According to Travellive's observations, at 7pm, crowds began to pour into Nguyen Hue walking street and Bui Vien western street. The number of vehicles pouring into these areas quickly increased around 8-9pm. In Bui Vien, the main road Bui Vien-De Tham was packed with Halloween revelers and bar patrons. The road surface here is inherently narrow, and shops often set up tables outside to welcome guests. The large number of people combined with the situation of shops placing tables and chairs in the middle of the street made it very difficult for tourists to move around.
However, there is no crowding or jostling here. Many bars have staff waiting to greet customers standing in lines, guiding passersby to avoid collisions. Bars and pubs here are decorated with many scary models of skulls, zombies, monsters, etc. Inside the bars, waiters and dancers dress up as ghost brides and ghost nurses to attract customers.
Bui Vien Western Street is crowded with tourists, people line up to stroll around the street.
The crowd of people in costumes jostled each other.
Bar staff dressed up to welcome guests.
"Every Halloween, I dress up and go to Bui Vien for a walk. Because of the previous pandemics, I missed this hobby," Thanh Nguyen said while jostling in the crowd at Bui Vien.
When asked about the stampede during Halloween in Itaewon (Korea), Thanh Nguyen said that although Bui Vien is small, there are many alleys where unwanted accidents can be easily avoided. Some beer bar staff in Bui Vien said that after 2 years of the Covid-19 pandemic, Halloween in Ho Chi Minh City is bustling again. However, the number of customers and the atmosphere are not as bustling as before the pandemic.
Many young people choose for themselves the image of a devil, a villain... equally scary and then join the crowd of people flocking to Nguyen Hue walking street (HCMC) to have fun and enjoy the Halloween atmosphere. Meanwhile, parents let their children become handsome princes, or beautiful princesses...
Young people dressed up as Japanese cartoon characters.
A character dressed in black in Japanese animation.
Children take pictures with people dressed as Spider-Man.
Parents help children dress up as pumpkins.
The flow of people to Nguyen Hue walking street is getting more and more crowded, the Halloween atmosphere is more bustling and exciting. People can easily see all the strange costumes of young people. This year, many young people choose costumes that are more or less related to Japanese culture.
"I was afraid of traffic jams so I took my child here to play at 5pm. Even though I know it will be crowded tonight and tomorrow is Monday, I still want to take my child out to play so he can experience the Halloween atmosphere," Thanh Dat, a resident of District 8 (HCMC) told Travellive. He has a habit of taking his child out to play and experience during the holiday season.
"I feel sorry for my friends in Korea. On Nguyen Hue walking street, I see that it is crowded but the space is more open and airy. So I think something like that will not happen," Thanh Dat replied when asked about the event in Itaewon the night before.
On Nguyen Hue walking street, many young people open face painting services to earn extra income. Depending on the difficulty, the price for a makeup session ranges from 100,000 VND to 300,000 VND. In addition, many stalls selling makeup props, devil masks, cat ears, etc. in the middle of the walking street are also very popular.
Trick or Treat at Nguyen Hue Walking Street.
Children play in costumes.
A stall selling costume props.
The little witch forgot her hat.
Children take pictures with young people in costume.
Little witch taking pictures with her mother.
Tourists take pictures with statues on the walking street.
