I left home on Sunday night for Zi Kai's place and he showed off his new driving skills by picking me up from the MRT. Early the following morning, Zi Kai's dad was kind enough to drive us to the airport (we had to check in at 5.15am) and we flew into Tan Son Nhat International Airport (Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam) by Tiger Airways TR326.
After clearing the Vietnamese customs, we trekked about 8km to Saigon's (sounds nicer than HCM) city centre (District 1). It was a pleasant surprise when we ran into Don, Wen Loong and their rugger buddies and they recommended us a guesthouse at the backpacker district along Pham Ngu Lao. We checked out several hotels near Cho Ben Thanh but found the better deals around Pham Ngu Lao, hence we checked into one for USD5 a night (per person) and proceeded to visit the War Remnants Museum.
It was interesting to view artefacts left over from the war (mostly from the US forces) and accounts on the horrors of Agent Orange. Not surprisingly, there were some bias in many of the accounts and write-ups. Late in the evening, after our museum visit, we stocked up on essential supplies at the nearby supermarket before walking to the other attractions in Saigon, such as the Reunification Palace, the Notre Dame Basilica and Central Post Office.
Both lunch and dinner at road-side stalls were expensive by local living standards and it was rather consistent through out the different districts in Ho Chi Minh. After a failed attempt to find the Singapore Tourism Centre, we decided to retire for the night.
Total expenses over 18 days: S$535
Participants: LSH, Zi Kai, Jing Kai, Lim Hwee
After clearing the Vietnamese customs, we trekked about 8km to Saigon's (sounds nicer than HCM) city centre (District 1). It was a pleasant surprise when we ran into Don, Wen Loong and their rugger buddies and they recommended us a guesthouse at the backpacker district along Pham Ngu Lao. We checked out several hotels near Cho Ben Thanh but found the better deals around Pham Ngu Lao, hence we checked into one for USD5 a night (per person) and proceeded to visit the War Remnants Museum.
It was interesting to view artefacts left over from the war (mostly from the US forces) and accounts on the horrors of Agent Orange. Not surprisingly, there were some bias in many of the accounts and write-ups. Late in the evening, after our museum visit, we stocked up on essential supplies at the nearby supermarket before walking to the other attractions in Saigon, such as the Reunification Palace, the Notre Dame Basilica and Central Post Office.
Both lunch and dinner at road-side stalls were expensive by local living standards and it was rather consistent through out the different districts in Ho Chi Minh. After a failed attempt to find the Singapore Tourism Centre, we decided to retire for the night.
Total expenses over 18 days: S$535
Participants: LSH, Zi Kai, Jing Kai, Lim Hwee
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