Tan Dinh Church: Saigon’s Charming Pink Spot
This is a fantastic pink place to be added to your pink planet
Pink Is the Warmest Color
Tan Dinh Church is more than heaven for pink lovers. It takes the crown when it comes to top places to take photos in Ho Chi Minh City.
If you look for one of the most beautiful pink places to visit around the world, follow Condé Nast Traveler and you can find this lovely church on the list.
On the outside, its unique pastel pink can be recognized from afar. What is it? We simply called it the ‘pink church.’ It is everything you can imagine — a pink cake, a pink crown and a pink castle.
The church is painted pink representing senses of spring, freshness, inspiration and renewal. It’s not sort of cheesy, childish and boring pink — You will know how lively it is when standing right in front of the church.
Tan Dinh Church is a Roman Catholic Church, built during the French colonial in the 1870s and completed in 1876. It is the second largest church in Saigon after the iconic Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral (*).
The church is situated in District 3, not District 1 which is a more popular destination for foreign tourists. So, I guess this is the reason why it is somehow off the radar when it comes to top tourist attractions to visit in Ho Chi Minh. Well, that’s a big miss for those who take millions photos of the Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral and leave without knowing the existence of this graceful pink church.
For you to know, it takes only 1.7km and under $5 by taxi to travel from Tan Dinh Church to Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral. Plus, Tan Dinh Church is less crowded than similar tourist spots in the city centre. That means there are plenty of photo opportunities that Instagrammers’d love.
Getting Around Tan Dinh Church
Tan Dinh Church is relatively walkable from Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral. If the weather is nice, you can always take a walking tour and discover amazing spots along the route.
If you don’t want to sweat, just hop on a taxi and get there in a blink of an eye. Motorbike taxis are perfect for those who wish to experience the madness of traffic in Vietnam, and ride-hailing apps like Grab are always available (you can almost get to all popular tourist attractions in the city at a reasonable price with this app. No fear of taxi scams!)
Across the street from the church lies a small vintage style café named Cộng Cà Phê where you can enjoy coffee (the coconut iced coffee here is really fantastic) and take photos, again.
Alternatively, find your way to Đỗ Phủ Vintage Cafe on Dang Dung Street, which is about ten minutes of walk from the church. It used to serve as a secret basement for Saigon Special Forces preparing for the Tet Offensive in 1968. This place houses a respectful collection of antiques and historic photos of Viet Cong soldiers with interesting stories for history buffs to discover.
I visited Tan Dinh Church a week ago. I have lived in this city for nearly 30 years and rode by the church countless times, but this was the very first time I stopped and enjoyed the beauty of this pink church. Ridiculously, perhaps a place is too familiar to you that you may not realize how beautiful it is.
Luckily, the coronavirus situation in my country is well under control until now, so we can freely travel around, take photos and enjoy the cool breeze during the last few days of the year.
My friends and I arrived at the church early in the morning. The place was not crowded at first, but later it was filled with lots of visitors. We hadn’t met for months, so this was a great reunion. I saw a group of middle-aged women who were enjoying taking photos like us. They were full of energy and extremely happy together. I think that at their age, if I have half their energy, I’ll be delighted.
I understand that in a year of endless struggles like this, we can pause a little bit to enjoy the beauty around us that we take for granted. We strive to dream high and fly far, but actually, the best moment is on the ground. When we can’t go far, take a break and simply enjoy the place where we are.
“In life, it’s not where you go, it’s who you travel with.” — Charles Schulz.
Life goes on, and time flies. If we are still breathing, we are much lucky than some other people, and we should treasure our breath and present moments.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
(*) Source: VnExpress
