Vietnam | Ho Chi Minh City | Mekong River

My favourite from my HCMC trip!

We're going to MEKONG DELTA!!! =D

once again, James arranged for a private car for the long journey.

Snooze time! 

Here we are, approx 1hr + later (i think)

We got a one of these boat to ourselves.

photo time!

 i had my arms wide open with full view of my armpits, so nah, i'll post these lovebirds instead. 

Puffy clouds, lovely weather to begin the day!

Was told to put on our life vests although i'm pretty sure i can swim out of the muddy water.

With our lovely guide, i really liked her. She's so motherly!

We got off at one of the island for a mini tour.

First stop, photo with the snake.

Nat's best friend.

Random props around for photos.

I need a long skirt here to make it work.

Next the bees, got to dip my fingers into the honey comb and taste honey first hand. woo!

A little food tasting and 'hard selling' of products.

Yea i bought a bottle of honey.

Afterwhich comes the highlight of Mekong!

We got onto one of these tiny 'boats'

Super, super congested as u can see!

We're horrified to know that the lady rowing our boat was pregnant with twins.

She shldnt be exerting so much strength! =(

So Nat and i put on our viet hats and picked up our oars to help ease her load.

Secretly tipped her at the end too.

I like this photo haha!

Then we went to another island for lunch!

Walked across this muddy water filled with alligators.

Just kidding.

Don't ask me why i'm wearing that silly hat, i'm still trying to figure out.

But there were alligators at the opposite side, you're allowed to purchase some raw meat for feeding.

Was too hungry I've decided to feed myself first! 

We went for the famous ELEPHANT FISH.

Watched them catched n knocked it out on the ground =S

There's the fish on our table, paid about S$60, comes with a lady to roll it up into Vietnamese rolls.

Finger licking good!

MUST TRY!

MUST TRY!

MUST TRY!

got it?

That's how we have elephant fish Vietnamese style!

i think i had about 9 rolls?

btw, do not order chicken. Worst chicken ever.

I'll go for the salty porridge instead.

Too full cant move..

after lunch we had a tour on candy making, bought some candies home. 

Again, the weather changed towards the end of our tour.

I think our tour guide was a little sad that we're leaving ='(.. not.

We were offered coconut on the trip back and i caught Nat littering on camera! TSK!

since coconut is dispersed by water i guess she can get away with it!

MEKONG DELTA IS A MUST GO IN HCMC!

Vietnam | Ho Chi Minh City | Cu Chi Tunnel

James got us a private car and an awesome english speaking guide.
Cost us a little more than the usual tour but i'll say it's worth it, we managed to catch quality naps to and fro!

 Our guide giving a short lesson on the history of Cu Chi

He has got a very attentive student right there. *ME!*

Explaining the underground tunnels in layman terms, at this point i'm already impressed with the minds of the Vietnamese. 

Lesson over, the journey begins! 

This hole is suppose to fit a person.
I swear i might just consider tapioca diet or something, cuz my ass definitely cant fit into that opening. 

Then you camouflage it with leaves.

Hidden ventilation pipes 

I tried to check if i can crawl into one of these random tunnels but erm.. i'll have to lie flat on my tummy n wriggle into it like a worm. so nope, i'll pass!

Nat says i looked like i'm taking a poop.

a grp of tourist q-ing up to climb onto this hollow tank, somehow my grp shot went missing.

We were introduced to all the different deadly traps.
 

Cringe.

Cringe.

Cringe.

This, the door trap, it'll cause the enemy to lose his manhood and aims to demoralize him so bad he wouldn't even wana return to war. ouch.

These special sandals, go to cu chi and hear about them.

They are also for sale!

Now the shooting, was super excited for this part!

Here's Nat looking like she's about to shoot puffballs out of her AK47.

We also did the normal tunnel tour, this tunnel was wider than the rest, but we still gotta 'duck walk' our way through the darkness. Took a vid but cant see no shit except for random flashes from cameras.

Luckily towards the end of our tour, it started pouring. (Bring a poncho or you'll be soaked)
Our guide led us to the nearest hut where we had tapioca and warm tea while we wait for the rain to stop.

Oh there was also a short intro on the different rifles..boring... hehe

Worth a visit!

Vietnam | Ho Chi Minh City | Accomodation

One thing i love about Vietnam for a start would be the affordable lodging.

Nat and I went with 

A&Em Hai Ba Trung Hotel

46 - 48 Hai Ba Trung St., Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, HCM city, District 1 - Japanese Area, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

 conveniently located at District 1, which is also where we spent most of our time exploring.

It's only a 3 star hotel but its rooms are so affordable we picked its VIP room which was on offer on agoda.com

approx S$100 / night

Hotel lobby, comes with stadard services.

Pretty decent for a 3 star hotel =)

waiting area at the lobby, we waited for about 30mins for our room to be ready. I had wifi to keep myself entertained so I'm cool with that.

First trip with Nat!

Our room was spacious, 38 sqm with a comfy double bed.

Decent mattress! Room's decor was kinda boutique style.

Furry toilet lamps, no it DOES NOT feel or look sleazy.

The floors are squeaky clean n polished, feels a little hollow though. 

Clean jacuzzi bathtub, we had no idea how to operate it so we stuck with the glass shower.

Plasma TV, Vanity table, no need to fight for the mirror. girlss..

Full length window facing a not so awesome view

panorama view of the room, might wana click to enlarge it.

That's Nat's current BF, James, he's Vietnamese and he's the sweetest guy i've ever met.

I hope they get married someday.  

Look at this! James painting her nails for her while they're waiting for me to finish my shower.

so much love =P

I'm extremely pleased with my stay at Hai Ba Trung, Nat complained a little about the noise cuz we're on the 3rd/4th level so you can hear the on-going traffic. Not a problem for me at all! 

Thought Catalogue summed it all up

"I was always dating the wrong guys because I was scared to be vulnerable.

Sometimes with me, you have to peel back the layers to see who I really am as a person, who is a happy, carefree, easily amused and intelligent person. But on the very outside of my shell, I am that girl who doesn’t bother talking to people who she doesn’t think is worth her time. I’m still working on my inability to be vulnerable. Because I was scared to be vulnerable, I never really went after what I actually wanted. I never gave the guys that genuinely liked me for who I was a chance. I was always living in the moment, never stopping to look at who was actually there for me the entire time.

I’m a much different person than I was at this time last year. For the first time in 25 years, I know my value as a person. I know I’m extremely different from your typical girl. I’m never going to screw you over once you get past my guard which is why I have a hard time letting people in. But I learned that there are people that DESERVE to get past your guard. Let those people who have proved you their loyalty repeatedly in. I’m more free than I was, knowing my own value as a person. I know how much I’m worth. I know who’s worth my time and who isn’t. I learned that people who invalidate my own worth, feelings, and opinions aren’t worth my time. Granted, I’m not perfect and I never will be, but there is a giant difference between the ones who belittle you and the ones who embrace you for the person you are, strengths and weaknesses."

Guess i'm still trying to put this into practise : "But I learned that there are people that DESERVE to get past your guard."