Ho Chi Minh City - Vietnam 23012008

LOTUSfairy

8 Feb 08, 12:04

Originally posted by noopi:

i think your 20,000 dong pho is kena chopped carrot head liaos

when i lived in HCMC for 3.5 years
i think i must have visited cu chi tunnel more than 7 times
each time to take my visitors there
go until i scared

alamak...i should have known u lah....then u can bring me around...

oki..next trip..

LOTUSfairy

8 Feb 08, 12:07

while shopping at the nite bazzar, selecting my t-hsirt, the stall young lady offered me to try her dessert.. hehehe..i love sweet stuff..

LOTUSfairy

8 Feb 08, 12:11

Shopping TIME !

LOTUSfairy

8 Feb 08, 12:14

Then i see this: Free dead Rat with bags.

Shirts.. dunno real or fake..too cheap to be real leh.

I was tempted to buy one of these..

LOTUSfairy

8 Feb 08, 12:16

Playing Chinese Chess seems to be their past time. This kid was concentrating hard on his game and nd he din even notice that I was taking pics of him..

LOTUSfairy

8 Feb 08, 12:22

while walking back to hotel at 10.30pm (was awake since 5am take flight to HCMC)...

we stopped by a ice cream shop..

it cost $1.50per scoop.. we had 3 scoops and their ice tea (free) was refreshing.

i had 5 cups of their tea before leaving..

LOTUSfairy

8 Feb 08, 12:30

end of Day 1....update more tomorrow..

Rhonda

8 Feb 08, 20:57

Wowee! Your photos are taken well! And I laughed a lot at your captions too! Very entertaining!!

Looks like the foodstalls and other stalls there display their wares very attractively! In abundance, piled up high, and very colourful! Really inviting and eye-catching! Makes me want to go to Vietnam myself!

I think if I were to visit Vietnam, I'd return with a lotta lotta hair accessories, bags, and what-not trinkets. I'm quite a pack-rat and always end up buying plenty of useless stuff when I'm on tour. Usually, after buying, never use...

I can't wait to see yet more photos! This is really interesting!

æ·‹é›¨

8 Feb 08, 21:03

finally pic is out. wow....food looks good

Rhonda

8 Feb 08, 21:19

I like that mouse helmet with the ears sticking out! THink if I ever go there, I'll purchase that helmet so that one day, if I ever buy a Vespa to scoot around the neighbourhood with, I'll wear that helmet! Harharharar!!! It might even turn out to be a man-magnet!

motoway

8 Feb 08, 21:34

Ur trip looks interesting la~

If i ever do backpacking.. I'll go Viet / Thailand..

caleb_chiang

8 Feb 08, 21:36

Most important... alcohol are cheap...

LOTUSfairy

9 Feb 08, 11:42

hehe...try my best to remember the details... i was there basically for walking, sightseeing and eating... the whole place is grey grey grey, dusty and beep beep here horn horn there...very noisy .. for phototaking, the locals do not really like the cammy leh... most of them shy again or even *run* away...i tell u why later..

Day 2 ..

Breakfast, 1st morning taste oki, 2nd morning (same) feel normal, 3rd morning (still the same) yuck. , last morning (remains the same) blahhhhhhhh.

LOTUSfairy

9 Feb 08, 11:49

Whenever we lose our way (most of the time) during the entire tour, we will ask the local where is Ben Thanh Market (hand language and the only recognisable words "Ben Thanh" - sounds like BEN THAN (RICE BUCKET) in Hokkien), we head towards that way to find our way back to hotel.

this is the Ben Thanh Market. Their biggest Icon in the City.

the Bear

9 Feb 08, 11:52

i find it amazing you can go "yuck" and still be able to eat so much of it

LOTUSfairy

9 Feb 08, 11:56

Taking my photocopied map with highlight routes, I still cannot figure out the streets most of the time. My buddy gave up with me and took over the map and guide me around instead.

We stumbled across an area which sells some car accessories and lods of foodie stuff..

LOTUSfairy

9 Feb 08, 12:07

then comes to the makeshift roadside sellers (the illegal ones)....

This is the fun part...i walk towards them, calmly with my big cammy with me.... holding onto my cammy, wilth finger at the shuttle button, just point and shoot/click click click, without using the viewfinder (trying my luck, like I am not taking any pics)..., so as not cause panic and alarmed them...

Then I decide to try. I hold my cammy to my face, point the cammy at them, some aunties screamed and deserted their goods and fleed. Some run halfway, only found that i am only a tourist, came back, cursed and swear (luckilyy not at me) and continue to sell their stuffs. Some of their kaki burst out laughing...

My friend and I quickly scrambed away, trying not to laugh too.. they may have thought that i was one of the journalist./media or their "custom" trying to nab them..

LOTUSfairy

9 Feb 08, 12:17

Oh well,...

some aunties are really nice... they let me take pics of them...and we bought oranges and fruits from them.