Mesmorized by an Awesome Vietnamese Cultural Show at the Opera House, HCMC, Vietnam

Ho Chi Ming City is full of arts and culture! While visiting the city, we took the opportunity to watch a show at the Opera house. Since there were so many things to see in the city, we forgot to purchase our tickets ahead of time. The ticket booth was open until 6p.m. but by the time we got there the night before it was closed therefore we bought our tickets after breakfast on the day of the show. We were lucky to get the tickets but we couldn't sit together. We must remember buying the tickets the day before for better seats for shows we would like to attend while on vacation as these tickets are not cheap.

The Saigon Opera House is an elegant building! We arrived there before the show at around 6:00P.M. and people were starting to file into the hall. Once inside the main lobby, we were treated to a free preshow drink. How about that? We have gone to many live shows before, but never been given a free drink! Being a little early, we had time to enjoy the view from the Opera House's balcony of downtown HCMC, a very nice view.

We also had time to look at the handicrafts booth where some creative crafts items were displayed. We bought a couple of bamboo items for souvenirs. The show was called A O Show and It was an excellent show!

Initially , we were worried that we might not be able to understand any part of the show due to the language barrier. It turned out there were few dialogues and with the actors' body language, we were able to understand most of the meanings of the show. I loved how the performers were able to use simple objects such as bamboo poles, bamboo baskets and traditional hats as props for their dances and sketches.

The most awesome scene for me was watching how the dancers transformed themselves into turtles, geese and crabs without using any eleborate or fancy costumes but with only different sizes of round bamboo baskets. These cute bamboo cladded creatures were interacting with each other in an energetic and human like manner. It was creative and mesmerizing! I have never seen bamboo poles and baskets used in such a creative way in any shows at all! Unfortunately, no photogrpahy was allowed during this live performance, therefore, I have no picture of this awesome show. I could only take pictures of the building and the performing stage before and after the show.

It was a great performance not to be missed. We were glad that we were able to enjoy it while visiting Vietnam. RT, Saigon Opera House, HCMC, Vietnam, 2026