We walked from our hotel to the bus station and reached there at about 7.30am. We waited a while then an uncle motioned us to a minibus. Wow. This is the newest one we've saw so far. Spacious and clean. Smells new too! The bus took us to another street and the driver motioned us to get down and take a seat. This place seems to be the central office of this bus company. They seems to be running a courier service or some sort. Throughout the 20 mins, we watched many, MANY motorbikes coming in and out to drop or pick up parcels.
vietnam travel
Finally, our minibus came back with more passengers (fr other parts of Vinh Long town maybe) and we are off to HCMC. We passed by the cabled My Thuan Bridge. Think its the nicest looking around bridge already.. but I couldn't get a photo of it.
If i ever visit Vinh Long again, I'll not get a tour. Its possible to just go to An Binh Island and find a homestay and rent a bike and explore the island by yourself! M felt that we had cycled too fast round the neighbourhood that we missed out things.. ya. i agreed. The locals are very simple (on An Binh island).. when we stopped to take pictures, some of them came out of their houses, looking at us curiously. hahaha.
The bus ride is uneventful.. maybe cos we are both tired.. I didn't take much note of the journey too. Anyway, you know when you reached hcmc, the traffic is more heavy :( more buildings, around less trees.. everyone seems crowded. We reached our stop ie. the bus company office in district 5 of hcmc. Once you get down, a swarm of motorbikes drivers surrounded you again. M and i quickly get our bags and head off first. We walked a little then decided to find lunch, to settle down, to plan our route (how to walk to district 1).
We started walking to Pham Ngu Lao Street. Frankly, I'm becoming more sian. Its very city and I don't feel enthusiatic anymore. We reached District 1.. It's very evident with lots of tourists walking around. Lots of locals trying to get you a room also. We went to view one which looks quite dodgy..although its cheap, we decided to try our luck at other places.
Oh, Hong Hoa Guesthouse seems very nice, from the lobby and the convenience of having free internet and a minimart just at ground level! A pity they are full for the next 2 nights. Finally we settled down in Quyen Thanh Hotel. Downstairs, its a shop selling lacquerware. We got a fairly big room for usd $20 a night. The decor is kind of 'obiang'. Bathroom has those olden green & red tiles. Anyway, I didn't took any photos of this room.
Quyen Thah Hotel
212 De Tham St. District 1. Ho Chi Minh City.
We went to Ben Thanh Market to do some touristy shopping.. you know, had to buy some souvenirs back... I don't like the market.. I don't like bargaining too. After buying the 'necessary' stuff, we head off.
Things are generally 2 to 3 times more expensive here, compared to the delta. We tried the coffee, the food, the flavour is just not there. Disillusioned, I decided to better spend our money on not-so local food. We set off to find a nice french restuarant near Thai Van Ling Road, according to lonely planet. We passed by the City Hall, went to the ferry terminal, experienced great traffic jam and crossed the heaviest traffic of my entire trip! Night falls and worn-out, we finally decided to trot into Bibi for authentic french food. The boss is a french guy who married a Vietnamese wife and proceeded to settle down here. We are very hungry. We had onion soup, steak, salmon, Foie gras, creme bulee, 4 glass of wine! The total bill came up to be usd $87. I wasn't too happy with my Foie gras, but i love the soup and creme bulee and of course, the wine is GOOD!
Ho Kd Bibi17A6 Le Thanh Ton. District 1. HCMC.
Interesting thing to note: the whole Thai Van Ling road seems to be littered with Korean restuarants. There are several service apartments in this area too. Once you right turned to Le Thanh Ton road, the scene changes to Japanese restuarants! Anyway, these are simply food streets.. with restuarants, pubs etc. Dong Khoi Street is one that is full of boutiques and art studios. You'll find your LV, Gucci, etc here.
We made our way back to the Pham Ngu Lao to retire for the night...
