Vietnam Part 6 : Back at Saigon!

Around four to five hours of sleeping in Sinh Cafe’s sleeper bus, we were awaken by loud renditions of Vietnamese folk songs through speakers that were resting innocently next to our heads.

Still in a dazed state, we looked out the windows and saw a view that we could not catch of Saigon five days back; one that had a sparring number of people and even lesser numbers of vehicles dashing around.

Grabbing our now spilling backpacks which had been thrown haphazardly onto the gravel pavement, Peah, Ikah and I stood still for a moment, digesting slowly the situation that we are facing right now – Nary a cent in our pockets due to the boy at Mui Ne, on a lonely street at 5am with nowhere to go.

Slinging our backpacks over our shoulders, we walked towards Luan Vu Hostel, the only place we could call home here in Saigon. Sleepy, exhausted and wanting nothing but a place to rest our tired bodies, we began envisioning the comfortable beds that Luan Vu had granted us the first two days in the country.

It came to a shock when we saw Luan Vu’s gates all closed up and locked. Knowing nothing else that we could do, or anywhere else that we could go, we desperately knocked on the metal gate, and let out a sigh of relief when a familiar face (albeit sleepy hehe) pushed the creaking grills open.

Seeing us, she smiled but with a slight dismay on her face, pointed out that they had no rooms left at all since we did not make any reservations. However, upon noticing that we look terribly disappointed and on getting to know that we really had no money left and only needed a place to crash for a few hours or so, she gestured towards the sofa at the lobby where she was sleeping at. Insisting that we sleep there, she gathered her pillow and blanket, and joined the rest of the hotel staff to sleep on the kitchen floor :’)

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Vietnam Part 5 : Mui Ne!

I confess. I totally forgot about my remaining Vietnam entries and if it weren’t because of a couple of readers e-mailing to inquire about them, these two coming entries will for sure not see the light of day :P

For those who have not read the past entries, or need a recap, kindly see Part 1 (Saigon), Part 2 (Cu Chi), Part 3 (Mekong Delta) and Part 4 (Nha Thrang). So without further ado, Vietnam Part 5 : Mui Ne :)

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We boarded the Sinh Cafe bus to Mui Ne at the lobby of our hotel at Nha Thrang (they fetched all passengers one by one) early in the morning at 7am, and we pretty much dozed off all the way on our seats for the next 5 hours or so (in between vainly attempting to tune in to 89.7 fm for The OShow haha!).

Once the bus rolled into Sinh Cafe’s own resort at Mui Ne, all of us clambered off for a much needed breather and proceeded to the restaurant for some chow. In between gulping down DELICIOUS (not exaggerating) dishes and ogling at the table of hotties next to our table (mixture of British, American, French and Japanese guys – ALL CUTE!), we cohesively decided that since Mui Ne is our last real stop at Vietnam, we would splurge the remnants of our cash here (little did we know we would be spending all of it).

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Vietnam Part 4 : Nha Thrang!

We arrived at Nha Thrang early the next morning, and I awoke to the wide open ocean on my right and endless rows of trees on my left. Everyone around me was fast asleep, but the scenery enveloping the sleeper bus was too good to be missed so I sat up, and enjoyed some Me-Time just looking out onto the horizon.

For the next thirty minutes or so, the bus twisted and turned on the road, going along the circumference of hills. Even though I was cocooned in it, I could feel the serenity and the breeze outside, as shades of blue and green blanketed my eyesight. It was at that moment that I fell in love with Nha Thrang.

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Vietnam Part 3 : Mekong Delta!

From the third day onwards, we decided to get out of Saigon and experience the different parts of Vietnam. Even though the whole itinerary was planned by Sinh Cafe, we specifically told them that for out trip to Mekong Delta, we would not be using their services, but rather those provided by Delta Adventure Tours.

The reason was simple. Delta Adventure Tours gave us more options, like riding on small canoes and cycling around a village whereas Sinh Cafe’s was a more ‘looking’ tour, just sitting in boats looking at the scenery. This is the reason why for every tour, you should always ask exactly what you are doing, and shop around looking for other options. Different operators do different things, so it’s best you choose the one which fits you (and your budget) best.

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Vietnam Part 2 : Caodai Temples and Cu Chi Tunnels!

Waking up bright and early the morning after our first day at Ho Chin Minh which we spent planning our itinerary for the next five days, we were greeted by a gargantuan throng of people all milling around and queuing up to get onto their respective buses.

Although the crowd was a mix of people who had booked tours from the many different agents all lined up along the busy road, I noticed that Sinh Cafe had the most buses and passengers, which I think is a good reflection of how favored they are amongst the tourists residing around the area :)

The bus we boarded arrived ten minutes after the scheduled timing and it was SUCH a relief to be able to board it and realize that the sitting bus was really, really comfortable and that the three of us had been assigned with seats right up front.

Once everyone was settled down (took less then 5 minutes), the bus started moving off to our destination and we were greeted by our tour guide, Moe, who is so damn cute! Hahaha. Besides his cute little dimpled smile which got the girls all giggly, his accented English was just so cute! “Ok I’m going to correct all your money and I will buy you all the tickesh first!“

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Vietnam Part 1 : Ho Chin Minh (Saigon)

Similar to our last trip together to Pulau Rawa last year, this recent trip the Totots (sans Liyana) had to Vietnam was rather last minute, in the sense that all we did ahead was to book airline tickets, and only got together to do a rough itinerary on the 24th, five days before our departure date.

So when the three of us (Ikah, myself and Peah, from Left to Right) boarded the plane on the afternoon of April 30th, leaving our crying boyfriends behind (hehe), it still did not really settle in my head that I was going to be away from Singapore for 6 days to a country where I have not once ever thought of travelling to, whilst knowing pretty much nothing about it.

Our first day at Vietnam was pretty much uneventful due to a series of mishaps, but do watch out for my following parts as those are the days we had fun-fun-fun! Do continue reading if you want to, but don’t say I didn’t warn you hehe…

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Bangkok Part 5 : Naaz, Haroon Village and Home.

Knowing that we had not much time left on our last day due to our flight leaving around 6pm, the four of us woke up pretty early (by our standards hehe) and ventured outside on our own. Before we flew over, I already had it in mind that I wanted to try eating at Naaz Restaurant and then explore Haroon Village, so I managed to convince the rest to do just that :)

From LubD we could actually walk to the restaurant (which is more like a coffeeshop hehe), but because we all can’t be arsed and Anz and I are still pretty unwell, we cabbed down. I think, if one does not have a map and a good sense of direction, it will be pretty hard to find as it is pretty tucked away. Even with an exact address, our cabbie got a bit lost finding the restaurant.

But gosh, the food was worth it! The chicken briyani was YUM, and it had a different taste then the briyanis in Singapore.  The naan was so milky and mmmmm so sedap! The only thing we did not like here was the Teh Susu, which, according to the guys, tasted like milky plain water haha!

Anyway, the food’s pretty cheap and the whole price list is pasted on the wall so the owners cannot (and will not, I guess?) dupe tourists like us :) Two YAYS for that!

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Bangkok Part 4(P) : Phraya River Cruise, Paragon, Pratunam and Patpong Night Market.

The third day did not begin very well for me, as Mr Flu and Ms Fever had knocked on my door and was welcoming themselves in. On top of that, the four of us were scheduled for a tour around Bangkok (at least that’s what the advertisement said) which was due to begin at 7:30am.  So with a heavy head, Anz and I got ready in record time and met the boys who were already waiting downstairs with our tour guide and driver.

The first stop of the day was a river cruise along Chao Phraya River and to the canals of Bangkok aka Asia’s Venice. We cruised along and saw many of Bangkok’s temples, the houses sitting next to canals, monks waving at us etc. I have to admit that I would have been more psyched if not for the fact that I was ready to puke at any moment, and…

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Bangkok Part 3 : Vespa Market.

Taking the train from the Chatuchak Park station (the underground line which I think is brand new as everything looks uber modern), we headed two stops and dropped at Lat Phrao, which was where the Vespa Market is.

On a side note, see those two black things on Haikal’s eyes? That’s the tokens to board the train! So cute! hahaha *cough*

As the huge-ass of a thunderstorm had just stopped, the WHOLE AREA was just flooding and many of the stall owners had only begun to try clear the water using their brooms and whatnot, so when we got there, half the shops were still in the process of being opened :(

However, seeing the number of vintage vehicles (MY VW BUSSES AHHHHH) and items already on display, we braved ourselves and walked through water, mud and other unidentified liquids just so we can be snap happy and have an orgasm looking and touching the vehicles hehehe.

Qiey, who’s a vintage vehicle expert, and I, who just LOVE VW buses, we were in seventh heaven.

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Bangkok Part 2 : Chatuchak Weekend Market

The next morning we woke up nice and early (HAHA 11am), all smelling of new tops and bottoms wakakaka. In my readings online, I read about LubD’s famous 80 baht breakfast so all of us plopped in front of the bar counter and ordered four sets of it.

It was nothing spectacular – two pieces of toasted bread, a croissant, free flow of butter and raspberry jam, a hard-boiled egg, a gargantuan banana, a cup of orange juice and your choice of tea or coffee. However, at 80 baht we felt it was worth it as it provided us with a simple but delicious breakfast well suited to provide us with the energy we needed the entire day :)

So aboard the train again we went (cute right the ticketing machines – so old school!) and saw something that we can never ever encounter in Singapore… c’mon guess… wait for it… wait for it… wait for it…

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