Golf in Saigon

Golf in Vietnam goes back to 1922 and today there are more than 10 courses in Vietnam with as many as 30 more under development. The first course in Ho Chi Minh City, the Go Vap Golf Course (which most people call the Saigon Golf Club) opened in the 1950s, and local people are beginning to appreciate the fun of swinging a club.

Others include the Vietnam Golf & Country Club which opened in 1994, and is the best established club in Ho Chi Minh City. With 36 holes, it is a private club, though guests are welcome. It is the closest course to central Saigon, some 20 km (or 30 minutes) from downtown at Long Thanh My Thu Due District.

Song Be Golf Resort has what is regarded as Vietnam’s first international-standard championship golf course. Also opened in 1994, it has 27 holes. The Song Be Golf Course is at 254B Nguyen Dinh Chieu St.

For driving ranges, try the Him Lam Driving Range on 234 Ngo Tat Thanh in Binh Thanh District, on the Saigon River, the Saigon South Golf Driving Range on Nam Saigon Avenue, District 7, or the Rach Chiec Driving Range on Ha Noi Highway, An Phu Ward, District 2.

Suoi Tien Cultural Theme Park

Suoi Tien Cultural Theme Park is a Vietnamese water-filled fantasy land, located rather unromantically next to a rubbish dump 15 kilometres South of Ho Chi Minh City. Suoi Tien, or "the fairy stream," is the world's first water park devoted to Buddhism, specifically the Southeast Asian animistic form of Buddhism. The animism works well for the theme park; instead of Mickey and Daffy, Suoi Tien has chosen the Dragon, Unicorn, Tortoise, and Phoenix as its sacred animals, used thematically throughout the massive water park. Furthermore, workers in golden monkey outfits roam the park taking pictures with visitors and causing "mischief."

The park focuses on Vietnamese history, folklore, and of course on the Buddha himself. Among the parks many features are an oversized golden dragon whose mouth contains a neon haloed shrine to Buddha, avenues lined with pillars in the shape of giant elephant tusks, a swimming pool surrounded by a massive concrete facade of dragons and a giant rotating frog sculpture at the entrance. Particularly delightful are the twelve story face's of the Buddhist sages - with water slides emerging from their beards.

Children might enjoy a dog or turtle shaped boat ride around the island pavilions. But, beware the cutely-named Palace of Unicorns which contains a surprisingly gory house of horrors within. Perhaps the strangest and most unnerving feature of the enormous park is the crocodile kingdom. A pond with over 1,500 live crocodiles, visitors are invited to feed them with raw meat attached to fishing poles. The whole thing is quite impressive and constructed on a huge scale. Although, the lax safety controls -acres of wet, slippery concrete, low hanging stalactites in the cavern water slides, and the bay of crocodiles- remind you that you are not in Disneyland anymore.

Cooking class in Saigon

One of the world healthiest cuisines is Vietnamese cuisine. With rice, herbs and fresh vegetables, Vietnamese meal is deserved with its rank.

If you are love cooking some Vietnamese dishes, there are some cooking classes around Saigon Even when you travel to Saigon just for 1-2 days, you are still able to learn cooking Vietnamese dishes.

1) Caravelle Hotel - Cooking Classes Caravelle Hotel
19 Lam Son Square, Dist 1

The Caravelle Hotel is 5-star hotel in Saigon. It offers 1 day cooking class.

Cooking class start at 8:00 am, all participants leave hotel by Cyclo go to the Ben Thanh Market where Chef assists and advises participants how to hand-pick the freshest ingredients.

After that, all people will return to the hotel kitchen and Chefs will personally walk them through the preparation and presentation of an entire menu: fresh shrimp spring rolls with hoisin peanut sauce, BBQ eggplant, braised river prawn with Vietnamese curry, fried spring roll, beef luc lac, chicken salad with Vietnamese herbs, spicy and sour fish soup, and banana sweet.

The best part of the class is when everyone gets to enjoy the fruits of their labors with a lunch in Caravelle’s Restaurant Nineteen. Recipes are presented as a memento from the hotel.

The Caravelle Hotel Cooking Class Package starts from US$ 45 per person, plus 5% Service Charge and 5% VAT. Classes of minimum 10 participants, 15 maximum, must be booked at least 7 days in advance.

For enquiries, please contact 3823 4999 Ext 27100 or email: fbd@caravellehotel.vnn.vn

2) Vietnam Cookery Centre
 VIETNAM COOKERY CENTER– HOCHIMINH CITY & NHA TRANG BOOKING CENTER
Address: 362/8 Ung Van Khiem St, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, VIETNAM
Tel: +848 351 22 764 Fax: +848 351 22 3764
E-mail: vietnamcookery@expat-services.com

 

Here you can learn to cook some of the most popular Vietnamese dishes. Popular with foreigners, the Vietnam Cookery Centre offers a whole range of courses ranging from a half-day course to an eight-day course.

All participants will go Ben Thanh Market with Chefs. In the market, People will learn how to recognize the different Vietnamese ingredients and be guided in their application. Also, Guests will learn about the classic Vietnamese produce, from fruit and vegetable, to meats and seafood.

For US$ 39 per person you could attend our Morning Course (from 09h30 to 13h00 including Lunch), or our Afternoon Course (from 15h30 to 19h30 including Dinner). Also, you can ask for : In-depth Course, Course for professional Cooks, classes for children. Thematic dinner with cooking shows etc.

 

3) Hoa Tuc Restaurant – Cooking Classes

Hoa Tuc Retaurant
74/7 Hai Ba Trung, Dist 1
Tel: 3 825 84 85
Fax: 3 825 16 77
Email – contact@saigoncookingclass.com

Tuesday to Sunday, 2 sessions: 10:00am-1:00pm Or 2:00pm – 5:00pm (duration about 3 hours).
Adult cost: $ 45. Kids until 10 years old: $ 36.
Only small group: from 1 to 8 people.
Note: payment is required before the class (free pick up at your hotel possible). No refunds.
Current menu, offer a cooking class, 

You need to book 24 hours in advance.

4) Connections - Cooking Classes
Email – info@connectionsvietnam.com

Cook is our cooking class in a Saigon home. We take you to a real Vietnamese family home where you will be a guest for the morning. You will visit the local market to buy the ingredients and then cook the dishes

You will be met at 8am at your hotel by one of our student guides. We like to start the cooking class early so we can get you to the local market whilst it is still busy. You need to take a taxi to the chef’s house somewhere in Saigon (we currently have a number of chefs around the city so journey time and location will vary). After arriving and getting your bearings, you’ll head off to the local market (usually within walking distance) to shop for ingredients, all at a leisurely pace. You’ll then head back to the house to start your cooking, where you’ll eventually devour the results for lunch!

This is not only a normal cooking class; this is a genuine insight into a Vietnamese kitchen and home.