Local Interest
Saigon Midnight
Motorbike Loop
Words and Photos by VietnamCoracle http:// vietnamcoracle. com
For most of the year, Saigon is just too darn hot, humid, busy and polluted to enjoy during the daylight hours. At night, however, temperatures are cool, humidity is low, traffic is light, and even the air quality seems to improve: it’ s the perfect time to see the city. After dark, when the office workers, the revellers, the tourists have gone home, Saigon is still there: all its famous buildings are still standing, its waterways still flowing, and even some of its markets and street food vendors are still doing business. Like all great cities, Saigon never really sleeps. Night is also the only time you can actually enjoy riding a motorbike in Saigon. In the small hours, it’ s possible to leisurely roll down the city’ s wide, tree-lined boulevards, meander along its waterside avenues, and over its many new bridges. At night, Saigon is a beautiful and easily traversed city. The following guide is an urban route designed specifically for riding after dark: I call it the Saigon Midnight Motorbike Loop.
The Midnight Loop should be treated as a night out: something to be enjoyed, in good company, at a leisurely pace. Ride with a pillion – friend, partner, family member – stop for food and drink every now and then, and just enjoy the ride and the city, because this is the only time you’ ll get to see and appreciate Saigon on your own terms, at your own pace. A good time to start is 9pm, when the city’ s traffic begins to dissipate and the streets are calmer and cooler. I’ ve separated the Midnight Loop into 5 sections according to the city districts it passes through. Although it’ s not necessary to follow the loop precisely, I’ ve designed it carefully so that the route moves through each area at the best possible time of night. I’ ve included information about places of interest along the way, and food or drink outlets that are open late at night. Rainy season nights( May-October) are damp and cool, and flickers of lightning dramatically illuminate the city skyline, but it can also be close and clammy. Dry season nights( November-April) are very cool and pleasant. almost all to yourself. The lights and ever-growing skyline of downtown District 1 can be seen ahead of you, across the river. Look out for the picnickers on the sidewalk – an endearing, and very Vietnamese, tradition Bear right at the toll-booths before the entrance to the Thu Thiem Tunnel. This slip road leads to the riverfront Thu Thiem Tunnel Park. Another popular haunt for young Saigon lovers, the views across the waterway to District 1 are superb. Follow the road around to the right, across a little bridge, until it leads behind half a dozen gigantic, floodlit advertising billboards. The huge structures stand on a grassy bank, dwarfing the small groups of picnickers sitting below them. It’ s a surreal, urban-gritty kind of sight, especially at night, with the glare from the floodlights and occasional headlights of passing motorbikes.
14 The MAG Vung Tau