So after the wedding of the year went off without a hitch and all the excitement died, it was time to look forward to THE trip.
Lots of WhatsApp messages were exchanged; Trip Advisor, Lonely Planet and countless travel sites were our encyclopedia on HCMC; lists were made and the excitement grew each day for a month and a half.
Finally, September arrived and off we were to HCMC, amidst some fear that the rojak sauce and kaya that we packed would not survive the plane trip or customs. Lo and behold, our fears were unfounded. Not only did we sail through immigration (we did get some weird looks as my sister and I can pass as twins), the rojak sauce and kaya arrived intact with not a drop spilled. Clara picked us up from the airport and we had our first of many rides in the 'mai linh' taxi.
First stop was lunch where we had Vietnamese Coffee and Pho! And I fell in love. I of course tried a slice of chillie and nearly lost my vocal chord. No one reminded me that Vietnamese chillies were killers! Lesson learned.
Day 1 was a relaxed day. After lunch, we went back to the apartment which has the fantastic view of the Saigon river. We got acquainted with our mini host Bianka, who took a while to warm up to us but after that we were inseparable. Dinner was at a fusion restaurant and nightcap was at a jazz bar where we watched one of Vietnam's most famous and successful saxophonist - Tran Manh Tuan perform. He had a residency in Las Vegas and is now back at HCMC.
The next day was touring day. We left District 2, and traveled all the way to District 9, where hidden in a village far from the city was one of the most beautiful and serene places in HCMC - the Ao Dai museum. The tour took about 2 hours after which we headed back to District 1 for lunch.
After lunch, Clara and our mini host headed back home while Vay and I toured most of the usual tourist spots. It was fun being in a foreign country, walking the streets with map in hand, almost getting lost....that night, we tapau-ed dinner but we had an adventure with our taxi as it broke down three times! Breaking down was no issue; the problem was that it broke down in the middle of the highway! We were convinced that someone was going to hit us. Thankfully, we arrived safely back home with lots of apologies from the driver. It was a rather early night as the next day was going to be spent like Indiana Jones.
Day 3 saw us speeding on the Saigon River in a speed boat headed towards Cu chi tunnels. There were 7 of us on the boat, one of which was an Australian guy who was born in Penang. Talk about a small world! The tunnels tour was fun! We had a good guide who was informative and funny, and I enjoyed the tour through the jungles, into the tunnels, drinking snake wine....
After the tunnels tour, we were served a scrumptious lunch. We then bade farewell to our tour buddies. Vay and I headed back to District 1 for more sightseeing and also to find the elusive Book Street that we missed the day before. This was our dream street where book shops and cafes lined the street on both sides. We even managed to buy adult colouring books at a steal! Hard Rock was just opposite the road but we didnt bother about it.
That day was also Clara's 10th Wedding Anniversary and so they took us for for dinner to celebrate that and our last night in HCMC. We were supposed to have Northern Vietnamese food but as the shop was closed, we had Korean BBQ instead, finishing off with waffles for dessert.
The night ended with us trying to pack all the stuff we bought and not be overweight.
Our trip to HCMC was short but it was a good break. I would love to go back to HCMC especially for the food and coffee. There were some places that we did not visit but I guess that is good enough a reason to return to HCMC. Northern Vietnam is also next on the list.
Let's see where next year takes us...
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