HO CHI MINH 27/4 - 30/4/2012

LCCT

So we decided to fly to Ho Chi Minh, my eldest &  younger sister, my doter & me. Those ppl who are very very close to me. Family members who really knows me. Ok , so on 27/4 Friday, around 11.00am all of us got together at LCCT, my sisters fly all the way to LCCT from KB. Bersemangat sungguh kan. My brother, my younger sister & bro-in-law were with us too till we fly abroad (said my doter = abroad). 

Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

The flight took about two hours before we landed at Tan Son Nhat International Airport. We reached there around 4.30pm M'sia time The time different is one hour later than malaysia. 

From the airport we took a cab, straight to our hotel Saigon Pink 2 Hotel at Ben Thanh Market. All the way to the hotel, i noticed that Ho Chi Minh indah rupa dari kabar... really along the road, i don't see any rubbish bersepah like at our Chow Kit or our Jalan TAR, it was considered clean, no eye sore. Really i was surprised . 

Ho Chi Minh Traffic

The traffic, my doter sat in the front seat, keep pressing on the imaginary brake pedal. I think thousands of motorcycles on their road & they just ride  like they own the road, don't bother of any other road users. I think to ride a bike or drive in Ho Chi Minh, u must be really brave. If not you will just die like frog kene lenyek. We were informed that their govt encourage their ppl to ride bikes since their population very high. So there are less cars.

Taxi - Taxi Driver

By the way, their taxi very clean & smell nice, no sweat smell like our taxis, the driver nicely dress, with white shirt & necktie. 

The Hotel 

We reached our hotel & was happy with the hotel, the room is clean & comfortable. Sadly we didn't get the room with the window. Actually we booked one room for four of us, since there was no room for 4, they gave us 2 rooms without additional charges. The staffs were friendly. The best part, our hotel located only 10 steps to the Ben Thanh Day Market & less than 5 minutes to the nite market. See how convenience. And in-front of our hotel there is a stall selling halal food by Hajah Bashirah.

First Nite

So we rest for a while, pray and after maghrib we walked to the nite market. First stall we passed, the traders start calling us, in English & Malay. They can also speak malay. There are Melayu Champa traders, who mostly sells baju kurung, kain pasang & telekong. So we splited, looking for what our heart desire. It was not crowded, maybe it was still early. First nite, we already start spending & shopping. They accept, dong, ringgit & of cos USD. Luckily we brought currency exchange table, so we checked which currency to use & which  gave us more saving. Tapi pening lah jg. 

2nd day -  Mekong River

We managed to arrange a trip to Mekong River, visiting the handicraft factory, bersampan di Mekong River, berbot ke pulau where they make handmade coconut candy. With 3 meals, it cost us USD 25 Ok lah tu. The tourguide who we found at the nite market arrange decent food, cooked at the mosque. It was a very memorable experience, especially bersampan along sungai mekong, where during war time, the area Vietcong were hiding & dangerous ground for US army. The traffic along the river just like at Ho Chi Minh road. On the way back, we rode a boat, it was heavy rain, but really it was fun. 

And here also, there were place to shop, i didn't buy anything here. 

Back to the hotel, after maghrib, menapak lg ke nite market. This time everyone dah tau how to shop, how to bargain, so byk ler RM, Dong & USD yg berpindah tangan. 

3rd. Day - Pasar Borong

Pagi2 lagi around 7.00 am Viet. time, we all menapak to day market. Here mostly the goods are sold at fixed price. No bargain2 lah. But i manage to get 1 sandals and 2 pieces of cloth & terus buat baju kurung (which after siap, very disappointed, don't want to talk about it, really frustrated).

Then we went tp pasar borong, which all goods sold in bulk & fixed price too. I bought few shirts here. Really like the shirt. 

Nite, apa lagi, nite market lg. It was our last nite here. So watever we wanted to buy, this was the nite. 

Balik hotel, my God, our luggage were exceeded the baggage we bought for our flight. All of us, sibuk added baggage weight, asked family members in M'sia to do dat for us. 

Our Luggage

So packing time, came with one bag, went back with 2 bags.... hahaha...  nice one.

Last day

Bye2 Ho Chi Minh, i would love to come again, it was a really nice trip. 4 days 3 nite, just nice, before we started to miss our M'sia food. 

Conclusion

It was nice, Ho Chi Minh i considered is a save place to go. We lost on the way back fr nite market, we have no fear at all, not like the feeling i had when i walked at Chow Kit or Masjid India. HCM is clean, ppl are very friendly, but of cos, since i was quite fussy i don't just buy drinks at the roadside. 

Overall 4 days 3 nite just nice. Those we are very fussy with cleanliness & halal food, make sure u bring enough food. I brought bread, maggi, cereal & coffee 3 in 1. I think for woman it will not be a problem, cos as long as we can shop, we forget about food.