Chao Saigon!

It's been a while mga teh! After almost 7 months of silence, I'm back para kuwentuhan kayong muli, mga teh...

This time, Teh and my travel buddy, Ria goes to Indochina. And our first stop is at Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam.

It's been a while, A320. ^_^

We alighted at Tan Son Nhat International Airport at around 12:30 AM local time (GMT+7). Something na hindi ko makalimutan about this airport is that they do not have immigration checkpoint sa arrival. Nagulat kami ni Ria na palabas na pala ng airport ang pintong natanaw namin pagkakuha ng gamit. Para sa isang komunistang bansa, Teh expected a very heavy security. Hmm, how come?

Aerial view of HCMC (Top);
Tan Son Nhat International Airport (Bottom)

Sa labas ng baggage claiming area, pinuntahan nina Teh and Ria ang booth ng SASCO airport taxi to fetch a taxi and for currency exchange beside it. And you need to pay a small fee (which is around PHP 50 when converted) para sa airport taxi.

Anyway, tip lang mga teh. Since US Dollar (USD) is widely accepted in Vietnam, it is highly recommended na magbaon nito. Aside from that, it will be very helpful kung puro small bills ang dala ninyo para kung sakaling magfu-food trip or magsho-shopping kayo sa streets ng HCMC, hindi kayo mahirapan. Madalas kasi, 'pag masyadong malaki ang bill ninyo, masusuklian kayo ng Vietnam Dong (VND). Well, okay lang din namang magkaroon kahit konting VND pero at least before leaving Vietnam, you must be able to use all of them, unless may plano kayong bumalik ng Vietnam. Well, kami ni Ria, nagpapalit kaming konti para kung sakaling kailanganin may magamit.

Palit-palit din ng money 'pag may time. :3

Eh bakit nga ba ayaw ni Teh gumamit ng VND? Kasi ang laki ng values ng pera nila. Napapakamot-ulo kami minsan mag-compute. (1 PHP ≈ 500 VND). Siguro para mas madali, lagay kayo ng imaginary decimal point after 3 zeros to the left then x2 para ma-convert sa pera natin. ^_^

Expectators nina Teh and Ria. Hi fans! (Charaught lang). :)))

Tandaan ninyo ang taxing ito. >_<

Unfortunately, despite the fact na sinalubong kami ng maraming fans (kasi ang dami talagang tao paglabas namin promise), medyo minalas kami sa nasakyang taxi dahil masyadong maangal. Akala ni Teh, sa Pilipinas lang may mareklamong taxi driver. Aside from the payment to SASCO airport taxi booth, napilitan pa kaming magbigay ng tip. Eh dahil maangal yung taxi driver, USD 1 lang binigay namin sa kanya. Hashtag: #MukhaMoKuya. >_<

Vinasun Taxi - maaasahan sa oras ng pangangailangan. :3

Eto rin kasi ang problema kapag hindi kayo masyadong nag-prepare ng malaliman para sa trip. May mga sablay factors na hindi maiiwasan. Buti na lang, at na-research pa namin on-the-spot ang most credible taxi company in HCMC ~ Vinasun Taxi! Walang kaangal-angal ang mga drayber at no hidden charges pa. At mukhang pwede pang gumamit ng credit card. :)))

Welcome, welcome! :)
(Sorry na, hindi mabasa 'yung tips...)

For the lodging, finding a hotel along Bou Vien street is highly recommended by different travelers. And along Bou Vien, we had chosen the Saigon Mini Hotel since sa Agoda, magaganda naman ang feedback sa hotel na ito. This lessened the risk that we will end up in a no-good hotel. They even have list of tips for tourists na very worthwhile to read before going out to the city jungle. ;)

Ang room na naibigay sa amin, although medyo masikip, ay malinis at very comfortable. Beyond expectations, actually, dahil mura lang ang lodging dito. Ang verdict nina Teh? Havey na havey! ^_^

Pose time! ^_^
Kahit pagod at antok na... -_-

Ang pagpili ng kakainin ay mahirap dahil mukhang masarap lahat.
Struggle itu. :3

A perk that you get when booking in Saigon Mini Hotel is that meron silang restaurant which serves very delicious Vietnamese dishes. Bou Vien has been a rice noodle paradise para sa amin ni Ria. Ang sarap ng luto kahit saan! ^_^

Saigon Mini Hotel restaurant on the Penthouse. :)

Another beauty that I've appreciated in Saigon Mini Hotel's Restaurant is its location ~ the morning rooftop view! Well, parang Binondo lang ang peg, pero the morning felt so good na nagustuhan namin ang simpleng view sa rooftop. While enjoying the rooftop view, Teh and Ria recommend the Pho[1] Set meal, chicken or beef, kung anuman ang bet mo, with water and your choice of beverage. The best way to start your morning in Saigon... ^_^

For the first day, we had decided na puntahan muna ang Cu Chi tunnel, which is around 1-2 hours away from Ho Chi Minh city center. (Full story in a separate post...) Pupuntahan din sana namin ang Cao Dai temple, which is around 40 minutes away from the city center. Kaya lang wrong timing pala ang punta nina Teh, dahil sarado ang Cao Dai temple for the whole month of February to give way to a certain celebration (na hindi na namin inalam dahil malungkot na kami). Isa pa man din 'yun sa talagang gustong puntahan ni Teh, out of curiosity for Caodaism. So may rason si Teh para bumalik dito. :) Well anyway, enough of the bitterness as we had to continue the journey... *sob*

After visiting the Cu Chi tunnels, before sundown, we headed back to the city center para mag-shopping. We also decided to maximize our stay by shopping in the late afternoon till evening. Pagod, pero worth it. And shopping lead us to the famous Ben Thanh Market.

Chao, Ben Thanh Market!

Pero siyempre, out of pagod, nag-food trip muna kami ni Ria. Before going here, we have read na masarap mag-food trip sa loob ng Ben Thanh Market. Isa sa mga principles namin ni Ria sa pagpili ng makakainan ay kapag maraming kumakain, most likely masarap kumain doon. And so, we found ourselves having fun with Banh Cuon[2] at Lan Hue Banh Cuon. Matatagpuan ito sa bandang gitna ng market. On the spot, after you order, saka nila gagawin para fresh na fresh. Served with typical Vietnamese starter salad and special dip. Mukhang konti pero mabubusog ka dahil heavy ito sa tiyan. Dish price ranges from VND 30,000 to 40,000 (Php 60 to 80). Sulit na sulit! :3

Banh Cuon is ♥... :3
Choose your stuffing - pork or shrimp. ^_^

Dahil nakapag-recharge na kami ni Ria ng energy, namili na kami ng mga pasalubong. Since we only had 1.5 days stay at HCMC, kailangang naka-pack na agad-agad ang mga gamit namin during Day 1 para hindi ma-delay sa itinerary. Baka maiwanan ng bus kinabukasan. ~_~

Dried fruits, Vietnam coffee and tea at Vietnam noodles. ^_^

While going around the market, we came across stall number 1053 at dito kami na-salestalk para bumili ng Vietnam coffee at dried langka. Super bait ng isa sa mga vendor doon (lower left pic ng collage) dahil sinamahan pa niya sina Teh na maghanap ng dried coconut at pack ng Vietnam rice noodles. One thing na hindi ko makakalimutan sa kanya is that, after niya kami sinamahan, bibigyan sana namin siya ng tip. I was really surprised na tumanggi siya, and at the same time, Teh learned two things - that Viets are not really into tips (well, except dun sa taxi driver na nakuwento ko kanina...) and marami pa ring taong gumagawa ng mabuti sa kapwa nang walang kapalit. Thank you, kuyang taga-stall 1053, for reminding me this. :)

Ang mga pinabili at nabili (Top), 
ang namili (Bottom-Left)
at ang nagtinda (Bottom-Right)...
Bow!

Another mall that you should not miss is the Saigon Square. Just walk few blocks away from Ben Thanh Market, at may access ka na sa mga cheap North Face bags. Well, maniniwala ba kayong original sila (except for the biggest bag, kasi walang stock ng original) kung sasabihin ni Teh na nasa Php 850 to Php 1200 ang price range ng mga bags na ito? Almost x4 kasi ang price ng mga ito pagdating dito sa Pilipinas. And yes, these are original as inspected by Teh and Ria. Hindi naman nakakapagtaka 'yun dahil sa Vietnam pino-produce ang mga North Face bags. So when in Saigon Square, just look for the very shy teh in the photo (oh yes, she is very shy dahil ayaw niyang humarap sa camera, though I asked permission naman) and she will sell you authentic TNF bags. Tip lang mga teh, to know that the bag is authentic, look for a monochrome seal sa loob ng bag. That is the proof that the bag is original[3].

Now we go back to our home in HCMC - one of the happiest places on Earth during nightfall - the Bou Vien street! Party-party kahit sobrang Haggarda Versoza na ang arrive namin. Medyo hindi lang gets ni Teh kung ano ang ganap sa kalsada at lahat ng umiinom at kumakain eh nakaharap sa kalsada. :)))

Bou Vien at night. Very lively! ^_^

Pig-out at Mimosa Restaurant.
Ang sarap ng Saigon beer. ^_^

Sa dami ng makakainan dito, nag-set sina Teh ng guidelines (meganon?) sa pagpili ng kainan. Una, dapat ang kainan ay nagse-serve ng Vietnamese dishes. At pangalawa, dapat maraming kumakain, tulad nang peg namin habang naghahanap ng makakainan sa Ben Thanh Market. And we ended up choosing Mimosa Restaurant. ^_^

Dahil super love ni Teh ang Pho, kahit palaging 'yun, 'yun at 'yun pa rin ang inoorder ko. Dito rin namin nasimulang ma-tripan ni Ria na i-try lahat ng local beers ng mga mapupuntahan namin. So dahil 1 night lang kami sa Vietnam, pinili na namin ang inoorder ng karamihan - the Saigon[4] beer. :)

Well, in the morning, parang wala lang ang street na ito. Pero still, marami pa ring yummy restaurants na open kaya 'wag mangamba para sa breakfast at lunch. ^_^

The mornings at Bou Vien. Very quiet. ~_~

Breakfast at Saigon Noodle Soup House before the city tour:
Walang-kamatayang Pho at Vegetable Pancake :D

Quick lunch at Santa Cafe:
Garlic Tofu Rice for Teh and Croissant for Teh Ria :3

And this ends the summary of Teh and Ria's tour in HCMC, Vietnam. Sa susunod na post ni Teh, idi-detalye ko sa inyo ang mga ganap sa Cu Chi Tunnels. Thank you for visiting! ^_^

~ Vocabulary/Sources ni Teh ~

[1] Pho - Vietnamese rice noodle soup

[2] Banh Cuon - rolled Vietnamese rice cake with stuffings inside. Pork or shrimp, anuman ang bet mo. :D

[3] TNF Bag Authenticity - before gumora si Teh sa HCMC, na-google ko ang blog na ito:                                      http://welscua.blogspot.com/2012/03/vietnam-north-face-bags-authentic-or.html 

[4] Saigon - old name of Ho Chi Minh City