23/9 Park

23/9 park is located on Phạm Ngũ Lão near Bùi Viện & the main back packer area of Saigon. It extends for 3 blocks & is a popular place for sitting, playing badminton, people watching or taking the kids for a stroll. There is a playground for children here & the well aged, tall trees provide a shady haven away from the heat & turmoil of Saigon.

This park also tends to be the venue for various festivals & exhibitions such as a Vietnam tourist exhibition held in March. There is a lily pond & a small ‘stadium’ where live performances sometimes take place. In the evenings, the ‘shelters’ in the park transform into dance schools & people dance to the tunes from old school style beat boxes. It is certainly a place which displays the social life of locals in Saigon. I have also seen martial arts lessons taking place in the evening around 7pm.

During the day it is relatively quiet with a few hawkers & people lounging on the benches. It is quite common to be approached by students who want to practice their English with a native speaker. At times, this is almost complimentary but the repeated approaches can become rather tiresome. Like it or not, it is a good way to pass time in a lovely setting.

This park is well worth visiting, its close proximity to Bùi Viện make it very easy to reach plus it is a very relaxing place. I would advise people to be vigilant in the evenings as this park can also be host to some very unsavoury characters, stay alert!