Nguyen Hue Walking Street @ Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam

This is indisputably the most famous street at Ho Chi Minh City; the start of what's known as the Nguyen Hue Walking Street that's in front of the colonial city hall. This plaque, in Vietnamese, is a photobomb in my opinion though.

A much better view without the plaque.

With a statue of Mr Ho Chih Minh that gave the city (previously known as Saigon) its name, it was as if Uncle Ho (as he was affectionately called) had in place a bright future for the city! 

People's Committee Building - built between 1902 and 1908, it's not open to the public given its status as a government building but seeing the façade was already breathtaking enough. You would be forgiven for even thinking you might be in Paris!

Surrounding body of water filled with lotus flowers. Do you know that the national flower for Vietnam is lotus; known as "the flower of the dawn and is the symbol of purity, commitment and optimism for the future".

Strongly recommended to check out the walking street at night when the temperature would be much cooler. We did after the À Ố Show by Vietnam Bamboo Circus at Ho Chi Minh City Opera House, which was just a hundred meters away.

Locals were just sitting on the grass patches and enjoying the company. 

Stretch from Ho Chi Minh City Opera House towards the direction of our hotel (Vien Dong Hotel) where I can vaguely make out the iconic logo of McDonald's, where we had supper on day one. 

Photograph of Uncle Ho, with the gorgeous, lighted up backdrop of Ho Chi Minh City Hall. Do you know the building used to be a hotel "(Hôtel de Ville) during the French colonial period"?

This would be the official stretch of Nguyen Hue Walking Street! Saw that tall building on the right? That's the 262-meter tall Bitexco Financial Tower with a skydeck that's 178 meters high.

Water fountain with the lotus flower as the star! Its location was originally an intersection for four roads and the two roads bordering the northwest and southeast were closed, making the street safer for pedestrians.

Loving the long exposure for iPhone live photos! 

Ho Chi Minh City Opera House is at the background.

Street extended for more than 500 meters after the lotus water fountain! As it was Saturday, the street was pretty crowded with locals although such sights are uncommon in Singapore, given the lack of commercial entities flanking the streets.

Street hawkers do make a lot of difference; from bubble blowers, helium balloons, spinners, to even masks and props for the Halloween night then. Kids appeared to be having so much fun with them!

Teenagers also made use of the wide (30-m wide) street to compete with each other for skateboarding. Sometimes ground up initiatives generate more interest than government led ones. For all you know, maybe a section of the street would be reserved as a skateboarding park in the future.

Want to have your portrait drawn? The one thing I always want to do when overseas, yet always slipped my mind, was to have my caricature drawn in every new place! That would be quite nice as a photo wall at home! 

Street performers, like the monkey king Sun Wukong in costume, added to the vibrancy too! Interestingly, there's no music buskers, which would usually be the norm in Singapore. 

The silent visual arts buskers, painted in gold and silver. God knows how they managed to stop themselves from moving; my hyperactivity would stress me out! 

Statue on the side, with the male one having a funny expression! 

Conservatives would likely ask it to be removed! 

You can also find street food vendors; with demand means supply! Such things can't happen in Singapore though, given the strict laws for food safety and hygiene. 

Dragon breath; I so want to try this even though I remember that in Indonesia, there had been quite a few incidents of children suffering from "skin burns, food poisoning and internal organ damage" after having them.

Kiddy rides had come a long way since my era. Electronically powered, with three wheels and lights beaming from the seat to the floor, even I was keen to take a ride! 

Locals bringing their pets for a walk along the street too! They obviously attracted a lot of attention given their cuteness! One of the pictures even showed a cat being carried for a walk. 

The signature low stools that you can only see in Vietnam; actually, its design makes sense as the stools can be used as a table too. Furthermore, Asians are generally not as tall as Caucasians and short Asians like me have absolutely no issue sitting on such stools.

Beyond the end of Nguyen Hue Walking Street would be Saigon River! If you are keen to have a short cruise along the river, you can consider Saigon Princess where you can enjoy a 2-hour dinner. I just checked and you can purchase from Klook; not exactly cheap in my opinion though.

Flags of ASEAN Nations; so nice to see our Singapore flag here! 

Buildings along Nguyen Hue Walking Street; with light strips adorning the exterior, resulting in a visual treat for visitors. One of them even had running rainbow hues that would definitely catch your attention.

The unique Cafe Apartment which was converted from a housing block built in 1960 for "US military officers and high-ranking officials working for the South Vietnam government". I shall check it out next round!

Supposed to check out "the central gangs" for dinner but it was already fully booked. That's the reason why we made an unscheduled visit to Pizza 4P's at Saigon Centre instead. 

Last two photos of the walking street. It was said that during the lunar new year period, it would be decked out with festive flower decorations! You can check out the YouTube here. 

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Map

As above.

Click here for my 6 Days Itinerary in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) - Pearl of the Far East @ Vietnam