Ho Chi Minh Nov 2007

This is a gonna be a very disjointed messy post, cos I don't know where to start and how to organise it! And there's too many things to put up and i'm lazy so this is the gist of it!

There were a few 1sts for me in this trip, 1st..

• Flight on a budget airline
• Flight on Tiger Air
• Trip to Vietnam

Basically the itinary of the trip was SIN-HCH(1Night)-Dalat(2Nights)-HCH(2Nights)-SIN
Although it's very dusty but you can tell the people there value cleanliness cos they really bother to keep their place clean. Things there are quite cheap compared to Singapore but then again our currency is stronger so that's kinda expected.

For me, I liked the shopping there but not really the tourist spots. I think I like 'disneyfied' tourist spots more, but then i suppose if that were the case then entrance fees would be more expensive.

At the end of everything, I don't think I'd go back there to visit the tourist spots, but I'll go back to shop and eat Pho!!

Vietnam Dong and USD are accepted at most places.

Ho Chi Minh
Accomodation - Hong Hoa Hotel
Quite a low cost clean and decent place, and it's jus beside Sinh Cafe!
Cons: No hair dryer and hot water flask but u can easily get a hair wash at a salon and purchase drinking water at the grocery store!

Tour Agency - Sinh Cafe
Decent travel agency. But watch out if you change $$ with their money changer! They tried to short change my dad and almost cheated him of $60!!

Cu Chi Tunnels
Apparently the people of Cu Chi dug 3 level tunnels (!!!) for warfare purposes. They lived in there are traveled through them too.



The tunnels were hidden unless you knew signs to look for them.










They made simple but deadly weapon traps, it kinda chilled my blood!



Innocent looking pit ready to be disguised


Step into it and OUCH, 4 pins in your leg!


Looks like some insect nest but it's not! the tunnels even had hidden air ducts!



You get to shoot AK14s and some other gun too!! Ok, this is probably no big deal for the guys but... hey I've always wanted to shoot a gun ;)

Honestly the sounds were loud and scary, made me scared to try!!




And finally you get to try going into the tunnels...
Warning, you have to prepare your self physically before going for this or... you can be like me and have your thighs ache for the next 3 days!!








Actually although the next picture look bright BUT it's dark like hell!! I couldn't see nuts in there!! I had the camera in 1 hand and my nokia in the other as a torch light!

And it's quite low so most of the times i'm duck walking



Reunification Palace






Ben Thanh Market
There were 2 markets I visited in HCM, one was a smaller market, mainly for fresh food and the other is Ben Thanh Market where you can buy bags, lacquer-ware and tee-shirts.

I think it's better to go in the morning, somehow they are more keen to sell then and also don't forget to bargain!

Manicure & Pedicure @ Kitty Salon
It's really cheap to do mani over there, me and deb did nail art and my uncle did mani and pedi and it only costs 150000 dong (tt's like $15 sing)!!





When back there to get a pedi




Dalat
Nothing much interesting but if you enjoy cold weather you can consider heading there.
They are known for persimmons and jams.

Box of strawberries for $1!! Not all were pretty but it's like $1 so can't complain!



Chicken Village
Named like that cos there's a stature of a huge chicken there erected for some lady who died for love or something

The people there grow veggie and make handicraft and incense sticks for a living.



There's a cute doggy there who knows how to pray!!


XQ Hand Embroidery
To me the thing that was most out standing and disneyfied is xq hand embroidery, the embroidery there was really amazing (and pricey!!) from far it would look like a printed picture but when u get closer you'll see it's actually embroidery, the skill level is amazing! Far from what most people will ever get with cross stitch!