You Teck's Blog

Day 1 in Vietnam- Ho Chi Min City

Posted by You Teck - 28/12/08 at 11:12:49 pm

16-Dec-2008

Time:  5.45 A.M (GMT +8)

Nothing much happened during our flight from Singapore to Ho Chi Min City other than some slight flight delay and Byran needing to change some money at the last moment.

We left cloudy Singapore to reach a sunny Ho Chi Min City at around 10 A.M (Singapore Time).  We lingered around the airport for a while to find out more information about the flight to Phu Quoc but decided not to make any decision because the agency couldn’t let us know if there were hotels available. I mean we know that there would be hotel rooms available but without knowing the rates and how it looked like we didn’t really want to jump head first into the water (although we already did so without booking a hotel in advance).

With no hotels booked in the city, we booked a cab and got to the hotel (A & Em Hotel)  Bryan friend’s recommended. En route to the hotel we had first hand experience of the traffic conditions and it was a huge mess.  Horns were sounding off everywhere and I guess that they had to do it because of the need to caution the huge amount of motorcycles that are running in the streets.

Time:  1100 A.M (GMT +7)

We got the hotel  at around 1100+ A.M and I thought that we were lucky when the receptionist mentioned that they have available rooms.  Upon checking the rates of the room, I realized the cheapest twin bed option they had was at 60 USD per night and I thought that it would be pretty redundant for us to stay in that room if we were to only stay for a night (We are still finding out ways and means to reach Phu Quoc). Thus we chose the single double bed room ($35 USD) and make base there (It’s kinda gay but we’re both straight).

The first thing that we decided to do was to walk around the streets and find some nice food before deciding on the next path of our journey. We didn’t have a map yet but I thought that we could easily navigate through the streets by remembering the turns and landmarks (Yes, we did found our way with ease. Thanks!).

We walked a couple of streets but still could not find a eating outlet which capture our attention. It was at this time that we passed by a hairdressing outlet that has a lot of hot girls dressing very skimpily. Any ordinary man would have been sucked into the salon but not us for we are no ordinary men. Well the truth is we are pretty hungry and we didn’t really want to hang around much longer till we find food.  No pictures taken but I codename it as The Harem.

At last our walk have brought us some result for we saw a eating outlet with the subtitle Vietnamese Broken Rice.  The restaurant was named MOC and their food was extremely affordable and nice. I had grilled pork chop rice and it cost me around $2.40 SGD.  The portion wasn’t really huge but it was enough for me to get by the day.

Feeling satisfied from the good lunch, we decided to pop by a few shops we saw before heading back to the hotel. I needed a slippers because walking around in jeans and shoes wasn’t really advisable due to the humid weather. We pop into Ben Thanh market and got one a pair our slippers for $1.60 SGD. There was nothing special about the slippers but I needed one to move around freely and I’m happy that I got one at a low price.

Byran needed to take a short nap when we went back to the hotel as we were feeling a little lethargic from the lunch we had earlier, I duly obliged. Afraid that we might miss out on our journey, I woke him up 30 min later as we still got a job to do (Book a flight to Phu Quoc).

Time: 1530 (GMT +7)

Over at the travel agency, we got the dreaded news that all seats for the flight to Phu Quoc were fully booked for the date we wanted. I guess the nap option was a mistake on our part and we would have so screw up if this was the amazing race. Then again it’s not and we’re here as backpackers on a holiday. Amid the chaos I remembered that my colleague mentioned another seaside beach named Nha Trang and voila, there was seat tickets for the date we wanted.  We booked our tickets for 99 USD each (round about) and the hotel at 50 USD a night.

For one reason or another we were sometimes mistaken as a local there and it wasn’t until we started to speak then they realized that we are not. We asked for the type of places we could visit and we were directed to the water puppet show. As it was still early, we decided to drop by the War Remanent Museum to have a look.

Time:  1645 (GMT +7)

We got stuck for around 30 min as we couldn’t find the way to the museum and we finally found the place when a kind Japanese expat working there led us to the place. It was a little late when we got there as the place closes at 1700 (Every museum closes at 1700). We didn’t have a good look around the place but a local staff was gracious enough to help us take some pictures.

Time: 1705 (GMT +7)

With some time left before the start of the water puppet show, we decided to visit the Notre Dame Cathedral. Nothing much happened other than the fact its closed (Closed at 1700).

Time: 1720 (GMT +7)

Here are some pictures of Ho Chi Min City Post Office.

Time: 1745 (GMT +7)

Sensing it was about time to hit the water puppet show, we made our way to the theater. On the way there, we spotted a really cool bar that has an Eiffel Tower designed entrance. We didn’t checked out much because we were kinda of in a hurry.  Upon arriving, we realized that the starting time of the show were at 1830 and we were earlier by half an hour. With nothing much to do, we decided to flash our camera and took random shots.

I’ve got to say that they got 2 really cute girl working there and we would have took a picture together if not for Bryan’s poor technical skills with his camera. We were preparing to take a picture and that’s when Bryan was experiencing IA (a term we use in the army for jammed rifle) and our chance was blown when there was a huge bus load of tourists approaching the entrance of the theater.  Well, now we all know why it’s important to have weapon proficiency. You wouldn’t want to screw up in time like this.

The water puppet show is a Vietnamese cultural performance and it’s a really spectacular performance. You should not miss it if you ever visit Ho Chi Min City. The audience consists of a huge bulk of Hong Kong people,  a group of Koreans, a single Japanese female tourist (she was seating beside us), a French couple (we took pictures for them) and two Singaporeans (Bryan and me). The ticket cost around $5.30 SGD and the performance lasted around 50 min.

Time: 1955 (GMT +7)

Being entertained mentally, our stomach was telling us that we needed food and I decided to drop by one of the restaurant we passed by earlier. The restaurant was named Au Parc and we had a fantastic time there. Food was fantastic and the staff were friendly. The place was a little upscale and I thought that we were a little under dress for the occasion but who cares for we are backpackers on the run! We had salmon cakes for appetizer, kebab for main dish and ice cream for dessert. It was our most expensive meal in our whole trip in Vietnam at $21 SGD but it definitely measured up to its value.

After our sumptuous meal, we had a picture with one of the staff and lady boss Ilda who was gracious enough to take a picture with us.  Extra points to the staff for being ever friendly and helpful to our request during our meal at Au Parc. The restaurant is situated at a quiet street near Notre Dame Cathedral and it’s definitely a great place for a meal if you happen to be around the area.

Time: 1000 P.M (GMT +7)

Knowing that we had an early flight to catch the next day, we decided against popping by one of the bars for the fear we might not be able to wake up in time.  We wandered along the city and here are some pictures of the christmas decoration at Saigon Centre.

We got back in our hotel around 1045 P.M and pack our bags for we will be waking up at 4.30 A.M to catch a flight to Nha Trang. Overall, it was a good first day out and while we didn’t have much time to explore Ho Chi Min city we knew that we will be back in another 3 days time.

More pictures for day 1 at over at this link. http://www.flickr.com/photos/25016722@N02/sets/72157611630691732/

Onward to day 2…

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