chipcoaster Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Recently I took a trip to Southeast Asia, and for the last day of my trip was able to visit Suoi Tien Park in Ho Chi Minh City! What a treat...though the park is not coaster-heavy, it's still quite intriguing for the theme-park enthusiast. It has been hailed as one of the most bizarre theme parks in the world, as it is heavily themed to Buddhism. Almost everything you see in the park reflects Buddhism...and many of the attractions are not "rides" per se...but buddhist temples. Even so...I was thoroughly impressed, as the theming was quite intricate...even the ticket booths were heavily themed. I had a special treat this day, as since it was a weekday, it seemed as if I had the entire park to myself. So...I thought I would share my experience with you guys. Let me know what you think! Park entrance - as you see here, it doesn't appear to be quite ADA accessible. The Golden Palace - the admission to the park itself is very cheap. And then after that, you pay for the individual attractions. Some are very cheap, as this one...others such as the waterpark and ice castle are much higher. The landscaping in the park is amazing! Just think the buddhist version of Busch Gardens! This dragon fountain was quite large, and its tail continued throughout this section of the park, meandering in and out of the pavement! Big dragon claw Very big buddha indeed! Here...let me give you a hand. The other side of the big buddha statue Can anybody read Vietnamese? This is one of those caves that you can go into. There are many things inside the park that you can go inside! Inside is a pretty awesome temple with neon christmas-style lights Colorful dragons! Since I would be returning to China the next day, and it was still February, I used this as an opportunity to prepare myself! They didn't have my size boots, so they just let me walk in with my own shoes. This bird...or whatever it is...is actually a whole lot bigger than it looks in the picture. It covers the entire top of the structure, and branches out very far beyond. I didn't understand the Vietnamese voice was that was being repeated over and over again...but I'm sure it had to annoy the workers. Same ride as in previous picture...this ride is a lot more scary than it looks! Especially when you ride by yourself. It's pitch dark, and there are some things that come eerily too close within your comfort zone. Nine-Headed Serpent! The tree behind this buddha was amazing...once again you could go inside it. It reminded me a lot of the Swiss Family Robinson from Disney World. This is a ticket booth! This is a wild temple! Once again, although the park has some rides, this is more of a religious theme park...just think "Holy Land Experience." Therefore, the main attractions in the park appear to be the temples, and not the rides themselves. Still a freaking cool place though. Part of what you see inside the temple...there are many of these inside, and on multiple levels Sphinxes? Although this attraction looks very inviting from the outside, it's actually a ghost-house of sorts. I would not go in alone, but I peeked in from the side. It looked...really really creepy. Black lights and spinning dead bodies moving up and down. I think it was the story of Buddhist hell. The park had several walk-through attractions. Side view of the "unicorn palace" ghost-house Paintball! Look how detailed the entrance is! Do you see the elephant tusks? A very interesting part of the design here. Somehow or another, elephants must play a large role in buddhism. Tigers and elephants together! More intricate landscaping...do you see the tiger/elephants aligning the sides? This is typically a fountain, but it was dry this day. Maybe it only works when the park is crowded. Wild... Elephant tusks galore This is the "rides pavilion". Contrary to what the picture might show, every one of these rides IS indeed open...and every ride had an operator, as well as ticket taker. They must have been seriously bored this day. Am I the only one here? There's your coaster! No coaster credit for me this day...I was running out of time, as the last bus was leaving at 4pm. Another ticket booth! Yes...it's open Let's get our feet soaked! Entrance to another scary walk-through [which I didn't go in]. Does anybody else have any reports on it? Many many buddhas in this park! Park map! I hope you enjoyed these photos! I would say this was probably the best part of my trip... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Wow--this look like just a really cool place to walk through. Thanks for the pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteornotes Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 I had no idea this place existed. Really interesting looking park. Thanks for posting! dt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 It's a park and a culture credit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sspaz1000 Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 This park looks awesome. Thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nozzy Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Awesome trip report! That place looks like it would be amazing to walk around in, though those walk-throughs do sound creepy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alilstronger Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Beautiful looking park! Thank you for sharing the pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddytheviper Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Wow... that place looks phenomenal, a really really beautiful park. Thank you for sharing it with us, I had no idea this place existed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoCo Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 FANTASTIC! All the temples and various scenic elements look amazing and those scary walk-throughs, WOW. Another bucket list item for sure, WAY UP near the top. Thanks so much for this report! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy524 Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Wow, what a beautiful place! Thanks for showing us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samisthabomb Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Wow, what an interesting park. Awesome report, thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redmenace8 Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 What an absolutely gorgeous park. Thanks for pics. I am somewhat surprised at having such a heavily Buddhist themed park in a communist country. This makes me curious about Vietnamese society. Clearly a great deal of care, effort and money went into the park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
printersdevil78 Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 That was really cool. Add me to the list of thank yous for posting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Great trip report. Just is case anyone wants to see some of the rides at the park CLICK HERE for a PTR from 2009 by Phideaux Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
better_by_design Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Wow! Gorgeous looking park... and unique to the maximum! Thanks for the trip report and illuminating a park I'd never heard of! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisdanger Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 That is just awesome man...Holy Land Experience, build out a coaster and a "going to hell" dark ride, you'll get more visitors... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boweryboy Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Such a gorgeously surreal park and really beautiful photos. Thanks for the trip report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisco Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 When is TPR going here? I love the Southeast Asia parks. They always have lots of color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastercrazy 9 Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 When is TPR going here? I love the Southeast Asia parks. They always have lots of color. Probably because of there aren't as much of the disrespectful, concietied, guests you tend to find almost everywhere else! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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