Ho Chi Minh City; Part 1

I finally feel like it's time for me to update on my recent trip to HCMC. It was my third and final business trip. :( But it was also the best out of all three. Maybe because it's foreign and even though it's on my wishlist, I'd never thought I'll visit there within a year or so.

Anyway... I was there for a week but because I only have a few days with spare time, I didn't get to explore much. I was googling on the places of interest in HCMC and I was immediately interested in the Vietnam war site and the Chi Chi tunnel tour. Sadly, all the tours are on half day basis - which means I can't do it.

I was there from 15th Nov to 20th Nov. I stayed in Rex Hotel, District 1. Oh btw, I love how they classify their towns into districts. Makes me feel like I'm part of Hunger Games. Haha. :P It was a half hour ride from the airport to my hotel? This was the first time that I got picked up from the airport. I saw my name on the placard as soon as I cleared the baggage clearance. :D

Funny thing was, I told the driver that I was staying at Rex and he took me to Majestic. Sampai je, then nak check in and they were looking through their files before asking me for the reservation papers and they said "wrong hotel". I was like ooopppps. So I called the driver back and he brought me to the correct hotel.

Checked in and got comfy. The room was classy and all wooden, but it was nice and big. The toilet even has a weighing scale and a small step for you to use when climbing into the bathtub! Since I was checked in to the executive room, I got access to the executive lounge as well. Which came in handy few days down.

Once I'm all settled down, I googled for the places where I can eat and near my hotel. I don't feel like wandering around on the first night anyway. It has always been like that. Found that there's this place few streets down called Halal@Saigon, and the reviews of this place seemed legit so that was my first place I went for dinner.

FYI, it's not that I'm choosy when it comes to food. I'm not. But in a place where I don't understand not only their language, but also their characters, I'm a little skeptical about what food there is by the roadside. Like it can look like beef but it's actually pork - I don't want to risk it - so I'd rather dine at a place where it's safe.

Halal@Saigon – 31 Dong Du, District 1

Looks can be deceiving. This is finger licking delicious.

Smack in front of my hotel is this rectangular piece of land where there were plenty of people gathering and there's music and people were dancing or just eating. Apparently there is this new rule that prevents any motor vehicle to pass through there between certain timings on certain days. & i tell you the lightings were spectacular that you don't feel like you're in Vietnam. For a few minutes, I felt like I was in some other country where I don't have to be wary of my belongings. But of course I snapped back to reality within few minutes.