7 hrs transit in Ho Chi Minh City

Somewhere in April or May, there was an offer that we could not resist from Vietnam Airlines. The price was so cheap that we could not resist booking tickets to go to Paris (which cost us around RM1700 per head - damn cheap!). Of course Paris was not our main destination... if you guys know us well enough… you would have guessed that :D Of course we wanted to explore a new place! It's one of the places in our wish list - Greek! Weee….. one of the places in our wish list! :D

Our journey began on 19th of September. The kids came back on Friday 18th for the school holiday and we did a last minute packing - like seriously last minute!! Memang kelam kabut… but alhamdulillah, we managed! :D Izzaty  had to skip her performance for the MCKK Royal Concert in Kuala Kangsar because of this trip. Sorry En Muz for letting you down by kidnapping Zaty, she wouldn't want to miss this trip… haha!

Anyway, we have to thank our friends, Asri and Ila for sending us to the airport and taking care of our car in their house in Bandar Enstek while we were away. Decided to do that as we need to send Izzaty to TKC right after we landed in KLIA on Sunday 27th Sept. Their home is quite near to TKC and make it very convenient for us to send Zaty later.

Since we are flying with Vietnam Airlines, naturally we had to transit in Vietnam before flying to Paris. We had to transit in Ho Chi Minh city for about 7 hours before our flight to Paris. That gave us ample time to shop in Ben Thanh market… weeeeee!!! Sukerrrrr :)))

We performed Zuhur and Asar jamak-qasar prayer in a small corner in the HCM airport and later took taxi straight to Ben Thanh. By the time we reached Ben Thanh, it began raining. Thanks god sempat sampai Ben Thanh!

Zaty got rambang mata looking at all the cottons sold in Ban Thanh. Pilih Zaty… jangan tak pilih :))

Unfortunately we had to limit our shopping in Ben Thanh due to our limited buggage space and weight. We ended up buying 3 cottons for Zaty and 1 for me.

It was raining cats and dogs outside and Ben Thanh was so crowded with visitors and local people. It got really stuffy in there. We were already hungry and decided to run in the rain to eat at Sri Pinang Restaurant which is not so far from Ben Thanh.

This restaurant served halal Malaysian dishes. Hubby was a bit disappointed as he was looking forward to eat Pho Mee..... malangnya tak de dalam menu restaurant ni.. huhu. 

By the time we finished dinner, it was still raining but not as lebat as before. We wanted to shop for jubah  (my mom in law suruh beli daaa). Asked one of the waiters if there were any nearby boutiques to shop for jubah here… so she recommended to go to Saigon Mai, her friends' boutique. Since hujan pun dah kurang lebat, we walked slowly to the boutique (following the direction that the girl gave us) but later the girl's friend who worked at the boutique found us and lead us to the boutique. 

Saigon Mai has variety of choices for jubah and the boy (who introduced himself as Lee Min Ho Vietnam... haha!) were so sporting and friendly assisting us. Pandai cakap melayu lagi! A big fan of Neelofar, Maya Karin and Siti Norhaliza… haha! Apparently he stayed in Kuantan for a few years before. Bought 2 jubahs form my MIL and and 1 for my mom. I also bought 2 Neelofar's tudung from them (sebijik okay mcm tudung Neelofar! Siap besi signature Neelofar lagi!). And it's only RM15 per tudung! (In Malaysia we bought for RM50!).

Zaty trying the jubah that we wanted to buy for my mom and MIL. See the guy behind the Vietnam lady? Haaa… itu lah Lee Min Ho Vietnam - lol! He, dengan mulut manis said zaty looked cantik macam Neelofar in this jubah… hahaha! Pandai betul bodek! lol! Ye laaa… ye laaaa… Mak beli! :P

Habis bershopping di Saigon Mai boutique, since it was still raining, we decided to go straight to the airport. Lee Min Ho Vietnam called a taxi for us. We were given vouchers for dinner (FOC as we transit here in the airport more than 3 hours) so we lepak2 drinking coffee (unfortunately the food is not halal here… so tak dapat lah makan. We had had our dinner at Sri Pinang restaurant anyway) at Daisy Lounge in the Airport.

Our flight ready for Paris ;)

Many friends asked us how Vietnam Airlines is. How's the food, ect, ect. Well, considering the price, I'd say Vietnam Airlines is not bad!! Food pun not bad! We ordered halal food and here are what we got...

Our dinner...

... and our breakfast

I love the green curry.... yummy!

It was a pleasant flight I'd say. Slept most of the time during the journey as I was too tired and sleepy… huhu. 

Shopping Spree @ Saigon :)

This trip was planned at a very last minute. Hubby wanted to claim his enrich points before it got expired. So we decided to go to Ho Chi Minh City also previously known as Saigon in Vietnam :) As Izzaty got kelas tambahan this school holiday, we decided not to bring both kids along. Dok rumah diam2 okay... finish your school holiday homework :D

This is our 2nd trip to Vietnam. First trip was to Hanoi back in 2009. We reached KLIA about 8am. It was the first day of school break... and my god! KLIA dah macam Puduraya... I tell you! Punya lah ramai manusia nak pegi bercuti oversea! Long queue during check in and immigration. When all done, went to the MAS Business lounge for breakfast!

@ MAS Business lounge - did not eat much as we were running out of time.


And guess what?? We were upgraded from economy to business class! For the very first time in my entire life!! I got the chance to enjoy a trip on a business class.... awesome!! :)
Yours truly enjoying the business seat.... hik hik :D


Leaving KLIA... I can see my office (in red circle) from the sky!! Good bye office.. don't miss me! :P


My breakfast in the flight

and this is hubby's

Only on business-class - Haagen-Dazz ice-cream you all!!! Heaven!! ;)

Approaching HCM - the Mekong river seen from the sky.

From airport hotel, we took a taxi to our hotel. And ohh... if you guys go to HCM, make sure you use Vinasun taxi okay! One of the most reliable taxi company in HCM. Am not saying the other taxi companies are not good... tapi ramai yang dah terkena tipu... so be careful okay :)

We booked a room in Saigon Pink Hotel... but the hotel was on renovation... the room is nice but we were afraid if the renovation noise would disturb us... and the dust.. urgh!! So after surveying around, we decided to stay at Gia Huy hotel... selang beberapa pintu je dari Saigon Pink.

The standard rooms were full... so we were offered the luxury room for the price of USD55 for one night and later transfered to standard room for USD30 for 2 nights. That prices were after discount... so okay lor ;P

Turned out the luxury room was really, really nice! Siap ada computer sekali! :) And the bathroom... pergh! Excellent!! Siap ada massage shower!! Kelas you!! Unfortunately, we did not know hot to use the massage shower system :D

When we were checking-in, at the hotel lobby hubby saw a familiar face, a Perodua staff, Rosli with his family. Rupanya Rosli and his wife, Rafidah are into online-business... jual baju and kain cotton from Vietnam... cool! So we asked them if we could follow them to shop things... ye laa... mana tau dapat borong harga murah :) So after cleaning up at our room, bermula lah our shopping spree!!! :) Our first destination, Mery Shop!

At Mery Shop - jual retail... cheapest bargain we got after tumpang Rosli and his wife Rafidah memborong :) Dapat le a few baju baru... hik hik... nice cotton kurung pahang with beads you all!! Very the cheap! :)

With Rosli's wife, Rafidah and her kids yang sangat sabar menunggu kami bersopping :D

Then we followed Rosli and Rafidah visiting a few famous boutiques in HCM. Most of the famous boutiques are walking distance je dgn our hotel. So you guys... if you go to HCM, make sure you wear a comfy shoes/slippers yah... you would need to do lots and lots of walking :)

Along the way, saw some fruit stalls.... sangat2 mengiur kan tenguk buah-buahan yang segar bugar di HCM!! :)

Butik Hong Anh - a must-go-boutique in Saigon! Even Tun Dr Siti Hasmah and the previous Queen of Malaysia came here to shop you know :)

Inside Hong Anh new boutique (they have 2 branches here in HCM)

Lastly, we went to the famous Ben Thanh market! Boy oh boy! Sangat2 happening in Ben Thanh market ni... so many interesting things sold here!

One of Ben Thanh entrances...

Jalan2 dlm Ben Thanh with Rosli and family. You can find a lot of things here and you can bargain like there's no tomorrow :) Rambang mata dibuatnya! :) Along the way, we were stopped by some amoi and apek promoting their sales - apparently some of them even know how to bargain in Bahasa Malaysia.. pretty impressive, eh? :)

Later, our dinner at VN.halal restaurant. One of a few famous halal restaurants in Ho Chi Minh. Rosli's cute daughter yang lapar tak sabar nak order food at VN.Halal

This restaurant serves both Malaysian and Vietnamese food...

My first dinner @ HCM - can't remember the name of the dish... it's like a fried mihun lah... but the taste is different... I like! :)

Hubby's choice - Vietnamese phở noodle soup - delicious!

Us with Rosli & family and Aishah, a Malay-champa local guide that guided Rosli and family for this trip.... kami menyebuk aje... :P

Day 2 : Got to know Emi and Dira - a lovely couple from Shah Alam who was staying in the same hotel during breakfast. They gave some tips on how to travel cheap using bus. We decided to follow them to go to An Dong market...

Naik bas - just VND 4000 per head. Just like Hanoi, Saigon is overpopulated by motorcyclists.

In the bus. Cute pulak nampak orang belakang tu :D The Vietnamese ppl usually go out wearing a handmade mask... Malaysian should do so lah... KL lagi teruk habuk dari HCM! :P

With Dira and Emi - such a lovely couple! :)

Inside An Dong market.

Memilih-milih cotton - banyak jugak yang cantik... tapi tak de la beli banyak sebab dah beli banyak ngan Cik Arika aritu... huhu! :P

Dah penat merayap di An Dong... we went back by bus again. The bus station and Ben Thanh is very near. Sempat lagi kami posing2 around the Ben Thanh area!

Tengah syok2 bergambar... ada lak these local (I assume!) people ajak kami bergambar... haha! Macam celebraty lak rasa :D

Then masuk ke Ben Thanh again... hehe! Told you... this place is so big... cannot cover in one day! :D And guess who I met in Ben Thanh on that day??

It's a small world after all, met Cik Arika kita yang sakan memborong cotton di Ben Thanh :D

Me? Ingat tak mau beli dah... tapi terbeliiii jugak a few nice cottons! :P

Among the interesting things I saw in Ben Thanh....

Kopi Vietnam sangat syedap!! I tell you! Thanks to Dira and Emi yang mengintroduce kami to Kopi Vietnam :P We bought Nguyen coffee... the only coffee yang ada tanda 'halal'.

Jajan2

Nice bags...

Cute fridge magnets..

more souvenirs from Vietnam...

jeruk anyone?

After hours mencuci mata in Ben Thanh, we went for lunch at VN.halal again. We were joined by Arika and hubby, Azhar :) Hubby again chose to eat phở noodle soup and I ate claypot noodles.
After lunch, Arika and Azhar were kind enough to assist us to find way to go to Saigon Square. They also gave us tips on where and what to buy in HCM :) Thanks sis and bro! Tips you all sangat membantu tau! Thanks again :)

At Saigon Square

This time, hubby pulak yang sakan bersopping! Lots of branded shirts (probably not original but who cares! :P) sold here at a very cheap price! Bandung pun kalah... huhu!

Next, ter-racun dengan tips Azhar, hubby wanted to go to Converse boutique. Of course lah original converse products aje sold here :P But so cheap compared to Malaysia!

In converse boutique - he could not decide which to buy... and ended up buying both... haha! Not only that... he bought a pair of leather shoes here! Ish ish... and who says only women are shopaholics? :D

In front of Converse boutique in HCM - see those bags?? Ohhh... terlebih sudah... :P

Next, we decided to walk on... nak tenguk HCM mosque. Quite a distance from Ben Thanh... but not so bad lah.

On the way to the mosque, we saw the Opera House.

And alhamdulillah.... sampai jugak kat masjid ni...

Di sekitar masjid ini, we saw a few halal restaurants yang harus kami cuba esok hari! :D

Saigon@Halal and Bombay restaurant.

D'Nyonya restaurant

On our way back to the hotel... sempat la posing di sini... but I am not sure what this building is... huhu!

My legs were aching by this time... but still jalan2 lagi...

Next, back to the hotel... we were transferred to a new room. Supposed a standard room with the price of USD30 per night. But somehow, we were transferred to a superior room with the same price.. COOL!! Got jacuzzi somemore DOUBLE COOL!!! =)


That night, we went to Hong Anh boutique again! It was raining cats and dogs... tapi kami redah jugak... nak sopping punya pasal!! :P And I bought a few baju kurung glamour you all! Siap lining, beads and all! :) My feet were super tired by the time we reached our hotel that night. Sore throat also building up... :( Back at the hotel, we ordered dinner via phone aje. Haji Shamsudin food delivery was not bad! The nasi goreng sangat banyak dan mengenyangkan! And the vietnam coffee... the best!! sangat sedap!!! Setanding Starbuck I tell you!! :D

On the 3rd day, at first we wanted to go for Mekong River trip... tapi takut hujan lagi.. so we canceled that trip and went shopping instead (haha!) and explored HCM city at our leisure...

This man was selling sunglasses in front of my hotel... saw me with my camera and asked me to take his pic :D

Today, we decided to eat at Halal@Saigon. A very cozy restaurant and Siti Nurhaliza's songs were played here non-stop :D Rasa macam kat Malaysia daaa... :D Again, there are options of Malaysian and Vietnamese food. And again, hubby opt to eat phở noodle soup - suka betul dia!

Unfortunately, the phở noodle soup here is not as delicious as the one in VN.halal.

And yours truly, decided to eat.......

Mee Mamak!! Kah kah kah! Hubby kutuk saya! Came all the way from Malaysia to Vietnam just to taste mee mamak!! LOL! I can't help it... I love mee mamak!! :D

Vietnam Coffee at Halal@Saigon - again, not as delicious as we expected :(

Popia basah - hmm... I prefer popia goreng lah :P

Inside Halal@ Saigon


While exploring the city... I saw a very, very familiar signboard! Maybank @ Ho Chi Minh City! :) Am so proud to be a Maybanker! (yeah right! :P)

This auntie was cooking kuih sepit! Well... that's the Malaysian name lah of course! Wonder what the Vietnamese call it...

That night, it was drizzling again. Since it was our last night in HCM, kami redah jugak hujan renyai2 to visit the famous HCM night market :)

Hujan2 renyai @ night market

This little girl was calling me... "madam... buy manggo madam.." I did not want to buy her manggo... but took her photo instead :)

Memborong baju kurung cotton di pasar malam! .The adik beside me is a Vietnamese Melayu Champa girl. Can speak malay... rasa cam kat Malaysia pulok :) I did not plan to buy at first.. but hubby meracun saya membeli more baju kurung! :P He said... "Dari beli cotton then tempah... lagi mahal! Baik you beli siap!" Hmm... he got a point there! So beli lagi 2 pasang kurung cotton kat pasar malam HCM! :D

Wahh.... sakan membeli belah! Thanks god we all naik MAS and thank to hubby's MAS GOLD club card... we got extra access luggage.

The hotel gave us this to check our luggage weight :)

Alhamdulillah... luggage tak terlebih berat!! Tak kena denda access luggage... and alhamdulillah... tak jugak kena tax :D But the not-so-good thing is... my sore throat got worst and I have been coughing so bad until today :( Adoiii.... tendangan kopi vietnam may be... :P