miniviews Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 xin chào (Hello in Vietnamese), Prior to meeting up with the folks in China this year, I ventured off to Vietnam to explore the sights, ride a motorcycle (only as a pillion since the traffic is hectic), and experience the culture & people--the reason I love to travel. There were no credits in Hanoi, however, in Ho Chi Minh City (better known as Saigon) there were three credits at Dam Sen Park, other amusement parks and three unknown credits at a theme park of a much larger complex, ĐẠI NAM (Dai Nam Tourist Park per wikitravel). Dai Nam Tourist Park is still in the building stage but portions of the complex is operational, such as the Safari Zoo, a man-made beach (no slides visible from the outside), and a very large and beautiful temple with a great man-made mountain range serving as a backdrop. The temple site was my primary reason to explore this “tourist park”, the theme park became an added bonus. Anyway, I'm not much of a story teller (I write technical procedures), so on to the photos... Updated 9/1/09: Full photo collection, geotagged photos, Google Map satellite link, coaster and park information available at www.flickr.com/photos/miniviews/sets/72157622198758878/. (edited: minor/title/subject) Throughout the park, shade is provided. Bahrain and other parks could learn from this. However, since it was the rainy season, these shade does no good when it rains--which has been every single day I have been here. We take a tram to the theme park portion; note the uncompleted grounds. Nuff with love ... time to ride some roller coasters at the complex's theme park (Khu Tro Choi in Vietnamese) Here is a location where you pray for love ... The man made mountains reflects Ha Long Bay and Tam Coc, which are a day trip away from Vietnam's capitol, Hanoi. The back drop for the temple, 5 man made mountains. Dai Nam temple--very large and grand! Map of the complex. I got a bit giddy upon our arrival since the roller coaster can be seen from the entrance. However, the main attraction... Upon an hour long ride with a maximum speed of 40km/hour, we parked the bike at the usual bike parking lot (they're everywhere--sidewalks included). First, my friend and I head out of hectic Saigon for a lengthy motorbike ride to the tourist park. And yes, there were odd looks of a girl packing a guy on a motobike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterguy4 Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Wow, that park looks very interesting! Fascinating TR! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coastinmiller Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Can't wait to see more, nice find! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miniviews Posted August 31, 2009 Author Share Posted August 31, 2009 Theme park portion added... Such timing, the maintenance crew examines the lift hill. For the park index... very standard sign (see any Golden Horse spinning coaster) The second credit, a Golden Horse spinning coaster, but it had problems when I was there. It seems to be operational (there were ride ops) ... Same model as Beijing's Sun Park Fruit Worm Coaster. And it was a relatively "easy" fit for my friend and I. See TPR China 2008 trip reports for the antics ... Tham Hiem Vuon Tao roller coaster!!! Purchase tickets for each ride. The Fruit Worm Coaster cost 10,000VND (~$.50usd), the looping coaster cost 30,000VND and unsure of the spinning coaster due to operational problems. Standard names for the roller coasters. For the kiddie coaster, the title was "Tham Hiem Vuon Tao" in Vietnamese and "Fruit Worm Coaster" in English. Zooming in to two of the three roller coaster credits, all manufactured by a Chinese manufacture. Map of the park Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miniviews Posted August 31, 2009 Author Share Posted August 31, 2009 Final roller coaster... Through the man-made tree coaster photo. And notice the not-so-tall fence and close proximity of the coaster track to the exit path. Exiting you see the underbelly of the station. Ka-ching!!! The drop and double loop. Coaster nerd shot Lift hill and the final corkscrew. Coaster train. BTW, as with all the Chinese knock offs, the seat belt is wrapped around the over-the-shoulder restraints--maintenance free perhaps? Nameplate for this roller coaster. Anyone wants to translate? Here's the third roller coaster, "Tau Luon Sieu Toc". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miniviews Posted August 31, 2009 Author Share Posted August 31, 2009 After the looping roller coaster, we take a rest and indulge with ice cream. Other attractions follows... ...and finally, a very large frog hopper. (Time for me to go to bed) Pirate ship "Self control plane" Go karts Shoot the Chute (operational) Fast food Hot, hot, hot, humid, humid, humid, rain, rain, rain, ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Very interesting park. That "four circle" coaster looks almost like the Chinese Arrow rip-off. The Shoot-the-Chutes ride looked like it had an interesting layout---a 90-degree turn between the lift and the drop instead of the usual 180. Makes you wonder what the rest of the layout is like. It reminds me of the one at BGA in Florida, which is a big L-shaped ride as opposed to the usual oval. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 There must be something VERY wrong with all of those Golden Horse Spinning Coasters as they seem to have more downtime than almost any other ride I've encountered! Good luck to all of us trying to get on like 3 or 4 of them next week! Thanks for the report Mike, see you soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisco Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 I love these out of the way parks. See you in a few days Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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