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According to Travellive's observations, at 7 PM, crowds began to pour into Nguyen Hue pedestrian street and Bui Vien street. The volume of traffic in these areas quickly increased around 8-9 PM. On Bui Vien street, the main Bui Vien-De Tham axis was packed with people celebrating Halloween and patrons from bars. The street is already narrow, and restaurants often set up tables outside to accommodate customers. The large crowds, coupled with restaurants 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 pushing here. Many bars and pubs have staff standing in lines to greet customers and guide pedestrians to walk in an orderly fashion to avoid collisions. The bars and pubs here are decorated with many gruesome skull, zombie, and monster models. Inside the bars, waitstaff and dancers dress up as ghost brides or ghost nurses to attract customers.
Bui Vien Street, often frequented by tourists, is crowded with people lining up to stroll along the street.
People in costumes jostled each other.
Bar staff dress up to greet customers.
"Every Halloween, I dress up and go for a stroll around Bui Vien Street. I missed out on this fun activity because of the previous outbreaks of the pandemic," Thanh Nguyen said, jostling through the crowds on Bui Vien Street.
When asked about the stampede incident during Halloween in Itaewon (South Korea), Thanh Nguyen suggested that although Bui Vien Street is small, its many alleyways make it easy to avoid unwanted accidents. Some beer bar staff in Bui Vien said that after two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, Halloween in Ho Chi Minh City has finally become lively again. However, the number of customers and the festive atmosphere are not as vibrant as before the pandemic.
Many young people chose spooky costumes, dressed up as ghosts, villains, and other terrifying characters, and joined the crowds flocking to Nguyen Hue pedestrian street (Ho Chi Minh City) to have fun and enjoy the Halloween atmosphere. Meanwhile, parents dressed their children as handsome princes or pretty princesses.
Young people dress up as Japanese anime characters.
A character wearing black in Japanese animation.
The children took pictures with the person dressed as Spider-Man.
Parents help their children dress up as pumpkins.
The crowds on Nguyen Hue pedestrian street grew larger, and the Halloween atmosphere became more lively and bustling. People easily spotted all sorts of bizarre costumes worn by young people. This year, many young people chose costumes that had some connection to Japanese culture.
"I was afraid of traffic jams, so I brought my child here to play from 5 pm. Even though I knew it would be very crowded tonight and tomorrow is Monday, I still wanted to bring my little one here so she could experience the Halloween atmosphere," Mr. Thanh Dat, a resident of District 8 (Ho Chi Minh City), told Travellive. He has a habit of taking his child out to play and experience things during holiday seasons.
"I feel sorry for the people in Korea. Here on Nguyen Hue pedestrian street, I see a lot of people, but the space is much more open and airy. So I think something like that wouldn't happen," Thanh Dat replied when asked about the event in Itaewon the previous night.
On Nguyen Hue pedestrian street, many young people offer face painting services to earn extra income. Depending on the complexity, the price for a face painting session ranges from 100,000 VND to 300,000 VND. In addition, many stalls selling costume props, devil masks, cat ears, etc., are also doing very well.
Trick or Treat on Nguyen Hue pedestrian street.
The little girl is playing in a costume.
A stall selling costume props.
The little witch forgot to wear her hat.
The children took photos with the young people in costumes.
The little witch poses for a photo with her mother.
Tourists take photos with the statues on the pedestrian street.
