Experience Places: Vietnam in four days (Day 1)

November 2010, we booked flight going to Ho Chi Minh City travelling 08/01/2011 to 11/01/2011. We got the cheapest air fare using Tiger Airways. We only paid about S$ 182.00 for the back and forth fare. We have more than one month to prepare for the trip. Places to visit, things to do, form of transportation, travel agencies and the cheapest hotel.

Tan Son Nhat International Airport



See Vietnam in one click using the wikipedia and the wikitravel. We visited Ho Chi Minh and Nha Trang. Ho Chi Minh is full of interesting history. The city as a whole is combined with old and new. Seeing old buildings which is like a travel to the past. New buildings in the middle of Ho Chi Minh also known as Saigon is just like the famous building in Dubai. Nha Trang is just the right place to relax and experience big waves by the beach facing the South China Sea.



Landing Visa Counter at HCM Airport



Upon arriving at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport around 9 o'clock in the morning, I was amazed how beautiful the airport compared to other countries. It feels like I never left Singapore. As I set foot the airport, I initially look for the information desk. They have maps of Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) and a booklet about Vietnam.

Our first stop is to get the landing visa for both my friends from China and France. Luckily, I don't need to get VISA since Philippines is a part of ASEAN. Changing currency to Vietnam Dong is best at the Tan Son Nhat Airport. During our trip, 1 Singapore Dollars is 15,500 Vietnam Dong which is better compared if you change at HCM city. I change 100SGD and felt like a millionaire after seeing 7 digits on the receipt.

As we got out of the airport, we have the option to take a cab and a bus to go the city. We are starving and looked for food just outside the airport but it was expensive as I see 5 digits for the pricing which is 70,000 VND for one piece of bread. We decided to just wait to get to the city instead. We checked and compared fares for bus and taxi. Bus is only 4,000 VND while taxi is charging us 25 USD so we go with the bus. Good thing is that the bus driver speak english and helped us get to Pham Ngu Lao. On the way to the place, we met two Filipinos who has been staying in Vietnam long enough to help us as well. I could say Filipinos can really be found anywhere. I'm definitely proud of it.

We got off just few blocks away from Pham Ngu Lao. This is the place to look around for travel agencies that could help us book train tickets, bus tickets and tours. Few of the familiar agencies I saw online and on the road are the following: Delta Adventure Tours, Kim Travel and The Sinh Tourist which is formerly known as Sinh Cafe. We first went to Delta Tours to book train tickets for the 23:00 train which is arrivin at Nha Trang 05:45 the next day. We checked their Cu Chi Tunnel 1/2 tour which starts at 8:30 am and ends around 3:00 pm. The time is not what we are looking for as our flight is 5:45pm that day. The lady over the counter is accomodating enough to let us leave our big bag on the second floor. One unforgetable statement she said "You can take a shower on the second floor". My initial reaction was "do we smell bad?". The three of us looked at each other and then the lady says right after "before you go to the train station". (I really thought we smell bad that she offered a shower room. Hahahaha)

We looked for a place to eat right after we booked the train tickets. There are alot of restaurants around with alot of tourist customers from all over the world. As we walked along Pham Ngu Lao, there are vendors walking around with their cigarettes, books, shades and etc. We found a nice restaurant with vietnamese dishes. We ordered fried spring roll (i love the sauce), sour fish soup, beef/pork curry and fresh shirmp roll (which is one of their local dishes based on my iphone). As we enjoy the food, we plan and talk how we are goin to get back to HCM from Nha Trang and how to get the cu chi tunnel tour. We have two choices, either by train or by bus.



Vietnam Night Bus Sleeper



After a very delicous brunch, we looked around and saw the Sinh Tourist. We enquired about the Cu Chi Tunnel 1/2 tour and for both train and bus tickets. Lucky enough, they have a Cu Chi Tunnel Tour of only US$ 5 that starts 8:30am - 1:30pm which is the time that we are looking for. As we enquire about train tickets, they only offer bus night sleeper (first time I heard so we're all curious and looked at the photos).

We are still not decided whether to take bus or train. Train travel is only 6 hours while bus travel is 9 hours. However there is also big difference in prices, train tickets would cost us about US$25 each for a cabin with 4-soft sleeper bed. We set it aside for awhile and decided to start going around the city.

 Our first stop is the park just near Pham Ngu Lao. I appreciate the flowers around. I can see that they have talents in gardening. We are walking towards a interesting places: following the park is the Reunification Palace, Notre Dame de Saigon, Saigon Central Post Office,

 

 

Reunification Palace



Reunification Palace, or Independence Palace, is a historic site of Ho Chi Minh City. It was built as the home of the President of South Vietnam during the time of the Vietnam War and and can be of special interest for history buffs who want to know more about the conflicts of Vietnam. This site earned its spot in the history of Vietnam when it was attacked by North Vietnamese tanks during the fall of Saigon in 1975. The Palace displays such tanks and the historic reports about their drivers. (Reunification Palace: Address is 135 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street District 1 HCM City Vietnam)

Notre Dame Basilica de Saigon

Notre Dame Basilica de Saigon is a magnificent neo-Romanesque Catholic Cathedral set in the Heart of Ho Chi Minh City. It was founded by French Colonist and features true French style architecture for visitors to admire. The Cathedral has two bell towers that stand about 58m tall. (Notre Dame de Saigon: Address is Duong Nguyen Du, District 1 HCM City Vietnam). The basilica can be seen from the Reunification Palace. We just crossed the small park and reach the place in few minutes.  



Saigon Central Post Office



Inside the Post Office



  Facing the basilica, on the right side, you would see the Central Post Office. The building sits in the famous Paris Commune Square center of HCM City. This splendid building is an outstanding example of French Colonial architecture with Renaissance features. It is yet another creation of Gustave Eiffel, designer of the famed Eiffel Tower. The building also features small souvenir shops from vietnam traditional hats to small key chains. (Central Post Office: Address is No. 2 Paris Commune Park, Dist 1 HCM City Vietnam)



War Remnants Museum



The War Remnants Museum is a museum dedicated to the wars of Vietnam. It was opened om 1975 by the government of Vietnam and its main collections display the "American" phase of the Vietnam War. Visitors can learn more about the war crimes that took place during the Puppet Government and see displays of military machinery, weapons, prisoner cages, etc. (War Remnants Address: 28 Vo Van Tan, HCM City, Vietnam)



Ho Chi Minh City Hall



Ho Chi Minh City Hall was constructed between 1902-1908. Its must-see French Colonial style of architecture is similar to that of the Hotel de Ville in Paris. The beautiful surrounding garen features an incredible Ho Chi Minh statue. The best time to visit this place is evening time because you would see it beautifully illuminated. (Ho Chi Minh City Hall: Intersection of Nguywn Hue and Le Thanh Ton, HCM City, Vietnam)

 We are so tired and call it a day. It is now time to look for a place to eat. We are curious of the food we saw along the street before start our own city tour. We tried to remember the place and fortunately found it. Price wise compared to restaurants is almost the same. I guess it was even more expensive since we also try the sea shells, duck egg also known as "balut" and friuts such as star apple and pink guava. My friend from france does not want to eat at first but when we start order

After a loooonnnngggg day. We went back to Delta Adventure Tour and took the so called shower (which they offered earlier). After a good rest while waiting for the rest to finish shower. We went straight to the taxi stand and to the Sai Gon Train Station. Our train trip starts not late than 11 o'clock in the evening.



Experience Vietnam Day 2 (after a 6 hour trip)

 to be continued... Experience Vietnam Day 2

(^^,) Thanks to Fred for this amazing trip, and to my dear Silvia for all the great memories. I love you both... hugs and kisses...