Security guards for the Nguyen Hue pedestrian street, a new get-together destination in Ho Chi Minh City’s downtown area, are now rolling along on wheels, astonishing and intriguing both domestic and international tourists.

Members of the security team tasked with ensuing safety for the walking street in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City now travel to and fro on roller skates for faster patrol.

Robert Sura, 32, and his family from the UK was very impressed seeing the security guards in skating shoes.

Sura has previously police rollerblading in Europe, but this is the first time he saw security people skating in an Asian city, the tourist said while asking to take photos with the guards on roller skates.

While it normally takes around five minutes to cover the 600m area he is in charge of, Vu Minh Truong, 22, now needs much shorter time thanks to the skating shoes.

His teammate, Nguyen Tan Thai, said he would never forget the first time he practiced the sport, when his legs suffered terrible pains.

“But I got improved after two weeks, and can now perform fluent moves,” the 27-year-old confidently said of his ability to quickly handle such situations as robbery or pickpocket.

Truong and Thai are among 15 members of a team, including two women, who have practiced roller skating for nearly two months before officially using the skating shoes for patrol, Nguyen Thanh Tuyen, head of the city’s tourist protecting force, revealed.

The patrol team can handle situations faster and more effectively when skating than they do when walking, he said.

Those with advanced skating skills will conduct patrols in other places in the downtown areas such as the Ben Thanh night market, the Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, the Saigon Central Post Office and the Reunification Palace, the official added.