Ho Chi Minh City | Vietnam [Day 2 - Mekong Tour]

Assalamualaikum and hello~

So, on our second day, we had booked a tour to Mekong River from a travel agent near our hotel. There are a lot of travel agency nearby, we did some survey and chose which one suited us well. Thus, we took a one-day trip to Mekong. I think we paid USD19 per person. Quite reasonable for a one day tour.

The tour started at 8am where the tour guide named Faraway picked us up from our hotel. Then the bus continued fetching up some more tourists before the tour  really started. We toured around the city first then the bus headed to My Tho region which took about 3 hours journey. Jauh jugak, sampai tertidur dalam bas. The guide showed us the paddy field along the highway. Duh, kat Sabak Bernam berlambak sawah padi ok, kau tak payah nak bangga sangat. Hari-hari pergi kerja menghadap sawah padi.

Ben Thanh market..Syurga wanita..

Vinh Trang Temple - Big Buddha

Before arriving at the My Tho, we stopped at Vinh Trang Temple. Here lies two big Buddha statues. One at the front (sitting) and another at the back (lying). At the front, there is a main temple and some gardens filled with plants and bougainvillea. The exterior was quite nice though. We entered the temple as well, some area required us to take off our shoes. The weather was extremely hot today, thus we only made a 10-minute stop. We walked around this area catching some photos. Nothing much to do here. I think if we're not fasting that day, maybe we had grab some ice creams. Lol.. *dugaan*

My Tho - Mekong River

The bus took us to the pier which is located just not far from the temple. We boarded the medium size boat with wooden interior. We had to adjust our seats a few times to balance the boat. If not, the boat would tilt and we're gonna sink. Blup blup blup.. Hahaha.. It's quite enjoyable riding the boat although the weather was hot, the wind was soothing.

Coconut Candy (Turtle Island)

Our first stop was coconut candy production. Our guide showed us how to peel the coconut by using sharp tool. The he briefed us about the process of getting the coconut milk and later producing the coconut candy. We just watched and listened to him while the workers continued doing their routine jobs. Besides coconut candy, this place also sells snake liquor. They said that it's good for men. Ehemmm.. Tapi ular kot, geliii.. After a few moments, we left the shop. I did not buy anything from here. Our next journey was very interesting. We boarded a horse cart and our next stop was to have lunch at a local restaurant.

Lunch

We arrived at the restaurant around 20 minutes later. The journey by horse cart was bumpy. We met a couple Singaporean who took the same cart as us. They were very friendly, plus the girl is originally came from Indonesia. So she can speak Malay very fluently. However, he husband couldn't understand any words we said. Lol. Since we were fasting, we just hanged out at the hammocks nearby while the other enjoying their lunch. After lunch, we were given time to do some activities like cycling. Orang tengah puasa memang takde la nak cycling bagai.

Phoenix Island - Crocodile

Next, to Phoenix Island. It's an island where you can relax and enjoy crocodile. Haha.. Spent some times here, watching crocodile, seeing tourists walked on the bamboo bridge and relaxed a bit.

Bee Farm

In some other island, we were brought to bee farm. Mr Faraway showed us the beehives and some tourists took photos with them. My friends and I walked towards the back finding toilet to change our attire. Since Eid was coming soon, we brought our traditional clothes as we wanted to do photoshoot on the canoe, Gigih kauuu, panas2 pakai baju melayu. 

Selamat Hari Raya~

Unicorn Island - Tropical Fruits

Last but not least, to Unicorn Island we went. By the time we reached this island, my energy already left about 10%. Super tired. We need a long rest. Others were enjoying the fruits while we strolled along the area surveying shops and souvenirs. There was a local singing performances too. Optional to give tips. Cepatlha balik cepatlah balikkk..

Back at the city, we had our iftar at Serai Restaurant again. Later that night, we went to Hard Rock Cafe Again to enjoy some brownies and sundae. We bought some more merchandise from The Rock Shop.

That's all for our quick trip. Tomorrow we're heading to the airport to catch our flight back home.

Ho Chi Minh City | Vietnam [Day 1 - City Tour]

Hello all~ Have a good day~

Okay, this was a last minute trip with planning less than 3 weeks before departure. This trip marked the 29th birthday of my best friend who asked me to travel and celebrate with him. Since AirAsia had a promotion price during Ramadan month, why not we grabbed some cheap tickets for ourselves? So here we are! Flight ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Ho Chi Minh cost only RM200 for a return journey per person. Quite reasonably cheap.

For accomodation, I've had browsed through Agoda website and booked Halo Hotel which is located just beside Ben Thanh Market. We're staying at this hotel for 2 nights. If I'm not mistaken, one night only cost RM60 (without breakfast). The room was okay. It even has a fridge! We had chosen room with no window as it costed less. Cleanliness was also okay and the staffs were friendly too.

City Tour

We arrived at noon and then took a bus from the airport to the city. The bus fare was VND 6,000. Wayyyyyy cheaper than if we took cab. Plus, we were travel in backpacking style, no need to use taxi except when necessary. Haha.. 

After checking in our hotel room, we had a quick rest before going out. Our main activity today was to roam around the city taking photos with famous landmarks and also to visit Hard Rock Cafe. It's a must for us to visit Hard Rock Cafe whenever we travel because we collect pins and t-shirts.

After walking for 15 minutes, we arrived at Notre Dame Cathedral and Central Post Office. We took photos here and there and even posted out some postcards for the love ones. We entered the cathedral and found out that there was a talk going on inside. So we took photos quickly and the the buildings. The post office opens everyday including weekends. I was so happy that I was able to write and send postcards. The building was so antique and nice. A lot of tourists inside too.

Hard Rock Cafe

Just located few metres from the post office, we walked to the cafe. There's a Starbucks beside the cafe, hence I went inside to buy a tumbler for my friend. We bought some stuffs at The Rock Shop, for me first. Tomorrow we'd come again to buy more stuffs for customers. Hehehe.. Sadly, this cafe does not participate in Rewards system, thus we did not get any points from this visit.

We had dinner/iftar at Serai Restaurant which is located just in front of our hotel. They serve Malaysian food. Although the price was not cheap, but the food is very good. We ordered fried rice and honey orange chicken. Our dinner cost about RM30 per person including drinks.