We took Air Asia from BKI to Tan Son Nhat International Airport. Stopover in KL. 2 hours from KL to HCM only. Malaysia time is an hour ahead of Vietnam.
I booked into Duc Vuong Hotel. This hotel is located in Tham Ngu Lao Street, convenient for us to go around. The hotel staff were very friendly and helpful. Every staff speaks English. The room was clean. Breakfast was very good with Vietnamese bread, hot coffee, fried eggs of your choice with other few different dishes and fresh fruits. The 4 nights stays were really value for money.
Taken from hotel rooftop
Day 1
After checking in to Duc Vuong Hotel, the hotel receptionist lady pointed us to a nearby shop to eat Vietnamese noodle. 越南河粉。The beef noodle was served with a plate of herbs 九層塔，bean sprout, lettuce and one other vegetable which I am not sure of name. In fact, the Vietnamese eat a lot of such herb, bean sprout and fresh vegetables.
Elly said we should not miss the AO show perform at Saigon Opera House. In fact there are 3 other shows at the Opera House performing on different days. We watched the AO show. I didn't quite understand the stories but the show was performed professionally with music, dancing, acrobatics and cute and funny moments. It is indeed a show not to be missed in HCM. I purchased the tickets online 3 weeks before the trip via KKDay.com. Check out "Teh Dar Tribal Show at Saigon Opera House". There are 3 different zones. You get better viewing zone for paying more. Anyway, I purchased the cheapest and had no complaint about the view.
兩個女人可以頂天立地？
Outside the Opera House
Inside the Opera House
The Performers
Day 2
Again, I purchased a trip from KKDay Tour to go to My Tho, Ben Tre and the Mekong Delta. We took Uber to go to the meeting point at the Sinh Tourist Office. The tour guide could speak fairly well English. I learnt about the Mekong Delta in Geography 40+ years ago. It was nice to see the rivers flow and the fertile soil in the Delta. On our way to Mekong Delta in the tour bus, we saw many padi fields. It was fascinating to see tombs in the padi fields. Are the tombs there to protect their harvest? We got to take a river cruise to a village to see a number of activities by the villagers.
Grinding rice
Making rice paper
Fish from Mekong River
Rice Paper wrap
Cruising through swampy area. Attap.
Attap fruits. 海底椰
Making of coconut candies
In the evening, we enjoyed our dinner in a Vietnam food restaurant right in front of the hotel. Then walked along Tham Ngu Lao Street, a crowded tourist street at night.
Day 3
We started our morning trip to Cu Chi Tunnel, trip purchased from Klook.com. I should say that this is also a trip not to be missed. The Cu Chi Tunnel was an underground city, built during the Vietnam War. We got to crawl in a 60m tunnel, which has been enlarged for tourists to get some hang of moving in tunnels. By the way, if you are not fit, it is better not to join in the tunnel crawling. I felt so tiring inside the tunnel. THERE IS NO WAY TO TURN BACK. YOU JUST HAVE TO MOVE FORWARD. In fact, I was a bit panic when we came to a junction of which we were not sure of the way. The tour guide wasn't with us. I was afraid that I might faint due to lack of oxygen as both my hand had started to feel a bit numb. Anyway, we came out safely, but inwardly, wasn't too pleased.
One interesting observation. I noted that we could hear people talking outside the tunnels, but those outside couldn't hear us in the tunnels.
Nevertheless, from this trip, I gathered that war is cruel. It was wrong for the foreign armies to come in to kill and destroy the Vietnamese. The side effect of Agent Orange is still affecting the offspring of these people. I returned to the hotel with a heavy heart.
We got off the tour bus at Ben Thanh Market. We walked around and found out that the food stuff were expensive. Was told we needed to bargain the price, but I was just too lazy to bargain. They also sell a lot of NIKE shoes. Since we didn't know how to tell whether they were genuine brand, we didn't buy anything.
We went to see the Golden Dragon Water Puppet Show which started at 5pm. The theater was quite run down. The songs were performed in Vietnamese. I didn't understand the stories. I found this one-hour show a bit boring. However, it was nice to see the performance.
In the evening on our way back to the hotel, we stopped by a shop full of local people to have Vietnamese noodle again.
Day 4
We decided to take time slow today. We walked to Pacific Market about 5 minutes from the hotel. This is a local market frequented by local Vietnamese. Interesting to see what the locals sell and what the locals buy home for meals. We bought some local coffee and rice in a small shop nearby to bring home.
Then we went to General Post Office, Notre Dame Church and War Remnant Museum. We spent a lot of time in the War Remnant Museum. Photos tell a thousand stories. It was sad to see the war photos.
At night, we had dinner at Tham Ngu Lao Street.
So many motorists in Ho Chi Minh City. Beware! They don't follow the traffic and traffic lights. They are everywhere. I didn't manage to capture a "swarm" of motorists on the road. Just too frigthening!
So many motorists in Ho Chi Minh City. Beware! They don't follow the traffic and traffic lights. They are everywhere. I didn't manage to capture a "swarm" of motorists on the road. Just too frigthening!
Day 5
Back home.
It was good to travel to a neighboring country to learn their history and their culture.
Travelling Around
We used Uber to travel around. All fares were paid using credit card. It was convenient as I registered my credit card as payment. I should think that GRAB is alright as well.
One point to take note. Uber in Vietnam has "Uber Moto". This means Uber motobike. NOT Uber cars.
From the airport to the hotel, DO NOT USE UNLICENSED TAXIS OUTSIDE THE AIRPORT. We had bad experience.
Expenses for Two
Air tickets RM1575
Travel insurance RM52.50
Hotel RM618
KKday Saigon Opera House RM190.24
KKday Mekong Delta RM96
Klook Cu Cii Tunnel RM128
UBER less than RM100
Meals + etc Around RM800
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