Side Trips from Ho Chi Minh City Sights

Nightlife

1. Can Gio UNESCO Biosphere Reserve

This mangrove forest, officially part of Ho Chi Minh City, covers an area the size of Singapore. The old forest was destroyed by aerial bombing and defoliants—primarily Agent Orange—during the Vietnam War because it had been a regular hiding place for the Vietcong, who would fire mortars at the supply ships on the Saigon River. Residents of the area were forced to leave, and it wasn't until 1978 that surviving Can Gio families returned, replanted the forest, and gradually resettled. Surprisingly, the area's wild animals also returned, and today there are monkeys, wild boar, deer, leopards, long-tailed macaques, crocodiles, birds, and giant fruitbats, although not all are easy to spot. In 2000, the area was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and the local economy is now supported by various eco-tourism ventures. Under the Can Gio Biosphere Reserve model, families live inside the reserve conducting small-scale aquaculture ventures to help preserve what's known as the "lungs of Ho Chi Minh City." The government-owned Saigon Tourist has an "eco forest park" on Monkey Island that includes a bizarre animal circus with monkeys and crocodiles which we do not recommend.