As I’ve mentioned in my previous post I was back in the temple complex again at about four o’clock, which was a bit late. I didn’t know that the temples that I would be visiting are far from their respective parking areas.
Banteay Kdei was the first. It is a temple with four walls, the outer is huge (700 by 500m) and its entrance alone indicates that it was created during the reign of Jayavarman 7th, with that huge face similar to those in Bayon. Inside, near the second wall is a platform with nagas. The back of the heads of each are intricately carved. I noticed that in this temple, the apsaras carved on the pillars were dancing like there’s a feast going on.
In front of the main exit is Srah Srang where I was mobbed by Khmer kids, selling postcards, books and souvenirs. I have already purchased a set of postcards for $1 near the terraces from a kid whom I asked for directions, so I ignored them and proceeded to the terrace of Srah Srang. Srah Srang is a royal bath, a large royal bath! It almost equals the size of Banteay Kdei! There were two men there in happy mode, smoking marijuana.
Next was Ta Prohm, made famous by Angelina. It has five walls and is unrestored with trees growing on the walls of the temple. Stupidly, my driver dropped me at the wrong end, again. I was the only one going against the flow of the visitors! The wooden trail was very helpful as there was water everywhere due to the rain earlier that afternoon. Of course I didn’t forget to have a “tomb raider” photo op.
By six o’clock we’re heading back to the town again.
One thing similar about the early history of the Philippines and Cambodia is the absence of written documents of our early existence. This doesn’t mean that our ancestors didn’t know how to write but the problem was due to the materials that they used. They probably used biodegradable materials. Thus, in our case, the first written account of life in our islands is by a priest, while in Cambodia, it’s by a visiting Chinese.
Our ancestors may not have written about our past but they left us some evidences of how they lived. Manunggul jar, the burial jar with the rowing spirits is an example and of course the rice terraces in the north.
Meanwhile, in Cambodia, they have Angkor Wat. I can’t think of something to compare it with here in the Philippines. It’s omnipresent in Cambodia. It’s in their flag, money, beer, souvenir shirts, etc.
Angkor is not the typical church that we have here in the Philippines but it is a group of temples located near the center of Siem Reap which is a town north of Phnom Penh. Siem Reap is the “life support of Angkor”.
The following is my Angkor itinerary:
November 13, 2009
I woke up early to catch the sunrise in Angkor. I bought a $40 ticket which is good for three days, although my plan is only to go around Angkor in two days. It was because of the “same same” reasoning of the tuktuk driver. The fee is $20 per day but the three-day ticket is also $40. So, it was “same same” and I don’t want to argue with him.
The night before, I showed him my itinerary which I lifted from Maurice Glaize’s Angkor: A Guide to the Angkor Monuments. It’s available online for free which I just Googled.
First Day: Morning; The Bayon, the terrace of the Leper King, Tep Pranam, Prah Palilay, the Royal Palace, the Baphuon. Distance - 20 kilometres. Afternoon; The small circuit via the Royal Palace, the Victory Gate, Ta Prohm (traverse from west to east), Banteay Kdei (ditto), the terrace of Srah Srang, and possibly Phnom Bakheng. Distance - 27 and 32 kilometres.
Second Day: Morning; The Grand Circuit, with a visit to Pre Rup, Banteay Samre, Neak Pean, Prah Khan (traversed from east to west) Distance - 46 kilometres. Afternoon; Angkor Wat. Distance - 12 kilometres.
Our first stop was Angkor Wat, because I was supposed to take a sunrise photo. I was able to take some photos but I didn’t realize until I’m back here in the Philippines that I was supposed to go near the temple to be able to have the silhouette of the temple similar to the one in the Cambodian flag!
After spending a few minutes there, I headed to The Bayon. I was awed by the giant faces looking at every direction at different levels. I was there before 7:00AM but it was already too hot and too humid as I climbed towards the elevated center. Of course, I missed the bas relief!
I proceeded next to the Baphuon by walking through some shortcut paths. Then I remembered the mines left by Khmer Rouge! I stayed on the clear path while following a Japanese couple towards the big temple. As I approached I noticed that it is surrounded by a fence. It was due to the renovation works being done. I didn’t go in via the front gate because I noticed that there were some arrows pointing towards the direction of the Big Buddha. I saw some kids whom pointed to me the other gate at the back. There was a platform there which can be reached by a wooden stair. I almost didn’t go up because at the bottom I only saw construction men working on the rocks of the temple. But one of them opened the gate when he saw me and I climbed the stairs without realizing that the Big Buddha was there. And IT WAS BIG! The Buddha is actually the rear wall of the temple.
After the Baphuon, and I walked to Tep Pranam, Prah Palilay, and Phimeanakas which are also inside Angkor Thom. There’s a smaller, but still big Buddha sitting in Tep Pranam. Prah Palilay is a terrace with nagas, their bodies were the balustrades on the two sides. From there I proceeded to the terraces: Terrace of Elephants and Terrace of the Leper King.
The terraces served as royal audience hall. The elephants were very realistic. These were the remnants of the hall described by Chou Ta-Kuan in 1296: “In the counsel hall, the window frames are of gold: to the left and right are square pillars bearing forty or fifty mirrors, below them are elephants…”. “Here, on the central perron amidst the ringing of conches, when the golden curtain was drawn aside by two servants, the king of Angkor, seated on lion skin, appeared before his prostrated subjects.”
After this long walk, I was tempted by the sandwich and cold water being sold by Khmer vendors under an acacia tree in the middle of the square in front of the terraces. I then walked towards the parking lot where the tuktuk was waiting for me and I went back to the hotel to rest. (Time: 10:00AM)
By 3:30PM, I’m back to the temple complex again. First stop was Bateay Kdei where I was scammed by a “guide” that asked for $10!
TBC
•C2, a well-known brand of green tea here in the Philippines, is being sold in the streets of Saigon. I’ve also seen some TV commercials about C2 in some Vietnam TV channels. Unknown to some, the green tea that Robina uses in manufacturing C2 comes from Vietnam.
•I have seen some feed stores in Vietnam selling B-Meg which is a popular brand of feeds in the Philippines being produced by San Miguel Corp. Did you know that the B in B-Meg stands for Bacillus? Just visit their site for the explanation; it has something to do with fermentation.
•San Miguel Beer is also available in Vietnam and in Siem Reap although it doesn’t come cheap. So I opted for Saigon Beer which has a bottle bigger than the usual beers that we have here, almost the same size as the 500ml Red Horse.
•Banks in the area of Pham Ngu Lao do not close at three or five in the afternoon. They stay open even at night. Also, unlike here in the Philippines where a bank has several guards who would insist on frisking everyone who enters, their bank only has one who wouldn’t even open the door for the customer.
•There are plenty of English language schools in Vietnam and Cambodia. They hire native speakers as teacher and the pay is of course based on skin color. Whites get the highest pay of course (up to 3,000 USD depending on experience). Even though only the affluent ones study in these schools, the effect is that the graduates speak American or European English.
Sleeps
Yellow House Guesthouse
Bui Vien St.
Pam Ngu Lao, D1
Saigon
It is the first in the list of places to sleep in Lonely Planet. I was so glad that the staff is very helpful and willing to help. I booked through a combination of phone call, e-mail and YM and got my pseudo-reservation within minutes which I used as proof of booking required by the immigration officer in NAIA 2. Through the online receptionist, I secured a “confirmation of the booking of Mr. Xxx Xxxxxx at Yellow House Hotel for a week paid via credit card number xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-5467”. Isn’t that neat?
Now, the hotel is another story by itself. It was so hard to find because the “Yellow House” signage is barely a few square feet compared with the giant signage’s of its neighbors. It was on my third time along Bui Vien that I finally saw it. LP has their building number but in Bui Vien, house numbers are erratic.
Their email address and telephone number listed in LP are both active: 836-8830 (go figure the country code and area code!), yellowhousehotel@yahoo.com.
I stayed on a $12 per night room on the second floor which is actually on the fourth floor. There’s no elevator! There’s free internet on old computers in the lobby. Breakfast is also included but the next day I had to leave early since I’m heading to Siem Reap. Too early, that the door is still locked and the staffs are still sleeping in the lobby.
There’s hot and cold water. They have this old model of water heater which appeared like a tank the size of a small TV. Water pressure was good even though it was on the fourth level. The aircon’s remote was broken, but its auto setting was fine with me. The TV is old, but works fine. To turn it on, you have to press power and then channel.
The $12 room that I got was for two, so if you have a companion it’s just $6. They also have dorm-type rooms on lower floors for $5.
The hotel and its facilities and equipments are relatively old, but for low price of $5/9/12 and for their helpfulness, I would stay there if given a chance again.
Thai Nhi Mini Hotel
40/4 Bui Vien St.
Pham Ngu Lao
I was led here by one of those hotel agents in blue that roam around Pam Ngu Lao. She’s very helpful; I bet she receives commission for her work.
This hotel is on a small street connecting Pham Ngu Lao and Bui Vien. Their facilities were better than that of Yellow House but the bed’s cushion were hard, I felt like a prisoner. Everything is working except their refrigerator which did not contain anything. If you want to buy water, you need to go to their reception area.
They keep their guests’ passport and only release them after you check out. At least you’re assured that you’ll never lose your passport.
At night when you arrive late, you had to wake the owner up using the door bell. They lock the gate, but it was OK since they just sleep on the reception area.
Popular Guesthouse
Siem Reap
This was recommended by a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cambodia in his blog and also by LP. It’s near the Old Market, Bar Street and the Night Market of Siem Reap. I stayed here during the night I arrived in a $12 room on the top floor. It is bigger and better than the one I stayed in in Saigon. On my second and third day I transferred to a cheaper fan room ($6) because I don’t want to climb the stairs anymore as the room is on the top floor.
Bassac Guesthouse
Phnom Penh
I was forced by the tuktuk driver into checking in with this hotel. I arrived in Phnom Penh just after midnight. There were few people in the streets at that time. I was supposed to stay in Capitol Hotel which I called before I left Popular. But the tuktuk driver insisted that I stay in Bassac and that it was better and all.
Checking in here started all the disasters I encountered when I stayed here. First, there were no other available rooms with windows. Only one room with window and fan was empty in the top floor which was four stairs away. At least the window opens, but the fan wouldn’t move that I have to move the bed. The fan was also noisy and the room was dirty!
Lesson learned: In mainland Southeast Asia, don’t believe referrals of persons you don’t know. Drivers would refer any hotel they want you to stay in because of the strong commission culture here. They could make your stay miserable in exchange for $1!
What I liked about this trip are:
1. The relative ease of arranging for transport and tours in Saigon. Booking offices are left and right in Pam Ngu Lao. Almost all of the hotels can arrange for day tours and for trips. They were easy to talk to also. It is even easier to travel in Vietnam and Cambodia than in the Philippines.
2. The food in Saigon! It didn’t disappoint although I wasn’t able to meet the Lunch Lady due to time constraints. I particularly would not forget the seafood pho in Pho 2000 and the iced coffee in the streets of District 1. I feel sorry that I didn’t buy coffee to bring home in Ben Tanh.
3. The heat and the humidity which after a few days I got used to. I was sweating like a horse when I arrived in Saigon while looking for Yellow House Hotel. Ditto when I was in Siem Reap, while climbing and walking around the temples. I didn’t sweat this much in my entire stay here in Cavite.
4. The boat ride back to Saigon from My Tho via the branches of Mekong. Actually, I was expecting that we’ll go out to the sea but we didn’t. The sights, sound, smell…. It was really a sensory overload. The part I liked most was when we were nearing Saigon and the sun has already set. Everything there just seemed right and Pasig seemed to be very different.
5. Popular Guesthouse, although it may have looked different years ago. The beds are wide, rooms big and the staffs are accommodating. Also their television has a Philippine channel, Knowledge Channel nga lang.
The things I least liked, on the other hand, are:
1. The “tourist price” mentality of some locals both in Saigon and Cambodia. Tourists are usually given higher price on food and goods.
2. The bus ride from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap and back. Going in, the bus was small and the seats are really not comfortable. On the bus back, the problem was my seat mate who wanted to occupy my seat! Some parts of the road are also as rough as Philippine roads.
3. The hotel-keeper in Phnom Penh whom I asked about buying a ticket to Saigon but assumed that I was booking with him. I purchased a ticket in front of Tuol Sleng, and, guess what; he got mad that I didn’t purchase my ticket through him.
4. The beef amok I ordered in the restaurant of Popular which was too sauce-y, broth-y. The beef were swimming in the bowl.
5. The hotel in Bui Vien that kept my passport and demanded to see the receipt which was deep in my already packed bag.
6. I find it hard to fully comprehend maps. It’s the reason why I opted to take the half day city tour being offered by SinhTourist.
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.
Cont.
$114.00 was the two-way airfare from Manila to Ho Chi Minh City via Philippine Airlines (PAL). It was a promo fare from PAL’s Halloween Madness which was lower than the Econolight fare by just $58.00 or Php2,784.00. Considering that this is not a budget airline, the fare was cheap but the next time I fly out of the country, I would take the any of the ASEAN budget airlines. It’s much cheaper with them. Sometimes, I’d see $1 promo on the net with these airlines. But this comes with the unavoidable taxes and other charges sometimes.
Anyway, the flight was good as expected, with good take off and touchdown. The plane departed on time when we flew out of Manila and also on the return flight. On both occasions we also arrived earlier than the estimated arrival time. The food was also good (but not great) and both came with rice. I overheard the stewardess saying “Of course, the food is better in Saigon, bumawi na lang kayo doon!” I also noticed that the crew of PAL in its international flight was like the parents of the domestic crew.
At this point, I have to mention that I was quite impressed with the international airport in Saigon (Tan Son Nhat). It appeared clean, well-maintained, and orderly although it doesn’t look as gigantic as our NAIA Terminal 3. The duty free shops after the final security check are also nice, with a wide array of products. The security being imposed is not like what we have here. SM and Robinson’s seemed stricter. I don’t remember being frisked and being asked to remove my shoes on the final X-ray.
Also, in the arrival area of the airport, after the tube, a Vietnamese in the traditional ao dai was there to welcome the passengers. Is there a Filipina in baro’t saya welcoming travelers in any of the terminals of NAIA? Naah!
VND 314,500 for the The SinhTourist buses that I rode from Saigon to Phnom Penh and from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. The first bus was good because it was stable and big, just like any of the tourist buses that serve this route. It departed 6:30AM, on time, from Saigon and crossed the city towards the Mocbai border. It was just more than two hours and we were already there. As the passports were already collected before we left Saigon, the girl from The SinhTourist brought these to the immigration officer for the exit stamp. We waited for our names to be called after which we were then made to wait for the rest of the passengers just outside the building. After all the passengers were through, we boarded the bus and headed to the Cambodian side of the border, Bavet, which is not more than 200 meters away. There we had to fall in line for the Cambodian immigration officer that takes a photo of each and stamps the passport. After these, we continued for Phnom Penh for another four hours. In between, there was a big river that we had to cross, so the bus has to ride a ferry (roro). We arrived in Phnom Penh after 1:00PM in SinhTourist (SinhCafe) hotel which serves as their terminal. I had lunch there, because I was already very hungry because I forgot to buy any food from Saigon before we left. I didn’t notice that just next door was a cheaper restaurant.
The second part was a shaky mini bus to Siem Reap. Good thing it was not full. There were only five passengers for that 6 hour bus ride. One was a French lady who speaks little English and carries a Conversational English book in French. The other three looks like Khmers who prefer to sleep throughout that trip. The bus driver speaks little English too so I have to enjoy the sights speechless.
According to the receipts I collected:
$40.00 (Php 1920.00) for 3 day pass for Angkor. Payment was thru a ticket booth halfway between Siem Reap center and Angkor. A photo is taken and is printed on the ticket; this is to avoid second-hand tickets. You loose the ticket in Angkor and they charge you $30.00. Pass for 2 days also costs $40.00, same same. Most of the temples have stationed guards that ask for the ticket before you enter. It was good that I had an arrangement with the tuktuk driver that I leave the hotel at 5:30AM to catch the sunrise, so there was no queue at all.
$10.00 (Php 4800.00) which I exchanged for Vietnamese Dong. The exchange rate was 17,870.00 VND per USD. I think this was in the airport. Their booth is in the leftmost side money exchange counters towards the exit of Tan Son Nath Airport. From there, I walked towards the domestic terminal nearby where I found Bus 152 which goes to Pam Ngu Lao. By the way, the bus fare was just 3,000VND (Php 8.00) and it goes straight to the backpacker’s area. The problem with me was that I was disoriented when I got off the bus. I had a difficult time looking for the hotel where I have a reservation, which turned out to be just a few steps away from the bus stop!
$3.60 (Php 172.80) this was for a meal or actually an afternoon snack in Popular Guesthouse. They have a restaurant on the right side. Popular Guesthouse is a nice place to stay. The first night I stayed on a $12 (Php 576.00) room but to cut cost I transferred to a $5 room, or was it $6.
Laundry for $1.90 for 1.9kg in Siem Reap. I needed this because I only had a bag of clothes with me, just enough for 3 days. This was in front of the hotel where I stayed. In the hotel it was $2.00 per kg. The clothes were hand washed but I didn’t like the strings (yarn) they placed on each piece probably was an ID.
$3.00 entrance fee to the National Museum of Cambodia. This museum is in Phnom Penh and contains many displays arranged around the building on a circular manner. It’s not so big and it didn’t take me more than 5 minutes to finish viewing all. I actually liked more the museum in Siem Reap which presented everything on a better way so I was forced to spend more time inside. Besides, the displays there include audio and video presentations. It was a nice rest visiting the Siem Reap Museum after a long morning in Angkor.
Php 127.00 for my Jollibee breakfast in NAIA. It turned out that I needed this because of the immigration officer which required me to produce a week of hotel booking, which I did not have because it was not part of my itinerary. Thankfully, I had a Lonely Planet with me with a list of hotels in Pam Ngu Lao. Thankfully also, the receptionist of Yellow House Hostel was also online at that time. I called via my phone (no bill yet!) and made a follow up via YM. She could not hear me clearly in the phone, no thanks to the PA of NAIA Centennial Terminal which frequently pages for lost people. I asked her to e-mail me a “confirmation of the booking of Mr. Xxx Xxxxxx at Yellow House Hotel for a week paid via credit card number xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-5467.” I received the e-mail a few minutes later. I had to go to an internet café near the Old Domestic Terminal to have it printed. (Taxi Php 100.00, printing and internet Php 75.00)
Php 1,620.00 Philippine Travel Tax, no comment.
VND 38,000 for Pho Bo and Tac Muoi in Pho Quynh which is a small restaurant in Pam Ngu Lao. It’s for a big bowl of beef noodles and (I can’t remember the other one, probably a beverage, tea maybe because at this time I still have not tasted their coffee). The noodles come with a platter of a forest of vegetables and chili and lemon on another plate.
VND 125,000 ($7.35) for 2 bottles of Saigon Beer and burger in Allez Boo which is a prominent restaurant in the corner of Bui Vien and Pam Ngu Lao. Beer was 30,000 VND each, around 80 pesos per big bottle, just like the big Red Horse. The beer tastes good, actually less bitter than SMB.
