Travel flashback: Ho Chi Minh City aka Saigon, Vietnam (October 2010)

This post is the first part of our Vietnam tour. Click here for our Hue tour (Day 2 Part 2 and Day 3)


It had been only five months since our struggling Bangkok trip and we found ourselves again bound to another ASEAN neighbor. I guess our trip to Thailand had been very affordable for us and even other Filipinos, that we were still able to visit another country within the same year of 2010. Of course, we chose another budget-friendly but culturally rich country, Vietnam. So far, it’s my favorite Southeast Asian nation, next of course to the Philippines.




We had actually booked a Cebu Pacific promo to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) even before our already set flight to Bangkok in May. We just had to take advantage of the fuel surcharge-free flights! Pol and I took my mom with us again when she said yes without hesitation. My personal desire to travel to Vietnam was because of my dream to go to Hanoi and Hue. Since HCMC was the only direct flight from Manila back then, it was but logical for us to explore the city as well.

Everything in our 3-day/2-night HCMC package was care of TNK Travel. I just had to choose our desired accommodation and tour, and pay via credit card, bank deposit or fund transfer. My chosen hotel was Beautiful Saigon 2 Hotel and my chosen tours were the usual city tour and Cu Chi Tunnels half-day tour. I preferred them to be group tours by bus. For the three of us, the total price for everything was only USD 215! It also includes airport-hotel transfer, daily breakfast, and lunch for both tours.

TNK Travel office



I didn’t want my Vietnam adventure to end in HCMC so I booked a domestic round-trip flight to Hue via Vietnam Airlines.

It was my 51st month of dating Pol when we and my mom arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in the evening. From there, we were picked up by our driver, rode his Avanza, and got to our hotel in half an hour. Beautiful Saigon 2 Hotel is located along a lively backpacking alley, corner of Pham Ngu Lao Street in District 1, the most popular district for backpackers.

Our hotel did not have elevators since it has only eight rooms in four floors. Our room was located on the second floor, not bad since my mom doesn’t like climbing higher than that. We were all very much satisfied with our room because aside from it being clean, comfortable, spacious and modern with its flat-screen TV, it has a personal computer with high-speed internet! Before we turned the lights off, we were able to chat with my dad who was at home.



Our room in Beautiful Saigon 2 Hotel, clockwise from top left: Bedsheet, bathroom,
1 double bed and 1 single bed, desk with personal computer



Day 1: Saigon city tour

It was a pleasant morning in our hotel when we woke up for breakfast. We had French bread, Vietnam’s equivalent of the Philippines’ pan de sal. It came with a variety of spreads and our choice of omelet. There were also guests from other hostels and hotels who preferred to have breakfast in our hotel too. The food was really that good!

After breakfast, we were led to walk towards Pham Ngu Lao Street where our group tour bus would pick us up. As we waited for the bus, we observed the streets where the primary mode of transportation is the motorcycle. We also observed how well-dressed every local was, especially the taxi dispatcher wearing a buttoned polo shirt for his uniform. Everybody was wearing collared shirts, mostly long sleeves, whether young or old. There were also women riding bicycles and wearing their national costumes. Neat!



While waiting at Pham Ngu Lao Street



We got on our tour bus and dropped off first at the War Remnants Museum. I already knew what to expect from this museum based on tourist reviews, were the photos and artifacts were too unpleasant to be displayed but they indeed showed how inhumane the situation in Vietnam was during the US-Vietnam war in the sixties. The Vietnamese had suffered a lot from the grave health and body defects caused by unavoidable exposure to Agent Orange, not to mention the bodily damages and deaths caused by various human torture techniques. Despite the museum also showcasing mementos of Vietnam’s post-war development, I guess no one would still be able to leave the museum light-hearted. It was not surprising when our tour guide told us that the old locals are still somewhat traumatized by the war.



War Remnants Museum, clockwise from top left: The front exterior, local students on a field trip, photo of conjoined twins due to their mother's prenatal exposure to Agent Orange, revolutionary campaign ads, photo of Mao Zedong and Ho Chi Minh shaking hands, some statistical facts during the Vietnam War

List of torture techniques

Clockwise from top left: A military helicopter, photo of an American soldier holding a local's severely damaged remains, a sculpture made from bomb fragments, replica of the tiger cage for prisoners, a quote from Ho Chi Minh, photos and ads related to the Cuban revolution



Our next stop was in Chinatown, Cho Lon District, where we dropped by Thien Hau Temple and Binh Tay Market. What I observed in the market was that no one vendor would ever force you to buy from their store, unlike in Divisoria where any vendor you’d pass by would ask you to feel free to choose from their goods. There was no pressure! We ended up not buying anything. LOL



Thien Hau Temple in Chinatown, Cho Lon District



Binh Tay Market



It was time for lunch, and it was included in our tour package. Our tour guide told us that the three of us would be eating somewhere else different from where our fellow tourists in the bus would. He also said that it was somewhere better. We were surprised when he walked us back to our Beautiful Saigon 2 Hotel! We had the best lunch ever. I love Vietnamese food!



Our yummy Vietnamese lunch



I was glad to have availed TNK Travel’s service because we wouldn’t have to pay all our entrance fees as they were already included in our package. The other tourists in our bus actually had to purchase entrance tickets first before they got in. Plus, our food was indeed better when we found out what our fellow tourists had for lunch.

After our lunch, it was time to explore the Reunification Palace, the former residence of the presidents during the central governance of Southern Vietnam until the south was invaded by the Northern Vietnamese. I didn’t expect that it would be tiring to roam around the whole palace, given that its four floors and two mezzanines had elevators. I was wrong. It wasn’t called a palace for nothing!



The Reunification Palace and some of its parts, clockwise from top left: The exterior facade, conference hall, banquet chamber, bonsai garden, gambling room, movie theater, private dining room, the main stairs, credentials presenting room



Other parts of the Reunification Palace, clockwise from top left:
The helipad at the roof, the map room, the kitchen, the phone room

Our final stops were the Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica (Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception) and the Saigon Central Post Office, just a few steps from each other and both of French architecture.

Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica

Saigon Central Post Office



When we hopped on our bus for the last time, we passed by a complex of high-end shopping malls, the Municipal Theater, the City Hall, and Ben Thanh Market.



Sights our bus passed by, clockwise from top left: Bitexco Financial Tower,
Municipal Theater, Ho Chi Minh City Hall, Ben Thanh Market



We got back to our hotel for dinner, and spent the rest of the night in our room surfing the net using our room’s computer.

Day 2, Part 1: Cu Chi Tunnels half-day tour, domestic flight from HCMC to Hue

Cu Chi Tunnels was the first and only thing I know about Vietnam when I was in high school, and food was only next when I started patronizing Pho Hoa restaurants ever since they opened in Metro Manila. I was amazed to see this network of very narrow tunnels on TV, because the people living in this underground community survived a war that was among the worst in the world. On this day, I was going to see a very small portion of these tunnels with my very eyes. I only learned on that day itself that Cu Chi Tunnels was just part of a larger network of underground tunnels that surrounded the whole country!

Our bus ride from the city to Cu Chi took a little more than an hour, and our tour guide narrated about the tunnels’ history, with disclaimer that his narration was based on government accounts. He also narrated his own experience as he was a teacher during the war in the sixties.

When we arrived, we started our tour with the camouflaged trapdoor, where a man demonstrated how undetectable it is when closed. As we continued our trail, we saw a few narrow holes and a lot of booby traps! Good thing they were secured with barricades.



Our Cu Chi tunnels walking trail

We also got to experience passing through a very narrow tunnel that we were sweating excessively when we got out. We found out that that tunnel was even made wider and taller to accommodate tourists. The people who lived under the tunnels during the war were generally small in body frame.

Our back-breaking and sauna-hot tunnel adventure

The final part of our tour was a film showing in black and white. The documentary was very old and somewhat hard to watch, but I thank my experience in frequently conversing with the Vietnamese during my three years at work in Citi, it was easy for me to understand English in calm and soothing Vietnamese accent. J



Area for film showing

We were brought back to our hotel where we had actually already checked out in the morning. We were about to fly to Hue on that day. We had our last lunch in our beloved Beautiful Saigon 2 Hotel, and I ordered risotto which is a favorite of mine and I rarely had opportunity to find. We also ordered spring rolls and of course their delicious pho. Aside from the food and the very affordable modern room, I will never forget the cheerful staff. Our experience during our stay was better than any five-star treatment!



Our last lunch at Beautiful Saigon 2 Hotel (check out the heart!)



While we were waiting for our airport transfer, we had a walking exploration around District 1, where we bought good-quality souvenir shirts at only about VND 50,000 to 75,000 (PhP 125 to 190) each!


I spotted a Jeff Buckley CD!



On our way to the airport, I couldn’t help but notice and be amazed by the ladies riding scooters and motorcycles in chic dresses and high heels!



Lady riders!



Our flight to Hue was supposed to be 5:30 PM GMT+7 (Vietnam time) so we arrived at the domestic terminal of Tan Son Nhat International Airport by 4 PM. However, we were informed that our flight would be delayed to 7 PM. When we got to the waiting area for boarding, we didn’t mind anymore the longer wait caused by our flight delay because of our amazement. The area was very spacious with shops selling affordable souvenirs, food stops with affordable food, free use of computers with internet connection, a lot of LCD TV’s with cable channels, and a spa. The domestic terminal beats NAIA Terminal 3!



Domestic terminal of Tan Son Nhat International Airport, clockwise from top left: Free internet use,
view of parked planes, waiting area with LCD TV's, the spa's price list


We enjoyed our time waiting for our flight via Vietnam Airlines, and when we finally boarded our plane, I was amazed to see monitors showing the flight safety demonstration and the status of our flight! We could see in the map shown on screen the flight route from our origin (HCMC) to our destination (Hue), the real-time speed and elevation of the plane, and the remaining distance and time left before we could land. It was my first time to experience such flight features.



Inside Airbus A321, Vietnam Airlines



We arrived in Hue after about two hours, and it was past 9 PM. We had informed our hotel transfer service about our delay, so there was no problem when we were promptly fetched from the airport. My excitement was renewed because of a different adventure we would be having in this city! If our HCMC trip taught us about the Vietnam War, our Hue trip would be teaching us about the ancient kingdoms! Click here to read more (Day 2 Part 2 and Day 3).