HO CHI MINH CITY HOLIDAY

CHAO! Last month, Hubby and I were charmed by Vietnam's largest city, Ho Chi Minh, formerly known as Saigon. A long weekend -- we flew in Thursday, flew out Sunday -- was enough to see most of the main attractions since they were all in one district. Hoping to see Hanoi next...

   

Out On a Date in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
March 2012

Our HCMC Holiday Highlights:

1. It's only an hour and 45 minutes away from Singapore, via Tiger Airways.
2. Budget airfare via Tiger Airways: SGD200 round trip, per head (that's around Php7,000 each, round trip).
3. We crossed time zones. Had to push our watches one hour back. 6pm in Singapore / Manila is 5pm in Vietnam. 
4. Climate. It's hot and humid, like Singapore and Manila.
5. Communication. They speak very (very!) limited English. (Their language is of course Vietnamese.)
6. Currency: We're millionaires in Vietnam! Roughly, Php2,000 is equivalent to 1 million Vietnamese Dong. I must admit, I had a hard time with the currency the first few hours. Too many zeroes! Kaloka! Got the hang of it after our first meal, hehe. (1 VND = 00.002057 PHP)
7. Confirmed: it's the Scooter Capital of Asia.
8. We loved how they've preserved structures. Kitang-kita ang French influence sa architecture - so charming!  
9. Transportation. No trains yet. By 2014 pa raw. As usual, we walked a lot (we love long walks). We took the taxi a few times, they were very cheap compared to Singapore. HCMC's taxi fare is comparable to Manila's.
10. WE LOVE VIETNAMESE CUISINE. We've been fans of Vietnamese food (in Manila and Singapore) so it was such joy to finally try authentic Vietnamese fare. Everything tasted fresh and healthy. And meals were so cheap. Especially when you compare it with Singapore prices (which is unfair to do but still!), lalong napapasarap ang kain namin dahil ang mura-mura. 

Detailed blog entries on our HCMC long weekend next. 

Tôi yêu bạn!