Thuy Truc
Dinh Bo Linh Street (at intersection with Chu Van An Street)
Binh Thanh District
*****
There’s a bit of peaceful tropical paradise smack-dab in the middle of Ho Chi Minh City where one can easily escape the noise and congestion of the city.
Bamboo forests, fish ponds, and water geysers here at Thuy Truc
Bridge across the
Mekong River (Disney-style)
Complete with a bamboo forest (more or less), waterfalls (or was it a powerful water pump?), wooden monkey bridges (Disney-style), and a complex series of stone trails winding through the tropical setting. Very lovely indeed (just suspend a bit of reality and enjoy this tropical oasis.)
Hai has been coming to Thuy Truc on occasion since his early high school days to relax, beat Saigon’s heat and enjoy a cà phê sữa đá (iced Vietnamese coffee with milk).
Relaxing in the tropical forest
Sometime ago, he introduced me to his childhood hangout when I suggested one evening that we find a nice gardened cafe with twinkle lights and good coffee. Of course, there are quite a number of Saigon coffee shops that fit that bill. But Hai assured me that Thuy Truc would be a particularly pleasant place to enjoy the evening.
And indeed he was correct.
Grab a seat pond-side and pass the afternoon away
The vast tropical complex surrounded a large central pond, complete with jumping fish and spouting water features. Grab a table pond-side and lounge in a comfortable chair. During a hot afternoon, enjoy the shade of the palm and bamboo forest. At night, be dazzled by an array of twinkling lights high in the tropical trees and reflecting in the lake. A very pleasant place to pass the lazy hours.
Winding stone trails through Vietnam’s dense tropical jungles!
The Vietnamese coffee is very good here, the trà đá (ice tea) is bottomless, and there’s a fair amount of privacy as tables are dispersed among and separated by the lush vegetation.
UPDATE – March, 2016: We had our first rain showers of the month last evening … and, of course, Hai and I were sitting outside in the cafe “forest” enjoying a quiet fruit drink. But, no problem! The dense bamboo foliage sheltered us and it was great to hear the rain falling through the giant green stalks.
UPDATE – March, 2017: Re-confirmed as a great relaxing place to enjoy coffee.
Thuy Truc
Dinh Bo Linh Street (at intersection with Chu Van An Street)
Binh Thanh District
M
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Just spent my day there, very relaxing. Even the food was fine
Thanks for the info! (: Sounds like a great place. I’ll be sure to visit when i go to Vietnam.
Do they have wifi? Looks like a great place to spend a lazy morning catching up on the email and sipping ca phe in a comfortable environment.
Di nhien!(of course) 🙂 Quite good wi-fi in fact. ENJOY