Saigon

Good morning Saturday!

(I like that everything in my room is in white)

Saturday.

I lazed around in bed until 9am. All I know is, as soon as I walk out of my hotel, I want to find a decent coffee shop. Apparently, I live in the "foreigner" zone, meaning things are slightly pricier. No wonder there is a gourmet market just a block away and I went there to get bread & jam. LOL.

Last night my colleague took me on a ride on her motorcycle. There are hundreds of motorcycles on the road at one time and seriously, you need courage to ride a bike here. In between making a turn or braving oneself at the roundabout, you gotta be so alert cause a bike can come out of nowhere. So, I gathered all the courage I can and rode the bike with her. It was exciting, actually, despite getting lots of dust into my eyes. I find it very convenient to maneuver oneself in HCMC with a bike, but again, you need courage! ;) oh yea, people here honk to almost everything. At times, I wonder if one will be alerted by the honks. I mean how do you know that honk is meant for you? <-- I think too much...

Bikes on the road are like ants over a candy

"This coffee shop looks interesting. I'm so trying this cafe!" :)

Regina Coffee at Nguyen Du St.

Iced Cappucino for me!

Yeah, definitely interesting.

My iced cappucino! 55,000 VND (~RM10)

I liked it, but it was a bit too sweet for me.

Notre Dame Cathedral.

One block away from Regina Coffee. It looks pretty much like any other cathedral I've seen ;)

Yours truly, so not photo ready. Behind me is the General Post Office.

I love the architecture of the building, but I'm not too certain of its style. Colonial? Wiki kate gothic... Anyhow, this somehow reminds me of Grand Central Terminal, NYC

Love the interior as well ;)

Typical sight of women selling fruits and snacks.

Reunification Palace. It was still closed when I arrived, so I guess I have to come again someday.

And then, my battery went flat. I had to walk back to my hotel and by then I was hungry.

There are a few halal restaurant near my hotel. One is just next door: Four Seasons Restaurant and this has been my dinner place every since I got here.

Food's good and the price is reasonable. You'll expect to see other Malaysians dining here.

Cho Ben Thanh, or Ben Thanh Market.

It was crazy in here! I swear I can't survive shopping here. First of all, I'm very bad at bargaining and I don't have the patience to go through one by one to find the best deal/pattern etc. I need my mom for this! Just for the record, the fabrics here are pretty darn cheap, but once you send to the tailor in Malaysia, it will still be over RM100 for the total cost. The ones I saw ready made are about USD20 - USD32 for baju kurung or jubah (~RM60). I find that's cheap.

And I prove from this photo, Malaysians go to HCMC to shop! Raya is coming up kan ;)

Since Ben Thanh is a market after all, you still see them selling fruits and other fresh goods as well. And you don't find Malaysians at this part of the market. Hihi.

Coffee beans! Lots of them!

I might get some myself one day. Me love coffee and that you must know!

The club I wanna go to.

...

now I know Bally is from Switzerland.

HCMC has many parks & squares. Kinda reminds me of Lima, too. At this square I was in, they have lots of bonsai trees. Cute, petite flower trees ;)

Yours truly struggled all day to take a picture of herself :(

Behind me is a government building.

Yea, I wanted to try canned coffee pulak. Highlands Coffee is a franchised coffee shop. They are everywhere and they do look fancy. So I just bought the canned version for 12,000 VND (RM2)

I will wander more. That's a promise.

Saigon is the old name for Ho Chi Minh City.

p/s: esok macam seronok je kalau pergi spa?

HCMC

Yesterday I heard the word "drive". What does it take to drive a person or a group? I know my drive and when yesterday ends, I was head over heels in excitement because today I'm going to Ho Chi Minh City!

Oh well, I'm here already. And I like it so far! I'm all by myself now, but it's okay, it looks all to familiar to me ;) I can't believe I have doubts last night on how to survive here et al. but again I had to seek comfort in somebody who knew that I could do this. Haha!

People here speak very little English and I felt bad that I'm not blending in yet in terms of language. I just googles how to say Thank You in Vietnamese. I can't write it here cause I don't have the fancy characters, but it is pronounced as "karm ern". Ok, will use it tomorrow onwards. I opted to take a cab and make my way to the hotel on my own. Some friends suggested that I request for somebody to pick me up, but yea it's not a big deal to me. Along the way, I saw a few interesting cafes that I swear I must try them all! If only :p You know my addiction to coffee and Vietnam being one of the best place for coffee, I just gotta try them all. There is one cafe really caught my eyes, but I didn't catch the name :( I will make the effort to find it! Then, I walked around my hotel area, there are tons of Halal restaurant in this area and this reminds me again that I may need to be a vegetarian on some occasions. I totally gave up on the idea of being a dedicated vegetarian when I got back to Malaysia last year. Somehow, I can't resist.

I will write more. Toodles, need to catch some break.

Just thought I should have one ;)

They decided to tag along to Ho Chi Minh City.

Eh, ape eh name korang berdua ni?

p/s: my certain someone is very far away, too.