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 | Ho Chi Minh City Off the Beaten Path | Tips 1 - 10 of 109 |  |
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If you need a massage after a day touring the city, or if you just want to feel pampered, you wouldn't need to search long in Saigon. There are many beauty centers here, but the city women know where to get the best care for a fraction of the fee charged in tourist-catered places. My niece took me to the Sport and Beauty Club for Women (Câu Lạc Bộ Thể Dục &Thẩm Mỹ Nữ) in Q. 3 (District 3). The club has two locations, 450 Lê Văn Sỹ and 40 Kỳ Ðồng. The fee for a 45-minute massage session is VND 25,000 ($1.50). The sauna costs VND 12,000. If you would like to have your body immersed in milk, scrubbed in sea salt or wrapped in seaweed, the price is VND 30,000. After having a massage in every city we visited, I can attest to the superb quality of this club. The massage here is not superficial, especially if you book a double session as we did. After 90 minutes of being tent to, I became much lighter, more agile and I could feel the blood flowing from the roots of my hair to the knuckles of my toes. Besides the low price, the difference between this club and other beauty centers is the atmosphere, the staff, and the clientele. As the name indicated, this is a club for women so you will not find a man here except the person who tends the parking space. The atmosphere is casual; all massages are being done in two large rooms instead of individual quarters. At first I thought the set up was not ideal, but once I stepped foot in the room, I found all my worry unfounded. The room is dark and silence, conversation is not allowed, and everyone is tuning in to the massage giving and receiving, the seem-to-be lack of privacy suddenly is not an issue anymore. Beware that at midday, the club can be very crowded because many office workers gather there for their daily treatment. I wouldn’t blame them at all, with price that low, there is no reason not to come here to relax and let someone else take the stress away from your mind and body. Leave a Comment Phone: 931 2304
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| | | | Blast From The Past: Enemy Of The State | Tip Rating: | | | | |
Khai Trí was the largest, most respected, and lowest priced bookstore in Saigon. Located at 62 Lê Lợi Blvd, for 25 years this was the city's centre of literature. The owner -- whose name was Nguyễn Hùng Truong but was known simply as Mr. Khai Trí -- was an esteem member of the community. Mr. Khai Trí didn't just love books, he considered them his children. He didn't just sell books, he published them and promoted unknown writers. The bookstore was his vehicle to bring literature to the mass, thus, reading books without buying was quietly encouraged. It was common to see people sitting on the floor or leaning against the walls in his store reading a book from start to end -- I was one of those people. Without any outside financial support, Mr. Khai Trí educated generations of Vietnamese in international literature, history, philosophy, politic, languages, and all the knowledge that was fit to print. When the new regime took over South Vietnam, Mr. Khai Trí was jailed for crime against the state: selling and using banned literature to educate the public. His bookstore and all personal properties were confiscated, 60 tons of books published by him were burned, and he was put on death row. The sentence was amended years later and he was released. In 1991, he petitioned for family reunification and came to live in the US. In 1996, in an attempt to lure Việt kiều (Vietnamese expats) to the country, the government announced they would sell confiscated properties back to the rightful owners. Mr. Khai Trí returned to Saigon with the dream to live with his "children." His bookstore by that time had been nationalized for 20 years (the new name was Saigon Bookstore), his personal properties were given as rewards to high ranking officials who in turn sold them for large profits. There was nothing for him to claim or buy back, and his request to colaborate with the government in his old bookstore was turned down. In despondency, Mr. Khai Trí died on March 11, 2005. Leave a Comment
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At Me Linh Square, by the river bank you will find this little nice bonsai garden. I found it by chance, was taking a walk along the river when I came across it. Not really outstanding, but nice and free! U can't get lost, face the river as U are in the square and there U R!! Leave a Comment
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