We love to explore!!! =): Ho Chi Minh City Day 1

It has been so long since we last updated our blog! We have been really busy juggling both our full time jobs and our online shop's launches. Now that it is CNY, there is finally some spare time for us to update here. :)

We have decided to go on an impromptu trip to Vietnam last month, from 25 Dec-1 Jan. Initially, we have set our minds on going to Boracay for a beach getaway (for YY the beach boy's sake) but the air tickets and hotel alone cost over $1000 per person for 4 days there and it was way above our budget. In the end, we decided on going to Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City & Da Lat). We bought pretty last minute air tickets to Ho Chi Minh City around the start of December but thankfully, they were not too expensive. Around $370 for 2 people for a round trip on Tiger Airways.

Bird's eye view of HCMC

Tan Son Nhat Airport which is quite new

Upon arriving at the airport, we met a Singaporean backpacker who approached us asking if we would like to share a taxi to District 1. Being cheapos, we told him we would be taking bus 152 instead which costs 5000 dong (around $0.30). He decided to come along with us and gave us some advice on where to eat, how to cross roads etc (since he has been to Vietnam several times). When we alighted, he even walked us to our hotel which is in the backpacker's area. It is always nice meeting fellow Singaporeans while overseas.

Our hotel is Beautiful Saigon 3 Hotel which is situated in District 1's backpacker zone at Bui Vien. I personally recommend this hotel if you're on a budget as the location is not too far from the city centre and the hotel staff are friendly and helpful. It's quite affordable at 35usd per night.

Lol at my messy bed. I have a strange habit of taking out all my belongings and putting them on the bed

Computer in our room, with free Internet access!

After a nap, we wanted to, or rather I wanted to go to the nearby Vung Tau city to do some sightseeing. To get there from HCMC, the fastest way was to take a hydrofoil there from the hydrofoil station. We took a taxi there but to our dismay, even though there were still tickets to go there, there were no more tickets from Vung Tau back to HCMC on the same day. I later read from Wikitravel that we had to book in advance as many Vietnamese families like to go there for a day trip on weekends. Anyway, we had to forgo our trip to Vung Tau and went for lunch at Pho 24, which is a restaurant chain in HCMC selling pho and other Vietnamese dishes. It was highly recommended on Wikitravel.

Hydrofoil which we did not manage to take :(

Where we had our first meal in Vietnam!

My beef pho (looks quite raw)

YY's chicken pho

Well, we think the food's overhyped by Wikitravel. We do not find it particularly nice or perhaps it's just that our taste buds not accustomed to Vietnamese food? It's quite a popular place with tourists though as we saw many Japanese and Caucasian families having their meals there too.

Next, we went to the famous Trung Nguyen Coffee to try out the Vietnamese Drip Coffee! Apparently, this coffee joint has outlets in Singapore but we decided we needed to try out the real deal in Vietnam :)

Our Vietnamese Drip Coffee in Legendee blend - the most expensive on the menu lol

It tastes really good in my opinion. Really strong and aromatic coffee and I even bought the coffee filter and Legendee blend back to Singapore on my last day there.

YY camwhoring in my shades

Next, we headed to Ben Thanh Market. I did not take much pictures there. Basically, it is a market selling all sorts of things, from clothes to spices to fish. Did not stay for long there as we did not have anything to buy from there.