<< bAcKtRack..jan09 :: ho cHi miNh city :: oUr fiRst pHo..

the free airport guide brought us to our first pho here in ho chi minh…
(yeah…the immigration officers actually hand out these city guides which were pretty good. i thought that was quite a good idea, better than leaving shelves of brochures and what nots and people just take all of it, and they all get thrown away later)…

pho24..
we later realised that it’s like the mac donald’s of pho…
the lady at the hotel guided us to the one just nearby…
then as we explore the city the next few days…
there’s one in almost every other corner!!
(like the 7-11s in bangkok)..
i can remember 3 that were just 5mins from the hotel..

<< bAcKtRack..jan09 :: ho cHi miNh city :: hAppeNings at just the aiRport..

my first trip of 2009..
was to ho chi minh city with mona…
(while kris was stuck in a workshop back home)..

it was my first time to vietnam..
i didn’t know what to expect actually..
i did little research…
(besides knowing that they use usd quite a lot & that i am to go find some good french food)
i guess i just wanted to go see how the city really is like…
it is after all still in asia…
i reckon it wouldn’t be that much of a culture shock…

first impression always count…

i am impressed…
the airport looks really nice…

mona has her eyes set on the conveyor belt for our luggage..
which….didn’t come out from the designated belt…

it’s quite crazy…
the sort of things people check in…

and the poor kid..
whose parents probably show him they love him in the wrong way…
(his hair is crazy)..

super warm welcome…
even though the roses were not for either 1 of us..

yeah…and the lady with a big dog..
she even dresses him up in a tee shirt to keep him from the chill..

that’s just all at the airport…
i am excited about being here already….

<< bAcKtRack..jan09 :: ho cHi miNh city :: land of the TALL & sKinnies..

it’s amazing how most of the buildings are tall (mostly about 7 to 10 floors?) and really skinny…

even the temples are skinny…

this is the hotel that we stayed…
thang long hotel
(thanks for finding it for us mona!!)…

and it is skinny too…
(we were staying on the 7th floor)..

we were in district 1 and where we were was really convenient..
we could walk to most places…
we could find food everywhere…even just downstairs…