Walking around the Helio center in Danang, Vietnam.

Hi Freinds,

Nestled next to the river in Danang is a large building; I have only been to it once to watch a movie, but last night a friend wanted to see it, so away we went. This build is called the Helio center.

This place is a mix of a night market, video arcade, child daycare, and movie theater. What I found most interesting about it was the outside night market. THe market was styled, at least a little after Hoi An, an old town in Vietnam that is famous for its old buildings and look.

The way that some places can convincingly imitate other places is fascinating. It's a testament to the skill of the designers and the attention to detail that goes into making these places look like somewhere else entirely. It can be a fun and immersive experience for visitors and make a place stand out, but in this regard, it was like walking into a watered-down echo of Hoi An. Sure.. interesting.. but like.. hmmm...

Anyways, let's get to it.

---

Helio Center (Trung tâm giải trí Helio Center)

• Located at : 22 Đ. 2 Tháng 9, Hoà Cường Bắc, Hải Châu, Đà Nẵng, Vietnam
• Google map link : https://g.page/HelioCenter?share

---

Hoi An has a painted orange building and features little places like this first photo.

True to the old city it is paying homage to, Hoi An also has old-time windows and such like this. While it was ... nice, and people took photos next to it, it felt a little worn down. Sure, two years of lockdown and low tourism could be the reason...

I liked the mix of tiles and bricks on the ground.

Sure, I guess in some ways, it doe echo Hoi An old town a little... if this was was bustling with tourists and people were selling things, yea, I can see it..

It just needs some love, as at the moment, as mentioned above, it was feeling a bit used and put away unfolded.

With that, it was time to wander the night market and explore this manufactured tourist location.

Inside there were a few locations, like this siting place with, perhaps, a little too loud music blaring... it was hard to have a conversation with my friend in this location... but hey, people their seemed happy?

There were a lot of stalls, all selling different things. I don't think these were all owned by different vendors, but by the center, and they hired staff to stand at them selling things... like a theme park.

I have mixed feelings about this place. As a vegetarian, they did not have any specific places for me to eat. Or at least I did not see any.

Some of the dishes did look nice, with the quale eggs and such... also perhaps in the wrap was only vegetables, but I think it had meat... who knows. o.O

Most of the spaces were not activated, so again, perhaps that is why the quality of the location did not feel right.

Inside, they had big halls of games and boxes beeping and making noises, trying to pull your attention toward them.

Here is where you would buy tickets to the movie theater... perhaps this is the big draw of the location?

Much like an old carnival, they also had game booths lined up, but someone has to teach these kids how to do barking right.

The halls were also filled with these lanterns; it was nice to see them; they felt more designed than the other parts of the space.

Conclusion

The Place felt empty, but perhaps it just needed people?

There was a feeling of potential in the air. It was as if the place was waiting for something to happen, for someone to come along and fill it with life. Maybe it felt so empty because it was waiting for someone to come and give it purpose.

Anyways, I will come back again in a few months and see if it got more life.

Anyways, thanks for joining me and have a great day.

---

---

Services I Use and Recommend:

---

Help Support Ongoing Content

Bitcoin (BTC)	18zopjg9Y2VA1ouCqCZapN3UzdpK3UnMdm
Ethereum (ETH)	0x34F6e26d9730b934Af026A7de727fb8fC08204Dd
Binance Smart Chain (BSC)	0x34F6e26d9730b934Af026A7de727fb8fC08204Dd

Thanks for reading my post, you inspire me to keep posting!

Thank you for your support!