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 - Asian Ruby 3 Hotel

Located at 100 Le Lai Street, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City. Sometimes the taxi stops across the street, other times it'll drive up to the slope in front of the hotel!

hotel signage

outside of the hotel

the street right outside of the hotel

The hotel bellboys were very helpful. They even came out and crossed the street to get our luggage when we had just arrived and was having slight difficulty in crossing the busy road.

hotel lobby

retro looking phone

The hotel has free internet wifi! Woohoo! Plus points.

twin deluxe room

power socket underneath the table

safe and minibar (just remember that the slippers are not complimentary~)

The room was well equipped, and the bed was nicely soft and comfortable. Just that the room doesn't have much of a window view. Mine looked out to a staircase corner.

bathtub with rain and handheld shower

reminds me of CSI....

toothbrush (and paste), shampoo, cotton bud, shower cap and comb

Just remember to bring your own shower gel because it is not provided. You'll also need to bring world travel adapter, as the power socket expects slanted legs.

complimentary drinks (the kettle is inside the bathroom)

Breakfast is provided, so we usually ate in the hotel. Breakfast ends at 10am.

breakfast spread

There's the usual bread corner and you can toast your own bread. The breakfast spread usually includes eggs, bacon, sausages, small muffins and cakes, juices, coffee/tea/milk, cereals, fruits, mini-springrolls with vegetables, fried rice/noodles/pasta, meat item such as stewed pork ribs/stewed beef/squids/chicken, porridge and soup. There's also a pho booth.

mix of everything

yummy mini-spring roll

pho

minced pork porridge but they called it "ground meat soup"? The spring roll and vegetable was added by me for decoration.. hahaa

this cake is yummy and sweet!

freshly toasted bread (by yourself of course) with butter and cheese

remember to put some ice into the concentrated juice

bacon and egg on bread smothered with butter, equals yummy! Too bad don't have baked beans

plain porridge with salted egg and fish floss (quite salty)

There were some minor variations for the breakfast items from day to day, so it wasn't that boring on the second and third day. Quite good for a 3-star hotel, imho.

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.