These are photos of signages and of the international airport in Saigon.
These are photos I took while I walked during the morning and got lost and then followed by Cu Chi Tunnel and scenes around the city.
This set of photos are of the following: Russian Market, Tuol Sleng Museum, the Independence Monument, people kicking shuttle cock, a park in Phnom Penh (I forgot the name), the restaurant where I watched the Pacquiao-Cotto fight, and some scenes on my way back to Saigon.
This album contains photos of temples on the Grand Circuit. The latter part are photos of the Angkor Wat, beginning with the monkeys I saw at the road from the right side entrance. Also in the middle are some photos of the exhibits in the Angkor National Museum.
These photos were taken during the first day of my tour around to the lesser known temples around Angkor.
These were the photos on the first day of my trip. This is the day I flew out of Manila and arrived in Saigon via Philippine Airlines (PAL). I arrived in late afternoon. I looked for the bus in the airport and went to the backpacker area of Saigon.
Cont.
I’m sorry I can’t upload photos as of this time because of bandwidth restrictions. I’ll find time to upload them later.
This one is from a tape receipt without heading but I believe this was from Pho 2000. The amount was VND 104,000.00. I remember that I ordered a big bowl of seafood noodles. Little did I know that “big” is really big as in ginormous! It as big as a small basin you use for washing your face! LOL. I also ordered spring rolls and fruit shake. The 2,000 VND I think is for the wet tissue.
The same Pho 2000 was visited by Bill Clinton when he visited Vietnam during the normalization of diplomatic relationship with USA. Several photos of the occasion are displayed on the walls.
I also have a Pho 24 receipt for VND 107,000.00. Same amount for the tissue but I also ordered a flan for 12,000.00 VND. The noodles came in a smaller bowl and with lean beef. The rest are same as above.
Pho 24 is a chain of noodle house with several branches in Saigon alone.
The next is a receipt for $10.00 which I exchanged for dong in Saigon’s Post Office. It was changed with just VND165,000.00 because they collect 1,000VND as tax. Which I only knew after the transaction has been made. Bwisit. I used the money to pay for the postages for the postcards I sent home and to myself.
VND 15,000.00 for the entrance ticket for the Independence Palace (aka Reunification Palace). I was part of a SinhTourist tour group here but the fee for the tour didn’t include the entrance ticket to the palace. The morning of November 17, I was in the palace ground in the morning but it was closed for a staff meeting. I got lost going back to the hotel that time that’s why I opted for the City Tour. I am so tired of aimless walks.
$9.00 for one day Mekong Delta Tour. I purchased this from Viet Fun Travel Co. This included the ride from Saigon to My Tho and the boat rides in between My Tho and Ben Tre. We left Saigon 8:30 A.M. via a van, I was with a Malaysian family and two Americans. We stopped in a small port then we boarded a boat across Mekong River. We first went to a bee farm then proceeded to a fruit plantation, with free taste of honey, honey wine, tea, and fruits in between. By the way, I like their spiced salt where the fruit is dipped. After this is the small boat ride along a small creek. Two people were paddling the native boat.
Then we went to a coconut candy factory where the process is explained and demonstrated by the guide. After which is the lunch which was included in the tour fee. I ordered additional iced coffee. Their specialty here is the fried dragon fish (am I right?) presented in a plate with a holder for the fish so that it is upright and looks alive. Argh!
After the lunch is siesta time and also we were allowed to bike around the village. I grabbed a bike and went to the nearest store to buy some chewing gum. Bikes were provided by the restaurant where we had lunch.
I was offered by the guide an $11 boat ride back to Saigon which I took. It left at around 2:30 P.M. and actually was more of a sensory overload. It goes through several branches of Mekong, taking all the lefts all the way to Saigon.
The boat ride offered me a slice of the daily life of the people of Mekong. I can’t compare it with any local river scene probably because it is bigger in size and thus people had to really adapt to their environment. Most of the boats I saw are tug boats either pulling or pushing a barge containing soil or gravel. Most of these barges are so full that only a foot can be seen above water. In the tug boats are families that look like they live on the boat, complete with dogs, ornamentals, laundry and stoves. Some of the boats were carrying merchandise like jars, groceries, grains, and coconut.
We arrived after sunset in Saigon, at around 6:30 P.M. Compared with Pasig or Manila Bay, the smell was not that obnoxious although there were also shanties in the banks when we were already in Saigon.
From the port, we were fetched by a bus and brought to Pam Ngu Lao and arrived after 7:00 P.M.
$9.00 for a Night Bus from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. I really hated this ride because of my seatmate who occupied 1/5 of my seat. He was asleep from Siem Reap while I’m not comfortable for most of the ride.
From the hotel, I was fetched by a tuktuk which brought me to a small place where they pooled the passengers. When we were complete, we were bussed to the real terminal which was on the outskirts of Siem Reap.
$12.00 for buffet dinner with Apsara show. The tuktuk driver that took me around Angkor offered to bring me to the restaurant. I made sure that I get my money’s worth so I was able to use several plates for this dinner! One dish that I particularly liked was the fish amok. It was not like the beef amok served to me when I had lunch in the restaurant of Popular Hotel. I noticed that most of the tables are reserved to tour groups, many of which were either Japanese or Korean.
The cultural presentation was not remarkable. The dances were similar to our folk dances which showed courtship and fishing. The apsara’s movements were boringly slow and their attire was more of Thai than Khmer. I was thinking that apsaras were topless as the bas relief in Angkor didn’t show them being clothed on top.
$11 and $13 for the tuktuk ride around Angkor. On the first day where I went round the small circuit, it was $11. For the second day which covered a longer distance, the driver asked for $13. If I know, he just wants to recover the bribe he paid for the two times that he was apprehended by the police for not having a plate number in his motorcycle. I didn’t notice this at all when I hired him when I arrived in Siem Reap because it was already dark. He is affiliated with SinhTourist (SinhCafe), and he smelled bad, really!
Other rides are cheaper, like motorcycle or bike, but at the time I was there, it rained every afternoon. On the second day, the rain was so hard. So, even I have to shell out extra cash, it turned out to be beneficial because the tuktuk has a roof and has sheets of plastic on its sides.
Cont.
$4.00 for a dinner in the Old Market Area of Siem Reap in one of the night restaurants there. It was for a well spiced and herbed grilled chicken and rice and of course Angkor beer. This was on the night I arrived from the very long trip from Saigon.
Php750.00 for the Airport User’s Charge paid in NAIA. Five hundred fifty of this is Passenger Service Charge and the rest is Security Development Charge.
Php59.00 for the bus ride to Pasay.
$30.00 for Thai Nhi Hotel where I stayed after I arrived from Phnom Penh until my departure in Saigon (Nov. 15 to 18, 2009). I stayed in room 202 which was for $10.00 per day. Room 202, again, is misleading since you would think that this is on the second floor. It was actually on the 4th floor and they don’t have elevator. The first floor was being used by the family that manages the hotel. The next floor, mezzanine, was the reception area and some family rooms. The 3rd floor was the first floor of the hotel and the 4th floor was where Rm 202 is. This hotel is located on a small street connecting Bui Vien and Pam Ngu Lao St. And the owner keeps your passport until you check out.
I stayed in this hotel because Yellow House was full. An old lady in blue uniform approached me to help me find a hotel. Akala ko sindikato. It turned out that it’s what she does. She matches people with (small) hotels in the area. So I was able to stay on a better maintained hotel for $2.00 less per day.