KUALA LUMPUR – HO CHI MINH – SIEM REAP – BANGKOK TRIP

Coming from our South Korea trip, the travel itch continued and I reckoned that the upcoming holy week break would be the perfect time.  Perfect because I would be done with all the April 15 tax filings then... Yahoo!  But then March arrived and the airfares were soaring high day by day.  It was a habit already to check all airlines daily hoping for a fare steal.  Then on March 3, an answered prayer; AirAsia went on sale, not bad at P5600++ return trip for Manila - Kuala Lumpur.  I booked at once, originally for a 6 day trip.  I plotted our itinerary and the flights in between but I failed to squeeze all 4 country plan in such a short time.  So I rebooked making it an 8-day trip but was charged a P1600 fee... Okay, okay... I know, my bad.  After our return flight was confirmed, I booked the rest of the flights, all through AirAsia; Kuala Lumpur - Ho Chi Minh, Siem Reap - Bangkok and finally Bangkok - Kuala Lumpur.  

An actual account of our 8-day Indochina amazing race trip crossing 4 countries (excluding Philippines) on a shoestring as follows:

KUALA LUMPUR – HO CHI MINH – SIEM REAP – BANGKOK TRIP

  

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UNIQUELY VIETNAM

Well, for my Ho Chi Minh Vietnam trip, apart from what were written in my other blogs, here are my “personal’ take home notes based on my personal observations.

§  The conical hats that are still in use

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DAY 2 – THE CU CHI TUNNEL TOUR

We were referred yesterday by our hotel attendant to a tour operator for our Cu Chi Tunnel Tour.  Tours offered are either in big groups (in a bus) or small groups (in a van).  For this one, we chose the bus which costs only USD5 per head.  The fee covered the two-way transportation, the English speaking tour guide, a quick drop by to a lacquer workshop along the way, and complementary bottled water. 

From Wikitravel: Cu Chi Tunnels is located 40km northwest of Ho Chi Minh City.  The tunnels are an elaborate underground community made up of 250km of tunnels and chambers below the city.  The tunnels were dug with simple tools and bare hands during the French occupation in the 1940’s and further expanded during the Vietnam War in 1960’s to provide refuge and a defensive advantage over the American Soldiers.  So despite all the bombings in South Vietnam, the Cu Chi people were able to continue their lives beneath the soil – where they slept, ate, wed, gave birth, planned attacks, healed their sick and taught their young.

We arrived at the tunnel past 11 in the morning after a 1-1/2 hour travel.  At the entrance, we were oriented with the rules, the restricted areas, and of course our time limit.

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DAY 2 – THE CU CHI TUNNEL TOUR

We were referred yesterday by our hotel attendant to a tour operator for our Cu Chi Tunnel Tour.  Tours offered are either in big groups (in a bus) or small groups (in a van).  For this one, we chose the bus which costs only USD5 per head.  The fee covered the two-way transportation, the English speaking tour guide, a quick drop by to a lacquer workshop along the way, and complementary bottled water. 

From Wikitravel: Cu Chi Tunnels is located 40km northwest of Ho Chi Minh City.  The tunnels are an elaborate underground community made up of 250km of tunnels and chambers below the city.  The tunnels were dug with simple tools and bare hands during the French occupation in the 1940’s and further expanded during the Vietnam War in 1960’s to provide refuge and a defensive advantage over the American Soldiers.  So despite all the bombings in South Vietnam, the Cu Chi people were able to continue their lives beneath the soil – where they slept, ate, wed, gave birth, planned attacks, healed their sick and taught their young.

We arrived at the tunnel past 11 in the morning after a 1-1/2 hour travel.  At the entrance, we were oriented with the rules, the restricted areas, and of course our time limit.

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DAY 1 - AROUND HO CHI MINH CITY (PART II)

continuation from DAY 1 - AROUND HO CHI MINH CITY (PART I)

The Notre Dame Catheral

The Cathedral was finished in 1880 and was established by French colonists following the conquest of Cochinchina and Saigon.  It has two bell towers with a height of over 58 meters.  According to several online articles, initially it was called Saigon Church but in 1959, Bishop Phan Van held a ceremony to install the statue of Peaceful Notre Dame made with granite from Rome.  In 1962, after the Vatican anointed it as Saigon Chief Cathedral, it was called Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica.

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DAY 1 - AROUND HO CHI MINH CITY (PART I)

Ho Chi Minh City, previously called Saigon, was named after the Vietnamese communist revolutionary leader who led and established the communist-ruled Democratic Republic of Vietnam who defeated the French Union.  It used to be the capital of South Vietnam until the reunification of Vietnam in 1976.

The breakfast for the day officially marked my first foreign meal and since it was a buffet, I made the most of it particularly the coffee.  I tried several coffee mishmash and true enough, the aroma, the taste and the experience was truly one of a kind.  All credits to our lovely small hotel, the Saigon Sports Hotel which is now named Sen Hotel Saigon.  For best rates, check this link.

With tummies filled, we were ready for our itinerary of the day.  Actual rundown as follows:

10am – War Remnants Museum

12nn – Thien Hau Temple

2pm – late lunch

3pm – Lacquer Workshop

330pm – Reunification Palace

4pm – Notre Dame Cathedral

430pm – Central Post Office

6pm -- Pong Yang Water Puppet Show

730pm – dinner at Nha Hanh Ngon

830pm – Ben Thanh Market
 

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THE WAR REMNANTS MUSEUM

The War Remnants Museum is a three-storey building that houses collections of artilleries, armories, aircrafts, unexploded ordinances, bombs, tanks, pictures, etc.  It used to be called the “Exhibition House of US and Puppet Crimes”, and then renamed to “Exhibition House for Crimes of War and Aggression”, then finally “The War Remnants Museum” after the diplomatic relations with the US.

I was amazed by how they have preserved and valued the history despite the horror and fright that it caused in their lives.  As for them, the museum is a testament of how their elders fought for the future generation and for the young ones to value the life that they enjoy today --  it made them the proud Vietnamese of today.

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HO CHI MINH (SAIGON) VIETNAM TRIP

I was hesitant at first to blog about my foreign travels because I created this blog primarily to share our adventures as well as to help promote the beauty of THE PHILIPPINES... but after contemplating, here I am finally tipping my keys recounting my/our foreign escapades.

Vietnam was my first out-of-country experience and thanks to Cebu Pacific for offering promo fares.  The anxiety of being far from home worried of what might happen here and there were things that kept me jittering.  All the time, I kept praying for the Lord’s guidance and protection for myself and for my 3 kiddos and family that are all hoping for my safe return.

Well, for this trip being a first timer, I left all the researches and arrangements to my companions and I just went with the flow.  First lessons before boarding the plane as follows:  (a) pay travel tax of P1620, (b) terminal fee of P750; (c) fill-up departure card for the declaration of your travel details – where to stay, purpose of travel, duration, etc – to be surrendered to the PH immigration; then (d) go by the local immigration and pass their queries, if any.

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