Red Bui Ven

Most locals refer to Ho Chi Min City, the capital city of Vietnam, by its old name, Saigon. This perfectly sums up the duality one experiences in this bustling city. The old and the new, the traditional and the modern, the Asian and the Western, the indoor and the outdoor, the moral and the not-so. This mix between traditions and the modern world is particularly salient in Bui Ven Street, a happening street where vast numbers of Western tourists and young locals hang out night after night. Street vendors, performers, shady characters, hostess ladies, and families; all are there and manage to cohabit.