HCMC Taxis

Was outside Ben Thanh Market yesterday. Took several photos to differentiate between the good guys and the bad in the taxi business here.

(Warning : There are many pirate taxis outside and around Ben Thanh Market. They also park themselves at Nguyen Hue outside Saigon Tax Trade Center's entrance. Be sure you know the real from the pirates. Don't know why the authorities allow them to dominate that area.)

Always take either Mai Linh or Vinasun. They're 95% honest, always some bad hats around.

Here's the real Mai Linh.

Problem :
Mai Linh has 3 different taxi colours : white-green, green and silver-green.
Always look at the driver - if he wears a tie, he's probably the real thing.
Mai Linh drivers wear a green tie.


Here's the real Vinasun.

Problem :
The unlicensed taxis "disguise" themselves with Vinasun's tel number "272727".
The real Vinasun tel number is 38 272727, and the driver wears a maroon tie.


Some of the other genuine taxi companies:

All the drivers are supposed to wear ties too.
My opinion : Vinataxi (the yellow one) and Hoang Long (green & yellow) are next in line after Mai Linh and Vinasun.
All the rest I try to avoid, especially SaigonTourist, the airport taxi (can't remember the name) and very sadly, Savico-Comfort. Sad because Comfort is from Singapore and this joint-venture taxi company has ripped me off twice by bringing me a big round.


Here are the fakes :





The advertised tel numbers end with 272727 or 272777.
They come in variations, the most common being : 38 272777, 54 272727
So don't be fooled. The best way is to look for the driver's "tie".
Be forewarned - all their meters are rigged.
You'll end up paying 3-5 times the normal rates or more.

In some cases, 10 times!!!

Interesting tit-bits:
- In case you're wondering, there are decal shops that can provide the "disguise" for a fee. Not sure where they get the meters from though.
- I know Vinasun inspectors go round on motorbikes doing checks on taxi-drivers. They snap a photo if the driver is not wearing his tie. That's what happened to me one night - though I had my pix taken by a crazy fellow until the driver started cursing and putting on his tie.

References :
http://www.vietnamtravel.org/taxis-saigon-avoid-being-taken-ride
- good article. Note that Mai Linh has changed its number from 262626 to 383838.

Sunday "stroll" around town - Hello Kitty, Swensen's

We took a Sunday "stroll" on my bike around town today. Found a new "Hello Kitty" shop - great news for "Hello Kitty" fans. Prices seem reasonable to me - 250,000 upwards for a bag. But we're no HK fans, so just browsed around and left.



Address :
Hello Kitty
360, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai
Quan 3
(after CMT8)
Tel : 08 7303 7900; 0903669100
Website : www.kittybycam.com
E-mail : minhanh3891@yahoo.com

Checked out Swenson's for lunch.
"Assume" = making an ass of u and me, ya? And so assume we did - that Swenson's will have a menu for lunch just like in Singapore. We sat down only to find that they served only ice-cream and coffee!!! No food!!! Hungry, hungry. No choice - ordered a waffle and a brownie. Both came with a scoop of ice cream of our choice. Damage : 45,000vnd for waffle, 55,000vnd for brownie. Fair price to pay. Waffle was freshly made and brownie was fresh too.


Swenson's
73 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street,
Quan 1
(848) 3838 8335
(it's after Tran Hung Dao Str.)

Next on our list - the latest Russian Mart. No change in the place. Not fruitful today - didn't get anything there. There was a very nice backpack there for 700,000vnd but since I'm not going trekking anytime soon, no point buying one now.

Then it's to Ben Thanh to buy some lotus nuts and soursop sweets - prices have gone up quite a bit probably due to Tet.

Misty City

The whole city was blanketed in a heavy mist this morning, so much so that the horizon from my balcony has disappeared. I think it's probably due to the cold spells that the north is experiencing now. It has been misty for the past week or so in the mornings, but never this bad. But it's a nice change - the air can be quite cold in the morning, making for a refreshing drive to school.

However, the freak weather is giving lots of people a big headache. Peach blossoms and other flowering plants are not flowering in time for Tet, with potential losses running into tens of thousands of US$.

Bitexco Financial Tower

This tallest building in HCMC was opened on 31 Oct 2010 with a big bang, boasting commercial and retail space. So thought that the 6-level shopping centre would be opened. Went there last night to a big disappointment - nothing is up. It's like a ghost town. Couldn't even see any semblance of a shop, let alone a shopping centre. Looks like it'll be a couple of months more before we do any shopping and dining there.

See? No shops!

By the way, there's supposed to be an observatory deck at Level 47 where you can have a 360 degree view of the city. Would be nice to go there ... on a clear day! The helipad is at Level 50 - hope to fly there one day - in my remote-controlled helicopter!!!

See some reports about the tower here :
- http://vnre.blogspot.com/2010/11/bitexco-financial-tower-world-class.html

- lovely photos of the opening : http://vnre.blogspot.com/2010/11/inaugurated-vietnams-highest-building.html

Bizarre Food in HCMC

This is a very interesting page on the types of food we consider "bizarre" but probably totally "common" to Vietnamese. Have a look here.

Caphe Cut Chon (Fox-Dung Coffee)

You see it all over Ben Thanh Market - different grades, different prices etc. The ignorant me thought that the vendors were really selling fox-dung coffee aka weasel coffee aka caphe cut chon aka civet coffee beans aka kopi luwak (in Indonesia)!!! We bought a 100g pack for my mum last month for 45,000vnd (US$2.25), and thought it was the real deal. Actually, it was real dumb!!

"Weasel or Welsel Coffee?"














Did some digging around and found out that fox-dung coffee is one of the most expensive in the world. It's made from coffee beans that eaten and 'passed out' from the civet cat (which looks like a fox and so the name fox-dung coffee in Vietnam). This process supposedly enhances the taste of the beans and makes them highly desirable to coffee connoisseurs worldwide. The civet eats only the best coffee cherries and eventually excretes them out — though only after the beans have gone through a fermentation process in the animal’s stomach. Indonesia is the leading producer followed by Vietnam and the Philippines. Apparently, the data shows that only 200-300kg is produced world-wide annually, which naturally accounts for the expensive price.

Fox-dung coffee costs a few hundred US dollars a kg. So how can it be sold for US$20/kg in Ben Thanh? Thus what is advertised as weasel coffee in VN and sold at cheap prices are all fakes. Here are some photos and references.

A civet cat eyeing coffee cherries














Civet cat droppings

However, Trung Nguyen Coffee has laid claim to an artificial fermentation process that reproduces the fox-dung coffee taste without the "passing out" process. Named the "Legendee", Trung Nguyen boasts that there is no artificial rival to it. Try it out the next time you're in a Trung Nguyen cafe.

References :
New York Times
QY-Coffee
Photos from here.

AFTERNOTE :

Bought a 250g pack of Legendee Coffee for my mum at 135,000vnd (S$8.44/US$6.75) at MaxiMark Cong Hoa on 17 Dec 2010. At this price, isn't it much better to buy the Legendee than some fake dung coffee at the market which costs the same??? Some even cost more.

The 250g Legendee pack will set you back US$16.95 if you order online in the US; the Legendee Coffee Gift Pack (250g pack, a tin of condense milk and a phin filter) cost US$26.95 (not including shipping) .

The Legendee gift pack of a mug and aluminium "phin" filter sells for 205,000vnd (S$12.82/US$10.25) at CoopMart in HCMC.

A cup of Legendee coffee costs more than S$10 in Singapore. Goodness, one cup in SG costs more than a 250g pack in HCMC - one reason why I like living in HCMC.

Sinh Tourist Prices

Adrian, Agnes and family came over today for a short trip. They went to book their day tours and open bus tours from Sinh Tourist. Apparently, Sinh Tourist does not advertise their prices publicly now unlike in the past. Their brochures do not have any tour prices, only descriptions. You need to enquire at the counter - seems like overall costs have risen too rapidly and too much for them to keep printing new brochures. As of today, Sinh Tourist prices for the following tours are :

Day Tour to My Tho/Ben Tre : 218,000vnd/pax (US$10.38/S$13.70)
Half-day tour to Cu Chi Tunnels : 97,000vnd/pax + 80,000vnd/pax entrance fee (the latter to be paid to the tour guide on the bus) (Total = US$8.42/S$11.06)
One way open tour to Mui Ne from Saigon : 101,000vnd/pax (US$4.80/S$6.30)
Same price to come back
One day tour to Cai Be/Vinh Long : 280,000vnd (US$13.33/S$17.50)

Exchange rate today:
US$1 : 21,000vnd
S$1 : 16,000vnd

(Take note that Sinh Tourist normally round up the figures when you pay in US$; actually they will quote in US$ first, and then tell you in vnd if you ask)