Month: May 2010

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Post author By Ronald Tan
Post date May 31, 2010
6 Comments on A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

This is my 5th day and also the last day of my Vietnam trip. If you like to see the last 4 days of my trip, please do click here. Above photo shows the corridor of Elios Hotel (which I am staying) – I was pretty satisfied with the overall experience (clean and good location) but just that sometimes it does get rather noisy in the wee hours when other guests return after a “night out”. Some guests also smoke at the corridor and the ciggie smell can get into the room. Not good for those whose are light sleepers or have sensitive nose!

Free wireless is available to all hotel guests. Took this while going for breakfast.

We do not have much on the itinerary today as basically we just want to rest/relax and do some shopping. This is also the reason why we woke up slightly later than usual. 🙂

After our breakfast, we went to nearby Highlands Coffee to laze around and also have their famous Vietnamese Coffee. Photo above is showing the 2nd floor of Highlands Coffee at De Tham street (near to Pham Ngu Lao St).

For smokers, you may want to check out the outside seats where you can sip you coffee and see traffic buzzing by. Yeah, the Highlands Coffee is directly opposite Allez Boo (See “A Day in Ho Chi Minh City” for my visit there). Noticed that there are lots of overhanging wires around?

Traditional Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk, served with the tin dripper. VND 28,000.

Ca phe sua nong (Vietnamese: cà phê sữa nóng) — literally, “hot coffee with milk”.

After lazing at Highlands Coffee for an hour, we took a taxi to Cho Binh Tay (Binh Tay Market) which is the main market of Cho Lon (Chinatown). Taxi ride costs VND 70, 000 from Highlands Coffee at De Tham street.

Many shops are available here! Decided to quickly head inside the market to escape from the scorching sun.

Ladies, any handbags for you?

Rows of dried food and spices for sale!

Bags, backpacks and travel luggage can all be found here! My partner bought a “The North Face” branded backpack here at VND 180,000.

Store layout – it’s quite a large market with 2 floors selling a vast variety of products ranging from food, bags, shoes, slippers. Look at the bottom of the chart.

Hats for sale! As it was a hot day, we bought 2 hats (each at VND 30,000). Should have gotten it during our first day not the last day! Haha! But anyway it’s fine, we will use it for other upcoming trips.

Exploring the 2 floor of Binh Tay Market.

Chinese pagoda/structure at the middle of Binh Tay Market.

View of Binh Tay Market from the opening area in the middle.

Dragon statue sprouting water in a pond with fishes…

Walking out of Binh Tay Market to grab a taxi back to Ben Thanh Market area and saw street peddlers selling their stuffs.

Public bus? We took a taxi from here and the taxi driver really took us for a ride by going round in circles thinking that we don’t know. Then, I purposely took out the map to check and then in less than 3 mins, we reached Ben Thanh Market.

Pho 2000 is the reason why we are coming to Ben Thanh Market area. The restaurant’s slogan is “Pho for the President” and this is because was honored by a visit from former United States President Bill Clinton in 2000.

A photo in Pho 2000 showing Bill Clinton‘s visit in 2000.

Pho 2000 – Lemon Soda VND 20,000. My partner didn’t expect that it comes separately and she have to mix it herself. Haha!

Pho 2000 – Beef Pho (large) VND 45,000 with all the condiments thrown in. The regular size goes for VND 35,000. Excellent Pho!

After the lunch, since we are nearby to Ben Thanh Market, so decided to walk around for last minutes buys.

Food stalls at Ben Thanh Market. I forgot to try the glass dessert (che) here…heard that it was nice… 🙁

For coffee lovers, there is large variety of pre-mixed coffee powder for your selection.

Souvenirs and handicrafts are also available too!

Of course, how can Ben Thanh Market not have the girl’s stuffs such as handbags, purse, hair accessories, etc.

Walking back to Elios Hotel to take a break. There wasn’t much people around as it’s a Sunday and they are likely to be lazing at home.

After the short break, we venture out to look for a manicure shop that we passed by several days ago as my partner wanted to do her nails. Passing by Crazy Buffalo Saigon again.

Another nearby restaurant and bar, Go 2 Eat.

Walking along Le Lai street. The manicure shop which my partner wanted to go is closed. Haha…

Fruit seller along the streets.

Wet market where the locals purchase their daily groceries. We did pass by this area in the night before and it was really rowdy and gives my my partner an insecure feeling!

Pocha Korean Restaurant, seems to me that there are quite a lot of Korean restaurants around. Probably, it’s due to the influx of Koreans working in Ho Chi Minh City.

On our way back along Pham Ngu Lao, there were several fire engines on the road which was creating quite a scene. My partner said maybe it’s our hotel that caught fire and I quickly dismissed the thought. The fire engines was blaring their sirens as if something drastic had happened but after their loitering around the area for a few minutes, they left! Maybe it was a false alarm?

Anyway, we headed towards Sasa Cafe (242 De Tham Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) for dinner. It’s our second time here in 5days! See here for the first visit.

Having the delicious spring rolls (10 pieces) again VND 33,000.

Spaghetti Bolognese VND 48,000.

Enchiladas VND 62,000. Also had 2 x Saigon beer (VND 15,000 each) and 1 Dalat red wine (VND 22,000). Total for the dinner is VND 195,000. After dinner, we went back to hotel early to do packing up and also to have an early night as our flight back to Singapore is at 9am. We need to leave from hotel around 7.30am to cater additional time just in case we are caught in traffic jam.

Woke up, eat breakfast, checked out and then took a cab to the airport for VND 120,000 (fixed price). It was due to the hotel bellboy asking whether I need a taxi to the airport, which I replied “Yes”. I thought he was going to help us flagged down a taxi (using meter) but instead he bought us over to another taxi which promptly asked for VND 120,000. As I don’t want to be late for my flight, so I accepted without any haggling. My estimation that it will cost around VND 95,000 during 0730am.

Checked-in and waiting for our JetStar flight to arrive from Singapore (which will route back to Singapore).

Boarding the plane for our journey back home.

After our 5 days trip in Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), we are back at Singapore Changi Airport.

The overall trip was fun and amazing even though the weather was really hot. Next time we will be more prepared!

There are a few places or activities which I planned but didn’t visit or do respectively, namely

Visit “Reunification Palace“.
Try “Jolly Spa” at 38 Mac Dinh Chi Street, Q1, HCMC”
Visit “Quan An Ngon at 41/1 Pham Ngoc Thach, Q3 – a food-court layout but with various small stalls each whipping their specialties. Prices are inexpensive.
Eat “Bang Chang” – heard it’s nice and made primarily of vegetables, much like salad.
Eat “Glass dessert (che)” at Ben Thanh Market.
Explore more at Vung Tau (beaches, temples, statue of Jesus, seafood, etc.)

Well, it’s fine as it gives us another reason (other then the cheap and tasty beers) to return to Ho Chi Minh City. I also heard great feedback from fellow travelers about Dalat and Halong Bay! Both places will be in my next itinerary for sure! Might even add Cambodia (Phnom Penh and Siem Reap) if my partner (cannot take hot weather) is not joining!

Until next time then, Vietnam!

Vietnam

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Post author By Ronald Tan
Post date May 25, 2010
19 Comments on 1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Oh, time really flies and it’s already my fourth day in Ho Chi Minh City! No going for guided tour today and will be exploring on our own – We will be going to Vung Tau, which is a popular destination with beautiful beaches.

After breakfast, we took a cab from Elios Hotel to Bach Dang Passenger Quay (Ton Duc Thang Str., Dist. 1). The journey took a while due to the morning traffic and cost us VND 30,000. Initially, I have planned to take a bus to Vung Tau from Mien Dong Coach Station (Bến Xe Miền Đông) as it’s cheaper at VND 40,000 but at a longer duration (2 hours). Lucky thing is that I consulted the staff at Sasa Cafe the night before and they told me that Mien Dong Coach Station is quite far away and we need to take a cab (or bus #26 from Ben Thanh station) first. Then I decided that we should opt for the quick and easy way to Vung Tau via Hydrofoil fast ferry (Tàu cánh ngầm). Above photo is Bach Dang Passenger Quay.

There are 3 Hydrofoil operators in Bach Dang Passenger Quay and the hydrofoils depart for Vung Tau almost hourly. Above photo shows Greenlines and Petro Express.

Vina Express on the other side of the Bach Dang Passenger Quay. All three operators charge the same fare at VND180,000 per person. Although it’s a little more expensive but it’s much faster (1 hour 15 min) and comfortable than bus.

Waiting area at Bach Dang Passenger Quay.

Our tickets from Greenlines. We decided to go for Greenlines due to the timing as they are the next hydrofoil schedule to leave and we only require to stick around less than 30mins.

Just around 15mins of wait and the hydrofoil arrived. Seats are allocated so there is no need to rush! 🙂

As our tickets was bought rather last minute, we got seats that face the rest of the passengers. Haha!

It was a rather pleasant ride and we reached Vung Tau in around 1 hour 15 min. Vung Tau is the capital of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province and is the first tourist city in Vietnam. With beauty beach and fresh air, Vung Tau is a very popular destination for weekends.

First thing after alighting the hydrofoil is to go get return tickets back to Ho Chi Minh City. You may choose to stay in Vung Tau but we decided to stick to just a day trip. Better get return tickets earlier, otherwise you will get stuck in Vung Tau if all the tickets are sold out. Hehe!

Went for Vina Express for our return trip back to Saigon. Fares are the same at VND180,000 per person.

Seems like a house to me… and it’s very nice! Sea view for all the rooms!

Long and lonely road. A vast difference from the traffic at Ho Chi Minh City.

Passing by a Chinese temple.

Passing by another Chinese temple. 🙂

Vietnamese temple dedicated to Tran Hung Dao, the Vietnamese military hero. (Thanks to Walter for the correction!)

If you are spending more time here in Vung Tau, you may want to visit “Statue of Jesus Christ with outstretched arms” which is on top of small mountain.

Stopping at Coffee Ocap for a breather and to hide from the extremely hot weather! It’s burning our skin!

1 Soursop Shake and 1 Saigon at a total of VND 33,000. Ice-cold tea is provided free-of-charge and WIFI is available too!

After the rest, we continued to walk around. Passing by “The Etta Pub”, which seems like a nice place to chill out.

Buying and selling crabs! Think crabs are a specialty seafood which is very popular in Vung Tau as everyplace have cooked crab on their menu.

Passing by Cafe Chong Chong.

The hot weather made us stop again but this time more for lunch.

Menu at Bayview. Lots of food selection available!

Our lunch – 2 sandwich (as above), 1 Saigon beer and 1 Heineken, which totaled to VND 125,000. Gotta have the beer to cool us down in the hot weather! LOL!

View from our seats at Bayview. It’s nice to hide away from the sun! Haha!

The interior of Bayview. Believed that the owner is an Australian.

Time’s up – gotta board the Vinasun Express hydrofoil back to Ho Chi Minh City.

This time round, we are given seats at the back of the hydrofoil. Personal opinion is that the Vinasun Express condition is worse off then Greenlines.

We sat facing 2 LCD TVs but they are not on throughout the journey. In fact, it wasn’t even plug in! Check out the right LCD TV! Haha!

Anyway, beyond the door is actually the engine room so you get free diesel smell here too!

After alighting the Hydrofoil, it was raining heavily in Ho Chi Minh City so we waited for a while for the rain to become smalller. Then, we grabbed a cab to Zen Plaza and paid VND 25,000.

Explored Zen Plaza for a while and then took cab to Parkson at VND 30,000.

La Dolce Vita Café at Continental Hotel Saigon.

Passing by Saigon Opera House.

Walking along Dong Khoi Street.

Lucky Plaza. Well, not the Lucky Plaza in Singapore. 🙂

The reason why we are roaming along Dong Khoi Street – French restaurant Augustin (10 Nguyen Thiep).

The interior of Augustin. We reached early for dinner (7pm) so we were the only customers. 🙂

A bottle of house red. Think it was around VND 250,000.

Grilled Duck Confit. VND 150,000.

Grilled Chicken Breast with Cream Sauce. VND 120,000.

Lime Sorbet with Vodka. VND 110,000.

Night view of Saigon Opera House.

Passing by Hotel Continental Saigon while we are walking toward Ben Thanh Market.

Water fountain where locals as well as tourist hang around.

A statue of Ho Chi Minh with Ho Chi Minh City Hall in the background.

Ho Chi Minh City Hall. It was renamed after 1975 as Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee.

Passing by Trung Nguyen Coffee. Didn’t really try it as we can also find Trung Nguyen Coffee back home in Singapore (in Liang Court). I remembered always going there to stock up on G7 instant coffee!

Next to Trung Nguyen Coffee is our destination – Bach Dang Ice Cream. A favourite place of young Saigonese.

A recommendation from the staff of Bach Dang Ice Cream – Ice cream in coconut at VND 62,000. Nice!

Night market at Ben Thanh. Never really explore around as it’s likely to be a tourist trap! 😛

Leaving you with a video at Ben Thanh Market. Generally, the traffic in Ho Chi Minh City is somehow similar! 🙂

Vietnam

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Post author By Ronald Tan
Post date May 18, 2010
1 Comment on 1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Hello! It’s our 3rd day in Vietnam and we are still waking up around 6.30am (although a bit tired) to have breakfast before going for our tour to Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta. Above shows the breakfast voucher at Elios Hotel. For photos of Elios Hotel, please do refer to “A Day in Ho Chi Minh City“. Also do check out our 2nd day tour to “Cao Dai Temple & Cu Chi Tunnels“.

My first serving – fried rice, potato wedges, ham, sausages, etc.

My second serving is usually toast (with butter) and a repeat of the food that I find it nice in serving 1. The good thing about the breakfast at Elios Hotel is that the majority of the food (except for toast & drinks) are changed everyday so that you will not feel bored eating the same food for several days. Likely to have a fixed menu which it’s rotated around.

We walk over to TheSinhTourist and boarded the coach. This time round the tour group is rather huge and the majority are non-Asians.

After a while of the coach ride, we stopped at a restaurant for a break where tourists can visit restroom, smoke or just hang around.

After another 1 hour of journey. we were told to alight and then continued by walking for a short distance to have a motorized boat ride.

On the motorized boat ride. Captain checking the head count of the tourists before leaving.

The kind of motorized boat we are taking. 🙂

Mekong Delta – here we come!

Passing by a another smaller boat, it seems to me that the boat is actually their house where they lived, sleep and go on with their everyday things…

Transport boat – passengers together with their bicycles, motorbikes and large items.

Church along Mekong Delta.

Alighted the boat, we didn’t get to see the “Cai Be Floating Market“… not sure why…thought it was in the itinerary…

We were then ushered to a place where we tried free samples of Royal Jelly. If you like it, then you can purchase it.

Showing us the worker bees where the Royal Jelly comes from.

Believe this should be Cai Be (as tour guide didn’t explain) and it’s a very calming area. Walking along a small path to the next destination.

Reached our next destination…what do we have here?

Brewing alcohol? I need a drink!

Yeah, because at the opposite of the brewery, you can see this. Alcohol with snakes, scorpions and herbs… anyone game to try? Well, a couple from my tour group tried and mention that it tastes like sake but much stronger. He also asked me whether I would like to try which I politely declined. 🙂

At another corner, there is a stall selling crackers and also showing how Vietnamese spring roll skin is made.

Next, another area showing how they make coconut candies.

A variety of coconut candies is available and there are free samples available to try. I overheard that there are banana, chocolate, etc flavors too!

Walking on to the next destination. Looks like pasar malam in Singapore?

This area sells lots of clothing.

Another section showing how they make rice crackers, the grains are thrown in the hot wok (with sand) and it pops just like popcorn!

The backyard of the shop.

Durians for sale here too! But I personally find it way too heaty (due to hot weather) to consume any durians but Vietnamese differs as there was a party of 3 who went ahead to eat.

More souvenirs for you to buy back. 🙂

Continuing our journey on the boat to a village to have lunch as well as to see the life of villagers.

Another boat carrying a large pile of of sand passing by our boat.

A house along Mekong Delta, seems to be self-built.

Petrol station for the boats!

Lunch that was packaged together with the tour. Food was quite fine but it was nothing fantastic. It comes with some fruits as well but the drinks is chargeable. I suppose this restaurant is always frequent by tourists so the drinks are slightly more expensive – 1 333 beer and 1 Coke totaled up to VND 34,000.

The restaurant where we are having lunch with our tour group.

After the lunch, we went to take a stroll around the village premises.

Private area to host your guests for lunch or dinner.

Crocodile farm. You can pay a small sum of money to feed them too!

Hammocks are available here and some of our tour members even had a good nap after the lunch!

There is a short singing performance by the locals and you are welcome to part with you money in appreciation.

Continuing the journey on the boat and the reached our next destination – Vinh Long Market.

The sun was extremely hot today and it made walking around really difficult as there wasn’t much of shelter around.

Cho Vinh Long, which is Vinh Long Market in English.

Food stalls at Vinh Long Market, the stall owners are beckoning at us to try, which we politely declined.

My partner bought a small 50g Bioré facial wash (facial-fit expert) at VND 19,000 here. Nostalgia sight!

Vu Trung Discotheque – doesn’t seem to be in operation anymore. We went back to the coach and waited for it to leave for our next destination back to Ho Chi Minh City. A rather unfortunate thing happened halfway during the ride, the air-con in the coach broke down (despite the bus assistant effort to get it working) and we were all trapped in hot air. Opening the window helps a bit but you also get to have free carbon monoxide, dust and sand in your face!

Coach stopped at Mekong Rest Stop. It is a very nice and clean place and I think you can imagine if I tell you the above photo is actually the rest room.

Facade of Mekong Rest Stop.

My partner bought a can of coke here at VND 16,000 and we sat at the table to the right to rest. It was a relief from the hot bus due to the air-con going nuts!

Mandarin Duck relaxing at the pond at Mekong Rest Stop.

Private resting area for big groups.

Somehow, before we board the bus, the air-con was fixed and the rest of journey was rather pleasant. We reached Ho Chi Minh City around 630pm and walk around to find a place to have dinner. Passing by Crazy Buffalo Saigon, a restaurant and bar that is open 24 hours.

Decided to try Sasa Cafe (242 De Tam Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam), which was just along TheSinhTourist office. Internet is available upstairs and you can also eat here too as there are tables looking out over the street.

Delicious spring rolls (10 pieces) at VND 33,000.

Pizza Quattro Stagoni (large) at VND 85,000. Total dinner is at VND 211,000 which included 3 x Saigon Beer (VND 15,000 each) and 2 Heineken (VND 20,000 each). Food was extremely nice and staffs are friendly too! The ambiance is cozy and great for after-dinner drinks!

The next blog post will cover my 1 day Vung Tau Tour as well as walkabout, shopping and french dining in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). 🙂

Vietnam

1 Day Cao Dai Temple & Cu Chi Tunnels Tour

Post author By Ronald Tan
Post date May 13, 2010
4 Comments on 1 Day Cao Dai Temple & Cu Chi Tunnels Tour

Day 2 in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) – we woke up around 6.15am to freshen up and then hurried to have the free buffet breakfast at the hotel. The above shows the first round of servings that I had. Food was nice and there was quite a spread as well.

Our breakfast is at Blue Sky Restaurant, which is located on the 12th floor of Elios Hotel and it’s a very cozy restaurant! Our rooms is on the 10th floor but the lift only serves up to 11th so you have to walk up 1 floor. Sometimes, it’s faster just to climb 2 floors then to wait for the lift.

You can also choose to sit outdoor, where you can admire the city view while you eat. Convenient for smokers too!

We didn’t take the outdoor seats as the sun is already shining strong and I only went out for a while to take a shot of the city view.

After the breakfast, we went back to room to use the bathroom before walking over to TheSinhTourist (5 mins away). We were told to check-in half hour prior to the departure timing but I think 15 mins earlier would be fine so as not too spend too much time waiting. But still no worries if you come early as there are seats, washroom and even free internet (2 terminals) available in TheSinhTourist office!

As our group is rather small, we were assigned a minibus instead of the usual big bus coach. Our group consists of a couple from Singapore (us!), a couple from Czech Republic, 2 males from South Korea and 6 males from Sarawak, Malaysia.

After about an hour of journey towards Cao Dai Temple, we alighted at an area to view handicapped handicrafts (tour guide mentioned to us that it was to visit the washroom).

Seems like a popular spot to use to the washroom as there are also other tour buses with tourists here too! LOL!

The art pieces here are pretty amazing as you can see that artists are re-using egg shells by cutting it to smaller sizes and then pasting it on to the vases. Various kind of designs are available too!

One of the completed art pieces. Amazing, is it? You can buy the artworks, if any catches your liking.

Another 1.5 hours journey on the minibus and we finally reached Cao Dai Temple (front view) in Tay Ninh. Tour Guide told us that Cao Dai means “High Tower” and is a religion that is a combination of Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Confucianism, Hinduism, Geniism, and Taoism.

Side view of the high tower at Cao Dai Temple.

Side view of Cao Dai Temple, which stretches for quite a distance. Built in 1933, with a unique architectural style that reflects it’s blended traditions.

A garden behind Cao Dai Temple.

The high tower at the end of Cao Dai Temple.

Restroom that is behind Cao Dai Temple. Rather primitive experience!

Inside Cao Dai Temple, males will entered the temple from the right side and females from the left. Both are seated separately. As for tourists, this does no applies! Need to remove shoes before entering too!

A spiral staircase which was decorated with intrinsic design of a dragon.

The Divine Eye, a symbol of God.

Beautiful craving design on the door.

Notice some of them are wearing different colour robes? It symbolize the three principal colors of Cao Dai – yellow for Buddhism, blue for Taoism and red for Christianity. Cao Dai disciples are dress in white robes.

Visitor are only allowed to watch the ceremony from 2nd floor, which actually stretches along the Cao Dai Temple. There are fans available and I chose a position where it’s blowing directly at me. Also. please be silent during the ceremony!

Short video on the noontime prayer and ceremony.

Took a photo of the whole Cao Dai Temple when leaving. Such a enlightening place!

Tour guide then drove us to a nearby Nam Thanh Restaurant to have lunch (at own costs). Prices are relatively reasonable and I grab a Saigon beer at VND 15,000. Haha!

Chicken with mushrooms and vegetables VND 35,000. Decided to go for more vegetables due to fear of constipation!

Chicken with fresh chilli and lemon grass VND 35,000.

Lunch totaled up to VND 97,000 which also included 1 Saigon Beer at VND 15,000 and 1 Coca-Cola at VND 12,000.

Next destination is Cu Chi Tunnels and we paid VND 150,000 for the entrance fee (not included in the tour package) for 2 persons. We were then ushered into a bunker to watch a video on the history of Cu Chi.

Tiger trap, as the name imply, it is used for hunting tigers but during Vietnam War, it was used to trap American soldiers! The bottom of the pit comes with metal spikes but bamboo was the key material during then.

Small camouflage hole which seems impossible for a human to fit it.

Ta-da! A demonstration to show how it’s done – you fit into the hole first, put some leaves on top of the cover, slide down into the hole and cover up. The tour guide mentioned to me that I won’t fit at all. Haha!

Two tunnel path shown here. It’s actually a Y-fork which you can either take the left or the right path.

Ventilation hole for the tunnel. There are many of them spread around so that the enemies can’t suffocate them.

One of the many booby traps. This is the clipping armpit trap, which will actually injure your arm pit if you fall in. Dangerous!

This booby trap is attached behind a door (think with weights too!) and if you open the door, it will slam right into you and the spikes will pierce into your body!

A bunker which showcase how bombs was made during the Vietnam War.

You can pay for bullets at this counter and then fire-off at the firing range. Different weapons such as M16, AK47, M30, etc are available!

Rifles are mounted and can’t move freely so you can rest your mind! No counterstrike goofing around here!

One of the tunnel that is open to tourist to have a feel of wriggling in dark and squeezy space. There are several exits along the way and I did went in to experience. My feedback – it’s hot (might be due to weather) and the space is really tight (maybe of my size & also carrying a backpack). But I still encourage tourists to still go ahead and try!

After don’t-know-how-many-hours of back-breaking bus ride, we are back at De Tham Street in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) around 630pm. First thing I did after I alighted was to grab a cool beer! 🙂

Kim Cafe (272 De Tham), just a few steps away from TheSinhTourist and is popular with both local and foreigners. They serve typical Vietnamese cuisine and is reasonably priced. I noticed this restaurant during my first day in HCMC when I was having dinner at Allez Boo and noted that a lot of customers do patronise them. Told myself that will try the next day. 🙂

Stir Fry Beef with Vegetables.

Vietnamese Chicken Curry – it’s tasty but very oily as well!

Morning Glory with Garlic.

Total for dinner is VND 193,000. Other then the above, our dinner also included 2 steam rice, 2 Saigon (Green) beer at VND 12,000 each and 1 Heineken Beer at VND 20,000.

Lobby area of Elios Hotel. On the left side is the front desk reception. For the rest of the hotel photos, you may want to refer to my last post (A Day in Ho Chi Minh City).

Back at hotel room, my partner having a Blueberry Apple Feuillete at VND 10,000 that we bought along Pham Ngu Lao street (think a few shops away from our hotel).

It was a long and tiring day! The weather didn’t make it any better as the sun was really shining bright. Next day, we will be going for 1 Day Cai Be – Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta (VND 210,000/person) so we went to sleep early. Lookout for the next blog post on “1 Day Cai Be – Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour.”