Day 1
Had to wake up early the next day to prepare for my trip to Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City! Kok Bin drove us to the Budget Terminal where we were due to fly. We had brunch at the Budget Terminal's Han's before we boarded the plane. The whole flight to Ho Chi Minh City took around 1 hrs 40 mins.
Budget Terminal
Our plane
Pic of Mum and I boarding the plane
Sis and I on the plane
We then arrived at their really really new Tan Son Nhat International Airport which officially opened only last month. We turned multi millionaires the moment we arrived there. S$1000 gets you 10 million VND! From there, we were brought to our accomodation for the next 4 nights...Somerset service apartments! It was really surprising for me because i expected a normal hotel or something. The service apartment turned out to be awesome...complete with 2 bedrooms, 2 toilets, 2 tv, 1 balcony, 1 large living room and 1 kitchen...shared only by 3 of us..mum, sis and myself! It was really so cosy i don't think i would have minded if they locked me in the apartment for the next few days. The bus journey to the service apartment was one of the scariest in my life. Sitting on the front seat of a car, bus or taxi has got to be one of the most terrifying thing in the world. The hordes of motorcycles on the Vietnamese roads swerve in and out out of nowhere and you get shocks sometimes. I would never want to drive there.
Arrival at Tan Son Nhat International Airport
Yup yup welcome to Ho Chi Minh City..i still prefer the old name Saigon
First rough idea of how the city looks like
Somerset's lobby
Our balcony
Overlooking the pool
And the porch
The living room
Dining table in the living room
Telephone table?
The toilet
Mum and Sis's master bedroom
My very own bed for the next 4 nights
Yipee!
But of course the rest of them didn't think that way and soon we were out of our apartment and on the streets for some sightseeing and shopping! This was a family vacation complete with some of my cousins, aunties and uncles, and our very own personal guide was my auntie Serene also known affectionately as Ah Gim who has been there a number of times. She first brought us to Ben Thanh Market...a much smaller version of Cha Tu Chat market in Bangkok but almost as many things to buy. There was nothing much for me to buy though because most of the items on sale were girl bias. Before shopping, we had lunch at Pho 24 which they have it here in Singapore too but i've never tried. The Pho (pronouced as f-e-r) turned out to be quite ok...tasty and all..just that there was really quite a lot of vegetable which all of you know i don't touch.
Their Notre Dame Catherdral
1st meal in Ho Chi Minh City
Mum and I waiting for our Pho
It came
Sis's Pho and avocado drink
How Ben Thanh Market looks like
Auntie Serene and a store manager
The very prominent statue in the middle of the city near Ben Thanh Market
After enough shopping, they decided that they wanted to tailor make some cheongsam, dresses and pants. Spent the rest of our evening there walking around, taking measurements etc before we settled for dinner at this place call Little Saigon Restaurant where we settled for some simple food like fried rice etc. End of day 1, back to cosy apartment, watch a little bit of soccer before recuperating for day 2!
The tailor shop
Bored Xuemin and I waiting for the rest to take their measurements
The menu
Sis, myself, Mum and Da Yi
The fried Rice
Some chicken, mushroom and toufu
Vege
Some black pepper beef steak cooked local style
Day 2
Day 2 was dedicated to the tour of Mekong Delta. After breakfast at Somerset, the bus came to fetch us bright and early at 8am. The travelling time to Mekong Delta was to take almost 3 hours and i gladly had the whole back row of the bus to myself for lying down and sleeping.
Breakfast by the pool
The continental breakfast set
Living the high life
Sis and I on the bus
Some views along the way
I can't tell you much about Mekong river because i didn't really pay attention when the tour guide was speaking. But i can tell you its one of the world's major rivers with an impressive length and volume. There are supposingly 4 islands around the Mekong Delta, 2 of them being Dragon Island and Unicorn Island. We were brought around Mekong Delta on small boats and even sampans where we were shown how they make coconut candy, listen to vietnamese folks music, try their self grown fruits and eat their famous elephant ear fish.
Mum and I on the jetty
Mum, Sis and I on the jetty
The 9 women on the trip
The guide Mr Viet talking
The boat
On the boat
Pressing the coconut candy dough
Powzhen and Xuemin enjoying their coconut
Sis and Powzhen
Xuemin was the first to pick up the Python
Then we all came in and posed with him
Uncle Koon was next
Then Uncle Richard
And finally me
They had hammocks all around...it was really really comfortable
The elephant ear fish
Ouch!
Some fish trap
Home grown fresh fruits
Enjoying the fruits
Sa Yi with the fruit baskets
Then it was Powzhen's turn
And finally my turn! I do bear a slight resemblance to a Viet Cong soldier don't i?
Mum and Sa Yi
Sis and the traditional Viet hat
Xuemin and I on their some kind of bridge
Mum and Powzhen on the sampan ride
Sis and I on the sampan ride
Then i rowed myself
Ended the day with dinner at this awesome high class seafood restaurant where the guide brought us. The whole building was impressive with nice ancient rome interior designing. Not very seafood restaurant i know but that was what it is. The food didn't out to be cheap of course and we limited our ordering lol. The meal cost 2.2 million VND shared among 14 people.
The seafood restaurant building
Grand entrance gate
Another view
Me at the front door
Cool isn't it
Its really grand
The first dish...oysters
Some crabmeat or fishpaste on sugarcane
Crabs!
Pork
Veg
After dinner, we decided to pamper ourselves with this massage place just opposite our service apartments. I tried the Thai Massage which turned out to be really good...the masseur cracked my back, my neck, my fingers..everywhere! After a good massage it was time for a good night rest to prepare for day 3!
Day 3
We started day 3 with a city tour. Like the day before, the bus came to pick us up at 8am and we were off for our tour. First, we were brought to the Reunification Palace..formerly known as the Independence Palace. It might look grand from the outside but it is actually quite run down inside...there's even no aircon! Considering its a place where world leaders come together for conference, wayang etc. They do have a lot of reception rooms though...and the furnitures were the really traditional kind. There was also a basement where the generals and presidents stayed most of the time to command the war then. An interesting sight nevertheless...you do get to read a lot of history there...most of them American bias lol.
Myself, Mum and Sis in front of the Reunification Palace
Vietnamese flag flying high
The fountain in front of the Reunification Palace
Mum inside the Reunification Palace
A few pics of the many reception rooms they have inside the palace
Apparently, the President went hunting
I do look like i've been super imposed inside..but i wasn't!
A display of a pool table there...and there are no holes on the table. Play what?
The palace's helipad behind me
Myself, Xuemin and Sis
Some signal stuff display in their basement, and i'm supposed to be knowledgable at this
Fooling around in the palace's kitchen
Their rover
Presidential car?
Then we were brought to the Notre Dame Cathedral...it was kinda big and really traditional. Just opposite the Cathedral was their Central Post Office. I don't really know the story about these 2 buildings..you guys can always wiki if you're interested!
The Cathedral
People praying inside
The inside
Me inside
Sis on the pews
Myself, Sis and Mum posing outside the Cathedral
Mum and Sis outside the Central Post Office
Woman selling waffles and some other snacks along the street
Next we were brought to some War Museum where they have displays of weapons, tanks, aircrafts etc used during the Vietnam war. There were also gruesome pictures of war victims plus stories.
And I'm supposed to be sick of tanks
Not exactly
Posing with a plane now
And then a helicopter
Sis's and Huishan's turn
They have a prison display there too
We were then brought to this Hue restaurant near town call Rat Huế. They serve the traditional Huế food.
Mum and I at Rat Huế
The group of us now with Dua Yi
The fruit juice plus coke
Some edible snails
Some beef noodles
Fried rice
Wet rice? Don't really know what they call this.
Some fish paste wrapped in banana leaf. Kinda like otah
After lunch, the guide brought us to this lacquer manufacturing factory where you see people painstakingly craft art on the lacquer...then sanding then vanishing etc..a tedious process..which explains the exorbitant price of the products.
Most of them were handicap people
At work
Really cool
The finished product
A closer look
Then we were off to Chinatown. Like most Chinatown, it was really crowded, dirty and messy. I didn't really enjoy myself there although the rest did buy themselves some stuff. Along the way, we also dropped by this temple there.
The temple
Ah Gim trying hard to explain the chinese words on the pillars lol
Sis and I in the temple
Uncle Koon offering incense
The incenses
The Chinatown Market..known as Cho Ben Thanh
It was really messy and crowded
Powchuan looking lost among the crowd
They then decided they wanted to drink coffee. We ended up at the roof top cafe at Rex Hotel.
Xuemin and I in front of Uncle Ho Chi Minh's statue
Sis and I in front of Uncle Ho Chi Minh
Xuemin and Sis inside Rex Hotel's lift
Ah Gim and Powchuan relaxing
Enjoying my mango ice blanded
Powchuan and Powzhen
Mum, Powzhen, Ji Yi and Powchuan
And for dinner, Puss told me that CNN.com recommended this place call Black Cat and rated it as one of the top 10 dining experience in the world. How could we give this place a miss?! We then decided to search for it and we finally found out where it is from the Tourist information centre. Turned out to be a really small place and when we got there, we were the only customers till another group of Singaporeans came in. They serve really really big burgers there. And i mean really really big. I'm not exaggerated when i say the circumference of the burger is as big as a regular pizza in pizza hut...complete with 2 buns, a 500gm beef patty and some veg. Its that big! It has an appropriate name too...its called the Big Cheese. A pity we didn't know about that special burger and so we didn't order it. We ordered their smaller burgers individually...but they were still huge nevertheless and we were all bloated after the meal. A nice experience...but i'm not convinced its one of the top 10 dining experience in the world.
Anxiously checking out soccer results and details of Black Cat at the tourist information Centre where there's free Internet!
Finally found it
Not all 14 of us were keen on eating burgers in Vietnam though..there's only 9 of us here
Huishan and her Garfield Burger
Sis and her Cheshire Burger
Mum had Garfield too
Powzhen's dunno what..pancake wrapped with veg and chicken
Powchuang's salad
My Calico Cat Burger..its french toast with a 150gm steak
The Big Cheese we didn't order but managed to get the other table to let us take a picture of it..and trust me that guy in the picture is big...and so is the burger lol
A group photo there to mark our dining experience!
After dinner, we walked around the popular Dong Khoi area...similiar to our Orchard Road before heading back and prepare for Day 4!
Day 4
A bunch of us including myself decided day 4 was a day to continue more adventures while the rest wanted to relax and rest. So we separated for the day. My bunch joined another tour group and visited the famous Củ Chi Tunnels. The bus ride there took around 2 hours and my whole body was aching by the time we got there because we had to squeeze on the small bus.
Sis and Powzhen on the bus
Huishan and Uncle Richard on the bus
Xuemin and I on the bus
The tunnels of Củ Chi are an immense network of connecting underground tunnels located in the Cu Chi district of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and are part of a much larger network of tunnels that underlie much of the country. It has been hailed as one of the most ingenious tunnel system ever seen. The trip there was educating...although the outfield surroundings did remind me of my sad old army life.
Arrival there
The guide telling us a bit of the history of the tunnels
They used nothing but these to dig the tunnels..now how cool is that..to think i didn't even complete my fire trench with better tools than these in Sispec
A model of the tunnel
One of the small entrance to the holes
Xuemin trying unsuccessfully to enter
Then a Caucasian bigger than he is tried and succeeded! Complete with his son inside with him
Wax figurines of the VCs
Me and a female VC
The group of us
Uncle Richard and I on an immobilised American tank
The girls' turn
We got a chance to shoot live rounds there. Each bullet cost 20000VND (Around S$2)...here sis having a go at the AK-47
Huishan's turn
And finally mine
Our entrance to the tunnel
Xuemin and the rest inside the tunnel
Relived to be out
They served us tapioca there, supposingly what the Viet Cong guerillas ate while in hiding there
After the Củ Chi trip, we got back to the city and it was time to try out our tailor made dresses and pants. Did some fitting and amendments before we were back on our way to Ben Thanh Market because the rest of them wanted to buy more stuff from there. Before the shopping, we had late lunch at Pho 2000...another chain. And you don't find this in Singapore. And apparently President Bill Clinton visited the branch we went to in year 2000.
Powzhen and I at Pho 2000
The group of us in Pho 2000
Me and my curry chicken rice
Sis and her Pho
Powzhen and her Pho
I asked for watermelon juice but they gave me a soursop juice and mineral water
While the rest went shopping, Xuemin and I got bored and decided to venture on our own and so we ended up walking along the streets before meeting up with them again in the evening for dinner. Wanted to try out this french cuisine restaurant Powchuan read about on a book call Augustin there but the place was fully booked by the time we got there. We then ended up in another place call Le Mekong which also serves french food. But i didn't really enjoy my meal there because i had late lunch merely 2 hours ago and the whole floor was shaky..which gave me a headache. And the food wasn't cheap..that sums it all.
The menu at Le Mekong
We ordered Escargot's
Scallops
My assorted seafood speghetti
Sis's chicken breast
Sis and Mum and Le Mekong
After dinner, we went to collect our tailor made dresses and pants after final amendments. Then we decided that we deserve another massage..and so a bunch of us went again..now thats what i call a holiday!
My new pants! I've no idea why it looks so wide here
Powzhen and Huishan with their dresses
Day 5
Day 5 marks the last day of a short of fulfilling trip. Woke up bright and early at 6.30am though because i wanted to utilise the service apartment's facilities namely the gym and the swimming pool. After a nice workout and a cold swim, i went out to venture around the area on my own and look for breakfast.
Ended up at a Korean fast food chain outlet Lotteria which we all know they don't have in Singapore. Tried the burgers for myself and wasn't too impressed..paid around 42000VND for a double cheese burger and a cup of coke but no fries or any other thing. But at least i tried! And thats an experience!
Lotteria
The inside
My set meal
The double cheese burger
It was then time to leave and say good bye to Vietnam. Back to Singapore where i belong and back to damn work. We had lunch at the airport where they have a place serving Singapore Cuisines call Prima Taste.
Last goodbye to the apartment
In the airport
Mum and I in the airport
Mum and Sis in the airport
Jumping with joy
The view of the airstrip from the restaurant
Goh Family
Loh Family
Lim family with missing Sis
Choo Family
My US$7 hainanese chicken rice
Sis's japanese fried rice
Back to Singapore back to reality
It has been a fun trip. I learnt a lot of things and saw a lot of things. I can speak a few words of Vietnamese now.
1. Gam En - Thank you
2. Gam Gia - Discount
3. Bao Nu Dian - How much?
4. Mak Kwa - Expensive
So you can actually start a conversation like that.
You: Bao Nu Dian ah?
Stallholder: 50000VND
You: Mak Kwa!!!
You: Gam Gia lah!
Stallholder: Ok 5000VND
You: Gam En!!
Cool right? Ignore the terrible traffic condition there and Vietnam is actually quite a nice place to visit. I should think its quite a safe country too. Start planning now...throw away all work like me and enjoy!
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