The familiar places of Ho Chi Minh City such as Notre Dame Cathedral, the Central Post Office, and the Independence Palace appeared in front of my eyes, making me surprised.
The tour guide is guiding visitors to use the services on the 2-tier bus and upcoming attractions.PHOTO: CANH AN
From the 2-story bus, these works are both familiar and unfamiliar to me. Saigon people have a saying: “Eat District 5, Lie District 3, La la District 1”. The familiar locations in District 1 are already bored, so why not try to linger in a more “special” way, see this bustling Ho Chi Minh City from a completely new perspective. On the weekend afternoon, I had a 2-story bus experience, took a tour and saw the city in a very interesting way.
The buildings are both familiar and strange
The 2-story bus is a new type of tourism service in the city. With the ticket price of 149,000 VND per adult, I was able to visit all the famous places throughout District 1 and District 3. The Saigon sky returned in the afternoon, the gentle rays of sunlight fell through each leaf and then onto the road surface, adding the bright red color of the two-story bus on Nguyen Hue pedestrian street. Following the footsteps of tourists from Quang Ninh, I got on a 2-story car previously only seen on TV, looking for a good seat.
The flight attendant on the bus gives each passenger a headset to listen to explanations of the upcoming vehicle’s passing locations. At each location, the system automatically announces the history of that place. Tourists quickly ignore this when the car starts to roll. Nobody wants to miss this moment of seeing this beautiful city that is both familiar and strange.
 Guests can listen to audio captions about the locations thanks to the automatic voice-over system on each seat. |
 City Theater is one of the first places to visit. |
 The car goes slowly through the locations so that visitors can admire and take pictures. |
 Xa Tay Palace in the past is now a pillar of the People’s Committee of HCMC DOCUMENTARY PHOTO OF Y NHAN PHAN THU LANG |
 Tourists take souvenir photos at the headquarters of the City People’s Committee. This work, formerly known as Xa Tay Palace, was over 100 years old. |
 Visitors record the places they go through with their smartphones. |
 Independence Palace, now Thong Nhat Hall, one of the iconic works of Ho Chi Minh City, seen from a 2-storey bus. |
Starting from Nguyen Hue pedestrian street, the car passed slowly through the Opera House and the City People’s Committee headquarters. On the second floor of the bus, I can clearly see the sculptural architecture of Xa Tay Palace once, now over a hundred years old.
If standing on the ground looking up, the headquarters of the City People’s Committee looks majestic, then on a 2-story car, with a height close to the 2nd floor of the building, it is so close. The bus continues to go through tree-lined streets of Nguyen Du, Le Duan, towards the Independence Palace.
The car goes not too fast enough to feel the cool breeze from the ancient trees on the roadside.Every passing place, everyone took advantage of capturing beautiful images of these works in the afternoon sun. The car passing through Notre Dame made me really overwhelmed.
I feel like I’m closer to the ancient bell towers that are more than a century old. It is a feeling that cannot be fully felt by watching from the ground.
| Tourists take pictures of Notre Dame Cathedral. Here, the car stops for 10 minutes so everyone can get off and take pictures at this area. |
 Notre Dame Cathedral is 140 years old, is currently under renovation. |
 The church appeared ancient in the afternoon sun. |
Bring Vietnamese tourism closer and to the world
Mr. Nguyen Duc Thanh (35 years old, a tourist in Quang Ninh), said the scenery and people in Ho Chi Minh City when viewed from the bus are very wonderful. “This is my 2nd time coming to Ho Chi Minh City but it is the first time to experience this type of bus.
The people, the scenery here is very beautiful, very new look when viewed from the bus “, Mr. Thanh shared.Talking to PV Thanh Nien , Mr. Nguyen Khoa Luan, General Director of Viet Hop on – Hop off Photo Company, Vietnam, a business unit of 2-storey bus service, said that his company wants to approve this type of translation.
This is to bring Vietnam’s tourism to the world.“Currently, Vietnam does not have a world-class tourism supply chain to integrate with the world, so we decided to bring this 2-tier car service chain into Vietnam to increase competitiveness with tourism. countries. Our products meet the 5-star standard, not inferior to other countries, ”Mr. Luan said. Mr. Luan said that in the future, this type will help Vietnam’s tourism image reach out to the world so that the tourism industry will become a major foreign attraction industry for the country.
The company’s upcoming plan is to develop this service to Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar, and Indonesia.
 Opposite Notre Dame Cathedral is the City Post Office, the works of Western architecture combined with oriental decorations. |
 The car goes through the most beautiful streets of downtown Ho Chi Minh City. |
 Many tourists waved to the people of HCMC. |
 War Remnants Museum, located at Vo Van Tan Street (District 3) is one of the largest museums in the city with many historical artifacts. |
 Many visitors said that it is very interesting to see the city from the two-story bus. |
 The car in turn goes through famous sightseeing places in District 1, District 3 |
 The tourists took souvenir photos on the 2-story bus.PHOTO: CANH AN |
“I want to introduce Vietnamese specialties, tourism, landscapes, people, and values to the world,” he said. I have invested technology, equipment, and services in the tour to operate more nicely and keep up with the international. Currently, Vietnam is the second country in Southeast Asia with this model, after Singapore “.
The current 2-story bus fare is 149,000 VND / adult. Children under 3 years old are free of charge. Children from 3 – 6 years old ticket price are 50,000 VND, while children 6-11 years old ticket price is 99,000 VND. The ticket price includes free services such as wifi, insurance, headphones, voiceover in 8 languages. Departure time for a tour around Ho Chi Minh City from the 2-story bus: 9 am to 16 pm, pick up at Independence Palace.
From 17:00, pick up at 92-96 Nguyen Hue Street (from Monday to Friday) while from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., pick up at the Opera House (Saturday and Sunday). The car goes around the locations in 60 minutes, through 10 stations, does not stop at any stations. Guests who want to visit can book tickets through the website or call the hotline.