Ho Chi Minh - 30 Nov 2011

DIY trip to Ho Chi Minh with a small group of friends. Flew from Changi Airport Terminal 1 via Jetstar. Weather was good, bright and sunny.

nice weather

The flight time was just 1.5 hours and we arrived at Tan Son Nhat airport at about 1.15pm (Vietnam time). Did some minor research on the transportation from airport to hotel. Can read the information here. In short, we were looking for Vinasun or Mai Linh taxis, and according to the info, we should head up to the departure hall instead. So that was what we did. Departure hall is at Level 2, and we walked towards the right end and voila, we found the taxi stand.

uh oh, not Vinasun nor Mai Linh...

So we waited for a short while, and a Vinasun cab came by...

metered taxi

Next we indicated that we want to take the cab, showed the taxi driver our destination address and out of nowhere, the taxi warden came by and passed us a slip.

if taking cab from airport, think they'll give you one of this

sights along the way

lots of scooters

sights along the way

Our cab driver doesn't talk, and the drive from airport to hotel took about 26 minutes. Passed by some parks, and it looked like the locals like to be at the park. The cab fare from the hotel is as indicated by the meter + airport toll fees (VND10,000), so in total, we paid about VND150,000 for the ride.

Taxi stopped opposite of our hotel and we need to cross the road with our luggage! Hahaha, what a way to experience the Vietnam way of road crossing on our arrival! I was left behind (me not much of a road crosser!) and was wondering how on earth to get across when the porter from the hotel came out to get me (or rather, my luggage). So, followed him and reached the hotel just fine.

outside of the hotel

hotel signboard

After checking-in, we walked to Ben Thanh Market. It's a touristry place, so the prices of the goods there are usually higher than other places. But of course, we didn't realise how much higher it was till later. Walked for about 10~15 minutes to get there and need to cross a few streets too. Very 'exciting'.

Ben Thanh Market across the road

Found our lunch place, Pho24, and we had our first taste of Vietnam. Can read about the food review here.

walking towards Ben Thanh Market (Chợ Bến Thành), can see Bitexco Financial Tower at the back

inside the market

inside Ben Thanh market

Alot of stuffs being sold there; ranging from coffee (beans, powder, instant etc), tshirts, pots and pans, food, bags, souvenirs etc.

In general, the tshirts has 2 different qualities; good and not so good. The not so good quality, expect to pay no more than VND50,000 for it. The better quality (cotton) ones, usually will be above VND90,000. To know which is which, you can touch the quality of the fabric, and look at the threads at its seams. Try not to do all your shopping at this touristry place. There are other places that you can explore that'll give more bang for your money.
 
Most of the vendors in touristry areas will know a smattering of English and sometimes Mandarin. And if they ever need you to wait, they'll say, "One minute." Although, they might be gone for 5. Hahaa!

street vendor lady walking by with her wares

After we're done with Ben Thanh market, we walked out to explore somemore. It was still too early for dinner.

colourful facade

these monuments are quite common in Ho Chi Minh city especially at roundabouts

After walking for some 20 minutes, we came across a coffee house; Trung Nguyen. Can find many of these franchises in the city.

Trung Nguyen coffee

After having coffee, we went to do somemore shopping at Saigon Square 3. It's an airconditioned place and the spacing between shops are much more comfortable.

Then, it was back to the hotel before going off to Ty Coz Saigon for a french cuisine dinner. We heard from the hotel receptionist that for most French restaurants in the city, it will be wise to make a reservation first. So we asked for her help in doing that, which she kindly did.

Took a cab to the restaurant, and the fare was cheap. The food was good. We had a leisurely dinner for almost 3 hours, before heading back to the hotel.

Found a cute little girl with her mother just outside our hotel so we said our greetings and interacted with the pair. Friendly encounter to end off our first night in Ho Chi Minh city.