Archive | December, 2016

An Interesting Day, Part 2

27 Dec

Today we have taken several boats and a sampan to get to our destination. And going to the restaurant on Turtle Island in a horse-drawn carriage topped it all.

The restaurant was obviously set up with tourists in mind. There was a quirky sign near the toilets. Apparently it’s for the adventurous to clean themselves up after trying their hands at catching fishes in the designated ponds. 

Lunch was plentiful; we seem to be feted a lot for our arranged meals. After the meal, we wandered around the area to look at the animals on display instead of lounging in the ready hammocks. Grandmother tales say one should not lie down or be horizontal after a hearty meal. Besides fishes and turtles, there were alligators, toads, porcupines, snakes and more fishes.

A couple more boat rides and a short stop to see the Laughing Buddha at the Vinh Trang Pagoda, we soon were headed back to the city.

By 5.15pm we were back at the hotel. It has been an interesting day. We shall rest now and go out later this evening to see what we fancy as far as food is concerned as I opted not to have an arranged dinner tonight. 

 

Our transport to the restaurant

  
    
  

My first beer of this trip!

      
    
  

Waiter adding veg into the catfish soup

  

 

This was lunch!

 
    
    
    

Tons of toads! Rrbb bitt

    
  

 

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An Interesting Day

27 Dec

I dozed off in the van during the hour and a half journey because traffic was heavy even on the highway. Eventually we arrived.

And we had quite a morning at the Mekong River. The first stop was at the Eco Bee Farm and we sampled some honey. And had some fruits while being serenaded by the local singers at the second stop before we took the sampan.

Walking along the path on the island, there were many vendors selling local fruits and crafts. We strolled along, stopping at the Coconut Candy-making attraction. The coconut ice cream was very refreshing!

 

At the jetty

  

Waiting for Boat #9

  

Safety first with life vests buckled on

  

Our tourguide showing us the bees

  

The bees sure are friendly

  

A closer look

  

Sampling the honey with some titbits

  

The mixture of honey, pollen, lime and tea

 
 

Mango, Papaya, Dragon fruit, Watermelon & Pineapple

 

   

This colorful fruits are cocoa

    
    
   

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A Leisurely Pace

27 Dec

After yesterday’s outing, I decided to push today’s plans to an hour later instead of 8.00am so that we don’t have to wake up so early. It helped. I think I slept slightly better but the shoulders felt stiff. Must be the pillows.

I am still so full from last night’s dinner! How can I eat breakfast? But with the destination being 70km away, maybe a little bite…

The adventure, after breakfast will have us heading to My Tho, the capital of the Tien Giang Province. About 70km away I was told, it would probably take an hour plus.

A snooze during the journey would probably do wonders. Looking forward to another fun-filled day ahead!

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The Food Kept Coming

26 Dec

Our arranged dinner was very impressive. The minute we sat down, the food was served immediately and kept coming. We all felt like such gluttons! We just had to eat and eat.

It was also rather challenging and the waiter had to show us how to build some of the more complicated ones together.

We didn’t know when the food was going to stop coming out until the watermelon was served. Thank goodness, anymore I think I would burst.
Delicious is all I can say, along with a big burp…

   

We started with this, just add fish sauce

  

Then it was this, dip in fish sauce too

  

This had to be built with lots of greens

  

The pork had to be stuffed into the square

  

This salad goes onto the cracker

  

The cracker

  

The finished presentation

  

Thankfully this can be eaten as is, just add fish sauce!

  

This goes onto some greens

  

Lettuce, mint, starfruit, cucumber and something unriped

  

The end presentation

  

Pork pho

  
  

Finally the end

 

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Tired Tourists

26 Dec

The journey to the Cu Chi Tunnel took two hours, a little bit longer than anticipated. Along the way, we stopped at a handicraft center to admire works of art using duck egg shells and seashells. Amazing! Nothing goes to waste.

   
   
Apparently duck egg shells are stronger than chicken egg shells and ideal to use. Wow, I never knew. The center also showcased works done by craftsmen who were handicapped by Agent Orange. A somber reminder of the past war the country endured.

We left the center and headed for Cu Chi Tunnel. It was indeed an eye opener for the girls and even for us again. It’s amazing to see and learn the intricacies of the tunnel engineered out of the need for survival. One has to definitely visit the place to see for themselves why and how.

The girls even tried their hands at an AK-47. This was a thrill and experience for them! But when they went into one of the tunnels, they thought it was not an easy thing to do. An eye opener indeed.

The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring and understanding the place; I clocked 4605 steps and 3.7km by the time we headed back to the van.

It has been a tiring day because there was no wind in the area and the air was very humid. By 5.00pm, we left Cu Chi Tunnel to head back to the city for dinner and then to call it a day.

We ran smacked into rush hour as we approached the city. The hoards of oncoming motorbikes can be quite scary and our van was constantly just inches away from them and other vehicles. But deftly, these people were able to move along in a controlled chaos without any mishap. You think you can handle traffic? Wait till you experience rush hour in Ho Chi Minh City!

Tomorrow another long day filled with a different adventure awaits!

   
    

M2 at the AK-47

  

M1 at the AK-47

  
   

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Being a Tourist, Part 2

26 Dec

The morning sight-seeing and shopping stops were less than 2,000 steps and about 1.1km but I feel so tired despite the interesting stops and good deal purchases. So much history and choices but the lack of sleep could be the reason for the tiredness. Then again, I am not a shopping person. Maybe also because this morning, I heard the news of the passing of George Michael, one of my favorite singers. Not the way to start the day. Sigh…

Our itinerary today includes a buffet lunch at Hoang Yen Buffet before we make our way to Cu Chi Tunnel. Hubby tried the Balut and thinks I shouldn’t. So I didn’t. The rest of the spread was pretty good. A little bit of everything, it was enough to get us going for the rest of the day.

Sated after the meal, a nice snooze in the van during the hour long or more journey would be just nice!

   
    
 

   

That’s a Balut on the lil’ plate

 

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Being a Tourist

26 Dec

The bed was actually comfortable but I couldn’t get into a deep sleep and waking up at 6.30am today, I don’t feel rested. Oh dear… Today we will be doing the city tour, stopping at all the photo-op places before heading to Cu Chi Tunnel. Hubby and I have been there before during our first trip to HCM many years ago but it will be interesting to revisit.

The girls groaned with the first morning wake up call. Back home, they have never woken up before 7.00am during this holiday. Well, with the van coming at 8.00am, I don’t want us to rush through breakfast and it should be a hearty one to fuel us, being full-fledged tourists today.

  

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Familiar Grounds

25 Dec

I didn’t realize until our van stopped in front of Sunrise Central, our hotel that it was right next to Grand Silverland, the hotel I stayed at in June! I thought it was several doors away but nope, right next to it. When I checked on Google maps, it looked further apart but I am not complaining.

What this means is that walking over to the Street Food Market is closer than I thought. Yay!

Dinner was really nice with an array of choices. After dinner we walked the night market street a little bit to work off the dinner. By nine, we headed back to the hotel to rest so that tomorrow we will be ready for the long adventurous day ahead.

What an interesting Christmas Day this year. Sure beats being a couch potato year in year out.

   
    
  

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Hello Vietnam

25 Dec

It wasn’t as crowded at KLIA  as I had feared–being a festive time to travel–so we had plenty of time at the airport. Queue lines weren’t too bad. We lunched at the Premium Lounge and thereafter took our time to head to the departing gate.

Take-off was on schedule. The B737-800 was stuffy and hot when we boarded and remained like this until we took off, hit a turbulent patch before it cooled to a comfortable degree. 

The two girls were dressed contrastingly and I thought it was amusing. The one staying in a hot country was dressed as though heading to a cold place while the one studying in a cold country dressed as though going off to a hot place. 

Upon our arrival, it was smooth and fast. Immigration was efficient despite a large crowd and the bags came out before us. Within a short time, we met up with our tour guide, a short petite lass with a pretty good command of English. 

Our bus, a 16-seater(!) was very comfortable made its way through the waiting vehicles and we were on our way to the hotel.

It’s nice to be back in Ho Chi Minh. I look forward to a nice shower after checking in and then hit the streets with the family. The real adventure starts tomorrow.

  

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Merry Christmas

25 Dec

I don’t normally post on a Sunday but since it’s a special festive occasion, I decided to… Merry Christmas people! 

This Christmas we decided to travel instead of staying home like we always do, year in year out and we are definitely looking forward to it. 

Last night’s family Christmas Eve dinner was sumptuous and satisfying because everything on the table (save for the drinks) was homemade – from the turkey right down to the cranberry sauce and everything in between. Everyone contributed and was very good.

Still feeling full from the dinner, we are flying off to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam this afternoon! The girls are excited, hubby’s looking forward to the break and I am eager to take them to the places that I visited six months ago when I was there for golf.

A much deserved break and time together for the family.

   
 

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