A Few Tips in HCMC

Bismillah...

HCMC is a great place to shop till you drop. Especially if you're a great fan of silk, clothing and what not. Every city has its tricks to go about. Here are a few tips in HCMC:

• Always  ride a taxi that uses meter to charge you. Recommended taxis are Vinasun Taxi *The White Cab* and MaiLinh *The Green Cab with a H. I heard that there's another company that uses the same name MaiLin without H.*
• Where ever you go, bring a map with you. If possible, show the map to the driver with the name of the destination that you intended to go. Most taxi drivers doesn't speak or understand English. If you don't have a map, write down the place/street name on a piece of paper.
• The currency used here are US Dollar, VietnamDong and also Ringgit Malaysia. You can pay the taxi fare and food using VDong. Certain places accept USD.
• The rate is higher if you exchange RM to Vdong in Vietnam. There's a gold shop across Ben Thanh Dong Market as a money changer. I got VD 650,000 for RM 100.00 = USD32.2
• Always bargain when you're shopping in Ben Thanh Market. Bargain until the price is affordable. 
• Try their local dish. It's delicious. I love their Laksa daging.
• Chu Chi Tunnel is a must place to visit.

Enjoy and have fun in HCMC. A place I wanted to go again in future.

Wassalam & Cheers.

The War Remnants Museum in Saigon

Bismillah...

Where: War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City
When: 22nd February 2013
What: Learn how they survived the war and what happened during the war time
Why: A great place to kill time after 2 hours of flight
How much: 15,000 VDong per entrance

The entrance

After checking in at MayFlower Hotel, the first place we visited was the War Remnants Museum. It is 15 minutes walk to the museum from our hotel but we chose to ride a taxi there as we were not familiar with the area. The museum is located near the Tao Dan Cultural Park. A taxi ride cost us 30,000 VDong from our hotel.

Among the photos displayed

One of the weapons exhibited

Among the interested people

Inside the museum on the 2nd floor

sideways view

There are a lot of tourist here and I see only a few local people here. And it seems that my friend and I are the only girls wearing hijab viewing the photos here. EPIC!

Outside the museum

Peace, No War

There are a lot of things we can learn from here. Among them are;

• War must be avoided in any country
• War causes many defects to the society, community and country
• It made me think that the same museum will be visited by these tourist in future in Palestine. What we see here is happening in Palestine at the moment.
• Whatever I have learnt in school years ago about the Vietnam war can be seen here.

Weapons and war equipment used

Facts and figures

War Remnants Museum is a great place to visit.

Wassalam & Cheers.

Shopping in Ben Thanh Market

Bismillah...

Where: Ben Thanh market and Champa Muslim

When: 1st until 3rd day of our trip

What: Shop till you drop

There are a lot of markets and shopping complex in Ho Chi Minh City that you can go to. We only went to Ben Thanh Market and a few shop lots near the area to shop. Ben Thanh market is located in District 1 of HCMC. 

The north entrance of Ben Thanh Market.

The hectic market

Everything at a cheaper price. The secret is BARGAIN until the price is affordable.

There are a lot of things you can buy here at a cheaper price compare to other places. I love HCMC as I can find a lot of things to buy here but regretted bringing small amount of money to spend here. On the first day itself, I spent rm700. It may be a small amount to some people but that's a big amount for me. 

Vietnam Silk Scarves 3USD each

Silk cloth

RM55 each from Champa Muslim

Ready made Baju Kurung

A lot of colours to choose at Champa Muslim

Vietnam Silk 6USD per meter

super soft Pashmina

Jubah

Colored jubah at Champa Muslim

Bookmarks which I bought 3 for 1USD. It's cheaper to buy it here than at the airport which cost 65,000 VDong each

I went to a shop; Champa just in front of Ben Thanh market and found cheap baju kurung which has beads more than enough for only rm50. So I bought 6 on the first day and another one on out 3rd day. Champa shop is a restaurant and boutique. You can find delicious affordable halal food here. You can even stop to pray here. Just ask nicely.

Champa Muslim

Vietnamese Noodle

Super spicy super delicious Laksa Daging

I tried ther laksa daging and I love it. I'm a big fan of laksa, so I ate it without hesitation. This was my first time eating laksa daging. It contains bean sprout, meat, and delicious soup to slurp. Something delicious to try if you're here.

Happy shopping!!

Wassalam & Cheers.

Saigon also known as Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Bismillah...

Where: Saigon/ Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam

When: 22nd until 25th february 2012

With Whom: My great friend Ewa

Why: We bought the flight tix a year ago for rm160 return. Shopping is heaven in Vietnam

We arrived HCMC around 2pm, checked in at MayFlower hotel which is located in district 1 but a bit far from Ben Thanh market. It's a great new hotel with great service and accommodation. The room is spacious. There's a free internet service at the lobby. However, to get to Ben Thanh market, we have to take a taxi ride.

This is the most recommended taxi service in HCMC.  A metered taxi which is convenient

MaiLinh with a H

The Lobby

MayFlower Hotel

Welcoming view

Our standard room which we booked through Agoda.com

Spacious room

If you're a shopaholic, Ho Chi Minh City is a great place to shop. It's like Jalan TAR except that you're dealing with Vietnamese and the transactions are in US Dollars, Malaysian Ringgit and VDong. There are a lot of things to find here. From souvenirs to cloth to jewelry to foods and vegetables. Everything is here,  you just name it.

Ben Thanh Market with lots of alleys

You can find everything here, from accessories to clothes and jewelry.

The roads are mostly filled with motorcycles. It's their main transport there. You rarely see cars and there are lots of taxi; tourist's main transport.

This is the gold shop where we changed our currency. It's cheaper to change Malaysian ringgit to VDong here than in Malaysia. *RM100=650,000VDong*

I'll write what I bought in Ben Thanh Market later.

Wassalam & cheers.