Ho Chi Minh City is also known as Saigon. It is definitely a party city with a variety of bars and clubs to choose from. Of course, Saigon parties to late, and it seems like the perfect place to spend your time is around the Pham Ngu Lao district area. Due to its popularity among foreigners, it is usually called the backpacker district, right in the heart of the city. The Pham Ngu Lao area is made up of two parallel streets, the Bui Vien Street and the Pham Ngu Lao street. In between, there are small alleys connecting them.
The streets are full of light and people. Small shops tend to set up tables and chairs on the street and offer drinks. Pham Ngu Lao is where the expats and the locals come together to eat and drink. The most popular places to go around the area are the Go2 Bar, Allez Boo Bar, Crazy Buffalo Bar and The View Rooftop Bar at Duc Vuong Hotel Saigon, where, rumor has it, you can find beer for US$1!
Because they are the perfect place to enjoy the sunset, rooftops bars are really a thing in Saigon. Enjoy the sunsets in one of the most exclusive rooftop bars in HCMC, Chill Skybar on the 26th floor of the AB Tower. If you can afford it and if you can get past the strict door policy, it is the place for a classy drink or a date. Glow Skybar and MGallery are favourite among expats and tourists.
In case what you are looking for is to dance all night long, then Lush is your place. It is probably the most famous nightclub in the city, especially among foreigners. Ladies’ Night is every Tuesday!
Live Music
Saigon has something for everyone. In some places in the city you can find good coffee shops with live music. Whether you are into rock or jazz or anything in between, you can go to Abracadabra Café, House 7 Café, Yen Café, Cúcuta Café, and others.
Quiet Nights in Saigon
If all of this sounds like too much for you, there are some quiet activities you can do. Good for a quiet night out, the Bonsai Dinner Cruise takes you to a journey down the Saigon River with live jazz music and traditional Vietnamese dance. Or enjoy a play, opera or even ballet shows at the Saigon Opera House.
Nguyen Hue Walking Street is the place you wouldn’t want to miss. It is the perfect place for a night walk through the city. The visitors, the performers and the local shops create an upbeat atmosphere.
People say “Saigon never sleeps”. Well…there’s only one way to find out. Explore Saigon with us and Apply Now!
Crazy Weather
Dear reader,
When you read this I might already be drowned by heavy rain or burned by scorching sunlight. The past few day’s weather in Zhuhai has been crazy!
“April, April, der macht was er will.”
This weekend – which was a long one thanks to the Chinese Qingming Holiday – is a good example of crazy weather. Starting with a sunny Friday morning, which really got our office in the holiday spirit, but then continued with clouds and mist. It was still quite warm though. After work we went for dinner, drinks and Go-Karting – it was the first time ever for me… I loved it!! 😀
Then we had an awesome Saturday with sunshine all day. As I had a visitor from Harbin, we went to a palace which is a replica of the summer palace in Beijing. We walked around in the park behind it and climbed a mountain to have a look over Zhuhai. From the peak we could also see Macau. Afterwards we went to the beach, grabbing a cold drink on our way. The day ended with a Korean BBQ, a walk on Barstreet and dancing in a club called Miu Miu. We have some quite descent dancers in our interns group!
As you can imagine, our Sunday started rather late. But it wasn’t too bad as it was raining. On our way to get some waffles and noodles for brunch, we had to negotiate our way around and over puddles. Sure the paper bag with our waffles inside got wet and ripped. Although we didn’t mind as I managed to save the waffles. Being back in the apartment we crawled underneath our blankets on the couch and watched a movie while enjoying our food. It was really cozy. ^.^
For dinner we met some interns at a Muslim restaurant, and then we went to their apartment for a relaxing bottle or two of Tsingtao and some baijiu! It was interesting to listen to some of the stories from our interns who have already been here for quite a long time. Most of them were quite tired from the weekend’s partying so far and some had to work the next day, so we didn’t stay up too late.
I was in a fortunate position as I had the Monday off. So after I hung up my freshly washed clothes above the balcony to dry and had breakfast; I took Li to my favorite place in Zhuhai: the underground market. Of course I couldn’t resist buying some clothes and perfume. Oh and the weather… it was dry and a little sunny in the morning. After we left the underground the rain started again. We hurried underneath a sushi stand were we enjoyed some tasty morsels whilst watching the rain pour down. Later in the evening it was dry again – unlike my clothes above the balcony…!!
We decided to the Factory (a bar in Huafa) were they had a ‘Happy Monday – Buy one, get one free’ offer. On our way there we stopped to see a water fountain show. Who needs Vegas?! As they make really good Pizzas in the Factory we ordered two and got four. Awesome! But I was sooo stuffed afterwards. We then had a fun round of darts together!
It was a great weekend.
See you and 再见，
Gianna aka Gini aka 吉娜
Apart from the great business and work opportunities that Zhuhai has to offer, it also has a great nightlife for those that like to have fun on their nights off.
There are many various places you can go to enjoy your Friday night, whether it be KTV, Bar Street (where all the clubs are) or the downtown bars.
KTV is a favorite amongst the Chinese locals, they absolutely love KTV’ing. KTV is actually so much fun, you get your own private room with a massive TV and sound system, and you can karaoke privately with your friends. If you don’t feel like singing, you’ve basically got yourself a private club for the night! Drinks tend to be expensive, but it all evens out because the price to rent the room for the night is very inexpensive. KTV’s can be found all over the city.
Bar Street is a favorite amongst the interns because there is a street full of bars and clubs. 88 Club in particular is the main club to go to when you are in Zhuhai. Opening, and happening every night of the week, you can always expect dance music, flashing lights, live dancers and free glow sticks. Because the drinks tend to be a little expensive, the interns usually buy drinks from the 7/11 down the street, drink them by the big lit-up tree outside of 88, and then enter the club when they are ready to party.
Right next to Bar Street is BBQ Street, where you can find lots of delicious street vendors ready to make you food at 2:00am when you’re drunk and hungry.
For those more relaxed nights, there are many great bars to go to. London Lounge, for example, which is located opposite the Jida beach, has become very popular. Sports games are played on the regular, and there is always great live music. If you’re craving western delights such as sausage rolls or fish’n’chips, this is the place to come to. If you’re a little tired of drinking Chinese beer and feel like a nice change, London Lounge serves Guinness, Tuborg, Carlsberg, Heineken, Corona’s, etc.
King’s Flanc is another hidden gem in Zhuhai. They offer a vast variety of wines and other drinks for those more classy nights.
There are many great places to have a great night when in Zhuhai. Here is a list of some other great places:
The Factory Restaurant & Bar
Location: Street: Huafa New Century Plaza 113
珠 海 香 洲 -拱 北 昌 盛 路 华 发 世 纪 城3113号
Chicago Brewery & Grill
Location: Dongfeng Road 6
香 洲 区 东 风 路 6号
London Lounge Bar
Location: Ground Floor, Ridong Square
香 洲 区 情 侣 中 路 51号 日 东 广 场
88 Club
Location: Jiu ba jie
香 洲 区 拱 北 水 湾 路 酒 吧 街 203号
The One
Location: Jiu ba jie
香 洲 区 拱 北 水 湾 路 酒 吧 街
To find out more about what events and fun things are planned for Zhuhai, visit www.zhuhainights.com
Are you interested in gaining some great experience, as well as having a great time with people your age? Come to Zhuhai to experience the great party scene! Apply now to InternChina by sending your CV and cover letter to info@internchina.com.
Hey,
my name is Philipp, I am 25 and from Germany. It is now my second week at InternChina and I could already write a book about my experiences here in the beautiful coastal town Qingdao !
The team of InternChina is really great, working here is fun and I had a lot of responsibility from the first day on. The connection between all the interns here in Qingdao, placed by InternChina, is perfect. We have a lot of things going on, like having fun at Bars and Clubs, visit the most exciting places or go out together for lunch or dinner.
To describe a part of the cultural experience the best, I would like to give an example of my evening yesterday:
I decided to live with a host family (a great thing to deepen your cultural insight of China) and accompanied my host mother to a revival of her old class from school. After a lot of “Ganbei” with Tsingtao beer and delicious food (served in China mostly on a “turn around” table), I was invited to a friendly family and was suddenly confronted with the question, if I would like to marry their daughter ! So some sort of an “arranged marriage” ! Her parents told me that she is very clever and hardworking and I could marry well. They took me around in the house so I could see for myself that they have expensive furniture and stuff. If I could imagine a marriage?! I was so surprised as I had never ever expected this and said (big surprise)that unfortunately I can´t imagine that. Even so, she was beside me all the time and looked after me very well. That was a pretty dazzling experience, but that makes life interesting, right ?
The “Laowais” (foreign people) are definitively a highlight for the people here in China, as most of them don´t have the chance to travel and go abroad as we do in Europe for example. I got used to the fact, that people stare at us western people quite indiscreetly, but this is not meant in a bad way as they are just curious.
So there are still a lot of experiences to be had and I look forward to my time in China, as I see this as a really awesome modern adventure.