in Vietnam: What the Red Marks Mean, and When to Skip It
Cao gio is Vietnamese coin scraping, and the striped red marks you see on necks and backs around Saigon are its result, not an…
Saigon & Culture
Reading a Vietnamese Spa Menu in Saigon: Trị Liệu and Thư Giãn
On a Vietnamese spa menu, trị liệu means a firm, targeted massage and thư giãn means a gentle, whole-body one — neither word is…
Saigon & Culture
Booking a Massage in District 1 as a Man
Search "massage" plus a district name in Ho Chi Minh City and you get day spas and the adult trade in one list, so…
Saigon & Culture
What Time Do Spas Open in Ho Chi Minh City?
The question that matters is not what time a spa closes but what time it will still start your treatment, and those are different…