Wednesday 24 November 2010

Why we love HCMC

Joyce needed a pair of glasses - progressive, anti-reflection, light and thin. She checked with her optician in Toa Payoh (Singapore) for a new one - that will set her back some S$800-900 with frame. The last time we made it here with Tien My (see photo below), it costs over a million dong (about S$100) then. But it was heavy and thick, so she didn't use it. We have been making many spectacles with Tien My for the last 3 years as their prices were reasonable.

This time, we tried the neighbour (Nhan Quang) and had a pleasant surprise. The frame cost 500,000vnd and the lens 800,000vnd - total 1.3 mil vnd (about S$78). It turned out to be as good as the old glasses made in Singapore. So one can fly to HCMC (from Singapore), make a pair of progressives, have a 4D3N holiday that includes airfare, accommodation, food and shopping and probably still have some spare change leftover to save in POSB!!!

If anyone's interested, please visit :

Hieu Kinh Nhan Quang
104 Le Thanh Ton St, Dist 1
Ho Chi Minh City
(the road at the back of Ben Thanh Market)
Tel : 38292206
Mobile : 0909 925 558 (Ms Loan)

Look for Ms Loan - she speaks good English and is such a pleasant and cheerful lady. She also knows her work well (from our conversation with her) and is able to give very professional advice. And talking about service, we got our 2 pairs of glasses done overnight (Mum made a pair of progressives too).

Nhan Quang and Tien My














Ms Loan is at the extreme right

Tuesday 23 November 2010

Mum and Dad's Visit

Mum and Dad paid us a visit (19 to 24 Nov 10) and they joined our teachers for our annual trip - this time to Vung Tau. They liked Vung Tau and said it was better than Mui Ne - there's more to do in Vung Tau. It's a pity they couldn't climb up the hills to see the Jesus and Mary statues. We visited Cho Vung Tau and found, to our surprise, that it was a big market. But the road to Vung Tau had deteriorated to a very bad state - potholes, poor state of repair (if at all), you name it they have etc - that we decided to take the hydrofoil back. That wasn't a pleasure ride too - the one we took was a smaller craft and overcrowded. But it still beats a 4-hr bus journey back - took 1.5 hrs to get back to HCMC.

Their fav place in HCMC? Club Ace at the Ramana Hotel in Dist 3. The casino is new, there's free food and no crowd, service is great, so who could ask for more? They were even given their own member cards, complete with personal photographs - all done on the spot. Looks like a return visit is due real soon.


Mum praying at the church in Vung Tau where the Mary and Baby Jesus Statue is.














At Mary & Baby Jesus Statue (Vung Tau)



















Dad at the Hydrofoil Terminal in Vung Tau















Dad at the Small Mountain (Vung Tau) where the Jesus Statue is















Mum & Dad at the foot of Small Mountain (Vung Tau)



















The interior of Green Line hydrofoil















This table is suppose to seat 10 pax!!! The worst seats!!!














This is what the Green Line Hydrofoil looks like















Dad drinking coffee at Cho Vung Tau



















Cho Vung Tau














Cho Vung Tau is quite big



















Fruit stalls outside Cho Vung Tau














Johnny is so cute!















Binh likes his lollipop














Lollipops for every child














Joyce and Mum at Saigon Square 2














Mum and Dad at Club Ace



















Mum and Dad at Ramana Hotel




















Our fav stall at Cho Ben Thanh















Bought superior weasel coffee 45,000vnd for 100g
















BAGS GALORE

This costs 280,000vnd (S$17)














600,000vnd (S$36)














350,000vnd (S$21)


















600,000vnd (S$36)















Kipling Bag 120,000vnd (S$7.20)















Kipling waist-pouch 100,000vnd (S$6)















Kipling Bag 300,000vnd (S$18)




















Kipling Bag 85,000vnd (S$5.10)

Sunday 21 November 2010

Vung Tau - Review

My latest visit to Vung Tau - 20-21 Nov 2010. If I have to go there again, it will definitely not be by road.

The road to Vung Tau

The worst trip to Vung Tau so far. Never remember the road being so bad, especially after National Highway 1A when we turn in Highway 51. The potholes, the roadworks or rather the lack of it makes travelling to Vung Tau a living nightmare, and to add to the woes, the bad roads of course give rise to those notorious Vietnamese traffic jams - 4 lanes of traffic converging onto one lonely lane ever so often. There must be a good reason for this - there's always a reason for everything.

And we finally found out why when we met a VN tour guide gathering his "sheep" and he thought we were one of his "lost sheep". He explained that the local authorities awarded the upgrading of the road to Vung Tau to SEVEN local companies which then sub-contracted the works to even smaller contractors. So any surprise that the road is still in a condition of dis-repair?? It was supposed to be up and running by Jan 2010 - and this is already end 2010 with no "end" in sight - forgive the pun.

Horrible road condition









So if you have a bad back, motion sickness, or allegy to traffic jams and bumpy rides, give the road trip a miss and take the hydrofoil. Not that the hydrofoil's a great sailing experience either, but it certainly is the much lesser of 2 evils.


The Hotel - Thuy Duong Hotel

This is a 2-star hotel just next to the 4-star Dic Star Hotel. The hotel looks like it serves mainly Vietnamese tourists. We were the only foreigners there. Anyway, no complaints about the hotel. It's neat and clean; toilet and aircon in working order (aircon is LG and looks new). The bed is firm enough but the bed cover did have a musty smell about it. No blankets though - so I guess we're expected to use the bed cover which we didn't, of course. The toilet is quite new and all in working order, including the heater. Hot water (for drinking) is supplied through traditional hot water flask which you have to ask from the reception - quaint! Actually, I think it's cool - haven't used that kind of flask for many years. Overall, the hotel fulfills the basic needs of a traveller and nothing more. That's something to be grateful for given the price we paid. So thumbs up for Thuy Duong.





















































Toilet is quite clean and new.












This is the suite that they have there. Good for groups that want to sleep together.














Facilities

There is a function room that doubles up as a karaoke room - or is it the other way round? The sofa's torn and in a bad condition. That's a minus. There are 2 bikes for hire - we're talking about those kind of bikes meant for 2 riders. A lonely single computer sits next to the staircase for guest use. The good thing is that there are toilets along the corridors which are convenient for use. The restaurant is a simple place. Breakfast (complimentary) is a bowl of pho or french loaf with egg. Iced coffee accompanies. Palatable and acceptable.

There is a massage parlour just next to the hotel. We found out too late that firstly, Dad was overcharged (200,000VND) vs the local price of 120,000VND, and secondly, that place was meant solely for "activities" other than a massage. Dad said the massage was pathetic, so did my teachers.

New Cable Car at Vung Tau

Saw a new cable car line that leads to the top of the hill. Doesn't look like there's anything up there so we didn't try it out. Checked the cable car out later and found this :

http://vungtau-city.com/?p=566


Tuesday 9 November 2010

Road Block

Look what blocked my way home?
Not uncommon here in Vietnam but definitely a rare sight back home in SG, if at all.