It was a promising start… until we reached the airport! Our Tiger airways flight, scheduled at 1240h, was delayed to 1700h due to technical difficulties! Then, it started to pour (thanks to the monsoon!) and that too threatened to push us back for the day! It wasn’t until 1745h when we finally took to the skies… it was a TURBULENT day, literally…
We met up with Fabius at HCMC’s spanking new Tan Son Nhat International Airport in the evening. We had the privilege of making new acquaintances, Murni and Anne, who were Singapore-born Jakarta and Perth residents respectively. The brief chat we had with them offered us some assurance as it was both our first time visiting HCMC.
We took a cab (no more buses after 1800h, bummer!) from the airport to the Pham Ngu Lao backpacker’s district for USD7. The ride left us awestruck… both at the amount of the mostly two-wheeled traffic as well as the dexterity of the riders in weaving through the tangled commotion.
Entrusting our fate in the hands of the travel bible (Lonely Planet of course!) and Faizal’s suggestion, we managed to find a decent accommodation at Minihotel Alley. However, we did not get a room at Mimi’s (as Faizal recommended) so we opted for Kim Hotel instead (USD15 for three). It turned out to be a fair option, especially after a harrowing experience with a persistent hotel owner on the adjacent street, in what we christened the Street of the Angry Lady.
It did not take us too long to settle down as our hungry stomachs soon guided us to the streets in search for food. After a short walkabout, we settled for Hoa Don Spicy Indian Restaurant. A reasonable spread on the menu but the execution left us much to be desired. Terrible Tom Yum, according to Aly. I couldn’t agree more… we squeezed in another short walkabout, only to find ourselves harassed by two ladies on bikes!
This morning saw us exiting to the streets at an ‘unearthly hour’, by Vietnamese standards... By 0945h, the streets were abuzz with the ubiquitous horde of motorcyclists. We made our way to Pho 2000 for some wholesome Vietnamese noodles (at least I think so) and then right into the adjacent Ben Thanh Market for some knick-knacks. We got ourselves some good deals!
Oh well, here we are back at Kim’s at 1400h local time, blogging because Aly had to settle some school admin at noon. We’re sure to hit the streets again in a matter of minutes before contemplating a bus ride up to Hoi An as early as tomorrow night!
We met up with Fabius at HCMC’s spanking new Tan Son Nhat International Airport in the evening. We had the privilege of making new acquaintances, Murni and Anne, who were Singapore-born Jakarta and Perth residents respectively. The brief chat we had with them offered us some assurance as it was both our first time visiting HCMC.
We took a cab (no more buses after 1800h, bummer!) from the airport to the Pham Ngu Lao backpacker’s district for USD7. The ride left us awestruck… both at the amount of the mostly two-wheeled traffic as well as the dexterity of the riders in weaving through the tangled commotion.
Entrusting our fate in the hands of the travel bible (Lonely Planet of course!) and Faizal’s suggestion, we managed to find a decent accommodation at Minihotel Alley. However, we did not get a room at Mimi’s (as Faizal recommended) so we opted for Kim Hotel instead (USD15 for three). It turned out to be a fair option, especially after a harrowing experience with a persistent hotel owner on the adjacent street, in what we christened the Street of the Angry Lady.
It did not take us too long to settle down as our hungry stomachs soon guided us to the streets in search for food. After a short walkabout, we settled for Hoa Don Spicy Indian Restaurant. A reasonable spread on the menu but the execution left us much to be desired. Terrible Tom Yum, according to Aly. I couldn’t agree more… we squeezed in another short walkabout, only to find ourselves harassed by two ladies on bikes!
This morning saw us exiting to the streets at an ‘unearthly hour’, by Vietnamese standards... By 0945h, the streets were abuzz with the ubiquitous horde of motorcyclists. We made our way to Pho 2000 for some wholesome Vietnamese noodles (at least I think so) and then right into the adjacent Ben Thanh Market for some knick-knacks. We got ourselves some good deals!
Oh well, here we are back at Kim’s at 1400h local time, blogging because Aly had to settle some school admin at noon. We’re sure to hit the streets again in a matter of minutes before contemplating a bus ride up to Hoi An as early as tomorrow night!
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