And so we made it for our 1st so-called graduation trip. Or more like a bootcamp I tell you! More details on why later on. So we made it for virgin flight together at Budget Terminal, my 1st too on a budget flight. We travelled by Tiger Airways. Not too bad. 2 hours flight. All photos coutesy of Ms Sarah Nabilah, the only one who brought a camera. :)
Still looking rather fresh when we arrived at 8.40am SGN time which is 1 hour slower than in SG, 9.40am SG. Wasn't expecting much but Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh city was rather pleasant looking. Ho Chi Minh City was formerly known as Saigon. Was greeted by our airport transfer service from airport to hotel. A funny scrawny-looking man; held my name upside down. Haha! Arriving at hotel, Nguyen Khang Hotel around 15mins after. The city around looked very much like Singapore back in the 70s.
Yes. Leave your shoes at the ground level and walk around in the hotel barefoot. It was a budget hotel. Quite good though with air-con, attached toilet, tv and free wifi for 20usd per night! Walked around to grab small bites before starting on our Vietnam adventure! Exciting much! Encountered a small mishap while walking around the streets but all is well now.
NOTE: DO NOT TAKE PHOTOS OR VIDEOS WITH YOUR HP BESIDE A ROAD IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES.
1st stop: Handicapped Handicrafts.
A little on Vietnam history, Vietnam War took place in 1954 where Vietnam suffered terribly against US. It was a long terrible war lasting for about 17 years. The infamous weapon used by the US was this chemical agent called Agent Orange which left many crippled and altering human DNA for so far 3 generations already. Very tragic. So these handicapped people were given jobs by the govt to create the popular lacquered items. Very pretty! Made of wood, egg shells, mother pearls and of course, lacquer.
2nd stop: Cu Chi Tunnel.
Pronounced as Gucci k, not cuci. LOL.
Here was where the real action began. Feeling-feeling ala war time. Haha. We witnessed the real tunnels the Vietnamese soldiers dug through to safe guard against the US soldiers. It was very elaborate and had 3 storeys underneath. The horror for a claustrophobic person! The entrance to the tunnel is VERY small and obviously only Feeza could fit in. HAHA. Vietnam people are known to be very resilient and strong-willed and so the reason the war was soooo long and that Vietnam emerged winner!
3rd stop: To get some famous Vietnam coffee and sweet fruits!
Much haggling and overpriced items left us angry and hungry! (Since we very much hadn't had food since light breakfast and it was 5pm already) If you zoom in the pic below, you can see how angry I was. Damn, I must be really hungry. LOL.
4th stop: FOOD!
Finally some food people! Hungry like mad. Everyone should try pho noodle (or noolde, typo error in the menu, HAHA) at least once in their lifetime cause it rock! Seriously. The popular dish is pho/ beef noodle and spring rolls which are both extremely delish! Now I feel like getting some pho noodle. *drools*
5th stop: Ben Than Market
Not too bad. But it closes at 6.30pm SGN/ 7.30pm SG so by 8 we were back at the hotel. Fruitful 1st day. More to come on the rest of the trip! :))
Tạm biệt!
Here was where the real action began. Feeling-feeling ala war time. Haha. We witnessed the real tunnels the Vietnamese soldiers dug through to safe guard against the US soldiers. It was very elaborate and had 3 storeys underneath. The horror for a claustrophobic person! The entrance to the tunnel is VERY small and obviously only Feeza could fit in. HAHA. Vietnam people are known to be very resilient and strong-willed and so the reason the war was soooo long and that Vietnam emerged winner!
3rd stop: To get some famous Vietnam coffee and sweet fruits!
Much haggling and overpriced items left us angry and hungry! (Since we very much hadn't had food since light breakfast and it was 5pm already) If you zoom in the pic below, you can see how angry I was. Damn, I must be really hungry. LOL.
4th stop: FOOD!
Finally some food people! Hungry like mad. Everyone should try pho noodle (or noolde, typo error in the menu, HAHA) at least once in their lifetime cause it rock! Seriously. The popular dish is pho/ beef noodle and spring rolls which are both extremely delish! Now I feel like getting some pho noodle. *drools*
5th stop: Ben Than Market
Not too bad. But it closes at 6.30pm SGN/ 7.30pm SG so by 8 we were back at the hotel. Fruitful 1st day. More to come on the rest of the trip! :))
Tạm biệt!
