A Haggling We Will Go!

On our final day in Saigon, we decided to bring all our cash and visit the much reviewed Ben Tanh Market. This is the place to buy souvenirs and local produce with a price - HAGGLING. As much as we both hate to haggle, I have read as much as I possibly can on the haggling tips.

Looking back, there were a lot of ways I would have improved and impulses I would have delayed... but we did the best we could with some best buys and few cheats we encountered.

The place is easy to locate but is hard to maneuver around as it was terribly humid and quite a maze. We learnt not to judge a book by its cover especially when there are some fake branded sportswear at the main tenant's shop (like a dept store with salespersons wearing the light blue ben tanh logo on their shirts) which are lower than independent shops. Well, so much for impulses.

But the highlight of my shopping trip was actually buying the premium jasmine flower tea for USD4 / 100gm. All shops refused to sell me for that price until I met this lady who was getting confused with the maths and switching of currencies that she gave in. After 3 hours of shopping, we managed to purchase 4 lacquer pictures, 2 handmade bags, 2 hand-embroidered pictures, 3 souvenir t-shirts, premium blue mountain coffee (we were too chicken to buy the weasel coffee - google it), Vinamit fruit crackers and sportswear.

We noticed that the prices sold even after haggling are higher than in the reviews. Maybe it is our haggling skills or has the cost of living gone up? My ao dai tailor (yes, had one tailor-made with hand embroidered motifs for only USD23 - check it out at Minh Khanh Shop, De Tham St. where they make them for 2 days) thinks so. Overall, things are still quite reasonable. We learnt not to cut a deal at the first stop but to walk further to shops in smaller lanes where they are more willing to lower prices, especially when you are friendly and attempt some vietnamese words. Look around for the item you are interested in, ask the price. If they offer lower than other shops (and also look easier to haggle with), next offer 50% cut from their offer price. Haggle from there and close the deal. But the rule of thumb is to remember that they make a living too and to get really good deals, you may need to buy more of the same product.

When in Saigon, do check out Vietnamese silk too. I think they are underrated compared to chinese silk as they are softer. We bought silk ties for USD2 each and scarves for USD3 each, from the Minh Khanh Shop.

(pics top-bottom : Yu char kueh seller, coffee ala-Vietnam, Vietnam should also be known as cable land)

While waiting for our airport transfer, we had coffee and banana & pineapple pancakes at a nearby cafe. Unfortunately, we were within earshot of a 52 year-old French man chatting up a Vietnamese Filipino girl.

All in all, we enjoyed our trip tremendously and the duration of visit was just nice. I sense an avalanche of trips coming up!

Familiarity Breeds Contempt?

Being Malaysian and Asian, I guess the Mekong Delta tour was not as interesting as for say, someone living in the cosmopolitan / Western countries. All the flora and fauna is the same in the tropics and way of life is quite similar to our local nelayan. Having said that, it is still an experience if you can tolerate high degree of heat and mosquitoes.

After booking the 1-day tour with Delta Tours (off De Tham street) for USD17 the previous night, we departed by bus to the port at 7.15am where we were taken for a speed boat ride which took us 3 hours to My Tho. The guide, Viet was knowledgeable with good English (american accent) and instilled humour along the way. During the journey, we saw many wooden houses on stilts amidst 3-storey bungalows (the new saigon for the rich, we were told). Mainly fishermen, they spend most of their time on boats, one even performed bowel movements on board in full view!

After arriving in My Tho, we were transferred to a bigger boat and viewed the 4 islands (unicorn, dragon, phoenix and monkey) which was nothing to shout about, before reaching a bee farm (wasn't even close as there were only 2 hives on display).

There we were briefed on honey-making and tasted their honey-lime drink and some dried tid-bits (ie. sweetened ginger, lotus seeds and banana crackers) . We visited the coconut making factory in Ben Tre and saw the womenfolk wrapping freshly made candy. These people move really fast like clockwork! The candies are individually wrapped in rice paper so these can be eaten when you remove the outer layer.

We headed for a feast of local fruits which consisted of the usual fare -bananas, pomelos, jackfruit (an acquired taste for ang mohs) and papayas while being entertained by some local music and singing (which according to our guide was better than the professional singers! we believe him considering the fact that they sing the same song over and over again). We then proceeded to being rowed on the sampan while adorning the cone hats through canals. Important way to stay afloat is to balance the boat and not stand up too suddenly! This was the highlight of our trip really.

Lunch was simple with rice, veggies and stir-fried pork. However, appetite diminished when I discovered that my veggies came with a worm! Extra flavouring, not! Rain came but that didn't prevent us from bicycling around the village. We ventured into a small town with a stretch of shophouses. I noticed peddlars selling duck eggs which I later found out, contain embryos. Apparently, it's a local delicacy consumed immediately upon cracking the egg open! Further down we saw a brick house with 4 watchdog statues placed strategically around the house. We were sure they were placed there to 'guard' the house. Raised in Malaysia, I have yet to see a sight like this.

The bus ride back was uneventful, passing by paddy fields and the Ben Tre town. Arriving in Pham Ngu Lao at 6.30 pm we were absolutely exhausted from the heat and decided to retire for the day.

Exploring the City Centre on Foot

We had an early headstart and were probably the earliest to have breakfast which was a simple fare of bananas, bread and jam, coffee, juice and eggs. It's ironic that Chanh the head staff wasn’t familiar with half-boiled eggs. Our instructions were not well complied when the staff merely immersed the egg in hot water in less than a minute before serving. Jeff had to request for it to be scrambled.

With map in hand, suntan lotion and shades, we confidently started out on foot towards the City Centre. All along the pavements we saw street peddlers with makeshift tables and chairs selling everything from drinks, food, cigarettes, sunglasses to pirated bestselling books! You see all walks of life sitting on low plastic chairs enjoying their coffee cuppa or Pho Bo and lepaking. Now we know why Vietnamese love to squat to wait for buses back home!

Crossing the roads took some courage and major estimations. Thankfully my days as a pedestrian in Penang roads helped tremendously. But I had to keep reminding myself that they drove on the right-side. So look left first before crossing. The trick is to cross when there’s a gap between the motorists. They do not speed and will just go around you but not before honking. It is a futile battle with cars and buses so it’s best to let them go first. The upside about the Vietnamese drivers is that they do not swear and are very patient people.

Although we could blend in with the locals easily but our dressing and demeanour gave us away. Cyclo riders and motorbikers eyed us like a hawk with the former tailing us and discouraging us to walk. Once we revealed our country of origin, they automatically pulled out a testimonial book with handwritten praises from global customers. They instinctively flipped to the Malaysian pages and reviews from Kuantan, KL, etc counterparts are there for us to scrutinize.

Some of the roads that we took looked a lot like in Penang or KL in terms of landscaping. The Notre Dame Cathedral has lovely architecture and a nice front lawn. A lady selling postcards was unsuccessfully trying to get me to part with my money. Once inside the church, it reminded me somewhat of St Francis Xavier in Melaka. The uniqueness is surely the adoration sections they have on the left and right side of the church. Countless name plaques of the departed locals and foreigners adorn the walls.

Opposite the road is the Post Office (top pics). A lovely air-conditioned place with a dome-like ceiling. I wouldn’t mind queuing up often to buy stamps or pay my bills, unlike back home where it can be a hassle with the scorching heat and unsightly interior.

We viewed the Reunification Palace (top) where Ho Chi Minh resided, only from the gates as there were admission fees and it was boring to view rooms.

We were starting to get tired from the walking and it was not 10am yet! Next stop was the War Remnants Museum which was nothing much like a museum but more of an info cum small exhibition centre. For less than RM4 per pax, there were former US war planes, tanks, chopters and bombs on display at the courtyard.

Inside there were posters and photos of the victims and massacre. You cannot help but feel uneasy looking at the deformed foetus in bottles affected by Agent Orange, a gas chemical used by the US to counter the Vietcong attacks. Once inhaled, the men will pass down the mutated DNA to their offsprings who largely bore the brunt of the effects. Cerebral palsy, harelips, physical deformation of the hands, legs and abdomens were some of the inherent effects. The My Lai massacre pictures were troubling with press photographers capturing pictures of the victims before their cruel fate. Many were either shot or slain at the throats or bellies. There were US medals awarded to GIs for bravery on display. Many gave up these awards in shame of their deeds – “I was wrong. I am sorry.”

Towards the end of the exhibition, there were posters and children’s drawings on a better and new Saigon, showing a glimpse of hope and forgiveness for the war. There were local students on tour and we could see the indifferent expressions on their faces as they could not have understood the atrocities of the war.

Tucked in a different corner of the premises were the tiger cages where prisoners of war and local political defiants were imprisoned. There they tell of the cruel tortures the Vietcong inflicted. Prisoners were beaten and chained until they gave up on life. The water torture meant that a prisoner was tied to a chair with his head shaved bald. Water was dripped slowly on his head for days. Survivors related the experience like painful blows to the head. Prisoners were given a cup of water to last them for the whole day. Aside from drinking and answering nature’s call, I feel that women suffered the most during their menstruation days.

We stopped at a nice looking eatery with air-con (life-saver) before going back towards the city centre. The intersection of Le Loi St / Dong Khoi St was certainly posh. Think Bukit Bintang or Orchard Road. Here there were more cars and traffic lights where motorists actually stopped to let you cross! Nothing much interesting here except for the Continental Hotel (bottom left) and Saigon Opera House (right) with its nice French architecture. There were plenty of lacquerware, arts n craft shops but all too pricey for my liking and can’t haggle much!

We then boarded the bus at Ben Tanh Market to Cholon (Chinatown) for 3,000 dong. A young boy of 8/9 enthusiastically informed me of the correct bus and shouted directions to board the bus! Cholon was a disappointment. Based on the reviews, Binh Tay Market (bottom) should be another Ben Tanh Market only cheaper but there were no handicrafts for sale. It was more like a wholesale market with daily sundries. Of course there were the mandarin characters on signboards and the coffee was significantly cheaper which we found out only later. But all was not lost when we tasted our first roadside meal – Goi Cun (Spring Rolls) wrapped in rice paper + shrimp + veggies dipped in fish sauce. Not bad but the rice paper was a little stiff. Cost us a bloody RM5 for 3 pieces! Believe the lady ripped us off!

We decided to have a proper Vietnamese Dinner and were delighted with a quaint restaurant near the Reunification Palace which was recommended by Chanh. We decided to take a cab this time costing us USD2 to the city centre. On our way back to the hotel, I succumbed to pampering myself with pedicure costing 60,000 dong (RM15). My pedicurist who was mute did a great job.

At the hotel, there was blackout and it was really pitch black everywhere. We walked along the alley and bought sotong bakar for RM2-3 which tasted great like the ones back home.

Saigon Surprises

Brace yourselves for a long blog. This is the first part. I feel inspired to write at length on our maiden trip to Saigon. We feel that our trip may have lots to offer when it got pretty interesting even before reaching the airport.

During a stop at the Simpang Empat rest area, a Chinese lady knocked on my passenger window and made me jump from my seat. I was quite apprehensive to roll down the window after all the stories on daylight robberies at petrol stations. But she seemed innocent enough. She was traveling with her brother by bus from Singapore and the journey was delayed for 3-4 hours at the causeway, screwing up their plans to reach KL on time to get transport down again to LCCT. She seemed quite pitiful and was practically begging us and the taxi driver to ‘tumpang’ them. So Jeff and I both agreed to help them (with much resistance from the driver) and our taxi cost was reduced by RM50. The journey wasn’t too pleasant with the driver ringing down their ears (and ours) on their inexperienced travel logistics. After parting ways at the departure hall but not before obliging them with our contact numbers, we thought that’s the last we see of them but they tailed us and waited while we checked in our luggage. Then they pulled out their camera for a group shot and presented us with a box of expensive looking airport duty free chocs. I mean, we are after all the same countrymen and they have paid their share of the ride. I suppose their gratitude surpassed their intuition to move on.

Air Asia lived up to their name of budget traveling when our flight was expectedly delayed for half hour. The first thing Jeff noticed about the Viets was the ladies’ penchant for wearing white. Being the mountain goat that I was, I tried unsuccessfully to look like a seasoned traveler. I got excited when I saw scores of single headlights roaming the streets of Saigon from the skies. Where are the cars?

Tan Son Nhat Airport is modern and quite posh not unlike KLIA. Jeff unhappily noted that Toyota Vios and Innova were used primarily as taxis. Our ride to Bich Duyen Hotel was eventful. The traffic! To think that KL is scary, Saigon is insane! Of their 8 million population, they have 6 million motorbikes! Motorists cut in at any time and in any style. There are not many traffic lights or rules and honking intermittently is widely accepted. We finally released our breath when the taxi stopped at our destination, for good.

The backpackers lane was filled with laughter of children playing and hoteliers sitting at the steps smiling and inviting you in. Checking in was a breeze and they uphold the Asian culture of walking barefooted indoors. The room was cozy and clean. No carpets and toiletries though but cable TV is complete with HBO, Cinemax, Starworld, etc on top of their 10 over local channels. They must really love watching TV. Their lack of the English language is comprehensible as all the local channels are either in Viet or dubbed in Viet.

We proceeded to have dinner and met a couple of old men wearing their helmets squatting along an alley immersed in chinese checkers. Our dinner of Pho Bo (just like our beef kuay teow tng but they had mint leaves and hotter yellow chilli) at a nearby coffeeshop came up to 25,000 dong (RM6) for a bowl! We then walked along Pham Ngu Lao St. and De Tham St (left) where we saw many arts & craft shops, tourist agencies, Air Asia, HSBC ATMs and the usual sight of a local girl per ang moh tourist inbars. The Viets love to play sepak takraw and badminton in the park at night, minus the heat I suppose!

In Saigon, there is no McDonald's in sight. Only KFC and Lotteria, their answer to burgers. We took great care to avoid eating there.

Anticipating an early rise tomorrow (and given the fact that daylight dawns an hour earlier in this country) for our tour to the city centre by foot, I convinced Jeff to retire early. On our way back, the two ah peks were still at their game... talk about sheer concentration!