They are organizing their annual dance show which is a great occasion to either see your loved ones in action or check out the dancers of this school.

Dancenter, dance show in Saigon on 8th and 9th June 2013

Tickets are selling for 100 / 150 and 200.000 VND.

Dancenter is located at 53 Nguyen Dang Giai, in Thao Dien, District 2, HCMC.

You will find classes of various types of dancing styles for toddlers, kids, teengers and grown-ups too.

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A coffee sua da (iced Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk) is 65.000 Vietnamese dongs (VND) and a watermelon or mango fruit juice is 75.000 VND, not necessarily on the cheap side, true, but the lunch combo (one dish from the menu and one drink) comes out at 120.000 VND which is a good deal given the nice place and the food I had was quite good, sliced meatballs and vermicelli, ready to roll!

Here are some pictures of this place I warmly recommend.

A view of the Terrace

I was amazed to find a light stand from Quasar Khanh! It looks a bit like a silver jellyfish doesn’t it?

Here is their address: 86 Nguyen Du street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.

Now you know where you can go if you want to go somewhere different and that few people know about!

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Well, it seems our friends over at Créa TV are taking some very welcome and surely life-saving steps towards helping improve awareness and education related to traffic.

Here is a presentation of their road safety campaign, hope we can all support it as best as possible.

Source: Créa TV

info@crea-tv.com

339 Binh Quoi

Did you know that according to the United Nations, “1.24 million people die every year on the world’s roads” : 3,500 victims every single day.
Créa TV decided to take action and fight this epidemic by creating a road safety campaign to support the Asia Injury Prevention (AIP) Foundation and the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020.

Créa TV’s Managing Director, Othello KHANH joined forces with Director/Animator Philippe MASSONNET to craft the “Signs of Life” campaign. Episode 01 focused on Pedestrian Safety is the pilot of a larger series that aims to show that taking safety precautions can help us to prevent road traffic crashes. “We are our own engines of change that will make our roads safer” said Mirjam Sidik, AIP Foundation’s CEO.
This initial episode was produced in English and Vietnamese.

Créa TV and AIP Foundation are now looking for partners to support the development the series and broaden its reach across the globe.
Please contact us (info@crea-tv.com) to learn how you too can contribute to making our roads safer.

By the way, did you know that Othello Khanh is the son of the famous inventor, architect and designer Quasar Khanh?

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I was wondering if there were any real luxury barbecues in Vietnam…

By luxury barbecue I mean that the barbecue must have all the following characteristics in order to be considered a truly high end and luxury product:

* designer barbecue: modern and contemporary design

* high end components: stainless steel

* produced by a luxury product manufacturer

* comes with at least a three year guarantee

Luxury with a modern design, I just love these barbecues. Made in Catalonia (Cataluña), Spain

I came across this website that sells luxury designer barbecues in Europe and I was blown away…I wonder when we will be able to enjoy a Sunday barbecue with one of these. They even have outdoor kitchens fit for a five star resort.

So, the next time I can afford to bring one of these over to my garden in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), I definitely will hop over to this luxury barbecue and outdoor kitchen retailer and order one of these.

I would love to post here some photos from you barbecue aficionados out there, just send them over

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Usually we go to the ferry crossing of Cat Lai and then cycle on the other side of the river in the fields, that’s a great ride since you really leave the hustle and bustle of the city behind you and find yourself in the countryside with many people waving and saying hello.

This time we decided to cycle around our side (D2) of the river, near the big road that goes in front of the ACG school.

We had spotted this house before and this time we stopped and walked in, nobody at the door on this fine Sunday morning, we were welcomed by a posse of barking dogs but luckily they were of the small size variety and somebody came to calm them down.

Nguyen’s Art Garden (zoom)

Nguyen’s Art Garden entrance

This door was closed but a few meters to the right you have another entrance. Once you get through that entrance you will find yourself in a shaded leafy environment that is half Chinese garden and half art exhibition.

Here are some photos of this very pleasant place.

Nguyen’s Art Garden 1

There is a space for eating and apparently a small restaurant, not sure what is on the menu but you can chill out by the river here.

Nguyen’s Art Garden 2

Work in progress..

There were only a few people around but they were very friendly and welcomed us. The cool thing is that they are all artists and either live there or go there to be in a nice setting while they work on their paintings, sculptures and potteries. They can sleep there if they wish, a great idea and kudos to Nguyen (name to be confirmed) and now his daughter Van who seem to be the ones that built the place and keep it running, great job!

A wooden swing in the courtyard of this peaceful setting

Now, here are some photos of the art displayed, it is like walking into a museum because some art works look quite old (potteries, and wooden sculptures).

Oil paintings at Nguyen’s Art Garden

Oil paintings at Nguyen’s Art Garden 2

Wooden sculptures of ancient warriors

Wooden sculptures of ancient warriors 2

One painter’s space in the shade

An eclectic collection of paintings, vases, potteries and sculptures

Oil paintings at Nguyen’s Art Garden 2

In the leaflet they gave us, this place is called Saigon Arts Ky Long Gallery and the address is:

35 Ham Long Arts Village, Thanh My Loi Ward, District 2, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

T: (848) 37425449 email: villakylong@yahoo.com

Websites: www.kylongallery.com and www.kylong.com

and this is Miss Van’s card, don’t hesitate to visit this incredible oasis just on the outskirts of Saigon, you are still in D2 but in another world..

Ky Long Art Village and Art Gallery: Ly Chanh Van

After visiting this amazing place and promising our new friends that we would come back with our families, we continued our bike ride.

Very near this place there is a meeting point for Saigon model plane enthusiasts, you can hear them before you see them as their planes and small scale helicopters can be heard buzzing around. Then you see these small planes doing amazing acrobatics in the air, these guys are quite good at flying their planes and do some nice stunts. In any case, its nice to see people getting together to share a common passion, whatever that may be, in this case it is flying model airplanes.

Model airplane aficionados Saigon

Model airplane aficionados Saigon 2

Model airplane aficionados Saigon 3

The red one near the car is a helicopter and this guy knows how to fly it, nosediving and what not, really cool to watch.

Model airplane aficionados Saigon 4

My mate Sebastian on his bike admiring the model airplanes.

End of the road, 40 km ride!

Back home after 2,5 hours on our bikes, 40 kilometers, not bad! And we didn’t even have to cross the river, lot’s of places to ride in District 2, An Phu.

About the author:

Javier is a big fan of Vietnam and currently is helping build several online marketing campaigns for clients as a freelancer. Below are some links related to current online campaigns

Voyage Vietnam

Viajes Vietnam

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Picture taken by Alexandre Garel, I’ve seen some incredible pictures taken by him and he definitely takes the level of photography in Saigon a notch higher since he arrived.

Head over to Facebook to see some comments by people who were there and what they thought about the show.

The Blanch’y Tash is setting new limits and paving the way for an exceptional event for all those club and dance fans out there…..Bob Sinclar is coming to town.

Bob Sinclar in Saigon, Vietnam at Blanchy’s Tash on the 9th of May

At first it seemed to good to be true but true it is (see Bob Sinclar’s website), get your entry before they run out.

Blanchy’s Tash, 95 Hai Ba Trung, District 1, Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam

Telephone: 0909028293

Blanch’y Tash, the place to go with friends or to meet new friends

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Andres’s birthday at Blanchy’s Tash (Saigon, Vietnam)

Next door to the well-know Spanish restaurant Pacharán, Blanchy’s Tash has become the place where the frontline of dance, cocktails and fun in Saigon is pushed forward a bit more every week-end.

By the way, did I tell you that Blanchy’s Tash is bringing Bob Sinclar to Saigon? Definitely the most significant episode to date in the history of clubbing in Vietnam, 9th of May, come and be part of this historical moment!

Bob Sinclar in Saigon, Vietnam at Blanchy’s Tash on the 9th of May

Blanchy’s Tash, 95 Hai Ba Trung, the place to be if you are out for a good time with friends!

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Vietnamese lanterns, looks like Christmas

Hoi An_vietnam

Mekong Delta Vietnam

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Departure is from the Saigon Railway Station, actually very close to downtown but nested behind Vo thi Sau street (District 3). You can buy your tickets from a travel agency or get them delivered by the train station (but now it seems you need to make the call from a land line in order for them to make the delivery).

HO CHI MINH CITY TRAIN STATION 

Address: 1 Nguyen Thong Street, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City
Tel:  (+84-83) 843-6528
Ticket Hours: 7:30 – 19:30

Here is a google maps widget to find your way, mind that the railway station doesn’t appear on the map, you need to look for the railway lines that begin at the address of the railway station.

View Larger Map
You can also get information on these websites (Vietnamese):

http://saigonrailway.vn/

http://www.gasaigon.com.vn/

There are other websites with English information but I think they are not the official ones so you will probably end up paying a premium.

A great way to travel to Mui Ne is to take your bike with you (there is a special wagon you can load your bike on, you need to buy a ticket for the bike, around 130.000 VND one way). You’ll also have to pay 10.000 VND to the guys loading the bike on the train.

Saigon Mui Ne train railwa

For an adult, in first class, 146.000 VND, for a child, 74.000 VND. Comfortable and with reliable air con, it’s a great way to travel to the beach from Saigon (HCMC).

Train Saigon to Mui Ne 1

Traveling by train to Mui Ne (Phan Thiet) has become a hit amongst many foreigners and you will see many on this train.

Train Saigon to Mui Ne 2

You get a great view of the countryside and of course, you will see a lot of dragon fruits.

Train Saigon to Mui Ne 3

Another view from the train. By the way, you also have a restaurant wagon where you can get some café sua da (Vietnamese iced coffee with condensed milk) or Pho (Vietnamese noodle soup).

Railway station Mui Ne Vietnam 2

After 4,5 hours (practically the same as if you went by car), you are in Phan Thiet railway station, Ga Phan Thiet.

Railway station Mui Ne Vietnam

Just walk out through that door and you can choose either a taxi (15-20 minute ride) or a bus to get to Mui Ne and hit the beach!

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The infinity swimming pool is beautiful the rooms are brilliant it’s next to the beach and next to the restaurant where, even if you’re not a guest in the resort you can still eat there.The restaurant is specialized in Thai food and though it is quite good, I personally prefer the Thai dishes at the Mia Resort (ex Sailing Club). I tried chicken with cashew nuts at both restaurants and definitely, at least for this dish, the latter is the best option, finger-licking good

It feels good to RELAX on the sun lounger or listen to some music and hear the sounds of the sea.

Sun Sea has lots of nice decorations like: Dragons

The address is:

50 Nguyen Dinh Chieu
KP. 1, Ham Tien Ward
Phan Thiet, Viet Nam

Telephone:

(84)  623 847 700

Photos of the rooms:

I would recommend this place to anybody looking for a nice resort with some premium beach front.

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