Vietnam trip 2018 Summary

Hi all,

I am back after such a long time. On 5 February 2018, I decided to take a short solo trip to Vietnam, a country which I have never been to. Despite being located in South East Asia, I have so far only visited Thailand, Singapore, and Cambodia.

Ho Chi Minh City or formerly Saigon is my first Vietnamese destination. Located in the southern part of the country, it is only a brief 2 hours flight from Kuala Lumpur, even closer compared to Kota Kinabalu!

At the arrival terminal, I decided to save the hassle of getting a Sim Card and hence bought it at the building itself. The Viettel outlet, largest mobile phone provider in Vietnam is located at the far left end of the terminal after exiting the internal gate. 

To get to the City Center without relying on cutthroat taxis or sweaty public busses, there is a third option which is the airport shuttle Bus no 109 for a paltry 20,000 Dong (about RM 4). The journey took 45 minutes and before long, we are at Pham Ngo Lao, the backpacker haven for Ho Chi Minh City.

Once you exit the terminal, the yellow bus stop is located opposite

The hotel which I checked in, Marie Line Hotel was the best value for money hotel in the former capital through Booking. It is strategically located within a 1-minute walk to Bui Vien Street, as well as 23/9 Park, a bus terminal for public buses as well as the yellow airport bus.

After checking in, I then proceeded to Ho Chi Minh City Hall by public bus through an app (BusMap) from 23/9 Park. Due to the insurmountable amount of busses, certain buses are picking up passengers from an adjoined terminal instead of the main building, Bus 04 and Bus 18, both of which goes to my destination are located there.

The fare is 5,000 or 6,000 Dong depending on the bus you take but it is still dirt cheap. I alighted at Le Thanh Ton Bus Stop, just beside of Rex Hotel.  Now the adventure begins, Ho Chi Minh City Hall is beside of Rex  Hotel and in front of it is a statue of the father of modern Vietnam himself, unfortunately, the building itself is still in use hence outsiders are forbidden to enter.

Saigon Opera House is just a three-minute walk away from the City Hall and it was once the legislative assembly hall for South Vietnamese lawmakers to discuss the future of their country. Located 15 minutes away was the Bitexco Financial Tower, the highest building in Ho Chi Minh City, it is used doubly as an office building and shopping mall but if you intend to splurge here, you are out of luck as it does not have many outlets compared to other shopping malls. However, its shape is unique and similar to the Avengers Tower.

When in Vietnam, what food comes to mind? Pho, Banh Mi or Com Tam. I decided to have my Pho at a shop named Pho 2000, back in 2000, President Bill Clinton patronised this shop with his daughter and hence the name. There are several Pho 2000’s around the city but the very outlet visited by Bill was the one located beside of Ben Thanh market. 

Pho 2000 is located just beside of Ben Thanh Market

Inside, the very table used by the American president was covered in red cloth. I thought it was forbidden to use it but was mistaken after a group of Korean girls sat at that very table. Really regretted it but at least I sat right beside of the ‘honored table’. Now, in order to feel like a president, you have to eat like a president, hence the decision to order the Presidential menu (what Bill has eaten).

The 'famed' red table

To be honest, the pho was decent, it tasted just like any chicken noodle soup but the fried spring rolls were great. Also, it is definitely overpriced due to the ‘publicity’ it received, a normal bowl of pho is usually just a fraction of the price but hey it is only a one-off occasion so I took it as a new experience.  

Presidential menu

As for night activities, after a hot shower plus brief nap in the hotel, the Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theater was my destination to of course experience its famed water puppet. It is located beside of the Reunification Palace and there was a sports complex at its back. There were two sessions per day at 5 pm and 6.30pm respectively. I chose the latter.

The Water Puppet itself lasted 50 minutes and to be honest it is kind of boring to me and no way compared to what I experienced at Song City (Song Chen), Hangzhou. However, with due respect, the crew did their best in entertaining the various nationalities conjured in the theater.

It was almost 7.30pm when the show ended and with a growling stomach, I headed to Com Nieu Saigon, a shop that appeared as a destination in China’s version of the Amazing Race to witness their famed clay pot rice acrobatic servings. It is located a mere 1km from the Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theater so walking is considered chicken feat to me.  

2^nd Day

The next day, it is time for the famed Cu Chi Tunnels. To all foreigners out there, there are two tunnels, Ben Dinh and Ben Duoc. Ben Dinh is not part of the original tunnel complex and has been enlarged to suit the bigger body size of Western tourist. It is also the usual destination for local tourist companies with some charging about 100,000 Dong for a half day tour. 

Ben Duoc, on the other hand, was a part of the original tunnel complex and unaltered to retaine its originality. About 2.5 hours is needed to get there by public bus. Hence to avoid the afternoon crowd and heat, you have to be an early bird. Bus 13 takes you from 23/9 Park all the way to Cu Chi Bus station for 7,000 Dong, the journey takes about 1.5 hours. After arriving at the transit point, one has to search for Bus 79 for another 1-hour journey for 6,000 Dong.

Get off at this junction/ zebra crossing when you see this sign board, when waiting for Bus 79 to return to Cu Chi Bus Station, you can wait opposite of the sign board

The Ben Duoc ticket costs 90,000 Dong (70,000 Dong for entrance and 20,000 for guide fee). For some reason, it is compulsory to pay for the guided tour. Nevertheless, it is a 10-15 minutes walk to the tunnel complex proper from the main entrance, in between there is a temple used to honor Ho Chi Minh himself and its murals depicting the suffering of the locals at the hands of their American oppressors.

Being a solo tourist, the management staffs will first lead you to a hut broadcasting a documentary touching on the history of the tunnels and its usage in the Vietnam War. Just a disclaimer, it is unavoidable that the narrative will be from the Vietnamese perspective so be prepared for slews of anti-American propaganda.

It is amazing to see how the Viet Cong managed to blend in and camouflage the tunnels with the surrounding jungle, one can simply be walking over an entire battalion of soldiers in those days without even realising it is a death trap awaiting.

Also, the ground entrance is extremely small and one has to simply raise his hands straight upwards to enter together with constant crawling in it. Inside, the tunnel complex is at a staggering 250km long, without a proper guide, one can easily get lost in it. 

 After the tour, we were given tapioca with sugary grind peanuts, a daily diet for the guerillas during the war. Then the guide hurriedly left us which I felt throughout the entire trip that he is just trying to skip through the many attractions such as the traps with the pretext of wanting to be ahead of some tour groups, not good and doing his job properly!

The hands of a pair of Korean tourist who just don't know what is called photography courtesy. Simply no manners !

At the end of the building selling souvenirs, there is a sign board displaying the prices for the bullets sold for guns used at a shooting range. It has been printed on the board that by purchasing a minimum of 5 bullets, one can be transported to the shooting range, located 1km away.

After heading back to Ho Chi Minh City and bidding goodbye to my newfound friend, I had my lunch at the Five Oyster Restaurant at Bui Vien Street and proceeded to Fanny, the Häagen-Dazs of Vietnam to experience their ice cream. There are several branches throughout the city but this particular branch is located near to Ben Thanh Market and Bui Vien Street. To cut short, it is near the Mcdonalds of Ben Thanh. The price, to be honest, is not really cheap, my choice Mesonas costs 89,000 Dong (RM 17.80).

A 3-hour nap and rest at the hotel reinvigorated me, at 7.30pm I head out for dinner and search for the famous face mask worn by the locals riding motorcycles. Out of luck however and with a hungry stomach, I went back to the vicinity of Bui Vien Street and got my hands on Com Tam, a Vietnamese cuisine. This roadside dish consists of broken rice, fried egg, cucumbers as well as a grilled pork chop for 30,000 Dong. 

Com Tam

3^rd day

The final day is the most enjoyable in my opinion as I am finally able to visit the Reunification Palace or the Presidential Palace. You can arrive at its vicinity by public bus, by once again taking Bus 04 or Bus 18 from 23/9 Park, get off at Le Duan Bus Stop which is just a 2 minutes walk away from the destination. To give you a little hindsight, the Reunification Palace was actually known as Norodom Palace back when Vietnam was a part of French Indochina. The building serves as the Governor’s residents and it was then abandoned. After the founding of the Republic of Vietnam or South Vietnam, it became the residing place for the President. The current structure was actually built in the 60s when a bomb damaged the old Norodom Palace which prompted Ngô Đình Diệm, the then president to order the construction of a new palace. Unfortunately, he did not live to see the completion of the new building as he got assassinated in 1963, just 3 years short before its opening in 1966.

Formerly known as Independence Palace too

Back to the building itself, it is actually only decent in size and comparable to the Presidential Palace in Taipei, Taiwan. What gave it a large appearance is a huge garden in front of the building. Entrance ticket costs 40,000 Dong which is cheap in my opinion.

Inside, there are many attractions such as the President’s Office, the underground bunker as well as a chopper on the rooftop. It is my understanding that the President and Vice President works in the same building however it seems that only the President and his family gets the privilege to really call the building ‘home’ as a bedroom was provided.

President's Office, there is an emergency exit near the desk which leads to the underground bunker

Presidential Bedroom

Outside, there is a replica of two North Vietnamese tanks and a jet fighter used by the Communist to ram through the gates on 30 April 1975, the day where the Republic of Vietnam ceased to exist.

Located just a stone’s throw away from the Palace lies the Saigon Notre Dam Basilica and the Saigon Post Office, the latter was designed by the late Gustav Eiffel. Yep, the same guy who designed the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris.  Unlike other buildings which have been turned into a museum, the post office is still a functioning one where one can send home a souvenir postcard.

Saigon Notre Dam Basillica 

Saigon Post Office, there is a McDonalds on the left side of the building

After having lunch, it is time to head to my final destination, the War Remnants Museum which houses artifacts of weapons, vehicles, and machines used by the Americans during the war. Inside there are also numerous articles and reports mainly from the Vietnamese perspective as well as a room filled with child survivors of the Vietnam War with birth defects.

By visiting, the museum presented an alternate perspective from what we usually hear from the mainstream media and learn to evaluate the rights and wrongs of any incident. It is paramount to hear from both sides.

With my flight at 8 pm, I left at 4 pm to take Bus 149 from Nha Van Hoa Lao Dong Bus Stop, located beside of the Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theater back to 23/9 Park to collect my luggage. The journey itself took only about 15 minutes for 6,000 Dong.

After bidding goodbye to the hotel staff who did a great job accommodating me, I took the Yellow Bus 109 from 23/9 Park for my one-hour long journey back to the airport for my return flight to Malaysia.

Verdict

This trip is indeed the cheapest I have ever experienced as I spent only approximately RM 700 including flight tickets, accommodation and miscellaneous expenses like food and entrance tickets. Sometimes, it is even cheaper to travel to Southeast Asia than within Malaysia if one is willing to adhere to the budget travel concept.