I love the square-ish designs of the buildings here :D It's like something that you would see in Jerusalem - or in any Middle Eastern countries.
Went down for breakfast and boy, it was love at first sight! Hehe. Very Western style (yay!!) with a huge variety of choices that include assorted danish pastry, margherita pizza, mushroom quiche, sauteed potato, grilled tomatoes, bacon, different types of cheese, pork sausages, ham and many more.
There are also Chinese dishes like dim sum, porridge, stir-fried egg noodles, fried rice and fish cake noodle soup. I overheard two chefs speaking in Cantonese to one another :O
The mini chalkboard menu is so cute!
Didn't know that the hotel received a Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor! :O
I think it deserved the award :) Friendly staff, good food, and comfortable environment aside, I think the most commendable aspect about Hotel Equatorial is that it offers free shuttle service to some of the popular attractions in the city! Thus solving our (and other tourists') transport woes. The hotel van comes on time too, so great job on that. Not sure if this service is available in other hotels too, though.
So while waiting for the van, I took a few photos...
I took a video of the noisy streets too!
When I came out of the hotel, one of the hotel guards followed behind me. I actually didn't notice him at first. When I took my phone out to record the video, he warned me to be careful of my phone, and stayed with me the whole time I was outside. Aww it was such a heartwarming gesture :') :')
There were a few suspicious-looking (okay probably shouldn't judge) men lingering outside the hotel so it was safer to have someone look after me - even though I clutched my phone and camera and turned my head in all directions every few seconds to make sure nobody was close enough to grab my stuff (ya I'm paranoid like that). Of course, my dad was also out with me but he was busy talking to a cobbler, lol.
After thanking the guard for looking out for me, I went back into the hotel and took pictures of the christmass-y decorations.
Weird feeling to be on the other side of the road HAHA.
Passed by the Reunification Palace (or the Independence Palace)! Such a majestic building. I was actually planning to alight here (it's the first drop-off point anyway) but my dad suggested we go around the city first.
Aww :) Hehe sorry for the blur picture. The van was moving too fast.
I've discovered that HCMC is truly a place where east meets west. As Vietnam was once a French colony, beautiful French architecture is evident in most of the buildings in downtown HCMC. The city can be Asia's version of France haha. I'm a sucker for Western-style buildings so I was in love with the place immediately!
I just couldn't stop staring at the magnificent architecture. Totally soaking in the beauty of all there is to see!
Just across is the river.. or the sea - I can't remember :x
Rex Hotel looks so posh! It has a rooftop garden bar which I initially wanted to go, but didn't have enough time :(
This is the City Hall, which is located near Rex Hotel.
There's a big roundabout opposite the market. It's so scary to cross the road!!!
That tall building over there on the left is the Bitexco Financial Tower.
I'm guessing chó is market lol. It's quite a famous market in HCMC, selling practically everything! Items range from clothes and souvenirs to kitchenware and food. According to a guide booklet, the market is also a "prime spot for watching the city's dizzying traffic". Hmm.
It opens from 5.30am to 5.30pm daily. After 5.30 in the evening, the stalls will move outside and continue with their business. It's a highly recommended place for authentic Vietnamese street fare. If we were to stay another night, I would definitely give it a try!
Ooh, I'm strongly attracted to colourful things.
Pretty and cute decorations! My favourite is the one with the cocktail glasses :P
Food stalls everywhere at the back of the market.
They're so resourceful.
So many different varieties of coffee beans :O
This reminded me of Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother :D
We spent some time on the streets before lunch.
Oh, cute guy looking at me :P
We passed by this stall by the roadside selling all these adorable handmade pop up cards! ...We found out later that these are easily found as we walked further down the road, with each subsequent stall selling at a cheaper price (what sorcery is this?!).
The clothes line is super duper cute! So is the girl in áo dài (Vietnamese national costume) with a bike!
茶 (tea).
An Australian restaurant. I felt hungry just by looking at the menu!
Vietnamese women selling fruits by the road.
I spotted strawberries! Yeayyyyyy I was so happy :D I love strawberries but it's so expensive in KL so I don't really buy them. Here they were selling at RM15 for 1kg!
THIS huge bag of strawberries for RM15 :D
:O An ice-cream shop!
The building at the end is City Hall, also known as the HCMC People's Committee office. It was previously called the Hôtel de Ville, and its design is actually based on the original one in Paris (so cool!). Since its completion in 1908, City Hall remains one of the most magnificent colonial monuments in Vietnam.
This is a statue of Ho Chi Minh.
The contrast between the "old" and the "new".
I have no idea what building is this. It's still under construction.
Love the embellishments on the door!
Fancy building with branded shops lining the corridor.
I love pronouncing the word "bourgeois" coz it makes me sound so atas (upper class) LOL. Anyway, this is at Hotel Continental Saigon. It's one of my favourite buildings in HCMC. Making a mental note to stay there the next time I visit hahaha.
The hotel has a Parisian sidewalk café!
Dồng Khởi street is popularly known as the commercial and shopping district of HCMC. Something like Bukit Bintang in KL I suppose, but definitely not as busy.
This is the Opera House.
There's a small garden next to it.
Found out that there was a show going on!
Wow, Louis Vuitton.
There were a couple of trishaw peddlers waiting by the roadside, so my dad suggested that we take the trishaw even though the rest of us were wary that they might cheat our money (we encountered the same situation before, IN MY OWN COUNTRY), therefore we were reluctant. But he insisted that it will be fun.
Okay, so objection denied..
It was really quite scary to be at the same height as the motorcyclists. The main reason is because when we were waiting for the traffic light to turn green, the trishaws were closely surrounded by motorbikes, and I'm not even exaggerating! Imagine, like molecules in a solid matter (why am I suddenly so science-y?). Anyway, I was holding onto my camera and camera bag very, very tightly because I fear that someone might just grab it since it was only an arm's length between me and them!
Bits of western influence almost everywhere. Look at those pretty blue window panes and pots of flowers!
Anyway, here we are at the Saigon Central Post Office. Light salmon pink - what an unusual colour for a government building lol. It was built between 1886 to 1891 by the renowned French architect Gustave Eiffel, of Eiffel Tower fame (!!!!). This post office is the largest in Vietnam, and the vaulted roof and arched windows are reminiscent of the early European railway stations. It opens from 7am to 7pm during the weekdays and 7am to 6pm during the weekends.
Old school phone booths. The phones do work!
ATMs on the opposite side.
Travelling back to the past.
That's a really huge picture of Ho Chi Minh.
Just opposite the post office is the Notre Dame Cathedral. It was built in 1877 with materials imported all the way from France.
Opposite the cathedral.
We saw a couple taking wedding photographs at the garden! Awww :D
Spot the Virgin Mary statue.
The cathedral was closed that day :(
Love the brick walls.
This park connects the Reunification Palace and the Notre Dame Cathedral. It has a special name - 30-4 Park - taken from Vietnam's Reunification Day on 30 April 1975. The shady trees provide a temporary cooling retreat from the hot sun.
This is a kindergarten.
Super tangled wires.
Passed by this restaurant and was immediately drawn to its unique concept. We wanted to have lunch here, but the place was fully packed. The food must be delicious then :P I didn't want to miss out on anything good (especially when it comes to food lol) so we came back for dinner.
....There's something comical about this sight HAHA.
We walked from one end to another end of the street, and came back to where we started. Phew, I was extremely exhausted! I wanted to try phở at one of the popular restaurants Phở 2000, which I later found out that the former US president Bill Clinton went there in 2000! ...Err, no pun intended. So, the walking was worth it.
It was just next to Bến Thành Market. Go in through The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf's entrance (yay whiff of cold air), and you'll see signs that will direct you to the first floor.
For those of you who don't know what phở is, it's a traditional Vietnamese noodle soup usually served with beef or chicken meat. The beef broth was full of flavour, most probably because of the spices. Not everyone fancies beef noodle soup but I like it!
After lunch, we walked some more. Saw a roadside stall selling some interesting street food and stopped to look.
Looks yummy! But I didn't like the taste of it. Mainly because of the hard wrap that feels like plastic in my mouth..
Back here to wait for the hotel van to pick us up!
I was really impressed at the service as the van came on time. Sharp. Pretty cool :)
Ooooh so huuuuuge.
I immediately took a short nap when we were back at the hotel as I was really exhausted. It was sunset when I woke up!
I zoomed my lens all the way and the colour changed dramatically, whoa :O
After freshening up, we went down to the lobby to wait for the van and I snapped some photos of the wine bar.
We asked the driver if he could drop us off at Nhà Hàng Ngon restaurant (since it isn't one of the selected pick-up/drop-off places). And surprisingly he was cool with it! Another proof of the amazing service at Equatorial Hotel :')
I wanted to try the pastries at Paris Baguette café but didn't get to :( Next time!
Nhà Hàng Ngon restaurant is recommended if you want to eat Vietnamese food because it has a wide variety of local food items on its menu. The place looks extra beautiful at night! :D
It's advisable to come early if you don't want to wait for a seat. I have also noticed that the place is quite popular with foreigners.
Open kitchen?
First dish to be served. Sorry I don't know what vegetable is this!
Fries.
Clams! So tasty when dip in that special chili sauce :3
Beef skewers! This has got to be my favourite dish :D :D :D The meat is so succulent I temporarily floated to heaven. Tender and juicy mmhmm. I can literally taste it in my mouth as I'm typing this out because the taste is so good that it's unforgettable. It comes with lime and salt (not really salt actually, but more like salty sour plum powder - does it make sense?).
The waiters will help you cut the beef into pieces. We love it so much that we ordered a second plate!
Really nice beer.
This is bánh xèo, a Vietnamese fried pancake filled with prawns and bean sprouts.
Vietnamese vermicelli with spring rolls. Not so nice as the noodles are dry and bland.
Steamed fish, which comes with (more) vermicelli.
Aww you cheeky guy :P
Overall, the food is fine (could be better, or maybe I wasn't used to Vietnamese food) except for the beef skewers which was simply perfect. Missing the taste of it D: I highly recommend this dish to anyone who plans to go to this restaurant! The price is reasonable, and service can be quite slow if the place is packed with customers. If you ask me, I'll definitely come back again (for the beef skewers). Okay probably not only because of the beef skewers. There are so many more choices on the menu that I want to try! Also, I'm giving this place a higher rating because of its ambience :P
We planned to go to the Bitexco Financial Tower after dinner, so a walk is definitely much needed after all the food. There were still light showers when we stepped out of the restaurant but we had umbrellas. After asking for directions, we started walking without knowing how far the distance is. Of course we sort of had an inkling that it was a "walk-able" walk, as the restaurant is nearby the city centre.
We passed by Saigon Centre, a complex building that has a shopping mall.
All these cute little cafés were seriously tempting me to go in!!!
This looks like the ideal place to go to on a rainy night. Imagine sipping hot chocolate or wine and chatting with a bunch of strangers in a cozy environment :)
We saw the Bitexco Financial Tower from afar, and crossed street after street until we see it right in front of us. Was feeling a little proud that we managed to find it with no help from maps! HEHE. It's actually easy to find, as long as you are walking in the direction of it (obviously). I think it was a 15 minute or so walk from the restaurant!
The Bitexco Financial Tower is quite a new building as it was just opened in October 2010. It stands at 262.5 metres and is currently the tallest building in HCMC. Random fact: The building design was inspired by the shape of the lotus, Vietnam's national flower (although I don't even see a tiny resemblance..).
The Saigon Skydeck is one of the attractions in HCMC as well. It's located on the 49th floor so people would go up there to enjoy a panoramic view of the city. I chose to go at night because the city would look way more enchanting with all the lights :D Tickets are priced at VND200,000 per person.
The Skydeck is open from 9.30am to 9.30pm from Sunday to Thursday, and until 10pm from Friday to Saturday. The last tickets are sold 30-45 minutes before closing time, so do plan your time properly if you don't wanna miss the chance to get a 360-degree night view of HCMC!
Motivation quotes lol.
At the Skydeck!
The lights on this building change colours every few seconds :D
An interactive guide of HCMC.
The Bitexco Financial Tower is ranked fifth among the top 20 iconic buildings of the world. The Petronas Twin Towers is in the ninth position :( WHAT.
Bought these souvenirs at the Skydeck :D Love the magnets very much! I thought that the four cute round thingies were button badges (I was really eager to buy them) but when I opened the package I found out that they are actually magnets! So disappointed. The two 'mini T-shirts' are actually compressed T-shirts, so that explains the size :P You might have seen me wear them before so now you know how their packaging looked like! Hehe.
The tower also houses a shopping centre.
Gosh who names their child Cleopatra?! Lol. Such a powerful name.
There is an ELLE café?! So cool. Too bad it was closed already so we couldn't go in - I'd love to have a look.
Part 3/3 to be continued!
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