Traveler stumbles upon bizarre COVID-19 park in Vietnam

By Ottilie Von Henning

A British traveler found a "weird" COVID-19 theme park in Vietnam - complete with a timeline clock and pathogen sculptures in jail.

Ella Ribak, 29, discovered the Tuyen Lam Lake National Tourist Complex in Da Lat while visiting Southeast Asia in May 2022.

She found several themed zones - one of which was called the 'COVID-19 Park'.

Footage shows some of the strange sculptures stationed throughout the park - including a timeline clock and pathogens being stabbed by a vaccine syringe.

Ella, a director for commercials based in Finsbury Park, north London, said: "It was such a weird experience.

"Me and the other travelers couldn't stop laughing and we kept looking around to see if any Vietnamese people found it funny as well, but they all seemed pretty serious.

"The clock at the start made it all feel pretty dystopian, and the fact all the sculptures were shrouded in trees.

"But then when you turned a corner and saw a human-size pathogen with googly eyes on it locked in a jail, it just becomes funny."

It is unclear if the COVID zone is still open in 2024.

Ella added: "It was really strange trying to figure out how serious the park was.

"Obviously it touches on a sensitive topic for some people, but the clay sculptures seemed so jokey that it's hard to tell.

"Ultimately we had a great time, even if we didn't take it as it was meant."