Ya Kun in HCMC

Ya Kun has come to Saigon town. A old friend told me about it some weeks ago. So we finally decided to make a trip tonight, only to find a ghost town in the 2-storey building. The deco was quite ok, the service was rather pathetic and the price quite expensive - 190,000VND (about S$18) for 4 of us - no drinks except for my cup of milk tea (which tasted quite close to SG-style). There was a Singapore manager there (gave himself away with his accent) but sadly, he did not even bother to talk to us in spite of our SG accent. This is not the kind of service we expect from a fellow Singaporean. Pathetic!

English Conversation Course

Today is the first day of my conversation course at the SYC. Like any good teacher, I conscientiously prepared my lesson plan in advance - put in on my wiki, with YouTube links and all. I checked out the new comp lab (was told I could teach there) a few days ago - no speakers. So nice and early this morning, went to my school to pick up a pair. Then made my way to SYC - and BLACKOUT!!! Murphy strikes again. No choice, had to sweat it out literally and figuratively. The lesson wasn't too bad - now I have to figure out how to make 21 participants converse as much as possible, and to help the quiet ones speak up. Let's see how it works out next week.

Moving out

Moving out of Sky Garden and moving into Hoang Anh 1 today. Question : How on earth did we accumulate so much "rubbish" in one year? I've been packing the last few nights and it never seemed to end. 2 movers helped with the shift - total bill : 600,000VND for a morning's work. Washing, taking down and hanging up the curtains for the whole apartment cost 480k (32kg!). Cleaning the sofa was 240k. Cleaning the aircon (4 units x @50k) and top up gas cost 280k.

Leaving the Sky Garden unit as pristine as when we shifted in

 

30% of the "rubbish" left to unpack

First night at Hoang Anh 1

The Alpha-SYC International Kindergarten

Our 2nd kindergarten is confirmed and is located at the Southern Youth Centre (SYC) in Binh Tan District. It is a collaborative project between The SYC and The Alpha Schools. We will occupy one floor for a start (12 rooms). Renovation started symbolically today as Mr Nhan, Director of SYC (and my good friend) advised that it is an auspicious day. An altar was set up, and I scattered rice grains and salt, and poured water and wine at the entrance of the school for good fortune.

We plan to open in June 09. What's so cool about this place (at least to a Singaporean) is that there are cows grazing just outside the school - it feels really close to nature and the air is fresh and clean here, unlike in the city centre. The Alpha-SYC will have access to all of SYC's facilities which include an indoor sports hall with 4 badminton courts, 2 football fields, 2 tennis courts, a volleyball court, music room, dance studio, computer labs and a huge canteen.

Cows grazing











A closer look ... at the cow












We will occupy the ground floor











The altar set up for the day

Russian Market moving again

The Russian Market will be moving again (1 Apr 2009) - its 4th location if I'm not mistaken - and this time, away from the town centre. So it's unlikely that tourists will be visiting the place unless you know where it is : 225 Ben Chuong Duong St. It's still in District 1 but at a remote place - somewhere near Cho Dan Sinh. Will recce the place when they shift in April and update here.

Saigon Cali Resort (Mui Ne)

Update on Saigon Cali Resort (13 Jan 2011)

See this great satellite map which maps Saigon Cali's location as well as the whole stretch of Mui Ne Resorts. Now you can find out exactly where each resort is in Mui Ne.

http://wikimapia.org/15314588/New-resort-in-Mui-Ne-Saigon-Cali

The stream on the left of Saigon Cali is the Fairy Stream (Suoi Tien). Scroll upwards and you can see the whole of the Fairy Stream all the way to where it hits right smack onto the new highway. Fantastic!! And if you're game for a hike, you can actually walk right to the Red Sand Dunes (Doi Cat Vang Mui Ne) by following the highway. Take note it'll be a hot walk so make sure you bring lots of water.

See Saigon Cali's contact page :

http://saigoncali-resort.synthasite.com/contact-us.php

2 other reviews :

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nas.latif/2/1257775371/tpod.html

http://www.travbuddy.com/Saigon-Cali-Resort-v314796

Email: saigoncali_resort@yahoo.com

saigoncali.resort@gmail.com

If all else fails, I was given this mobile number - the lady speaks English :

0933942938

You can call or sms.
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People - throw away Hai Au and other let-you&me-down resorts in Mui Ne and allow me to introduce you to the spanking new Saigon Cali Resort, opened a month ago. Brand new, and understandably spotless, this will definitely be my next resort stay in Mui Ne. It's located right next, and I mean really right next, to the Fairy Stream which flows by its walls. Price range US$35-45 (no breakfast included - a pity). However, it's near Kim Loan Restaurant so that is indeed a real comfort.

Address :

42A Huynh Thuc Khang - Ham Tien - Mui Ne

(after the 18km mark if I'm not mistaken)

Tel : (062) 374 3505/06/07

Email : saigoncali_resort@yahoo.com / saigoncali.resort@gmail.com

Have a look at the pix I took.

Resort is long and narrow.

Skewers Mediterranean Restaurant

Brought the family to Skewers for dinner as Bryan likes the clam chowder (after Noel brought us there for dinner). More of an "angmoh" place - lots of them there - and if you like wine, this is one good place.

Address : 9A Thai Van Lung St., District 1
http://www.skewers-restaurant.com

Food was good. Servings were big enough to share except for the dessert - serving was small but the quality was good. Brownie was very rich.

Bill was US$56.60 - which puts it on the expensive side where our family is concerned. For the tourist, this is ok but we can't be eating like tourists when we're living here. Breakdown of bill :