HCMC is the largest city in Vietnam and the former capital of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). It is also fondly known as Saigon, but HCMC (in full) sounds nicer :P
It was around 8 something at night by the time we arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport. The flight duration from Kuala Lumpur to HCMC is about an hour and a half.
So sorry for the bad picture as I was in a hurry to take it when the plane was still moving! Haha.
The airport is so white and bright and shiny! My eyes *_*
Went to exchange USD to Vietnamese Dong (VND) ...and we became millionaires! Lol okay lame.
Hurried to meet the hotel staff waiting outside with a van. It was raining slightly so the air was cool and breezy.
We stayed in Equatorial Hotel, which is about 25 minutes away from the airport. The journey to the hotel itself was already a culture shock. What I saw:
1) Motorcycles are the main vehicle here. They greatly outnumber other vehicles, including cars.
2) As motorcycles practically fill the roads, there is A LOT of honking. It's really difficult to find one second of silence when you're on the streets.
3) The driver is on the left side of the vehicle, and so they drive on the right side of the road. It was confusing but I kinda loved it!
4) People just cross the roads without stopping or looking for any vehicles. But I guess this is useless coz...
5) Those motorcycles won't stop coming! They don't follow the traffic lights and just head in whichever direction they want to. However...
6) The motorcyclists would always look out for pedestrians (and other vehicles for that matter). I guess it's not quite safe to say always HAHA. But every time I see a motorcycle and a person and/or vehicle almost colliding (cringe), they would magically avoid each other! Yep, motorcyclists automatically swerve to one side if people are in their way. Aww! Okay but it's still dangerous lah. Which leads to...
7) Their driving skills are MAD. Everyone's. It's crazy. Malaysians lose already.
Wow I didn't know how many times I cringed during the 25 minutes ride but phew we managed to reach the hotel safely lol.
First sight of the lobby - a lounge and bar directly opposite the entrance.
To the right. So cosy!
Refreshing drinks :D The cups are so pretty!
We went to our rooms after checking in.
I shared a room with my sister, and that door leads to my parents' room, which has a king size bed.
The hotel's café.
All kinds of mooncake boxes on display. Didn't know they celebrate mooncake festival here too :P
The one in the shape of a handbag is really cute :D
The hotel is located at quite a strategic location, surrounded by rows of shops and cafés. We decided to walk around nearby while looking for something to eat. The environment reminds me of Thailand somehow!
I've heard that pick-pocketing is rampant in Vietnam, to the extent that they just grab your phone if you're not aware. So if you plan to visit the country, please do be very careful with your valuables. Thank God that we didn't have anything stolen, although we got cheated by a few people :( - more in the next post.
Men just relaxing and hanging out in the cooling weather. What a nice life!
I like that cafés and ice-cream shops dot the streets here! Life is definitely ideal for them HAHA!
A cute café selling milk tea and cakes.
We finally found a small, decent shop by the name of bánh canh cua 14 and went in. From the sign outside, it looked like their specialty is crab noodles. They were about to close actually, but were willing to prepare one last meal. There was a huge (really huge, and funny) communication problem when ordering, in which the same 'sign language' were repeatedly gestured to no avail.. (Failed systems of meanings, lol) But in the end I guessed we got what we ordered?
They have yao char guai! But it had a strong taste of oil which ruined the flavour :/ Also, they provided some kind of sauce (in the background) to go with it.
Their crab noodles! Like lou shi fan haha. It was okay I guess, probably just not used to it.
PappaRoti - their version of Rotiboy!
The back view of the hotel we stayed in. Doesn't look very appealing here lol.
My sister said this looks like a haunted house hahaha. No flash. Really looks like it right?
Okay this is appealing enough.
The grand entrance.
Love these!
Aaaand the night ended. To be continued :)
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