The Story of “Vietnam Last Day 4”
Assalamualaikum all. Like all good things…the trip must come to an end. I’ve always hated 3 day trips coz it is too quick to end. First day shortened by the journey, second day and the last day. That is why me and my buddies always plan our trips to be at least 4 days.
After breakfast of Vietnam Coffee, pisang abu (they didnt seem to have pisang emas here…but pisang abu is quite delicious too) and biscuits, we check out of Hoang Lien Hotel for Thanh Son Nhat International Airport.
Our last day was the best weather of all. Blue sky and no haze.
A famous temple complete with a multistorey pagoda along our way to the airport (which took about 40 minutes on a heavy traffic).
In a flash, I missed my focus. But the result were nice. Love the expression of the man in the center.
Kham and Fahmi at the airport departure section
Goodbye Vietnam!
A list of things to do in Ho Chi Minh City:
– Visit the Reunification Palace, Post Office, Notre Dame Basilica, Ho Chi Minh Museum (City Museum) all in District 1, War Remnant Museum in District 3.
– Watch the water puppet show (near war remnant museum). wish we could watch it…google it for more info
– If you’re strong hearted and able to ride a bike, rent a scooter and explore HCM City.
– Walk around the city on foot. If you’re tired, just pickup a taxi. They can take you anywhere.
– Not many people speaks English. Only traders and hotel counter staff seems capable. Even taxi drivers cannot speak English.
– Ready a list of places to go (complete with their Vietnamese name) on paper and just show it to taxi driver.
– Vinasun taxi can be trusted. The rate is around 30,000 dong (RM4.5) for a 8 mins trip from Ben Thanh market to our hotel (around 3+km) in an innova. Vios cost cheaper.
– For Muslims, Dong Du street is a good place to start. There are several restaurants on the street such as Halal @ Saigon, Bombay (like Malaysian Mamak), Nyonya something (new restaurant), the cafe behind the mosque and a turkish restaurant I forgot the name. VN Halal, Bon Mua and Taj Mahal are also nearby. There’s this Restaurant Shamsudin in District 10 that is reputedly the best malay restaurant but we didnt have the opportunity to go there due to limited time…and we don’t wanna go so far just to eat.
– Hong Anh Collection is the best for tudung and baju kurung. Go inside and go up to second floor. Speak freely in English or Malay. pay in RM, USD or Dong.
– Saigon Square is not far. Ask the lady at Hong Anh how to get there. Lotsa jeans, pants, jakets, polo shirt etc. Quite cheap!
– Ben Thanh market has 2 phases. Day market is inside..refer to my pics for things that are sold there. The night market is set outside the building starting at 7pm++
– Don’t bring many clothes to your trip. Buy and wear to save up space.
– It’s not as hot as Malaysia. Sunny but not humid like us.
– Honking is normal. Be careful as sometimes you can be the target if you’re blocking their way on the street.
– The easy way to count their money:
1,000,000 dong = RM150
100,000 dong = RM15
10,000 dong = RM1.50
1,000 dong = RM0.15
– Prepare exact or the smallest money you can for the taxi trip. We had to pay 121,000 for our trip to the hotel from the airport. We paid 150,000 and receive just 20,000 back. They don’t really wanna give back 1000 dong notes (either don’t have it or just wanna make extra money).
– Night scene is very beautiful. Experience it.
– Book hotel through sites like Agoda.com and get discounts. RM70 per night gets you nice room with cable TV and bathtub. Nearer to Ben Thanh Market the same room could cost RM100+. The breakfast is to be avoided. They serve pork and all their cutleries could have been in contact with it. Go for fruits and coffee instead.
-Wi Fi is provided at our hotel. As well as PC in the cafe. But Facebook cannot be accessed. Wonder why?
– AirAsia provide daily flight to HCM City. But looking at the inflight menu…we couldnt get our hands on the new menu..Roast Chicken. We only get to eat Nasi Ayam and Nasi Lemak. Book your food online…confirm can get what you want.
The Story of “Vietnam Day 3”
Assalamualaikum all. TQ for all the encouragement from my blog readers on my previous entries. Here is the third day recap of our trip to Ho Chi MInh City Vietnam.
For breakfast we went back to VN Halal restaurant. The breakfast menu is quite extensive. Here is my selection…French bread with beef stew.
From the restaurant we went to Ben Thanh Market for more shopping. We know which shop give the best bargain from yesterday’s recce.
Inside Ben Thanh
Jeruk anyone?
These are tea ingredient. Just put in hot water and…voila.
Anywhere its easy for motorcyclist to park. Parking attendants like this uncle makes life easy for them.
Their plate number is very different from cars’ plate number
After lunch we went to War Remnant museum in District 3. Its a very touching place..showcasing the horrors of war inflicted to the vietnamese people.
Legendary war photographer Robert Capa died while covering the Vietnam war
A Japanese photographer survive a bullet that struck his camera.
Scene from the road. Family of 4 on a scooter
Street Subway vendor..they grill meat slices and stuff into subway style sandwich together with veggies..looks yummy….but afraid its not halal..hehehe
We decided to go for one of the oldest Halal restaurant in HCM City. Bon Mua or 4 seasons restaurant had waiters that can speaks malay. The price is slightly cheaper than Halal @ Saigon.
Menu. 100,000 Dong is RM15
We are too tired already…
We ordered fried seafood in batter
And fillet steak. It was good.
Back to Ben Thanh area. Finding nice handbag for wifey. Note the number of choice on the wall…
This is the view of Ben Thanh Market at night.
After a very tiring third day we went back for packing. removing all the plastic bags and cardboard backing to reduce weight…lucky our bags were just enough and less than the maximum weight..hehe
We spend the night watching AXN and sports channel. Do you know they even have their own Karaoke channel?
Wait for the last part tomorrow 🙂
Amrufm The Storyteller 