Vietnam: Views from Bitexco Financial Tower observation deck

Date: 31 October 2019

Today was my last full day in Ho Chi Minh City. There wasn’t much else left in my itinerary that I wanted to see. All except a visit to the Saigon Skydeck at Bitexco Financial Tower. At 262 m (860 ft), 68 storeys tall, I thought Bitexco Financial Tower was the tallest building in Vietnam but currently that title is held by another skyscraper in Ho Chi Minh City, the 461.2 m (1,513 ft) tall Vincom Landmark 81.

Bitexco financial tower Saigon — Bitexco Financial Tower is 68 floors high, and with a giant A on top, it will resemble the Avengers HQ 🙂

Saigon skydeck entrance Vietnam — This is the entrance to the observation deck

Saigon Skydeck tickets Vietnam — I paid 200,000 VND (₹650/$8.50/€7.5) for the standard ticket

Lobby Bitexco financial tower Vietnam — I had come one evening to Bitexco tower a few days before and this is what the main lobby looks like

Inside Bitexco skydeck Ho Chi Minh City — The observation deck is on the 49th floor

I planned to shoot a lot of photos for a timelapse video and so I set up my camera and tripod at various positions.

Shooting timelapse Bitexco skydeck Ho Chi Minh City — I used my mobile phone to shoot some photos while my DSLR was busy

I didn’t wish to block the view and annoy visitors. So I came a bit early so as to avoid blocking the view too much for the other visitors. Fortunately, there weren’t too many people when I was there, so that made it convenient for me to shoot.

Pirated windows Bitexco tower Vietnam — The information screens they had were running pirated copies of Windows 😛

Ho Chi Minh City canal Vietnam — Here are the views of Ho Chi Minh City from different angles

Nguyen Hue Street Saigon Skydeck — Below is the popular Nguyen Hue Street

Ho Chi Minh City aerial view — I’m pretty certain, in the coming years, some of these older buildings are going to be gobbled up by a property developer, razed down, and replaced by a skyscraper

Keppel tower from Saigon Skydeck — The pink roofed building in the center is Ben Thanh Market

View of Ho Chi Minh City — Vietnam is developing fast… or at least that’s what the media said prior to COVID-19

Thu Thiem New urban area Ho Chi Minh City — Across the Saigon River is a large land area called the Thu Thiem New urban area

I was amazed that there was this much available land right across the river and I wondered if that was always the case. Well, turns out, no… it wasn’t. Thủ Thiêm New Urban Area had 15,000 residents at one point but they were ‘re-settled’ (despite protests) and all the land was made available for re-development. The government’s plan is to have a properly planned alternative to the crowded mess that is much of Ho Chi Minh City’s districts on this side of the river currently. The land parcels are being sold by the government at record prices to developers for new residential, commercial and office towers.

You can view the masterplan by Sasaki Associates here. Thủ Thiêm New Urban Area has a bunch of impressive new projects like Empire City — which will spawn another landmark skyscraper, the Empire 88 Tower. It’s a 333-metre, 88-storey mixed use development designed by German architecture firm Büro Ole Scheeren; the same people who designed Beijing’s CCTV headquarters and the impressive Mahanakhon in Bangkok.

Thu thiem new urban area Saigon — To the extreme left is Ho Chi Minh City port

View from Saignon Skydeck Ho Chi Minh City — There, in the distance, by the riverside is Vincom Landmark 81

Vinhomes Landmark 81 Saigon — Vingroup is the largest conglomerate in Vietnam. Vinhomes is their property business.

The massive cluster of buildings you see above are part of Vinhomes Central Park, and standing tall above all else is Landmark 81. It’s not the most impressive looking skyscraper architecture-wise, but it is among the few supertalls (buildings above 300 metres) in the country and currently the second tallest building in Southeast Asia. Currently the tallest in South East Asia is Malaysia’s Petronas Twin Towers (451 metres) but that too will be soon surpassed by the country’s new tallest, Merdeka 118, which at 679 metres will become the world’s second tallest upon completion.

Vincom Landmark 81 Vietnam — The observation deck at Landmark 81 is on the 79th floor

But looking at the reviews online, apparently it costs much more than Saigon Skydeck and the views from there aren’t as good (for now) — despite being higher. That’s probably because Bitexco tower is in the heart of what is currently the city center of Ho Chi Minh City. You can see many landmarks from Bitexco tower than you would from Landmark 81.

20 iconic buildings world — Bitexco Tower may not be the tallest anymore but it’s design makes it ‘iconic’ like New York’s Empire state building, CCTV headquarters in Beijing and the Petronas Towers in KL. I agree, the design does stand out.

Saigon to Ho Chi Minh city history — Other than the views, there are information boards showcasing the history of the city

Phong trung bay ao dai — And included in the ticket is access to a mini exhibit showcasing the Ao Dai — the traditional gown worn by women in Vietnam

But photography was not allowed inside so I have nothing to show from the mini exhibit. I just think Ao Dais are a pretty dress.

Cafe Eon Saigon skydeck Vietnam — For an additional fare, you can gain access to a coffee shop on the floor above

I spent nearly an hour shooting multiple timelapses from different angles. You can watch the completed timelapse video here or at the end of this post.

I left Bitexco tower afterwards but I continued my timelapse shooting even from afar.

Bitexco tower helipad Vietnam skyscraper — The helipad is what gives Bitexco Tower that unique look

Bitexco tower from Vietin bank — The weather started to change and the skies turned grey

Once the rain stopped, I walked towards Nguyen Hue Street to continue my timelapse photography. My Vietnam trip was coming to an end — the next post will be the last.

The timelapse video: