the exhibitionist part of me want to blog abt my recent 5day trip to HCM City
the larger bummer part of me just want to delete the 131 images in my photo album, shut down the comp, and summarize the trip with a one liner: 'it's fine' if ppl bother asking
oh well. my exhibitionist nature got the better of me. so here it goes.
28 Dec Day 1
took the 7.30am flight on Jetstar.
which means i had to wake up at 4am, so i cld leave my house at 5am, pick up fav fren at 5.30am, and reach the airport by 6.30am
we looked surprisingly alive at this unearthly hour
it's a 1.5hr ride to HCM city
fav fren's vietnamese fren Duong (pronounced as yun-ong, come repeat after me: YUN-ONG) picked us up at the airport
street views along the way on our 20min cab ride to Duong's place.
somehow it feels like the older part of TW. the narrow roads with buildings hugging close to it, throng of motorbikes cluttering the streets, overhanging cables that seem to drap the city view
traffic is messy & seemingly unorderly but at the same time paradoxically coordinated
i think vietnamese drivers somehow cld mysteriously read each other's mind
Duong's place is fab. it's a 4storey terrace building with a small open atrium to allow natural light to reach every floor.
the family is very warm & welcoming. even though we cant speak each other's language, they try their best to communicate tomake us feel at home :)
this is our room. complete with air-con and attached bathroom. NICE.
washing up & settling down before heading out again for breakfast/brunch.
Vietnam is behind by 1hr so we arrived at 8.30am local time, it was still early when we reached Duong's place.
they have a nice balcony where we had our BBQ on NY's eve
meet Max, duong's siberian husky
Max is naughty. he pounces on strangers. he licks a lot. and he likes to sniff ppl's bottoms. we told Duong he shd get Max a GF soon :P
fav fren who gets very traumatised whenever Max pounces on her, which's like, a daily event?
and we thought husky shd be classy and snobbish. no?
our first meal in Vietnam! Nam Giao - eatery place located in a back alley near the central Ben Thanh market
meet Duong. very accomodating host who's like our nanny. constantly checking on us (even at work) to make sure we are not lost/hungry/bored/dead
the food is interesting! everything's wrapped in multiple layers of random leaves (ok, they're not random, just that i have no idea what they are) a lot of rice products and fish sauce.
FISH SAUCE. seriously the locals eat everything with FISH SAUCE.
the meal costed ard SGD$15 for 3 of us. things were cheaper in Vietnam, but not dirt cheap as what many wld have thought
duong brought us around the city. visited Saigon Centre where his mom runs a shop selling Lesportsac knockoffs. that's the place we got our pirated DVDs & abercrombie stuff too :P
Notre-Dame cathedral, which is a popular spot for bridal pics.
can anyone tell me why are there chinese scriptures??
City Post Office
Mr HCM on the wall
fav fren the No12 girl, Duong's fav number!
random shots in the post office
sad duong in deep regret for playing host to 2 troublesome fussies:P
for dinner, duong's dad prepared a nice homecooked meal. Max was running around the table all the time, eager to join in :P
Vietnam was playing against Thailand that night for some soccer championship. duong's bringing us out to the city centre to see the christmas lighting, and also experience the mad celebration on the streets if Vietnam wins the game.
hitting the streets again. HCM night views.
a local fast food joint. people bascially ride INTO the shop and parked their bikes on the 1st floor and have their meals upstairs.
while we were walking ard, wherever there's TV, there wld be a crowd gathering b4 it to watch the soccer game. things were looking hopeful and indeed for the 1st time in history, Vietnam won the soccer championship that night!
and you dont have to watch the game to know. the city turned WILD!
whoever that owns a bike (ie everyone) poured into the city centre and everyone was just speeding around the city centre, shouting, cheering, & drumming
it's impossible to walk around as the bikes were speeding everywhere. we were bascially immobilized and trapped in the city centre
so what do you do when you're trapped?
you photowhore. major.
that's ashley btw, duong's friend who speaks really good english. she doesnt look like your typical vietnamese, in fact i thought she look kinda eurasian. maybe it's her mom who has some french blood
and you buy fruits :D
-end of Day 1-
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