I spent a night partying in Vietnam and found an empty dance floor with a few people getting high off balloons. Next time, I'd choose a different day of the week.

As far as party cities go, Ho Chi Minh City, also known as Saigon, is the stuff of legend. It's a city where clubs have few rules, so you can find whatever fun you want. I've heard it's easy to find hookups, pay for nothing on Ladies Nights, and get intoxicated on laughing gas, or nitrous oxide.

A few nightlife connoisseurs who regularly club-hop around Asia even told me that Saigon rivals Bangkok when it comes to hosting the best parties in the region. I've had a night out in Bangkok before, and while the atmosphere at one of its most popular clubs was electric, the party ended too early: Bangkok's legal clubs shut down at 2 a.m. 

On the other hand, many clubs in Saigon don't shutter until 5 or 6 a.m. I live in Singapore, a city-state that's only a two-and-half-hour flight from Saigon. The cheap plane tickets — I paid around $145 roundtrip — and the chance for all-night partying sold me on the plan to join a few friends on a weekend getaway in late April.

Saigon's District 1, the most popular with tourists, has many options for nightlife. The best-known party streets include Bui Vien, the city's unofficial red-light district. There's also Dong Khoi, where expensive, high-end clubs and bars can be found, and Phuong Pham Ngu Lao, a street where backpackers pub crawl.

I chose Lush as it's often listed on the top nightlife spots, with one review even promising an "unforgettable night" and a "blazing party atmosphere." But the club wasn't located on any of these party streets. Instead, it's located on a neighborhood street with barely anyone around.

It dawned upon me that it might not be the best place to find a wild, all-night party, but we stuck with the plan.

As far as prices go, Lush can be expensive — a VVIP table with two bottles of Grey Goose cost around $2,054. But for partygoers on a budget, the club also hosts a Ladies Night on Tuesday, when ladies are entitled to free-flow drinks and laughing gas, free of charge.

Spirit houses are ubiquitous in Vietnam, but I didn't expect to see one inside a nightclub. A spirit house is where locals pray and make offerings to their ancestors.

This particular one was decorated with incense and yellow flowers, lighting up the dim hallway.

The club was brightly lit, with strobe lights illuminating the space. It was small, unlike the Bangkok club I visited which had a massive dance floor for hundreds of people. 

The club is made up of two floors — the lower floor where the dancefloor is located, and the one above, where VIPs can mingle. I figured that a Sunday might not be the best day to go clubbing in the city, as the VIP booths were utterly deserted. 

The crowd was diverse — a strange mishmash of middle-aged men dressed in office clothes, young women in bondage dresses, and a few youths clad in oversized shirts and sneakers. Like my friends and I, many people there retreated to their own corners of the club, seated on the plush sofas or gathered around the bar.

While the average person would expect a club to be bustling and full of people drinking and dancing, the vibe was sober — the atmosphere felt nothing like a party. 

At the bar, I was seated next to a middle-aged man, who seemed to be alone. He ordered a drink and went through a few balloons, getting high on the gas while staring at the empty dance floor. Once it was 11 p.m., he promptly left the club. 

Other partygoers bopped to the music as they sucked on balloons. A few others multitasked, taking selfies and posing with the balloon in their mouths. 

While producing and trading laughing gas is prohibited in Vietnam, inhaling the gas recreationally isn't illegal, per Vietnam's Decree 57.

As I've lived in Singapore for two decades, where drug laws are strict and substances are heavily controlled, my friends and I refrained from trying the gas. We felt wary of its side effects, which include damaging one's peripheral nervous system, according to a 2021 Vietnam-based study posted on the US National Library of Medicine.

We ordered four drinks: a gin and tonic, a screwdriver, a shot of tequila, and a passion fruit mojito. They were less than $7 each.  

Even with some alcohol, the vibe didn't get any better. These were the only drinks we had for the night, as only a handful of people had trickled in since we first entered the club.

The two partygoers looked to be a couple who didn't give a care in the world. I wish I had as much fun as they did, but it just wasn't my scene.

Don't get me wrong, the music — which featured remixed songs by artists like Fifth Harmony — was fun, and the beats were great. But there was only so much dancing I could do on an empty dance floor, sober, before it got old. 

My friends and I felt that it was our time to go too. It was the earliest any of us had ever left a party. 

While making our exit, a woman approached one of my friends, asking if he would be interested in a night with her. He declined, and we quickly realized that the club had sex workers waiting for customers, patiently near the doors. 

Sex work isn't legal in Vietnam, but there is still a booming sex tourism industry. According to the International Labour Organization, there are over 100,000 sex workers in the country.

There are multiple guides online teaching tourists how to find sex workers in Vietnam. One such guide called A Farang Abroad estimates that a sex worker based in a club or bar typically charges between $80 and $100 for their services.

I wondered if I could chalk my bad experience to a few rookie mistakes I made. Was it just the wrong day to party in Saigon, as it was a Sunday night? The following day was a work day, after all. In hindsight, maybe I should have gone to Bui Vien or one of the backpacker streets instead, where the atmosphere might have been more energetic.

I felt a pang of disappointment with our night out. Still, I'd come back to Lush, but only on Ladies Night on Tuesdays, when the club draws a much larger crowd.

Even though the club stays open later than those in Bangkok, it wasn't nearly as much fun or vibrant. But it does ring true that it's a place where you can find whatever kind of fun you want — even if it seems a bit seedy. 

My quest for a wild party in Saigon continues. Until next time.