Saigon Return

Prologue
My return to Saigon (now known as Ho Chi Minh City, but is still widely called Saigon, especially among the locals) was pretty much a last minute decision, or precisely, two weeks. My mum was pestering me to take her back to Chiang Mai, but she had just visited there 3 years ago, why not visit some other places she have not visited yet? Not to mention air tickets to Chiang Mai was by no mean cheap (partly due to a lack of competition). I asked her, why wouldn't she consider Ho Chi Minh City (herein, to be indicated as Saigon) instead? After some consideration, she agreed. What I did not expect was, she later drafted her sister along too (My aunt was probably the 'culprit' persuading mum to go Chiang Mai in the first place because she has not been there before). Agh...!
Perhaps due to the competition, air tickets to Saigon on budget airlines was priced reasonably, about S$406 for 3 (excluding check-in luggage and meals), less than the price for a return air tickets for 1 on a budget airline to Chiang Mai (same airline some more)!
I have penned a post on Saigon back in 2011, since then five years have passed, and Saigon has undergone a drastic change, not so much in terms of city landscape, but in terms of technology. Hence although the places I visited during this trip are still more or less the same, but I'm better prepared, yes, thanks to technology!

Technology
Strictly speaking, you don't need much technology to roam around Saigon, but free detailed map is not readily available from Saigon's Tan Son Nhat airport, it will be helpful if you can stay connected, by getting a data SIM, and then you can read you emails, whatsapp with your love ones back home, and of course, getting instruction to roam around within Saigon and beyond. At the time of writing, a 5GB / 30 Days from Vinaphone cost 100K VND (approximately S$6.30), this is by far the cheapest data SIM card I ever heard throughout the places I had visited, and actually better than the permanent deal I have back home too!

Most attractions in Saigon are actually well within walking distance from city center. On the rare occasion whereby you need to take a transport, usually you would rely on taxis right? Let me introduce you the apps that helps you navigate around on public buses:
You can go to Bus Map (http://busmap.vn/?locale=en), where you can use their free services online, or simply download their apps for android/iOS/Windows Phone (data connection required). It's still Google Maps, but they have embedded bus stops on it, so all you need is to pick up the bus stops where you want to board and alight, and it will illustrate where to take the bus, including transfer, if necessary.

With these two at hand, I guess you will find visiting Saigon very much easier!

Getting from airport
Tan Son Nhat Airport comprises an international building as well as a domestic building, and is actually located a mere 7km from city center. Once you get out of the international terminal, cross the road, and you can see a number of buses RIGHT, in front.

#152
The most well known bus service is #152, which takes you to Chợ Bến Thành (Ben Thanh Market), you can alight at bus stops along the way, or otherwise they will drop you at the bus terminal opposite Ben Thanh Market, near Phạm Ngũ Lão. Prices is 5K VND per passenger, and if you carry luggage, it's additional 5K VND per piece. Despite the cheap rate, it's air-conditioned. However, take note that it ceases operation around 6pm.

Airport Shuttle 109
Started mid-March 2016, Airport Shuttle 109 goes to District 1 (city center), stopover at Ben Thanh Bus Terminal, before terminating at Park 23/9, near Phạm Ngũ Lão backpacker area. The buses are newer, with security camera, but cost more at 20K VND, however, you won't need to top up for your luggages. Their interval is around 15~20 minutes, and available from 5.30am~1.30am. Unlike #152, staffs from the Airport Shuttle can speak moderate English.

Airport Shuttle 49
Started mid-May 2016, Airport Shuttle 49 has more stops near major hotels, but charges higher, at 40K VND, all other aspects are similar to Airport Shuttle 109.

Airport Shuttle 49 route: Tan Son Nhat Airport’s international terminal – domestic terminal – Truong Son – Tran Quoc Hoan – Hoang Van Thu – Nguyen Van Troi – Nam Ky Khoi Nghia – Le Duan – Cong Xa Paris – Dong Khoi – Dong Du – Hai Ba Trung – Ton Duc Thang – Ham Nghi – Ben Thanh – Pham Ngu Lao – Nguyen Trai – Le Lai – Nguyen Huu Canh – Cach Mang Thang 8 – Dien Bien Phu – Nam Ky Khoi Nghia – Nguyen Van Troi – Phan Dinh Giot – Truong Son – International terminal.

Sources: Ho Chi Minh City Highlights (http://hochiminhcityhighlights.com/take-bus-to-ho-chi-minh-airport)

Taxi from the airport generally runs on meter, which cost around 120K VND (assuming no traffic jam), excluding 10K airport toll charge (this toll charge, if I understand correctly, applies only for leaving the airport). However, it is advisable you stick to Vinasun or Mai Linh. Other operators may charge exorbitantly or tampered with their meter. Be very careful about the spelling and logo too, some cheats deliberately made theirs very similar to the two above mentioned operators.


Blog
Day 1: 25 Nov 2016, Fri
I haven't traveled for almost a year, since then, MRT Downtown Line has started operation, and today I tried out a new way getting to the airport. Rather than taking bus along PIE, I took bus 970 for Hillview MRT at 9.35am. Within 10 minutes, we were already on a train for Bugis MRT station. It's worth mentioning that, at least, it's sheltered all the way from the moment I stepped on the first bus. We reached Changi Airport at 10.45am, though not significantly lesser than our conventional route, it at least do away with the uncertainty of traffic jam and weather condition.

Changi Airport is catching the Pokemon Go craze and have a related event going on

The common check-in queue for Tiger Airways was exorbitantly long, we took 15 minutes in the queue, and only after checked-in that we were told, we could have taken the shorter online check-in queue from the counter next door. Good thing we reached airport early, but I thought Tigerair could have indicated it correctly on our online boarding pass, or do with better signage, otherwise how on earth would we have known?

Once we cleared the departure custom, I left the old folks on their own, and headed for SATS Premier Lounge for my brunch. But really, carrying a Diners Club card is beneficial for travellers, free airport lounge access (once per calendar year) with free-flowing food and beverages, including beer and wine, and then there are also massage chairs and computer terminal to kill time prior to your flight. Personally, I really wish I could check in much earlier.

I had a few rounds of various cuisines (Chinese, Muslim, Indian), pastries, Mee Siam, along with a glass of Michel Torino Chardonnay 2014 (Argentina). I won't brag that food quality is excellent here, in fact it's probably worse than your normal freshly prepared hawker food, but what they lacked in quality, they made it up with quantity, though won't be as much as one would expect to find in a conventional buffet restaurant. Nevertheless, that will be enough to last me till dinner.

OK, I confess I'm greedy, and won't leave SATS Premier Lounger without having another cup of Latte. I stayed at the lounge for a total of 50 minutes, and really need to leave by 12.25pm. My flight's scheduled for depart at 1.10pm, boarding officially begins at 12.25pm, and I need time getting to boarding gate and meet up with the aunties. 20 minutes later, we were onboard Tigerair TR2324 for Ho Chi Minh City. Our flight undocked from its gate 5 minutes ahead of schedule, and 15 minutes later, departed Changi Airport for Tan Son Nhat Airport.

TR2324 landed at Saigon's Tan Son Nhat airport at 2pm (all time local), it only took another 5 minutes to dock. While arriving at the custom, we were shocked at the long immigration queue, I couldn't help wondering what's there really to see in Saigon? If you ask me, nothing much really, I come to eat! :D (Well, actually I mentioned before, it's more like bringing my mum for a short holiday)
By 2.33pm, we cleared custom.

Vinaphone / Viettel

Not sure about nano SIM, guess they have it too

For those who's keen to stay connected on the go, don't get out of the airport in a hurry. Right before you exit the airport's main door into the wilderness of Saigon's fury transport awaiting outside, you will see a row of money changers, transport counters etc. On the far left corner, you will find Vinaphone (unit G.2.45 01), and Viettel's just right beside. There was more than 10 persons queueing before me, yet, there wasn't a single soul getting from Viettel, I guess that very much sum up who offered the better deal. As mentioned before, you can get a 5GB 4G data SIM for 100K VND, it's valid for 30 days, very good deal! It doesn't come with call nor sms (though can receive sms, not sure about receiving call), but guess many can just do with Whatsapp these days. Although the speed was indicated as 4G, do take note that once you get out from the city, you would be lucky to get 3G. But Vinaphone's coverage in the city is adequate for most usage. I don't see any need to elaborate on Viettel, those who keen can do you own research. By the way, we queued for a good 30 minutes before I got my hand on a data SIM card. You may be able to get it at the same price from downtown vendors, but many do not speak English, hence I'd rather queue than engaging myself into unnecessary misunderstanding otherwise.

At 3.15pm, we boarded bus #152 for Chợ Bến Thành. The bus stop is located on the right end of the airport outside arrival hall, and while getting there, we encountered a couple of touts from the Airport Shuttle services. They would ask you, "Chợ Bến Thành?" And if you say yes, they will lead you to their buses instead. Personally, I feel although their buses are newer, it's a bit difficult to justify the prices, even if luggages are already included in their fare. In any case, we paid 5K VND each for bus #152, the driver didn't even charge us for our hand held cabin luggage. And along the way, the bus merely stopped twice for alighting passengers. We reached the bus stop in front of Chợ Bến Thành at 4.10pm, from where you can take an array of buses connecting to other parts of the city.

I included this map here to elaborate where exactly is the bus stop in front of Chợ Bến Thành, hopefully this aids your research exploring the city. The red star indicated on this Google Map print out is the location of the bus stop. The big traffic circle right in front is probably the busiest junction in entire Vietnam, crossing it seriously take some courage (Sorry, no traffic light here!). Our accommodation is situated on the other side of Ben Thanh Market, as soon as we alighted and I orientated myself, I dragged my luggage and brave the traffic towards our hotel, leaving the two aunties trailing behind me. Just then, my aunt pulled my sleeve, I immediately yelled her off. Important lesson here, don't drag onto your companion while crossing the roads in Saigon! You take a look at how the locals maneuver crossing the road and do likewise, simple as that. Drivers and riders in Saigon are generally patient and will swerve to avoid pedestrians, despite at times they even ride on pedestrian pavement!

Pravina Hotel

Our accommodation, Pravina Hotel (formerly Tulip Hotel), is located at the left end of Lý Tự Trọng, near the junction with Cách Mạng Tháng Tám. It's a small hotel, I chose this after reading many positive reviews from Tripadvisor (amidst some negative ones), and that they offered Triple room at an affordable price. It's not easy to locate because on Google map, it's still known as Tulip Hotel, and it has a tiny hotel front, if you did not lift your head high enough, you probably won't even see its name (You will see 'Tour Booking Office' instead). It's directly opposite Alagon Hotel across the road anyway.
I booked a VIP room, which can actually accommodate four, with one Queen bed and two Twin bed. Upon arrival, the reception lady at front desk was all smile for us, and allocated us room 801. Although recently 'renovated', Pravina still look aged, I suspect merely minor touch up. Nevertheless, for the price we paid, I certainly ain't expecting a 4/5 stars property. But some reviews online really made me laugh. Some complained breakfast option limited, yes, but would you like to pay higher fee for more breakfast option? Not me, but I will elaborate their breakfast option shortly. Some complained they could get cheaper and better hotel nearby. Absolutely, but if you can post on Tripadvisor, I suppose you must have read the reviews before booking, and knew what you would be getting for the price huh? I did my homework, and found Pravina offering one of the better rates given their location and review. The major flaw I came across, was about thefts. But really, we ought to practice caution everywhere, and shouldn't leave valuable unlocked assuming nothing will get loss, and it's really difficult to nail a culprit without any concrete evidence (there are CCTV, but it doesn't cover what's inside the room for privacy reason) though I do expect the hotel management should do more to avoid a future occurrence.
Anyway, let's look into our VIP room!

Room 801

Pravina Hotel is 8-storey tall building, and our room is on level 8. So I guess in terms of noises, we are literally the least affected. Yes and no. Firstly, I'm not that sensitive to noises, even though we were having a room facing the road, I don't have a problem with that, and neither did my travelling companions. What we found terrible, was a Thai funfair near the back alley, with loud music into late night on a weekend (but it didn't go beyond midnight), I ain't sure whether they had it every weekend or purely seasonal. It probably affects the other room facing the back alley more. There are only two rooms on level 8 by the way.
To start off, like I reiterate, Pravina Hotel is quite dated. The first evidence can be seen from our main door, with thin crack leaking lights from inside the room, though nothing that we couldn't bear with.
As you can see from the picture above, Room 801 is very roomy, with a small dining table surrounded with 4 sofa chairs, 2 more by the side. 1Q + 2S bedding configuration, with comfortable mattresses and pillows. My aunt apparently loved their pillow so much that she... no, she didn't steal it, she merely grabbed the extra pillow from my Queen bed without even asking. The floor was not carpet, but the hotel supplied Korean sandals so comfortable that we felt like paying the hotel for a new pair! There are 3 windows, the main one facing Alagon Hotel opposite, with two smaller ones on each side of the adjacent walls.

Skyworth 42" LCD

To be honest, I was quite surprise to find 42" LCD in the room, nevermind it's just Skyworth, not those high end Korean brands. Most importantly, there were a few cable programs, not merely local TV programs, but mostly dubbed in Vietnamese.

Room 801 main window view (Alagon Hotel)

The bathroom was surprisingly large for a budget hotel, with a large bathtub of the shape more likely appearing in a love hotel! LOL! The bathtub is exclusive to VIP rooms only, however, hot water was not guarantee, at time, the water can be lukewarm, which made me almost jump out of the bathtub late night on the day of our arrival. I later learned that the hotel's heater wasn't very good. When there's a sudden surge in demand, it fails.

Talking about the bath room, the bathroom door lock was damaged, it's almost non-existence.

Mini fridge & cabinet

Basic amenities are provided, such as toothbrush, shampoo, towels, there's even a mini-fridge right outside the bathroom. However, there are no complimentary mineral water. Some previous occupants happily consumed the mineral water inside assuming it's complimentary, but I will always ask first if unsure. In any case, there are convenience stores as well as mini-mart merely minutes walk away from the hotel, getting drinking water was not an issue. Again, some patrons are arguing hotel should provide complimentary drinking water, it doesn't cost much anyway. But there's no such thing as free lunch, the hotel could also have easily added the cost to your hotel bill upfront too. It's akin to asking budget airlines to provide free meal onboard the conventional airlines do.
We didn't stay long in the room, took a short break before heading Ben Thanh Market.

Cơm Tấm Cali

Before getting to Ben Thanh Market, we passed by Cơm Tấm Cali (Cơm Tấm means brokem rice, Cali is the restaurant name), a local restaurant chain I patronised 5 years ago. The old folks were apparently hungry, unlike me who had eaten at SATS Premier Lounge, they merely had McDonald's set meal prior to the flight. I wanted to introduce them to Cơm Tấm Cali, the same restaurant which impressed me half decade ago. It was 4.56pm, somehow the restaurant was closed between 2pm to 6pm. There was a notice put on the door, but I don't understand Vietnamese, and there's some staffs inside. As I opened the door, one of the staffs shown me the Ultraman strike (right), agh... she meant 'no entry', somehow that hand signal reminds me about Japan, that's how the Japanese show 'no'. She probably thought we are Japanese! LOL!

Une Journée à Paris

The old folks simply walked to the restaurant next door, Une Journée à Paris. My mum saw them selling French loaves, and she was enticed. She loves French loaf! We shared two Baguette Ancienne (@ 19K VND), and a cup of coffee each. That's our first cup of coffee in Saigon! Oh, in case you are wondering, Vietnam is famous for their coffee, and coffee is certainly one of our agenda here, although I'm not really a coffee lover. It was after returning to Singapore that I found out, Une Journée à Paris is quite highly recommended on Tripadvisor, its owner is actually French.

Mum and aunt discovered a gem! In fact they love the baguette so much they even had it for dinner the next day.

As a matter of fact, they are also selling jams, and lots of variety too! They claimed that their jams are made with passion from the most delicious and freshest fruits of family-owned farms in Vietnam. You can see that they have the common flavous as well as MANY exotic ones. At 100K VND, I won't say it's cheap, but you can see it contains lots of fruit puree and certainly more fruity than those conventional jams you normally find at supermarkets. I was determined to get a bottle back if I have enough left over cash on the last day of our stay. Eventually I didn't though.
Alright, the old folks garnered sufficient energy after the short break, and it's time for Ben Thanh Market.

Chợ Bến Thành (left)

From the exterior, Chợ Bến Thành seems like any ordinary market. But from the inside, it's more chaotic. Not in the league of Tokyo's Tsukiji though, they don't sell meat here. It's more like Hong Kong's Ladies Market but within a sheltered compound.

Inside, you can find plenty of souvenir stores, apparel stores, jewellery stores, preserved food, and even cooked food stalls. Chợ Bến Thành is well categorised where common genre are consolidated at their respective sectors. My advice to the old folks was, don't buy anything here on day 1. Come back here the day before we return home if we cannot find it selling cheaper elsewhere. Simple strategy, yet my aunt was very tempted to splash her cash if not for my mum who held her back persistently.
Shortly before 7pm, we left Ben Thanh Market, I believe then that the old folks should have more or less digested the baguette and ready for proper dinner. We returned to Cơm Tấm Cali.

This is not Cơm Tấm Cali's menu, rather, see it as their recommended dishes

Dinner time at Cơm Tấm Cali was pretty pack, mostly local I guess, we were lucky still managed to grab a table without waiting at 7pm.

Bún Riêu Tôm Cua

This was what I had for dinner, 'Noodles in Mince of Crab, Shrimp, and Pork Soup'. To be absolutely honest, I didn't want this, but I would like mum to try the accompanying salad, and this was the apparent item on the menu found with free vegetable salad (Pardon me, I can't read Vietnamese on their menu). What named as crab was probably crab roe, apparently I didn't find any crab meat in it. I couldn't remember seeing shrimp, but there were plenty of pork, which tasted bland like those after used for boiling soup. I don't want to use the word 'terrible', let's just say it's not my cup of tea and I never wanna try it again.

Cơm Tấm sườn cốt lết nướng, 55K VND

I strongly recommended mum to have this, Broken Rice with House Special BBQ Pork. I was very impressed with their BBQ pork 5 years ago that, Cơm Tấm Cali is one big reason why I suggested mum to visit Saigon. Still tastes great! This would be me order if I wasn't trying to get mum the salad.

Gỏi Cuốn

We also ordered Pork and Shrimp Spring Rolls. No, I ain't a fan of Vietnamese spring roll to be honest, but this was just to let mum has a try on the taste of a genuine Vietnamese spring roll, we still didn't find it nice, still prefer Singapore's own popiah to be honest. However, mum was full of praise for the dipping sauce though.

Canh Khổ Qua Dồn Thịt

The aunties wanted to try this Bitter Melon Soup too, it's stuffed with pork inside, although its presentation looks very different from that on their menu. They found it nice anyway, not overly bitter.

Cali Thơ Mộng

We also ordered this drink, 'Drink of Dream', which was served with a very long straw, along with a shorter one. Gimmicky. But that does not take away the fact that it being a refreshing citrus drink!

We had a rather hearty meal at Cơm Tấm Cali, glad the old folks enjoyed it!

The red building is Yến Sào Anpha, Cách Mạng Tháng Tám (picture taken in the morning)

At 8.05pm, we found ourselves at Yến Sào Anpha's outlet at Cách Mạng Tháng Tám, a stone throw away from our hotel, near the junction with Lý Tự Trọng.

This is merely one page from their menu, and we all had the same Tổ yến hầm tuyết giáp chưng đường phèn (Bird nest with Hashima), 200K VND each. I remember that last time I went to their outlet at Lê Lai, my friend randomly ordered one salty variance, thus given me an impression that they bird nest was towards the salty trend. Let's just say they probably have the widest bird nest variety here!

Tổ yến hầm tuyết giáp chưng đường phèn, 200K VND

We found our bird nest better than those we tried in Bangkok, with apparently larger piece of bird nest as compare with Bangkok's bird nest fragment, the prices are comparable though, if you compare apple to apple (cheapest at 150K VND), in fact cheaper here if you consider the quality difference.

After our bird nest supper, we returned to our hotel room at 9pm.

Slept late

Day 2: 26 Nov 2016, Sat

I didn't have a good sleep last night, waking up at 6am eventually. It's no fault of the hotel really, the stupid aunties switching the aircon to such low temperature and then covering themselves in blankets, I don't even switch to such low temperature when I'm travelling alone!

After wash up, we had breakfast at level 9, roof top, at 6.35am.

It's worth taking note that there's no lift access to the roof top. The lift goes up to level 8, from where diners need to climb a flight of steep stair. As can be seen, the dining area is sheltered, but it's only a small open-air dining area.

Upon seated, we were shown the menu. Pick only one from the menu, then you can have freeflow items from the table below while the staff prepares your order.

Truth be told, there's just toast, jam, butter, French baguette (not in picture), banana, milk, coffee, tea, mineral water, and a canister of what I believe to be honey citrus drink. Nothing great to brag about really, but bear in mind the room rate wasn't expensive in the first place after all.
We love the baguette very much, soft on the inside, crisp on the outside. Granted, the baguette ain't baked by them, but it's hard to find nice baguette in Singapore for a reasonable price, seems like Saigon still having aplenty here. In addition, the honey citrus drink was really excellent! Light, refreshing, with moderate sweetness, we never seem to have enough of it. In fact, a Caucasian guest almost finished the entire jug, went inside the kitchen to ask for more!

This was my omelette, with tomato and ham, quite appetising! Honestly, for breakfast, this ain't filling at all, but that's where the toast came in.

This was the Vietnamese noodle in chicken soup the aunties ordered. The soup was light but delightful, and the glass noodle tasted nice, however, the chicken was a tad dry and bland, tasted like those already used for boiling soup.
We finished breakfast at 7.40am, returned to our room for a short break before heading out for our main exploration of the city at 8am.

Credit: Asia Travel

I sketched and printed my own map for our excursion today, but as it was done very artlessly, I enclosed a finding from Asia Travel for Caravelle Hotel here. Basically, these are very much the main attractions in Saigon city, minus Bitexco Financial Tower, probably done many years ago before the tower was constructed. You can finish it in one afternoon if you aren't overspending your time at any one attraction here.
Our first destination was Reunification Palace (Dinh Độc Lập), also known as Independence Palace. It was the home and work place of former South Vietnam President before Vietnam was united in 1975. There's a rich history here, but I won't want to copy the whole story here.
From the map, it looks like a 10 minutes walk from our hotel, but we actually took 30 minutes because I was misled by some diagrams online. Please take note that there is only one entrance, which is facing Nam Kỳ Khởi Nghĩa or the Notre Dame. If you walk to Huyền Trân Công Chúa, you will be told to walk one big round to their main entrance, where you need to pay 30K VND for an entrance ticket.

Reunification Palace

There will be a tank and a plane for tourists to take picture, and re-instated former government meeting rooms for history hunters, those who are not so keen on Vietnamese history can keep your money and go on to the Notre Dame two streets away. Frankly speaking, the old folks didn't quite enjoy it.

Outside the dining hall, there's one plague stating how the Presidential Palace was geomantically laid out according to the Chinese word “吉” (auspicious), apparently it has little effect.

Crêperie & Cafe

We left Reunification Palace at 9.10am, and was suppose to head straight to the Notre Dame two streets away, but settled for a cup of coffee at Crêperie & Cafe along the way. Yes, this is traditional Vietnamese drip coffee! You let the coffee drip through the filter for 5 minutes, then you can consume it. Partly, it was to let the old folk try it. Partly, it served as a break before more walking approaching.

Notre Dame

This is the side view of Saigon's Notre Dame (Nhà thờ Đức Bà Sài Gòn). Remember the French had large influence in Vietnam, this is one of the notable cultural heritage the French left behind. France may be too far away and rather costly to visit, Saigon may be the answer if you want to savour a little French flair without burning a big hole in your pocket. I couldn't think of another city outside France which has that much heritage remains. And if you are crave for Portugal, visit Macau. But don't go to Singapore or Hong Kong for British flavour, there aren't much left! LOL!

Front view of Notre Dame

When we were entering the cathedral, I was told off by a local vendor there to take off my cap. However, when we were inside, I saw some others had their hats on. No offence to anyone, I fully respect every culture, and am truly sorry for that, but even though it was morning, the sun was already torching outside. It's November by the way, can't imagine how hot during the summer.

For some, cathedrals are about tainted glass..

For some, it's the interior..
Then of course, there are always the devotees.

Saigon Central Post Office

Saigon Central Post Office and Notre Dame are just beside each other, it's naturally tourists will visit here one after the other.

When we arrived, there was a large group of brides and grooms taking group picture outside the grand old dame, wearing a fusion of Western and Vietnamese costumes, obviously the locals hold this cultural heritage at high regard. I can't help feeling that if the Vietnamese tourism ministry is any wiser, they should have re-packaged their country on their French heritage like how Macau has done it. They still have abundant assets that can help boost tourism.

Once inside the General Post Office, it's easy to sway by the impression as if in France, until you (almost instantaneously) notice the portrait of uncle Ho right in the front of it. Make no mistake, this is not just a tourist attraction, it still is a post office!

By the sides of it, there are two arrays of cubicles, which were obviously phone booths that have now been converted into ATM machines. On top, there are clocked which indicate cities in different time zones.

And in the middle of the post office compound, you can find a big section selling Vietnamese handicrafts and souvenirs. It's still a common practice here to buy a postcard with stamp and send back to your own address back home!

Vendors outside Saigon General Post Office selling handicrafts

We bought some souvenirs from the Post Office, but by 10.35am, we were already out, heading for Vincom Center, a short, 5 minutes walk south.
Vincom Center is very similar to shopping malls in Singapore, with multi levels of retailers, including restaurants, but personally, I was more enthralled by Parkson next door actually. Not so much the shopping though, but on level 5 of Parkson, you can find a supermarket as well as food court here. Been here 5 years ago too, I still find here a marvellous spot for meals, not over crowded, and reasonably price with good options. There's cuisines from Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, and of course, Vietnam. As for the supermarket, it sells lots of local delicacies, including coffee powder, you can virtually source here for whatever you are getting for your love ones back home!
Anyway, it's around 12.30pm when we were done with our round of shopping, about time for lunch.

I volunteered to look after our belongings while the aunties ordered their lunch. This was what mum ordered, Thai styled glass noodle with seafood. I can't remember the exact name, but anyway, I was quite appealed by the look of it and decided to patronise this stall, Viet Thai.

Tổng Tiền Số Lượng

I didn't order the same dish though, I had this Shrimp Paste Seafood Fried Rice for 65K VND. A bit salty in my opinion, but still tasted nice.
We finished our lunch around 12.50pm, and left for city hall, again, merely across a street.

Trụ sở Ủy ban Nhân dân Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh

Ho Chi Minh City Hall, once known as Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, but was first meant to be a hotel when it was built in 1908. This is yet another of French's majestic heritage that the Vietnamese government recognised as a cultural asset. Pity, if it remains a hotel, it would have attain probably the best location of whole Saigon. Then again, if it does, its surrounding would probably have developed very differently. As of today, in front of the city hall is a broad walkway, now curtailed to traffic, leading almost all the way towards the river bank. Come night falls, the building and its surrounding will be lit up and demonstrate a different facade in an entirely different tone.

Eh? What happened to the statue where uncle Ho holding on to a little girl?? In its place now, is a standing statue of Ho Chi Minh standing and waving, which I personally find it mediocre. I thought the old statue is more appealing. I only found out after I left, that the old statue had been re-located in 2015 to the HCMC Children's House, a community center in the adjacent District 3.

Further south, construction can be seen right in front of the Opera House, it's Saigon's new metro system, finally, it has been put into action. Approval for construction was obtained as early as 2007, and work began the following year. Initially, it had been projected to begin operation 2017~2018, for some reason, it has now been pushed back to 2020. This is a major step by Saigon's government in curtailing traffic congestion within the city, but as far as tourists are concern, it serves little purpose (the most meaningful aspect is probably from airport to city and vice versa) as most attractions within the city are well within walking distance.

Nhà hát Thành phố

And this is the Opera House, another remarkable architecture with strong French influence! Visitors can only enter when there's a performance going on, but I'm already contented just by snapping pictures outside.

In front of the Opera House, there's this cart of handicrafts, I don't know what's that, but it's certainly very eye-catching!

After seeing the Opera House, we proceeded along Đồng Khởi (Saigon version of Singapore's Orchard Road) towards the river bank. Along the way, pass by some souvenir shops, many of them selling these buffalo horn crafted into shapes of owl, mum simply loves these! In fact, she bought a lot of these (not from the shop in this picture though) as souvenir, and some as gifts for her better colleagues.

Bitexco Financial Tower

Near the end of Đồng Khởi, we found Bitexco Financial Tower (actually it can be seen from far). By far, this is Vietnam's most remarkable skyscraper at 264m (to tip). Though it's not as tall as Keangnam Hanoi Landmark Tower, its sexy outlook certainly surpasses many other skyscrapers in the world. A visit to its Skydeck would set you back a cool 200K VND for an adult, with concession tickets going for 130K VND. For me, pass. I'll just do with a picture underneath.
After seeing the Bitexco Tower nearby, that conclude all the plan I had for the day, it was just 2pm!
Gosh, my aunt was already making noise why do we need an extra day tomorrow and not flying back instead. I hate to answer such question, anyway, I will let the answer surface itself when I come to the next day's itinerary later.

Fanny

We turned a corner, and I brought the aunties to Fanny along Tôn Thất Thiệp. This local ice cream chain is highly recommended from many travel guide books, and their flagship store at Tôn Thất Thiệp is definitely worth a visit!

Fanny at Tôn Thất Thiệp has a few different sectors, each decorated elegantly with such nostalgia which made you feel you have stepped back in time. And truth be told, they have the quality in their ice cream to compliment such atmosphere.

Fondue

I ordered a Fondue (299K VND), selecting 14 scoops of ice cream from their wide range of flavours, along with enclosed waffles, slices of apple, strawberries, and watermelon. We ate so full that eventually the old folks gave up on dinner, well, sort of. We left Fanny at 2.55pm, and leisurely walked back to hotel. Along the way, mum bought some buffalo horn crafted owl from a souvenir shop near Ben Thanh Market. We had sourced for cheaper price whole day today, and she reckoned we won't be finding anything cheaper elsewhere. Reached hotel at 3.50pm. It's still early really, but the old folks refused to venture outside again, getting me to buy Baguette Ancienne from Une Journée à Paris. Aunt wanted two, I only bought one and earned her nag for the whole evening. She would eventually finished it throughout the remaining 3 days we remained in Saigon. Good thing I only bought one.
At 6.55pm, I left the aunties in the hotel room and ventured outside for some night shot with my Canon EOS-600D. Without the old folks, I reached my first destination, Saigon Central Post Office, in just 25 minutes.

Saigon Central Post Office

Đường Sách (Book Lane) on Nguyễn Văn Bình, leading to Hard Rock Cafe Saigon

Đường Sách on Nguyễn Văn Bình

Hard Rock Café at Kumho Asiana Plaza

Diamond Plaza

Nhà hát Thành phố (Saigon Opera House)

Ủy ban Nhân dân Thành phố (Hồ Chí Minh City Hall / People's Committee HQ)

City Hall at night is a vast contrast to the ghost town it was during the day. It is almost impossible to wait for the crowd to disperse before I could take a clean shot. This just show how much the visitors appreciate this architecture at night.

The broadwalk in front of city hall shows the vast volume of crowd almost stretching all the way to the river bank more than 500m away. Kudos to the city government in creating a leisure walk way out of a land scarce city center!
That almost conclude my night venture and about time I have my dinner. I don't feel like dining in, and ended up buying discounted sushi from Takashimaya's Tsukiji Nakajima Suisan (築地中島水產) for 99K VND.

Night market beside Chợ Bến Thành

Discovered a popular street food market at Thủ Khoa Huân

I eventually returned to hotel room at 8.30pm, covering almost all of my day time itinerary (except Reunification Palace and Notre Dame, which have no light up) in about 90 minutes. Truly enjoyed my sushi dinner, along with a Larue beer.

Day 3: 27 Nov 2016, Sun
Woke up at 6am, didn't sleep well again. I can bear with noises from the street, but the old folks in the room were simply too noisy. Anyway, had our breakfast at the rooftop at 6.35am.

I started with toast, and a cup of G7 coffee, so-called No. 1 Coffee. Well, I'm not really a coffee lover, No. 1, I ain't so sure, but it certainly tastes good!

And our favourite French baguette, crisp on the outside, soft in the inside. We sure hope it's available free whole day, not just over breakfast! :P

Hủ Tiếu (Rice Noodle in Pork Soup)

We all had Rice Noodle in Pork Soup (well, basically vermicelli. Not the flat type rice noodle we are accustomed back home). The old folks were saying the pork tasted better than chicken they had the day before, but they preferred the Vietnamese noodle more.

The noodle came with lime and Vietnamese white chili. Don't be deceived by the look of the white chili, they are very hot!

We had breakfast until 7.45am, got back our room, grabbed our bag, and headed for the bus stop at 22 Nguyễn Trãi for bus #11 to Chợ Bình Tây (Cho Lon Market). By 8.15am, we board bus #11 (5K VND). However, it turned out bus #11 was the wrong bus, we ended up in Đầm Sen instead. I didn't know about Đầm Sen then, but actually, it can be a place of interest. Anyway, while at the Bãi xe Buýt Đầm Sen-Hòa Bình bus terminal, I found from the bus network map in the bus stop outside, and boarded bus #144 for Cho Lon Market at 9am (5K VND), we reached our destination around 9.20am.

Ga Hkxb Cho Lon Lê Quang Sung

We alighted at Lê Quang Sung, right outside Ga Hkxb Cho Lon Lê Quang Sung (Chợ Bình Tây Bus Terminal), thanks to Google map, I was able to alight at the correct bus stop, the massive Cho Lon Market is hidden a street away.

I enclose a screen capture of Cho Lon Market here, Google map is not very informative, but I have indicated the correct spot marked with a red asterisk. The surrounding is also known as the Chinatown.

Saigon's Chinatown

The bustling Tháp Mười

Tháp Mười is the street right in front of Cho Lon Market. Just when you think the cars are inching, the motorcycles quickly take up the vacuum like a mercury. I can hardly find an opportunity to cross this road without braving the traffic, you'd just have to cross the road the Vietnamese way! Don't fret, the motorists are more patient than those from many other cities.

Chợ Bình Tây

For visitors to Saigon, Chợ Bình Tây actually offers very competitive pricing as compare to what you can get in the city. The two aunties were already stuck at the very first shop selling nuts just outside the market, bought a kilogram of cashew nuts each, even before looking through what the rest of the stalls may offer inside the market. Anyway, as we found out, the prices are more or less the same.

Like Chợ Bến Thành, Chợ Bình Tây here also has a cooked food section, though it doesn't sell souvenir. We found a coffee stall, and decided to try out their market coffee. Turned out, their coffee is pretty unique to us! But before I go on, did you notice anything weird in this picture above? The stall next door is selling loan?? LOL! It's just their name, I guess.

We just ordered 3 coffee, and this was what we each got. A glass of coffee soaked in a plastic container with water, with additional glass of tea. The coffee was very thick, so was the condense milk in it. We tried to take out the glass from the plastic mug, but was stopped by the stall operator. I guess she probably scare it might be too hot for our fingers. The tea was very fragrance, I suspect she added jasmine tea to black tea, I will try it back home!

In general, although Chợ Bình Tây is not as crowded as Chợ Bến Thành, but the passage way between stalls are similarly narrow, allowing only one person to pass through at a time, or for two person to pass through side way. It's far from pleasant.

We left Chợ Bình Tây at 11.30am, taking bus from Chợ Bình Tây Bus Terminal. I finally saw a double decker bus in Saigon here! I had to walked around before finding out bus #56 heads towards Chợ Bến Thành. It was still early, so I decided to take them to An Đông Market (6K VND), the journey took 20 minutes.

Credit: OneVietnam

I didn't take a picture of An Đông Market, anyway, here's one I found from OneVietnam Talking Point. They have dry sundries in the underground, while the upper levels are very much segregated into goldsmith and watches, clothing accessories, handicrafts etc. This is not really a tourist attraction, so the prices here are very reasonable. Mum bought another buffalo horn crafted owl here, cheaper than what she paid yesterday.
We stayed slightly under an hour here, before taking bus #56 (6K VND) again at 12.45pm, heading towards city. 15 minutes later, we alighted at 135 Trần Hưng Đạo, then walked to Cơm Tấm Cali at Nguyễn Trãi for lunch, it's about 10 minutes walk from where we alighted the bus.

Cơm Tấm sườn cốt lết nướng, 55K VND

Finally, I got to order my favourite Broken Rice with House Special BBQ Pork. Back home, most pork are almost too dry, but over here, I don't know how they did it, it's juicy and tender, plus the BBQ sauce was such a delight! Oh, by the way, don't remove the printed sheet underneath before you finish your mail, otherwise the staff will replenish one immediately. I suspect it's used to help maintain table cleanliness.

Salad Trộn Dầu Giấm

Mum ordered their Salad Trộn Dầu Giấm (House Special Salad). This is a tad different from the one which came with the noodle the other day, which I was trying to shown mum the amount was akin to having two meals for the price of one.

I can't remember what aunt ordered, somehow we ended up giving some of our meal to mum, who claimed she wasn't that hungry for a full meal yet.

We finished our lunch at 2pm, to be honest, we had finished almost all itinerary I planned. We had almost 24 hours till our flight home the next day, but I feel the buffer was adequate. We were fortunate the weather was fine throughout our stay, in addition, this cater some allowance to get some last minute purchases. So next, I brought the two aunties to a confectionery, Bảo Hiên Rồng Vàng, just opposite Golden Central Hotel along Lý Tự Trọng. Golden Central Hotel (or simply Golden Hotel) was where I stayed 5 years ago, and I remember getting some delicacy from Bảo Hiên Rồng Vàng (Rồng Vàng means Golden Dragon, Bảo Hiên I don't know, maybe a name) for my love ones back home.

Cashew nut crackers and sesame crackers from Bảo Hiên Rồng Vàng

Somehow, the aunties were commenting the prices wasn't very cheap. Is it? Nevertheless, we bought a few for our relatives and associates back home. However, I can share that after they get back, they claim they truly regret didn't buy enough. Frankly speaking, if they overpriced themselves and if their quality ain't good, I wonder would they still be around after 5 years along Lý Tự Trọng? This is after all, still a prime street near Ben Thanh Market.

Trung Nguyên Legend Café

It didn't take us long buying these titbits really, and by 2.45pm, we found ourselves sipping coffee at Trung Nguyên Legend Café, a.k.a. Number 1 Coffee, at the junction of Lý Tự Trọng and Trương Định. The old folks understandably didn't want to sit upstair, insisting taking the sole ground floor table right in front of the cashier cum reception. That's fine by me, but aunt suggested all ordering the same coffee, come to think of it, I must be pretty stupid to agree. We incidentally ordered something like an Espresso, with thick condense milk. I hate Espresso, it's too thick for a non-coffeeholic like me. I wanted them to try Vietnam's signature coffee, but ended up all getting disappointed because of one wrong decision. We tried Trung Nguyên G7 coffee before, and it is one of the better one out there.

We got back to our hotel by 3.30pm, and began repacking our luggage.

Món Việt

We would come out again at 5pm for dinner. Mum wanted some soup, and they didn't want to re-visit Cơm Tấm Cali. We ventured around Ben Thanh Market before settling at a restaurant, Món Việt, along Lê Thánh Tôn, facing the back of Ben Thanh Market.

Cơm Heo Quay Thịt Nướng (Roasted Pork and BBQ Pork with Rice)

I had this Roasted Pork and BBQ Pork with Rice for 70K VND. Even though the BBQ pork was much smaller than that from Cơm Tấm Cali, it certainly tasted much better! Even their roasted pork was tender too.

Mum ordered this Shrimp Dumpling Noodle with soup, which she said tasted average, nothing spectacular. Aunt, again, made a wrong order, ended up with just dumplings in soup, without the noodle.

After dinner, we went for another round of coffee at Phuc Long Coffee & Tea Express on the end of Lý Tự Trọng, I ordered Cafe Latte, Vanilla Latte, and a Caramel Coffee, totalling exactly 100K VND. This would be our final coffee adventure during this trip. Ah, much better than the espresso we had this afternoon. Can't trust aunt with her order.

Tổ Yến Chưng Củ Năng

After coffee, we returned to Yến Sào Anpha's outlet at Cách Mạng Tháng Tám for a final pampering, the sales girls there seem very happy that we returned. The two aunties ordered Bird Nest with Rock Sugar (Tổ Yến Chưng Đường Phèn) for 150K VND each, while I had Bird Nest with Water Chestnut (Tổ Yến Chưng Củ Năng), 150K VND. I was surprise to find the water chestnuts in their original shape, I am more used to having them in shredded form.

We returned to our hotel room at 7.45pm, I would sleep at 11pm later.

Day 4: 28 Nov 2016, Mon

Woke up even earlier on our final day in Saigon, by mum's voice. Haiz... never had a good sleep throughout. Had our breakfast from 6.30am, until 8.10am. We were in no hurry, the only itinerary left was to check out and leave for airport.

The two aunties wanted to order a special breakfast from the menu, Vietnamese Noodle in Pork Soup. I refused to co-ordinate, leaving them to liaise with the staff in broken English. Well, at least the staff got our order right without much fuss despite understanding very few English herself. Yup, taste great! Then of course, we had some baguette too.
After breakfast, Mum and I went to Satrafoods Lê Thị Riêng minimart at the junction of Ngã sáu Phù Đổng and Cách Mạng Tháng Tám, to buy some last minute items, notably beer. We bought 6-can pack of Tiger Crystal for 88.8K VND (S$5.61), and another 6-can pack of Bia Larue Xanh for 53.5K VND (S$3.38), pretty cheap! Better deal than getting from DFS back home.

We checked out our hotel at 11.10am, catered time buffer for them to clear the room. Even though our booked airport taxi was suppose to pick us up at 11.30am, we already boarded the taxi we booked from hotel for 180K VND at 11.20am.
If it was left to me, I would save the 180K VND, drag my luggage for a 15 minutes walk to Chợ Bến Thành bus stop, and board bus #152 for airport. But aunt was very fussy, insisted taking a taxi, moreover, a direct booking through hotel.
Traffic was pretty smooth for a Monday morning, it took us just 23 minutes to reach airport. The taxi driver left his meter on during our journey, I peeped at it before alighting, and noted the fare meter indicated 120K VND. I guess I can treat the extra 60K VND as advance booking charge. After alighting, the taxi driver asked for extra 10K VND for exit toll charge. I confirmed with the hotel receptionist I won't need to pay a single cent extra after boarded the taxi, but I was too lazy to argue with the driver. Forget it.

It was 11.50am, it would take another 5 hours before we reached Singapore, and we didn't want to pay for mediocre food onboard our flight. Hence, we had Burger King lunch at the airport, right outside the departure hall. The aunties went for a set meal, while I had a Fish Burger for 40K VND.

Other than Burger King, there are also Big Bowl (I suppose selling Phở??), and Domino's Pizza further down the background outside the airport's international departure hall.

We headed directly to check-in counter after our lunch. Tan Son Nhat Airport departure hall may look spacious, but don't be deceived by its seemingly deserted outlook, because as we reached the end of the departure hall where Tigerair's check-in counters are, we were greeted with this..

The queue proceeded frustratingly slow, took us 25 minutes in the queue. We were done checking in at 12.50pm, and by 1.10pm, we cleared immigration and proceeded to boarding gate.

Tan Son Nhat Airport's duty free shops are generally small scale

Gate 17

Indicated on our boarding pass, we were suppose to wait for boarding at Gate 17, but I sensed the boarding gate was too dense, it seemed fishy. A check from the LCD shown that our boarding gate had been switched to Gate 16.

Gate 16

There's a couple of souvenir stalls in every board gate in Tan Son Nhat Airport, but few passengers patronised them.

Like most major airport and conventional airlines, priority boarding were given to privileged passengers, including elderly and children.

TR2325 (9V_TAO)

Flight TR2325 arrived late at 2.15pm, but the efficiency of the ground and air crews allowed us to board at 2.40pm (we were seated row 7, naturally were the last few to board). By 2.53pm, flight TR2325 undocked and ready to fly for Singapore.
Flight TR2325 arrived at Singapore Changi International Airport at 6pm (SG time), 15 minutes late due to long queue for landing.
We would have dinner at Subway at T2 before heading home.

And these are my loots ~

I bought this piggy stuffed keychain from Saigon Central Post Office for 40K VND. This may look expensive, but the amount of effort right from making the rag, to the sewing up, took many hours to complete.

With that, I conclude this blog post on my return visit to Saigon.

~ End ~