Ho Chi Minh - 2 Dec 2011

Day 3, we explored Bin Tay Market or Cho Lon Market as the locals calls it. It's a little further than our hotel, about 20 minutes taxi ride. Almost like going to the outskirts. That day was hot and sunny.

people crossing road amidst all the oncoming vehicles

colourful building

can transport anything and everything via two-wheelers

telecomm wirings

bustling with activities

an old building

Come to think of it, we didn't see any caucasians while we were at this part of Ho Chi Minh.

Binh Tay Market

scooters and bikes everywhere

inside the market

Binh Tay Marlet is easier to walk around as compared to An Dong Market. Bought a couple of tshirts and dried fruits from there.

But pretty soon, we're done with shopping. Next stop, lunch!

banh mi

Didn't try any banh mi though. Our lunch place is a pho place called "Pho Hing" recommended by our hotel receptionist. Food was good. Our night entertainment is to visit a drinking place, so we chose to go back to downtown area to try The Refinery, but ended up at having dinner at its neighbour, Jaspas Wine & Grill.

After dinner, we went to the night market outside of Ben Thanh again! Hahaa, another round of  bargaining!

Ho Chi Minh - 1 Dec 2011

Day 2 began after breakfast in the hotel. We had enquired on the previous night on which are the places that locals usually go to when they go shopping. "An Dong Market." He said. And the prices there are supposed to be much cheaper than Ben Thanh.

So off to An Dong Market (near the corner of Tran Phu and An Duong Vuong) we went. By cab, of course. We had no inkling of how An Dong would look like!

An Dong Market

Arrived and saw a building that's both huge and old. Stepping inside, and I felt like I've entered a time-warp back to the olden days. Not exactly ancient, but it ain't modern.

Lots of stuffs sold in there. Food, dry goods, jewelleries at the basement while the higher levels sells stuffs ranging from jeans, clothes, shoes, underwear etc. But it was difficult to manouvre between aisles. Very very narrow and the shopkeepers were busy packing, checking goods, talking to their regulars etc.

Went through a few of those aisles but didn't get a chance to see the goods because there were always somebody who needed to pass through. Somehow, I felt as if I was intruding their spaces.

Gave up after a while and went outside for a breather.

outside of An Dong Market

Didn't manage to get anything from An Dong Market. Proceeded to the next location, which is to visit Saigon Central Post Office and Notre Dame Cathedral. My friend asked if I wanted to go post office to post letter (?). Hahaha, the intention is to at least see two of the famous landmarks in the city.

Central Post Office, designed and constructed by Gustave Eiffel (yep, the same man who designed Eiffel Tower)

closer view, Gothic architectural style

inside Central Post Office

Outside of the Central Post Office, was approached by a lady selling postcards (10 pieces for VND20,000). Also met an elderly man selling silk painting for USD5.

man and his painting, outside of Central Post Office

The Notre Dame Cathedral is nearby, so went over to snap some pictures as well. Visitors who wish to enter the cathedral, do take note of its opening hours for public.


 

Notre Dame Cathedral, believed to be constructed between 1863 and 1880

statue of Virgin Mary in front of the cathedral

opening hours and mass schedule

since 1880

After that, we decided to walk, so we walked and walked. Along the way, we saw these.

looks mangled, but it works somehow

not sure what these were, but makes a nice pic, don't you think?

 

in Japan? Non, in Ho Chi Minh ;)

Lush, ranked #19/57 entertainment in HCM by Lonely Planet

We walked and walked and somehow ended at a place where there were lots of Japanese eateries. So decided to lunch at Hana Mizuki restaurant at Le Thanh Ton street.

After lunch, we went to a massage place for foot massage.

inclusive of tips, total is USD10

Apparently, if you're a guy, the girl masseur will attend to you and if you're a girl, then your masseur will be a guy. Hmmm...

The massage was interesting. For the head massage, seems like they use something similar to tiger balm and dot the cream on the temple. This massage place will knead the feet thoroughly and uses hot stone at the later stage. Not sure why, but the guy masseur who's attending to my friend, likes to giggle everytime we made eye-contact.

After the massage, we went to have coffee break at a place called Creperie and Cafe, near the Cathedral.

night view at Creperie and Cafe

This is also the only place where we noticed people eating the street-side snack pancake (banh xeo).

yummy thin crispy pancake

Next, we explored the night market outside of Ben Thanh.

night market

big cars can't enter the market but scooters still can

The night market, is a place where you can buy things at a good price. Do bargain before you buy. Most of the stall owners here are friendlier than Ben Thanh market.

We wanted to try Saigon's nightlife, but Lush was closed for renovations till 9 December 2011. So, ended up at a nearby restaurant for dinner instead.

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.