Just another ordinary guy..
Sunday, December 13, 2015
[Summer 2015] Vietnam Trip
It's been quite some time since my trip to HCMC, but here it is.
Day 1
I've finally arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport at HCMC. It's approximately 12pm local time, and comtemplating if we should get a local 3G sim card. We boarded Bus 152 towards Ben Thanh Market. The bus was surprisingly empty, only half-filled, in fact. We paid 15,000₫ for the bus tickets for 2 of us and a luggage. We sat at the last row of the bus. I noticed a solo traveler siting just in front of us, with a backpack labelled with a Korean Air Flight number. After much hesitation, I decided to chat with her. I'm so glad I did. Casual talk about how long her trip will be, and what she would be doing and I found out that she didn't have any plans or iteneriary to start her 15-days Vietnam trip with. I quickly offer to make friends with her on KaKaoTalk since she has a 3G sim, and ask her to join us for a few days.
When we got down at the major bus station in Ben Thanh Market, we had totally no idea where to head to, because we simply didn't book any accommodation for our trip just yet. I personally wanted the flexibility of changing to a better and cheaper hostel if we could find one. We initially thought that the Hangout Hostel was an ideal plce to stay in, but the booking was only through submitting a google form on their website. Anyway, we just followed JiYoung since she booked her hostel online and was using her GPS to navigate to get to the hostel in Pham Ngu Lao St. We passed by a huge McDonalds outlet at the junction of Pham Ngu Lao St, and walked all the way till the end. Along the way, we saw the Hangout Hostel but when we tried asking for any vacancies, they told us it was fully booked. Disappointed, we just checked in to a random hotel down the road for the night and for the WIFI. We were quoted 450,000₫ for the night. Shortly after we checked in, there was a heavy downpour and we were glad we weren't outside roaming and still looking for a place to stay with our luggages.
So I contacted Kitty and she told us that she'll bring us to a Pho place to have our lunch. We quickly prepared and I texted JiYoung to meet us at our hotel at 1420. She was there by the time we went down but we had to wait a while for Kitty because she couldn't catch a cab at her side. It was probably because of the heavy rain. We chatted with JiYoung and she seemed nice.
She bought us to a place near Ben Thanh Market called Pho2000, where the US President once had pho. Kitty insisted she pay for our first meal but we promised that it'll be us paying the next time. Kitty brought us to Ben Thanh Market, Nome Natre Cathedral, Saigon Post Office and some coffee at Thuc Coffee. The coffee was on us. We walked a while and decided to have dinner with beer! This time, JiYoung insisted she pay for our meal. xD
After which, we went to Nguyen Hue, where Vietnamese music were played everywhere. There were people crowding in groups and singing together, dancing, couples and friends seated at the side. Soon it was late and we decided to head back to our hotel. As gentlemen, we sent JiYoung back to her hostel before heading out to find a better place to stay.
After numerous attempt and looking around, we finally found Vintage Hostel along Bui Vein where we had our dinner. This place is newly renovated, and the dorms had enough privacy with a curtain that fully hide the dorm beds from the outside. We did told them that we'll check in the next morning. We washed up and rested for the night.
Day 2
The day here starts before 0500, and we're up at 0615 to check in to the Vintage Hostel. We ended up checking in the Hostel at 0640 and meeting JiYoung at 0700 for breakfast.
We bought a Banh Mi for each of us and went for a coffee at a nearby coffeeshop. It was simple but nice, with good company, what more could I ask for? We were on our way to the Bus Station to take Bus 13, but we were quite lost when we arrived at the bus station. There was a main control station in the bus terminal, with numbers labelled on top of some of the counters. I quickly assumed that we could buy the tickets from the counter but was redirected. The language barrier simply did not help the situation. There was a lot of people alighting the buses in front of the main control station, and a lady pointed to us the boarding point of Bus 13, and we finally sat down in the bus, awaiting for it to move off. It was hot and stuffy at first, but it got better when the bus driver started the engine, getting ready to move off after 5 to 10 minutes. The bus attendant then starts to collect the bus fares from passangers on board when the bus moved off. It was like 5,000₫ for each of us. There was a Boddhisatva statue at the front of the bus, and I found that amusing. At first, there was traffic jam everywhere in the city, but it got better when it hit the highway. The bus took about 1h 40m to get to Cu Chi bus terminal, and then another 50m to get to Ben Douc by Bus 79 for 4000₫ each.
Finally, we arrived at Cu Chi Tunnels. It was hell of a long ride, but we reached there at 1000 sharp. We explored and looked around after getting our tickets to the Ben Douc Tunnel which cost 90,000₫ per person. There was a temple and a pagoda at the grounds of Cu Chi in memorial of the Cu Chi fighters that braved the American War in Vietnam. The butterflies there were as big as our palms.
We soon came to the entrance of the Ben Douc Tunnel, and there's very few tourist seen till now. Artillery shells and guns used in the war were on display at the entrance of the Tunnel, and we went in after taking some pictures. There was a guide appointed to us at the start of the tour and we followed him to a shed where we watched the video footages of the war. It showed how determined the Cu Chi fighters were to fight the Americans, and how they recycled the equipment of the enemy to make homemade weapons to deter the enemies. After the video, the guide explained to us that the tunnels were 250km long and there were 3 levels of tunnel, and how they kept the dogs at the deepest level to avoid getting the attention of the American troops. He then showed us around the area. At this point, another Asian tourist joined our tour group for the tour because he wasn't assigned one.
There was display of many kinds of traps the Cu Chi fighters used. We went down a tunnel which leads us to the kitchen and dorms of the fighters. The guide told us that most of the entrance of the tunnels were enlarged to allow bigger sized tourist to see what's below.
He led us to the actual entrance of the Ben Douc Tunnels, which is about 5 metres long. The entrance is narrower than my shoulder length, and the only way to go in the tunnel is to raise my hands before I can fully enter fhe tunnel. I could only duck-walk in the narrow and small tunnel.
We went down to the 2nd level of the tunnel this time, where the generals had their meetings. We were sweating profusely when we got out of the tunnel. He also mentioned that there were a lot of deep holes caused by the bombs of the Americans during the war, but most of it was covered after years of raining and deposition of leaves and other organic matters.
The last part of the tour was the taste of sweet potatoes with a mixture of salt, pepper and peanuts. As the tour came to an end, i took the opportunity to make friends with the Asian guy and offered them a wet tissue to wipe off the sweat. Steve introduced himself as a Japanese, but it was too good for a Japanese. It turns out he's currently studying at Seattle. We waited for Bus 79 for about 15 minutes while we chatted. We continued talking to Steve and JiYoung throughout the journey. He was cool to hang out so I added him on LINE to contact him for dinner. We headed back to our hostel to rest. It was 1500 so we checked in to the new hostel. We were handed our security cards and shown to our dorm beds. It was wonderful. The aircon is always turned on. We rested and bathed for a while before heading out at 1730 for the water puppet show. It was already getting dark. We walked to the Golden Dragon Water Puppetry Theatre.
The show cost us 180,000₫ each and The water puppet show was great. I've never really seen a puppet show to begin with, and I guess it was really spectacular. The puppet show was in Vietnamese so we don't really understand the show, but the music and dramas were enough entertainment for me. Soon, the 50 minutes show ended and we met Steve and went for dinner. Kitty couldn't make it because she had to work till late and had a meeting the next morning, but recommended us a good place to have dinner. We had our dinner at Number One Xoi Ga. and the food there was great. Xoi Ga is chicken glutinous rice. We went to the Saigon tower thinking that it was the tallest building in HCMC, but it turned out to be the Bitexco Financial Tower. We took another cab to reach Bitexco. Apart from branded stores and overpriced Coffee Bean cafe which priced their coffee at 200,000₫ for a cup of frappucino, there was not much to see in the building. I guess we wasted too much time, so it was like 2200 and we just took a cab back to our hostel after dropping Steve off at his hotel and sending JiYoung back to her hostel.
Day 3
It was time for JiYoung to depart from Saigon to go to Mui Ne by Phuong Trang intercity bus that cost her 130,000₫. Aaron wanted to sleep till 0900 so i didn't bother waking him up. Knowing that her bus departs at 0800, I woke up at 0700 to prepare and slowly went to get some Banh Mi for the both of us. I went to her hostel to pick her up and she came out shortly. I walked her to the waiting point and waited for the bus with her. We promised to keep in contact. She boarded the bus at 0745 and was on her way to Mui Ne.
As for me, although there was plans of going Mui Ne to see the beautiful beaches, it wasn't really solid so we didn't make it happen. I happened to want to explore the alleys of the Pham Ngu Lao St and did just that. I walked around and found a store selling pho bo, stopped and when the lady warmly invited me for a bowl, I took up the offer despite having a Banh Mi before that. It tasted good, even without any toppings, but the other guy sitting beside me poured in a lot if fish sauces and other oils and sauces that his bowl of pho became light brown. After exploring the alley, i went on to get a cup of iced coffee. Went back to take a nap until Aaron wakes up, and we set off. He had his breakfast at Lotteria. After that, we headed to the War Remnant Museum.
It was an eye opener
We headed to the Saigon Post Office to get some postcards and to take some photos, while doing some shopping at a nearby shop selling souvenirs. We then headed for lunch at a street stall near Zen's plaza, near Kitty's office. Here, we had grilled pork rice. It was so nice. We then went to chill at a Family Mart along the way.
We headed to HCMC Museum after that, where they showcased how different people from different countries protested against the American war against Vietnam, and how different toxic chemicals were used during the war against Vietnam, and how it is still affecting the generations after the war. Another interesting showcase were the tiger cages, where vietnamese were kept in cages made of barbed wires.
We saw a prawn noodle stall on our way so we stopped by for dinner. It was another awesome and affordable meal. After that we went to a Coop Mart and bought some coffee filters for 21,500₫ each. The quality, despite the price, was good so we bought a total of 10 filters and some coffee powders.
We headed back to our hostel after that. We decided to go for some massage after walking so much here in HCMC.
Let's just say we didn't find a good one and ended up in a place that provided services we don't want. Bad experience, all I can say.
Day 4
We started our day rather late at 1120, and had our brunch at a nearby bakery named ABC. The bread from this bakery are extraordinary, quite different from what we have in singapore.
We headed towards the Museum of Vietnamese History on a cab as not to waste so much time, we ended up getting lost. We walked the whole of Nguyen Binh Kiem but couldn't find the museum, and we reached a roundabout, where we realized we've walked the wrong way. With the help of a lady at one of the shop that provides consultation for people looking to study in Australia, she redirected us back to where we alighted the cab. It was a hot day, but we continued our walk back to the museum. When we reached the Museum, we were told they're only open from 1330. We then took a cab to the Jade Emperor Pagoda.
We decided to walk back to the Museum so we could take a look around. There was a beautiful park along the way, and we stopped by to take some photos. We passed by a pink Cathedral which I thought was quite beautiful. Went in to take a picture and then came out. There was a market nearby so we went in to look around. It's like a smaller version of Ben Thanh Market.
When we made it to the Museum, it was already past 1500. The museum shows details of Vietnam from prehistoric time to current time using the aid of model, artefacts and replicas from different time, how China tries to invade Vietnam during the different dynasties. There was a showcase of Hinduism in Vietnam, and how trade with India brought Hinduism to Vietnam.
We went to diamond mall by Lotte and they didn't really have much. We then cabbed to Time Sqaure to meet Kitty for a magazine exhibition. Being a not-so-artistic person, I was really impressed by the work done by Đep. Dinner was at a street stall and we ate frog curry with baguette, and some other dishes, with rum and soda.
Day 5
We checked out of our hostel after having breakfast. We took Bus 13 to get to Saigon Railway Station but it rained heavily when we alighted for the stop. We were drenched so we went in to a shop to dry ourselves. We ran to a Family Mart to have noodles for lunch and waited for the rain to stop. It wasn't until 1400 when the rain stopped. We walked to the railway station.
Just in front of the railway station, there was a model of the train. I was hoping to go into the platform and see the railway and take some pictures but unfortunately, they didn't allow non-ticket holders to get pass to the entrance of the platform. We chilled at the Lotteria for a while before we head to Pandora Mall. The mall is beside the highway on the way to Cu Chi Tunnel, so we thought we might as well go there and take a look. Turns out to be a disappointment, there's only a CGV Pandora, so we watched "The Intern" and walked around the mart. It didn't have much stuff for us so we bought some food for dinner and went back to Ben Thanh bus station, hoping to catch Bus 2 to Mien Tay Bus Station.
To our dismay, the only transport to the bus station is by cabbing. It was only about 1900. We took a cab to Ben Xe Mien Tay that cost us 180,000₫. It turned out that they only sell the tickets 1 hour before it departs, so we decided to walk around for a while before returning.
The village seemed desolated. There was no street lamps in the neighbourhood, so we just walk and tried to look for somewhere to sit down and chill. There wasn't much, and nothing to do at all too. It was a bad idea to take the night bus to can tho after all. We ended up relaxing at Lotteria. When Lotteria closed at 2230, we had no choice and had to go to the Bus Terminal to sleep. And so we did, and it started raining at 0030, so we bought our tickets at 110,000₫ and the person led us to the waiting area, where we waited again.
It was only at 0055 that we boarded the bus that was equipped with WIFI. Finally, we're not on the street. I guessed we slept through the whole journey. We reached Can Tho at 0400.
Day 5
We hesitated on taking cab, and then decided to take one because there was close to nothing to do. At one part of the ride, the cab driver holded on to a buddha hanging on the rear mirror, and murmuring something. I suspected that we cut through a cemetery. Shortly after, we arrived at the market. We walked towards it and found the market was just starting to open. It was quite a sight. There was cooked food as well.
We enquires on the ferry price and was quoted 150,000₫ for a 30 minute ride. It turned out the price was for the whole ferry but it only starts the journey at 0630. I explored and walked through the market while Aaron slept at the waiting area while for the boat. It was a sight. They washed the vegetables in the river, there were plenty of butchers, lots of fresh fishes ready to be sold in the market.
Then comes our turn to take the ferry. As we went around, drinks and noodle boats made their way to us and I bought a cup of coffee and a bowl of noodles. Soon the sun was up and the ride ended. We cabbed back to the bus terminal ready to head back to HCMC and we reached at about 1100 after hours of long ride. It was quite torturous but we made it back, safely. We had some highland coffee near HCMC before checking in back at Vintage Hostel. It waa our last day but we chilled for a while before going out for lunch. It was evening before we even know it, and I went to find authentic Vietnamese massage at about 1900.
I walked almost the whole of district 1 for 3 hours before I saw a decent massage parlor near our hostel. Though underground, I decided to try it. Surprisingly, it was good authentic massage like I wanted, and I chose the hot stone massage, for something new. It was probably one of the best I've had in a long time. The massuer was professional and the environment was great with sooth, relaxing music. There was a lot of customer as well, even ladies. After the massage, I realized that the ladyboss was monitoring CCTVs to ensure no funny business was going on in her parlour. Therefore I highly recommend this place too.
It was already 2300 when I got back to the hostel but Aaron was nowhere to be seen. I called him and he told me he's on his way back from drinking and had made a thai friend that stayed in the same room as us. When I saw them, their face was so red. They offered to go drinking with me and I was game on. We went to a bar near our hostel and he ordered 1 bottle of beer for each of us and some sides to go with. Chatted for a while and enjoyed the music. It was also here that I learned to enjoy one of their pop song "Say you do" by Tien Tien. There were some Vietnamese sitting in a circle chitchatting and playing, just enjoying. We were almost done with our beer but the Thai friend suddenly ordered another 3 bottles of Saigon beer for us. We quickly drank and wanted to go off soon.
Seemed like that Thai friend wasn't satisfied so he brought us to another Pub & Club also along the street. It was much more happening. We ordered some more drinks. People were gropping and dancing on the dance floor inside the Pub but we were sitting outside, watching them instead. One of the lady had too much drink and vomitted outside. After we chatted for a while they wanted to go back to sleep but I wandered the streets for a while.
The nightlife was coming to an end and I was soon back to the hostel, but because I didn't brought much change with me, I merely rejected giving a 10,000₫ to a mother with a baby. Till now, I feel really guilty not having to go up and get some change from my luggage and give her a couple of dollars for the child and the mother. I went back to sleep for the night at 0300.
Day 7
Today is the last day of a good Saigon trip. How I wish I can stay longer to explore HCMC and even the other parts of Vietnam, but it's goodbye for now.
We woke up quite late, so we didn't had any breakfast. We met up with Kitty to have our last meal with her. We went to Wrap & Roll as the quality is decent with proper hygiene, though a little more expensive than street stalls. Unfortunately, I didn't took any photos. We walked around for the last time before heading back to the hostel to get our luggage and headed for the airport shortly.
written @ 2:16 PM
