3. Lost in Translation story --- On our way to the Mekong Delta (My Tho & Ben Tre), the tour bus made a stop at a gas station. We decided to go down to buy some chichiria. It was raining (just a quick downpour) that time. When it was my turn to pay, thinking that it's healthy to do some small talk with the lady at the cashier, I asked her, "Does it rain here everyday?" A simple question really. Not realizing that Vietnamese are not that adept with the English language, she replied, with confusion all over her face, "Huh?" So I repeated my question, this time slowly and hopefully clearly. She finally replied (in a hurried manner) "Yes, over there" pointing to the rain outside. So not to insult her or anything, and also for my or rather our safety (are familiar with the word "kuyug"?), I just politely replied, "Ahhhh. Thank you" and walked away. *grin*
4. Highlands Coffee. They said Trung Nguyen is the Starbucks of HCMC. We, unfortunately, weren't able to go to any of their cafes. We saw a lot of Highlands Coffee around HCMC. Having worked for more than 10 years serving Pacific countries, I thought Highlands carried Papua New Guinea coffee. I was wrong. Highlands Coffee is actually Vietnamese-owned and only serves the finest coffee grown in Vietnam. What we actually love about Highlands Coffee (particularly the branch near our hotel, Pham Ngu Lao cor. Nhuyen Thai Hoc Sts.) were the free use of wifi and laptops (they had around 4 laptops for customers) and the nice view on the second floor where we people-watched (e.g., bikers, taxis, street crossers, overnight buses, pirated Lonely Planet books, etc).
6. Lido Health Spa. Darrell's favorite part of the trip *grin*
7. FOOOOD! For the first 3 days, since we had a tour bus to catch at 8:00am, our breakfast was mainly western like omelette, pancakes, plus Vietnam's famous iced coffee (brewed black coffee with condensed milk), etc., because we thought they're the fastest to be prepared. There's actually a number of restaurants beside Sinh Cafe (the tour company)--like Gon Cafe, Cappuccino (where we ate breakfast while waiting for the bus to to take us to our next destination). Darrell had pho bo for breakfast during our first day (he couldn't wait). Btw, Vietnamese people do eat pho bo for breakfast (lunch and dinner even). We also had our share of pho bo (beef noodle soup served with almost bottomless mint, cilantro, basil, lime, bean sprouts, and sliced chili peppers for that added uummpph) at Pho 2000 (where Bill Clinton ate pho some years back), Pho 24, Than Noi, and at the street food beside Ben Thanh Market. My favorite would be the beef stew noodles at the pho restaurant at the corner of Pham Ngu Lao and Do Quang Dau Sts. *tummy happy*
That's Pam and me. Obvious na happy kame sa food namen, diba?
8. Sinh Cafe. What better way to see HCMC but to join a tour to see and learn more about Vietnam. Sinh Cafe tour fee includes use of aircon bus (clean), a tour guide (friendly), and free bottled water at every trip.
9. The Sights. Our first day, we joined the Mekong Delta Trip (My Tho and Ben Tre). According to Wikipedia.org, "the Mekong River is one of the world's major rivers. It is the world's 10th longest river and the 7th longest in Asia. From the Tibetan Plateau, it runs through China, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam."
It took us 2 hours to travel from HCMC to the province of My Tho. From the port, we rode a motorized boat to the small islands (Ben Tre) on the Mekong River. Included in our itinerary were a visit to orchards, a bee-keeping farm, a place where they manufacture coconut candies, and also where they make rice paper (we were able to taste samples). Free lunch and merienda of fresh tropical fruits while listening to traditional music were included in the tour. We also got to ride on a horse drawn carriage -- Vietnamese style (with matching cone-shaped straw hat). It was a different experience.
Cao Dai Temple and Cu Chi Tunnels
For our second day, we booked ourselves for the Cao Dai Temple and Cu Chi Tunnels Tour. Another 2 hours of bus ride brought us to the Tay Ninh. It is said that the temple was "built on 9 levels that represent nine steps to heaven at which you will see a prayer session at noon. Caodaism is a Vietnamese religion with its philosophy based on Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and Christianity. Its tenets include believing in one God, the existence of the soul and the ability to communicate with the spiritual world." Btw, we also stopped by a Handicapped Handicrafts store.
After 15-20 minutes at the Cao Dai Temple, we proceeded to Cu Chi to see the Ben Dinh Tunnels, famous for its network of tunnels where the Vietnamese used as their kitchen, accommodation, meeting place, weapon factory, hospital during the Vietnamese-American War. We were first shown a documentary film about the war, its heroes, and the history of the tunnels. Impressive and also made me want to read about Vietnam's history. Interesting!
Cost: VND 140,000 + VND 75,000 (for the entrance fee to the tunnels) (P570++)
Ho Chi Minh City Tour
Included in the tour were:
Giam Lam Pagoda (and around China Town): Built in 1744, believed to be the oldest in the city. Very serene, a good place to relax and meditate.
Binh Tay Market: We were not able to shop, since we only stayed there for 15-20 minutes. We just agreed that if we want to buy something from Binh Tay, we'll just come back the next day.
Thien Hau Temple: Said to be the most active in Cholon in HCMC.
Another Handicapped Handicraft store in HCMC:
Reunification Hall: Built in 1966. Old, grand, beautiful, but old. We thought it was extra hot that day, but I guess it was just that the whole building was not well ventilated and we had a lot of stair climbing to do to move from one area to another inside the building. Should have brought an extra shirt. (Entrance Fee: VND 15,000)
Notre Dame Cathedral: Said to be built between 1877 and 1883. It's quite old, but seem to be well maintained. We weren't able to get in because there was an ongoing mass but we heard mass there the next day (Sunday). English mass is held once a week, 9:30am on Sundays.
General Post Office: French-era post office just accross the Notre Dame Cathedral. Impressive interiors!
War Remnants Museum: The museum displays war relics and photos that will surely break your heart. I must admit that I couldn't look at the pictures of victims of the war. Depressing place for me.
Tour Cost: VND 140,000
10. SHOPPING!!!!
It was a good, enlightening trip (and cheap too). Would love to go back!
Special Thanks to Kuya Paul, Ate Jennifer and Chiqui =)
More pics here.
