Ho Chi Min City Tour

Should anyone asked me to visit Vietnam 5 years ago, I would have given them the cynical look. VIETNAM of all places, you must be joking. Who in their sane mind would want to visit a war torn country. However, after my first visit to Hanoi 2 years ago, I just love Vietnam. I love the higher spending power of Ringgit in comparison to Dong; their local currency. I love the food and most importantly, I love the simplicity of life there. It reminded me of my hometown 30 years ago. Sadly, having lived in the city for the past 25 years has yet to convert me into a city girl. I still miss my hometown very much. Guess deep down I am still the plain Jane from a little town known as Teluk Intan (previously known as Teluk Anson) in Perak.

Recently, I was on a holiday trip to Ho Chi Min City (HCMC). This is an all girl sight seeing and SHOPPING trip. Who said you don’t need a break from your family. Who said family ain’t stressful. They are when you have an energetic hubby who can't stay at home, a lawyer in the making daughter who rebuts to every single statement made and 3 dogs as part of the family.

Well, lets get back to the trip and not to divulge too much on family members. Who knows? I could be sued 10 years down the road for misrepresentation.

As I was busy with my work, my friends did all the planning including booking of air tickets, hotel and even came up with a list of places of interest together with a daily itinerary.

This was what greeted us when we arrived late in the evening.

Next morning we immediately book ourselves on A Day Tour. One of the places we visited is Cu Chi Tunnel. This used to be a war zone hideout for the local soldiers. The entrance to the tunnel is extremely narrow and not visible.

Some of the traps used during the war together with the sandals worn by the local soldiers.

A city scene during the peak period is full of motorcyclist. Come to think of it moi was once like this weaving the streets of Teluk Intan on a Honda C70.

See they even have a petrol kiosk that looks like the one I visited back then to fill up on Honda C70.

To fill our stomach we had.......

Spicy Vietnamese Noodles

Minced meat on sugar cane served with rice paper

Broken rice with pork chop

and more food...............


As for shopping, we spent most of our money in this shop. The cashier was busy punching the cash register with all the items we bought.



For sure, a trip to Vietnam will not be complete without Vietnamese coffee.

Finally, with a heavy heart we bid Ho Chi Min City adios and headed for the airport. We will definitely be back not too long in the future.

Glorious Food in Hanoi

Recently, Cind & I went to Hanoi, Vietnam to visit our friend, Trix. Although it was just a short trip - 3 days & 2 nights (wish it was longer), but we managed to cover great length and had such a wonderful time together. Trix is really a remarkable friend and host. She even offered Cind & I her huge bed, besides taking time off to show us around.

One of the activities that we did a lot was eat....eat....and....eat. Each time before we partake in our food, Cind will surely take a picture of the food. I am glad she did. Looking at these pictures now brings back sweet memories of our Hanoi trip.

We had our first dinner in Hanoi at the hotel where Trix work and stay. She ordered 3 dishes, a fish dish (in claypot on stove), a meat dish and a fried rice. The food was so good (or we were so hungry) that we polish every single bits and pieces from the plate....and claypot, too.

On the second night after returning from Halong Bay, Trix bought both of us belated birthday dinner (Cind & I celebrated our birthday the month before) in this Italian Restaurant. The pork ribs were excellent and again we finished all the food............how not to put on weight.

On our last day in Hanoi, we had Chicken Pho for breakfast. It only cost each of us RM3 inclusive of noodle, drink and 'yau char kuey'. The food was so good that we forgot to take picture until we were half way through and this was what's left.

After breakfast, we gallivant around (and also in) the wet market. Look at the enormous size dried prawns and the varieties.................

Then we stop for some Vietnamese coffee. These coffees were so 'kow' that you could almost eat them like pudding (not true I'm just kidding). It really gave us a good KICK start to our next agenda.......shopping and sight seeing (what else).

Continue.......shopping and sight seeing......

Then it was lunch (more food). We went to this popular hawker centre. It was so packed that we had to wait for almost 30 minutes for a table. But the waiting was worth while..........see the glorious food that we had. No words needed to describe the food as each picture speaks a thousand words......

Overall, it was a FANTASTIC trip...............glorious food, fabulous scenery (Halong Bay), exciting and eventful journey (I am sure Cind can vouch for it..........) and great company.

And Trix........thank you so much for making this a memorable trip for us.