Location: Asia » Vietnam » Ho Chi Minh City
Xin cháo!
It’s a Vietnamese word. Mean HELLO in English.
This entry is the continuation from my Ho Chi Minh | Vietnam | Part 1
1. Anyway, the next place we went was the WAR MUSEUM. Actually the official name for that is “WAR REMNANTS MUSEUM”. It just situated next and near to the Reunification Palace.
2. We try to enter this museum for the 2nd day, but when we arrived there, the museum is closed for lunch. So please take note here, this museum will open start from 7.30am till noon. And will open again after 1.30PM until 4.30PM. It closed on every Monday! Take note here!! Monday no war!
3. For the entry, there are no free things in this world. 15K dong for the museum entry. Just make sure you got your DONG. (Vietnam's currency!)
2. We try to enter this museum for the 2nd day, but when we arrived there, the museum is closed for lunch. So please take note here, this museum will open start from 7.30am till noon. And will open again after 1.30PM until 4.30PM. It closed on every Monday! Take note here!! Monday no war!
3. For the entry, there are no free things in this world. 15K dong for the museum entry. Just make sure you got your DONG. (Vietnam's currency!)
4. Outside of the museum you can see a lot of war transportion replica. I do not know whether it is real or not. Just posed for the photo should be OK. If you really interested with museum, maybe you can get a guide. Or you just buy a guide book.
5. Enter the museum. Only 1 thing on my mind. HOT HOT HOT. Too many people, no air-conditioning!. Just ready your singlet or sleeveless if you are planning to visit this museum
6. HUGE!... If you really like the museum, you can read a whole article there. Like me, no time for that. Sorry~ Time consuming. The time is Titanium (Gold is so year 2000!)
5. Enter the museum. Only 1 thing on my mind. HOT HOT HOT. Too many people, no air-conditioning!. Just ready your singlet or sleeveless if you are planning to visit this museum
6. HUGE!... If you really like the museum, you can read a whole article there. Like me, no time for that. Sorry~ Time consuming. The time is Titanium (Gold is so year 2000!)
7. The next journey was a City Museum. I just guess it’s a city museum. I kinda forgot what is this building. But, we didn’t enter the building. Just walking outside the gate. The design was classic! I like it so much.
8. Next, of course as a Muslim, you will not forget to visit the Central Mosque. We quite surprise that we met and talk with Vietnam Malay there. He can speak Malay!! But maybe a little bit weird. It sound like P-Ramlee’s movies. But it was nice to meet Malay & local Muslim there. He suggested a Muslim restaurant behind the Mosque.
9. We took the suggestion to have our lunch at the restaurant behind the Mosque. It is HALAL. And I think they also can speak MALAY. But unfortunately, we thought the Muslim will help each other, but the charge was a little bit overpriced. Hurmmm….. They know we are outsider! Consider I took only a little bit food!
9. We took the suggestion to have our lunch at the restaurant behind the Mosque. It is HALAL. And I think they also can speak MALAY. But unfortunately, we thought the Muslim will help each other, but the charge was a little bit overpriced. Hurmmm….. They know we are outsider! Consider I took only a little bit food!
10. Next, we just walk and walk using our instinct. The best part was we didn’t really have any maps. Just walk and walk. Now I remember one song, “As we walk to the left, As we walk to the right, as we walk as we walk as we walk all day… “ then I forgot the lyric!. And we found the Octo Beer Fest sculpture. To who doesn't have any idea about the beerfest, then google it!
11. We found souvenier handicraft shop. Most of the shops selling mini ship replica. Now it reminds me my job as an marine engineer. Sorry, not interested with the replica! Because I live on it for 6 months. But on a modern ship. Of course the replica is classic and it was a “TONGKANG” ship. Ohw, I don’t know what that ship called in English.
12. Louis Vuitton anyone?.. In Kuala Lumpur, if you want to shop at LV, you need to go to Pavillion with a perfect look (So, you can impress the sale assistant, if not the sale assistant will look as you don’t have a money). But in HCMC, in just on the street!!.. Maybe after they shop for a vegetables and fish then they also can stop at LV!... cool!!
13. Vietnamese are quite patriotic with their country. It is good!. Because you can see their flag everywhere in the city!
14. There are a lot of shopping complex in the HCMC. But we try to skip visiting shopping complex because we had set our mind that this is not a shopping vacation! There were a lot of places to visit. You don’t want to add the weight of your backpack right? But, I was proud of myself I can control myself. I am a shopaholic back at my home.
15. Vietnam COFFEE!.. Believe it or not, we are quite addicted with Vietnam Coffee. So YUMMY! Seriously delicious like I never taste it before. I remembered 1 night, we went for a COFFEE-STALL-HOPING. By one stall to another… it was about 5 cups of ice coffees I drank on that night. But, still I can get a good night sleep!
16. Just walk far away where you can’t find any tourist at all. Then you are save from get OVERPRICES COFFEE. In the photo, this stall quite far, then the auntie (stall owner) do not speak ENGLISH. I look at the Phrase Book, I try to pronounced it correctly then she shooked her head. OhW! Success. RECOMMEND: COFFEE+MILK+ICE… in Malaysia we called it ICE COFFEE… without MILK we called it ICE-COFFEE-O, which “O” mean ZERO or EMPTY (Only Coffee and Sugar).
17. Seriously, Vietnam Coffee was so COFFEELICIOUS! I brought I pack of Viet Coffee Powder for my parents! Yay! Still, craving for Viet Coffee Now!
16. Just walk far away where you can’t find any tourist at all. Then you are save from get OVERPRICES COFFEE. In the photo, this stall quite far, then the auntie (stall owner) do not speak ENGLISH. I look at the Phrase Book, I try to pronounced it correctly then she shooked her head. OhW! Success. RECOMMEND: COFFEE+MILK+ICE… in Malaysia we called it ICE COFFEE… without MILK we called it ICE-COFFEE-O, which “O” mean ZERO or EMPTY (Only Coffee and Sugar).
17. Seriously, Vietnam Coffee was so COFFEELICIOUS! I brought I pack of Viet Coffee Powder for my parents! Yay! Still, craving for Viet Coffee Now!
18. The traffic was crazy in HCMC. This is because of the population of the city. You know, to cross the street in HCMC is a big challage for you here! Seriously.
19. You want to cross safely? I got a tip for you. When you see the traffic, DON’T STOP! JUST CROSS IT!!! NO ONE will hit you!!... It been proved by us. I cross the street with my eyes CLOSED! No Kidding here. I was Save! No worries. Remember, Just cross the road!! But if you are geting hit, do not blame me OK!
19. You want to cross safely? I got a tip for you. When you see the traffic, DON’T STOP! JUST CROSS IT!!! NO ONE will hit you!!... It been proved by us. I cross the street with my eyes CLOSED! No Kidding here. I was Save! No worries. Remember, Just cross the road!! But if you are geting hit, do not blame me OK!
20. For the 2nd and 3rd night in HCMC, we stayed with my Couchsurfing’s friend, Kha Le. He is a medical student. We stayed at his empty 3stories house!. Far away from town. We when there by bus. This was my 2nd couchsurfing experienced. You know about Couchsurfing? No? Nevermind, I will explain it in other entry maybe next time.
21. Staying in his house, not only us. He also hosted 1 guy from France, Laurent and 1 guy from Cambodia, Psith. Then, in Phnom Penh we surfed at Psith’s crib. On the 3rd night, it was Laurent’s birthday and Kha manage to make a celebration for Laurent. Laurent just went back from New Zealand. He was woofing in New Zealand for 6months and he inspired me to travel to NZ!
22. Kha had prepared the dinner for us. He was quite respectful with us (Muslim). So the dinner, just vegetables and seafood! Kha told us this meal was a signature dish for Vietnamese….
23. It’s a fish soup. Then we separated the fish from the soup because we just need the fish meat.
24. Like you can see, actually, the white round skin on my hand, it was HARD. Then, we splashed or put some water at the surface, it become very soft. (Like “POPIAH” – Malay traditional food). After it soft, we put the fish and noodles. (Not noodle I think, hurm… the one always we put in the soup, like a white hair, what we called it?)
25. Then, fold the white thing. Then ready to eat. DELICIOUS!!!!
On the 4th day, we catch the bus (SORYA Transport) to go to SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA, 9 hours trip. In my upcoming entry.
Ho Chi Minh City! Watch out, I will be back!
Others post on my Vietnam's Journey:
HCMC is a great place, but a bit depressed after the end of Vietnam War hmmm. Maybe Seoul will become like this after DPRK get them lol
ReplyDeleteHuh.. Cambest je Vietnam ni..
ReplyDeletenice post. Hope I'll be able to visit it some day..
ReplyDeletebtw, check out my blog, and please vote for me!
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Perjalanan kita ke tempat orang akan mematangkan pemikiran kita.
ReplyDeletenang mala berjalan ko tok ooww...
ReplyDeleteBest na juak eh.. insyaAllah mok ke situk juak :)
ReplyDeletebest!hehehe..unik2 jak lok..
ReplyDeleteaih eh cokot juak mezeum ya...berdong2 juak mok masok..hehehehe..=p
Best eh raon..
ReplyDeleteSine gik the next destination lak?
Thanks for dropping by my blog
ReplyDeleteMy friend went there and was addicted to the coffee too :D