VietNamNet Bridge – Big cities in Vietnam do not lack bars, cinemas, theatres, night markets and art shows but most of these places close before 12am, too early for many foreign visitors.

Foreign tourists at the Hanoi night market. Photo: ngoisao

Hanoi’s Thang Long Puppetry Theatre and the A O Show at the HCM City Opera House (Saigon) are two venues attracting many international tourists. Every night, many individual travelers or groups of tourists are taken to these theatres to enjoy traditional performances.

The streets for foreign travelers such as Ta Hien, Nha Tho or Xuan Dieu (Hanoi) and Bui Vien (Saigon) are home to hundreds of bars, cafes and restaurants for foreigners. Hanoi and HCM City also have night markets. However, all of these place close quite early.

For the water puppetry show and A O Show, the latest shows start at 8pm and end at 10pm.

HCM City’s Ben Thanh night market is always crowded but it closes at 12am. At Hanoi night market, stalls begin to close at 11pm. At this time, Ta Hien Street becomes more lively, but at 12am, bars and cafes close their doors.

Nguyen Hai Long, manager of the Wolf Hound bar on Luong Ngoc Quyen Street, Hanoi, said that 80% of visitors to his bar are foreigners. Some regular customers usually come to the bar early but many others prefer to enter the bar at 11pm. After several glasses, Long has to notify them about the closing time.

"Many people felt uncomfortable and some of them even had negative reactions such as cursing, and become quarrelsome. We tried to explain the situation but they still had the feeling of being chased when the forces came to require cleanup," Long said.

An employee of the Fat Cat Bar, also located on Ta Hien Road, Hanoi, said at 12am, the bar has to close the doors, reduce the volume of music and invite customers who are sitting on the sidewalk to get inside the bar. However, customers can stay inside the bar for just 15-30 minutes more.

The tourists who want to play more will catch a cab to a different location. Leo, a French tourist, said: "I think that Hanoi has many exciting activities, people are friendly, but bars and entertainment services close early." 

One of the areas that still opens after 12am in Hanoi is the food street of Tong Duy Tan. Saigon also has several bars open all night. Night Club Go2 is one place in Bui Vien Street which opens until 2am or even 6-7am. But even if they open late at night, they only provides basic services such as food and drink.

Zack, a Canadian tourist in Saigon, said he did not want to go to bars or restaurants anymore. "I need more interesting night activities."

Tong The Anh, a tourist guide from Asia Trail company, said that the nightlife in Hanoi is poor. He can only recommend foreign tourists to walk around the Old Quarter, watch a puppet show, or go to a bar at night. 

"Many people complain that Hanoi’s bars are small, look like pubs and the price is expensive," he said.

Nguyen Thanh Thu, a tour guide in Saigon, said that the night services like nightclubs and discos, and the pedestrian roads in HCM City are relatively good.

"Westerners like exciting street activities but Saigon does not have such things for them," she said.

Tourists need diverse night entertainment services

Foreign visitors at Ben Thanh Market, HCM City.

Recognizing that the need for evening services for foreign tourists has not been satisfied, tourism service providers have proposed to zone entertainment areas operating late at night.

Phan Hue, Director of the Viet Circle Tourism company, said foreign travelers love to visit Vietnam because of the beautiful natural scenery and friendly people. However, many visitors also ask about the nightlife in Vietnam.

"They just love to see entertaining, maybe funny things," he said. "Our current shows for foreign tourists are academic or local, and they are performed in Vietnamese so it is hard for foreign tourists to enjoy."

Ms. Dang Linh Chi, Director of Colour of Viet Company, said the company's customers mainly come from Western Europe and they have very strict requirements on the issue of accommodation, recreation, security .. .

"They have travelled a great distance to go to Vietnam so they want to spend all the time to discover the country,” Chi said. 

Travel companies often offer a number of options for foreign travelers, such as going to coffee shops, bars, night markets and some traditional art theatres such as water puppetry shows... But these activities are not so attractive for tourists and usually end at 11pm.

According to Chi, having leisure destinations to meet customer needs helps visitors stay longer in the country and encourages them to spend more.

A zone for night entertainment in HCM City recommended 

At a recent workshop on tourism, travel firms said that one of the reasons for the drop of Western tourists in Vietnam is the poor nightlife.

Mr. La Quoc Khanh, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Ho Chi Minh City, commented that for years, the recreational activities have not been permitted after 12am and these activities are not special, too. The current programs for tourists are don ca tai tu (southern folk songs), wedding rituals or small art shows.

Khanh said that HCM City had proposed to zone an area for night entertainment services that can open 24/7.

Tourism firms and state agencies met to discuss the fall of foreign tourists to Vietnam this year and to find solutions many times. The Vietnamese government recently decided to exempt visas for citizens from seven European countries. The other measures such as preventing overcharges and environmental pollution, enhancing security for tourists ... have also been strengthened.

From the perspective of the State administration, Ha Van Sieu, Deputy head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said poor nightlife is not the only cause leading to decline in number of tourists. The creation of tourism businesses is important in creating night entertainment services for travelers.

Compiled by Pha Le