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Sunday, January 15, 2023

Day One of My Inaugural Visit to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) in Vietnam


<<< Summarized Itinerary

Detailed Postings for the Day

Checking in was a breeze with the automation; totally so for impatient guys like me who dislike waiting in line amongst limited manned counters who had to deal with passengers with tons of questions or communication issues. 

Terminal 4 was closed during the pandemic given the border closures in many countries and my visit was just almost two months since its reopening. Air travel had increased but definitely not to the pre-pandemic level. 


Time to clear immigration using the world's second most powerful passport, which allowed us to travel to "193 different destinations around the world visa-free"! 

Befitting Changi Airport's reputation, everything was kept in tip-top condition and you don't feel, see or even smell that lingering muskiness associated with things that haven't been exposed for a long period of time. 

Only issue was that many retail and dining vendors still remain shut. With manpower strains, most would, understandably, prefer to concentrate on outlets that have a higher footfall. 

Hopefully things have improved for the better now that it's more than two months since my travel to Vietnam. p.s. I actually wanted toast and coffee from Heavenly Wang but it was closed. 

So, I had to make do with an alternative at the food court. Thankfully, the toast was great; thinly sliced with a crispy texture that complemented with the thick spread of butter and tasty, not overly sweet kaya. 

ADLV - Acme De La Vie; I didn't know about this brand until my friend commented it's famous! You are so wrong if you thought the brand is from France; it originated from Korea! 

Going to our departing gate.  

Arrival of our VietJet plane; Alex watches a lot of documentaries on airlines' disasters and I thought he would resist taking a budget airline that isn't as well-known. Guess he was persuaded by the Great Kon!

Configuration for the Airbus A320 felt very much like AirAsia; well, it's only a short flight and no frill isn't exactly a bad thing. It always feels very rushed on short flights for full serviced airlines, given the food and drinks and I couldn't never finish a movie, on time!

For short people like me, this was spacious enough. 

Only thing, the airline definitely needs to improve its cleaning or at the very least, hide them from the passengers' sight. The above, in the middle between the seats and underneath the arm rests, would have had my mom complaining how lousy the airline is. 

I am chilled; attempting to read a Vietnamese language magazine although the photographs were the most of what I can infer from. As with such airline magazines, some content would be in English but maybe the last few pages.

Awaiting for departure! 

Finally above the clouds! I am not sure about you but I really like the feeling of being a few thousands feet above the sky, alongside the clouds or above them. I hope I would reincarnate as a bird in my next life; maybe an apex predator like a raptor. 

Plane almost looked empty from this angle! 
Everyone was seated in front. 

Using this hack on taking time-lapsed video that I learnt from Tik Tok. It worked but not when the plane was departing / arriving as all window shades are required to be up (open).

A picture of the inflight menu for VietJet.

Reaching the mainland of Vietnam; you may also check out The Eyes in the Sky for more photos! According to Google Map, this should be the Cape of Đồng Tranh, which would be around 50 kilometers from our destination, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC)! 

Time-lapsed video from Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC).

It was drizzling when we arrived and in spite of the cooler temperature, I detest whenever it rains when I am travelling as it can result in many inconveniences.
 
Especially when the plane wasn't connected to an aerobridge and you need to quickly get into the shuttle bus so that you wouldn't get drenched. The saving grace was that the rain had trickled to just light raindrops when we left the plane. 

Immigration clearance was straightforward and we didn't have to wait too long. This differs from Bangkok where sometimes we had to wait much longer. This is one instance whereby we are proud of the efficiency of the immigration and checkpoint authority in Singapore.

A welcome party; a lot of people conveniently forget that foreign workers in Singapore have families  back home and can you imagine not being able to see your family for almost three years due to the pandemic? 

The usual me would have obediently walked to the taxi queue and maybe get in line for a taxi that would bring me to my hotel. Not when we were travelling with the Great Kon, who can literally call HCMC his second home. 

He booked via GRAB. 

Interesting right? The rear mirror of our GRAB car was simply a monitor for the camera at the back! The old school driver in me would hesitate using this though, despite the clarity and the brightness; what if the monitor goes kaput? 

Singapore's car license plates start with a three-letter prefix that begins with S. Here in HCMC, it starts with the provincial/municipal codes and for the economic capital of Vietnam, it's either 50–59 or 41. 

First meal in Vietnam; Cơm Tấm Ba Ghiền! Click the link to read more about this dish that was enjoyed by many locals even though the rice used was the lower quality broken rice.

On GRAB again and bypassing the Huyện Sỹ Church which was completed in the early 1900s. Even though it's super close to Vien Dong Hotel, I didn't explore further.

Checking in to Vien Dong Hotel. Although we travelled as a group, the Great Kon and another friend had booked another hotel just two doors away.

My first Vietnamese spa experience at Spa Salon Galaxy Sài Gòn which just about S$30 for 90 minutes of pampering that included washing of feet, shaving of facial hair, manicure, pedicure, body massage and shampoo! 

Some basic Vietnamese phases. 
I only remember hello and thank you. 

Dinner at Ẩm Thực Quê Nhà Quận 3 where I finally got to indulge in the fuji beef that Kon had been talking about for the past few years! It was indeed delicious and even got the thumbs-up from Alex who typically doesn't enjoy beef.

Sacrilegious! How could they repaint the piggy bank with the likeness of Doraemon!? Initially, I thought this was some new designs that I could add on to my collection at home! 

Who wants to have KFC? I remember this guy from United Kingdom who made it his personal crusade to try KFCs all over the world. His current count is 50 countries and best is said to be from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia! 

We were brought to this building, said to house a cafe. From the advertisements all over the building, I thought we were going to buy another air ticket from VietJet.

There's indeed a cafe; Cong Cafe! 

Right across from Cong Cafe would be Turtle Lake (Hồ Con Rùa); popular with locals as a congregation point with plenty of roadside mobile stalls to grab a meal / snack.

While my stomach was already stuffed with all the food we had so far, my friends were still keen to get some coffee / milk tea from this Ukiyo Coffee, after seeing that it was still packed past 10pm!

Menu for your references.
Traditional milk tea was nice!
Cost only about S$2.00.

I am wondering where the lights were coming from and a little research online revealed a rooftop bar at Centec Tower by the name of Shri Restaurant & Lounge. Guess that's where the lights were from.

Some heritage building that was undergoing renovation.
Remember, this was my first day and my direction was still green.

Kon, the veteran of HCMC, was well aware what that building was. 
The Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon!

Right next to the cathedral would be Sai Gon Central Post Office; built between 1886 – 1891, it might surprise that it's still a working post office and tourists continue to stream in for photo-taking in the daytime, when the office was open for business.

Planking time for the Great Kon. Those who didn't know about this weird phenomenon can read about it here. Aside from planking, there's also owling and batmanning, just to name a few. 

Candy floss man!

My friend couldn't resist the ice cream! 
I was so stuffed; I was sleepy! 

Vibrancy of Vietnamese street culture. I always thought it's a myth that Vietnamese would sit so low, next to the roads, to have meals and drinks. While it's common in France to have alfresco settings, sitting on chairs, instead of stools, is the norm.

Most people would recognize the Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon from this side, where the two bell towers, at 58 meters tall, stood out. The Great Kon had only visited once on his first trip to HCMC, as it has closed for renovation since then.

Bahn Mi! I was keen.
But my mind was weak.

The fire that gutted a restaurant just about two weeks before our trip. You may read more about the incident here. Luckily, no casualty from this incident. If you visit Ben Than Market, this area was just 50 meters away. Quite eerie to pass by at night. 

Emptier roads of HCMC. The daytime was a different story as there were so many motorbikes. One thing you hear a lot in HCMC; honking! 

See how low, and how close they were to the road! 

KFC just now; and now, it's McDonald's. I am not really a fast food fan, especially overseas, since the stomach space could be better put to use at local eateries.

Sorry, it doesn't apply to my friends! 
And they ordered a 20-piece nuggets to share! 

Menu for your reference in case you want to compare prices.

Some historic building that I walked past often in the next few days. An 80-year old building owned by this tycoon by the name of Nguyen Van Hao, the 800-meter square structure still housed his descendants although the family's fortune wasn't as before.

Strolling along Bui Vien Street at night. Said to be the location of HCMC's top night spot, this former backpacker street was bustling with activities, and noise! Check out my post here. 

More bahn mi stalls and it was closed to midnight! The Vietnamese don't really sleep very early whereas uncle me was dying to go back to Vien Dong Hotel for a shower and then drifted into dreamland. 


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