ho chi minh 2008/2009 Part 2

29 Dec Day 2


despite the long Sunday, we managed to wake up early on Mon for breakfast


oh well duong didnt have a choice bcos he had to W.O.R.K kekekeke



patting Max, our routine task b4 leaving the house



pork soup noodle for breakfast! you can have your pork raw or boiled, all of us ordered the mixed combi~



instructor duong teaching us the proper way to savour the soup noodle



not-so-attentive student HY snapping away

after breakfast duong dropped us off at the reunification palace before leaving for work



entry was cheap, only $1.50 per pax, and there's an english tour at no additional cost!





with Mr HCM!




the guide explained why were there 3 telephones on the Prez's table


one for his best friend, one for First Lady, one for his mistress. NICE


Prez's residence


his private helicopter pad. the red circular markings indicate where the palace was previously bombed


gift from another country. dun think i'd be very happy to receive it :P


that's our tour guide bringing us down to the basement levels

Duong took the afternoon off *weeee* and met us for lunch. We had broken rice, which is a popluar local dish


bought some green mango on our way to the restaurant. while paying this auntie popped out from no where and pushed me to one side. they thought there were police in the area and were getting ready to run any time. false alarm though.

and i forgive them :P bcos the mango is sourrrr, just the way i like it :D


lunch. broken rice with bbq pork and a variety of side dishes


duong explained the history of broken rice. it's actually food for the poor. after the rice grains were harvested, the husk needed to be removed and in the process some rice grains would be broken. the broken rice grains would be sweeped to the floor and the poor would collect & eat them. eventually the dish got popular and became a mass market food.

dont have to be poor to eat it! need moolah to buy it though :P (yup yup we checked with duong, the vendors still need to pay and buy the broken rice to cook the meal hur hur)

p.s. duong had 2and a quarter serving of rice. somebody feed the monster pls.

phuong, duong's childhood friend, joined us for lunch too. friendly girl with a sweet nature, really nice of her to ferry us (me) around~

max ran out when we went back in the afternoon to get duong's bike. hilarious the way duong had to chase after max and drag him back into the house.

HY took Duong's bike

while i took phuong's~

after signing up for a 1day Mekong River tour at a local travel agency, 4 of us hanged out at a cafe before heading over to our next stop: dinner! yeah we seemed to be constantly eating/drinking coffee :D

a small eatery place, very vietnamese with all their low tables and short chairs. looked like a place where vietnamese uncles wld hang out, drinking beer and eating bbq seafood/meat

food was fab! spicy & delicious! i like the way the chicken feet are deep fried & well seasoned

polished off everything. naturally.

that's where they bbq the stuff

off to the cinema! we've decided to catch 'Twilight'

$5 per tix~ cheap cheap~

twilight isnt that fantastic btw. it's more like a story of 2 very horny teenagers :P (and i think the native american boy is much cuter)

and the day basically ended with the movie. not eaxctly an eventful day, but it's nice to just hang out with frens not doing anything in particular. that's wad vacations are for man :D

cheng's a happy girl.