Ho ho Ho...Hello Ho Chi Minh City 2012
Yatta.....another awesome trip...
This time is all about reunion with ex housemates, ex colleagues, ex Kuchingites
On 28th September till 2nd October, 3 of us; KakPah, Jihah and I took an unforgettable trip together to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Like what? Vietnam?
Never heard of you talking about Vietnam before. Not even in places-i-want-to-go-before-i-die list.
But, why not.
Started when I received from KP that she and Jihah planned to have a trip to Vietnam, how can I say no.
I took a very very long holiday for this. My boss and colleagues are not happy for this but what i can say now is....Sorry..
Initially plan was Ho Chi Minh trip then Bario for a short visit then to Chai Lee's reception on 9th October. We could only plan, but God has prepared better plan for us. Better!
Took off from LCCT at 705am again with Air Asia because Everyone Can Fly. (Thanks to Babah and Ibu for woke up so early just to send their spoiled daughter to the airport. Arigato). It was really early I felt like dreaming.
Its been almost 1 year since I met KP. Since she left Kapit for Penang, ever since, we never met up. And I last saw Jihah like almost 2years since the end of our housemanship, when I left for Kapit and she left for Miri. She is now in Kelantan since last December. So it has been a very long time for all three of us to be together. If you thought of something dramatic, lotsa hugging and cheek kissing and tears, you are totally wrong. We were cool about it, say hi how are you, good morning and KP being KP, always did something ridiculously entertaining that a normal mind couldn't comprehend. But its KP so it was normal things happened in such a way.
The flight took about 2hours and time difference between Malaysia and Ho Chi Minh is 1 hour. 9am in Malaysia is 8am in Ho Chi Minh. The airport was near to the city.
I booked A&;E Em 150 hotel through Agoda.com (A&;E? Accident and Emergency?..got it?)
Upon arrival, we were both still feel like dreaming, touching down Ho Chi Minh city was like a dream (still dizzy from the early morning flight). But the feeling I had was like a freedom. Like you starting something new. No worries about who will do the ward rounds today or what time the specialist will come to do round. Really...Relax. We took our time to have a cup of drink from the stall nearby before planning how to get to our lodge.
As adventurous as we claimed we are ( and a little cheapskate) finally decided to take a bus to Ben Thanh Market because our hotel just next to it (Thank you Google Map, thank you smart phone)
Last time I rode on a bus was probably during college back from Seremban to Rembau. So forgive me for becoming so emotional. Nostalgic...Reminiscing...
Interestingly MOST of the Vietnamese can speak Bahasa! Jihah had a conversation in Malay language with a guy he met on the bus and it was pretty himpressive. Not really bahasa la because I could here a bit of Kelantanese dialect in the conversation too. "Hok mano paling sedak makane kat sini". More or less.
Me and KP? Was totally amazed of the numbers of motorcycles on the road and as it was raining so we too amazed on the different styles of raincoat that they put on. My camera never stop clicking!
Well. Its gonna be a very long review so here was our itinerary (roughly) for our 5days 4nights chilling in Saigon City
Day 1 - We checked in to our hotel, we first go to Halal Saigon located at Dong Du street for our lunch, performed our prayer at the mosque opposite it and then just walked around to the Notre Dame and the Post Office. Then we had a window shopping at Ben Thanh Market (like a survey before the real deal). Dinner at Kampung Melayu Halal restaurant. Stayed at A&;E Em 150 hotel.
Day 2 - headed to Chu Chi Tunnel by travel agency. We spent in Chu Chi tunnel about half a day. When we got back, we went to the reunification Hall ( but it was closed, we were too late) then we went to watch a water puppet theater. It was awesome. We had our lunch+dinner at Vietnam Delight.
Day 3- We walked around the city again. We had breakfast at Halal Saigon, then shop till you drop at Ben Thanh Market. We checked out from A&;E and had another 2 nights at Saigon Pink 2, just nearby. Took lots of pictures at night and even walk around at the night market.
Day 4- Headed to My Tho for another adventure at Mekong River. We had no choice to use a rather cheap but satisfied travel agency (tell you why later). but it was raining!
Day 5- Lazed around in the super nice hotel room while other 2 ladies had last minute shopping. We had nasi lemak for breakfast. Nasi Lemak in Saigon City! Then we flew back to KL, felt happy and satisfied.
Few comments and what I personally think about Vietnam
1) The Lodgings, Hotels
It is very very easy to find a cheap hotel especially nearby Ben Thanh Market or China Town (I Believe), because there are lots of them nearby. The one that we had was A&E Em Hotel 150 was one of the cheapest we had. Cheapest but suppose to be comfortable but.....WE HATE THE TRANSPARENT TOILET DOOR!!! It was very small so I was very regret for choosing that hotel (should have booked a much better one). But in terms of service and hospitality, they were very very friendly and helpful. On our 3rd and 4th night we changed to Pink Saigon 2 just opposite the Kampung Melayu restaurant. Highly recommended if you come with family because one room can accommodate at least 5 people. Totally love the closet. NOTE: if you plan to iron your shirt or clothes etc, they can do them for you but it will be charged. And it was quite expensive! Otherwise the use of computer with internet is free for both hotel.
2) The People
Most of the Vietnamese people we encountered were very friendly and nice. But beware of those in the market because those shopkeepers can be very aggressive. KP had her Malaysian money stolen right in front of her DIRECTLY FROM THE WALLET. It was very rude! ridiculous! and of course scary. There were few of them will bad mouthed you in their language when you didn't buy their items at all despite long bargaining. I wasn't try to be paranoid but facial expression tells everything. So what? We kutuk and bad mouthed them back on OUR language.
But generally they are very nice people. We met with a group of youngsters who were lepaking outside the Reunification Hall and took a picture with us.
3) Cleanliness
Acceptable. Relatively the streets are clean.
4) Safety
We didn't have any bad experience. We did went out a lot at night and there were times we went out alone (we went to Pasar malam like to buy souvenirs and stuffs) and we did fine. But just be cautious.
5) FOOD
Vietnam specialty is Pho Noodle and you can have the Halal one from most of the Halal Restaurant available. We went to Halal Saigon, Kampung Melayu Restaurant, VN Halal, Vietnamese Delight, and a small Nasi Lemak stall next to Kampung Melayu Restaurant, directly opposite Pink Saigon 2 Hotel. Price is around RM15 per person for ala carte and may up to RM 150++ if you orders with side dishes. If I have to rank them from the best will be 1) Small stall of Nasi Lemak. 2) Vietnamese Delight 3) Halal Saigon 4) Kampung Melayu Restaurant 5) VN Halal. It was quite easy to find these restaurants (again thanks to Google Map). However, if you are planning to go to places outside the city like Mekong Delta, you may need to bring your own lunch or snacks because they won't provide with halal food. We had instant noodle and bread with sardines. But they do have Muslim travel to Mekong Delta.
6) The Trip Outskirt
For 5days trip i think you can venture Ho Chi Minh city quite nicely and relaxing. If you have more
like 2 weeks then don't miss the chance to visit other places like Dalat or Hanoi. For both Chu Chi Tunnel and Mekong Delta (My Tho) we booked a travel agency that can easily get around the city ranges from very expensive and very cheap. I think for beginner like us to visit these places, guide must be very helpful. But I personally think, for Chu Chi tunnel you may need a tour guide to explain about the history behind it. For Mekong Delta, maybe it will be more fun and relaxing if we could go there without the guide; more freedom and we don't have to stick on the schedule. We booked travel agent to go to Mekong Delta (My Tho) was because we found that the cost for going through the travel agency and by personally by bus is more or less the same, or actually slightly cheaper. So as I told you, because we were a triplet of cheapskate so we just go with travel agency. It was not that bad after all. Don't miss the water puppet show at night. WORTH IT and Highly recommended! You may not be and understand what was the story about but roughly you can guess and it was very fascinating.
HERE are the things you should do in Ho Chi Minh. (More off my to-do-list)
1) Drink Vietnamese Coffee in one of the grand kopitiam or restaurant there - check
2) To watch Water Puppet Theater, visit Chu Chi Tunnel and Mekong Delta - check
3) To try on Pho Noodle soup - check
4) To drink like the local with small bench at the street - failed
5) To drink coconut water like the locals - check
6) To cross the heavy traffic successfully like the locals - check
7) To ride a motorbike like the locals- failed
8) To take picture like the Beatles at one of the zebra crossing - attempted but not fully satisfied
9) To take picture of all the motorist that waiting at the traffic light and persuade them all to do peace sign - failed
In Summary, we did have fun!
When is the next trip and where?
This time is all about reunion with ex housemates, ex colleagues, ex Kuchingites
On 28th September till 2nd October, 3 of us; KakPah, Jihah and I took an unforgettable trip together to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Like what? Vietnam?
Never heard of you talking about Vietnam before. Not even in places-i-want-to-go-before-i-die list.
But, why not.
Started when I received from KP that she and Jihah planned to have a trip to Vietnam, how can I say no.
I took a very very long holiday for this. My boss and colleagues are not happy for this but what i can say now is....Sorry..
Initially plan was Ho Chi Minh trip then Bario for a short visit then to Chai Lee's reception on 9th October. We could only plan, but God has prepared better plan for us. Better!
Took off from LCCT at 705am again with Air Asia because Everyone Can Fly. (Thanks to Babah and Ibu for woke up so early just to send their spoiled daughter to the airport. Arigato). It was really early I felt like dreaming.
Its been almost 1 year since I met KP. Since she left Kapit for Penang, ever since, we never met up. And I last saw Jihah like almost 2years since the end of our housemanship, when I left for Kapit and she left for Miri. She is now in Kelantan since last December. So it has been a very long time for all three of us to be together. If you thought of something dramatic, lotsa hugging and cheek kissing and tears, you are totally wrong. We were cool about it, say hi how are you, good morning and KP being KP, always did something ridiculously entertaining that a normal mind couldn't comprehend. But its KP so it was normal things happened in such a way.
The flight took about 2hours and time difference between Malaysia and Ho Chi Minh is 1 hour. 9am in Malaysia is 8am in Ho Chi Minh. The airport was near to the city.
I booked A&;E Em 150 hotel through Agoda.com (A&;E? Accident and Emergency?..got it?)
 |
| Typical Vietnamese Motorcyclist |
As adventurous as we claimed we are ( and a little cheapskate) finally decided to take a bus to Ben Thanh Market because our hotel just next to it (Thank you Google Map, thank you smart phone)
Last time I rode on a bus was probably during college back from Seremban to Rembau. So forgive me for becoming so emotional. Nostalgic...Reminiscing...
Interestingly MOST of the Vietnamese can speak Bahasa! Jihah had a conversation in Malay language with a guy he met on the bus and it was pretty himpressive. Not really bahasa la because I could here a bit of Kelantanese dialect in the conversation too. "Hok mano paling sedak makane kat sini". More or less.
Me and KP? Was totally amazed of the numbers of motorcycles on the road and as it was raining so we too amazed on the different styles of raincoat that they put on. My camera never stop clicking!
Well. Its gonna be a very long review so here was our itinerary (roughly) for our 5days 4nights chilling in Saigon City
Day 1 - We checked in to our hotel, we first go to Halal Saigon located at Dong Du street for our lunch, performed our prayer at the mosque opposite it and then just walked around to the Notre Dame and the Post Office. Then we had a window shopping at Ben Thanh Market (like a survey before the real deal). Dinner at Kampung Melayu Halal restaurant. Stayed at A&;E Em 150 hotel.
 |
| At Chu Chi Tunnel |
Day 3- We walked around the city again. We had breakfast at Halal Saigon, then shop till you drop at Ben Thanh Market. We checked out from A&;E and had another 2 nights at Saigon Pink 2, just nearby. Took lots of pictures at night and even walk around at the night market.
Day 4- Headed to My Tho for another adventure at Mekong River. We had no choice to use a rather cheap but satisfied travel agency (tell you why later). but it was raining!
Day 5- Lazed around in the super nice hotel room while other 2 ladies had last minute shopping. We had nasi lemak for breakfast. Nasi Lemak in Saigon City! Then we flew back to KL, felt happy and satisfied.
Few comments and what I personally think about Vietnam
1) The Lodgings, Hotels
It is very very easy to find a cheap hotel especially nearby Ben Thanh Market or China Town (I Believe), because there are lots of them nearby. The one that we had was A&E Em Hotel 150 was one of the cheapest we had. Cheapest but suppose to be comfortable but.....WE HATE THE TRANSPARENT TOILET DOOR!!! It was very small so I was very regret for choosing that hotel (should have booked a much better one). But in terms of service and hospitality, they were very very friendly and helpful. On our 3rd and 4th night we changed to Pink Saigon 2 just opposite the Kampung Melayu restaurant. Highly recommended if you come with family because one room can accommodate at least 5 people. Totally love the closet. NOTE: if you plan to iron your shirt or clothes etc, they can do them for you but it will be charged. And it was quite expensive! Otherwise the use of computer with internet is free for both hotel.
2) The People
Most of the Vietnamese people we encountered were very friendly and nice. But beware of those in the market because those shopkeepers can be very aggressive. KP had her Malaysian money stolen right in front of her DIRECTLY FROM THE WALLET. It was very rude! ridiculous! and of course scary. There were few of them will bad mouthed you in their language when you didn't buy their items at all despite long bargaining. I wasn't try to be paranoid but facial expression tells everything. So what? We kutuk and bad mouthed them back on OUR language.
But generally they are very nice people. We met with a group of youngsters who were lepaking outside the Reunification Hall and took a picture with us.
 |
| Attempting like the locals |
Acceptable. Relatively the streets are clean.
4) Safety
We didn't have any bad experience. We did went out a lot at night and there were times we went out alone (we went to Pasar malam like to buy souvenirs and stuffs) and we did fine. But just be cautious.
 |
| The only masjid |
Vietnam specialty is Pho Noodle and you can have the Halal one from most of the Halal Restaurant available. We went to Halal Saigon, Kampung Melayu Restaurant, VN Halal, Vietnamese Delight, and a small Nasi Lemak stall next to Kampung Melayu Restaurant, directly opposite Pink Saigon 2 Hotel. Price is around RM15 per person for ala carte and may up to RM 150++ if you orders with side dishes. If I have to rank them from the best will be 1) Small stall of Nasi Lemak. 2) Vietnamese Delight 3) Halal Saigon 4) Kampung Melayu Restaurant 5) VN Halal. It was quite easy to find these restaurants (again thanks to Google Map). However, if you are planning to go to places outside the city like Mekong Delta, you may need to bring your own lunch or snacks because they won't provide with halal food. We had instant noodle and bread with sardines. But they do have Muslim travel to Mekong Delta.
 |
| Halal Saigon |
 |
| Kampung Melayu Restaurant |
 |
| Inside the post offive |
 |
| REunification Halll |
 |
| Water Puppet Theater show |
 |
| Ben Thanh Market |
 |
| Pasar Malam (Night Market) |
 |
| Mekong Delta |
6) The Trip Outskirt
For 5days trip i think you can venture Ho Chi Minh city quite nicely and relaxing. If you have more
like 2 weeks then don't miss the chance to visit other places like Dalat or Hanoi. For both Chu Chi Tunnel and Mekong Delta (My Tho) we booked a travel agency that can easily get around the city ranges from very expensive and very cheap. I think for beginner like us to visit these places, guide must be very helpful. But I personally think, for Chu Chi tunnel you may need a tour guide to explain about the history behind it. For Mekong Delta, maybe it will be more fun and relaxing if we could go there without the guide; more freedom and we don't have to stick on the schedule. We booked travel agent to go to Mekong Delta (My Tho) was because we found that the cost for going through the travel agency and by personally by bus is more or less the same, or actually slightly cheaper. So as I told you, because we were a triplet of cheapskate so we just go with travel agency. It was not that bad after all. Don't miss the water puppet show at night. WORTH IT and Highly recommended! You may not be and understand what was the story about but roughly you can guess and it was very fascinating.
HERE are the things you should do in Ho Chi Minh. (More off my to-do-list)
1) Drink Vietnamese Coffee in one of the grand kopitiam or restaurant there - check
2) To watch Water Puppet Theater, visit Chu Chi Tunnel and Mekong Delta - check
3) To try on Pho Noodle soup - check
4) To drink like the local with small bench at the street - failed
5) To drink coconut water like the locals - check
6) To cross the heavy traffic successfully like the locals - check
7) To ride a motorbike like the locals- failed
8) To take picture like the Beatles at one of the zebra crossing - attempted but not fully satisfied
9) To take picture of all the motorist that waiting at the traffic light and persuade them all to do peace sign - failed
In Summary, we did have fun!
When is the next trip and where?
Comments