HCMC trip with STARS!

Our Stars' first ever trip was made possible with JETSTAR 1-for-1 promotion (err, I am not a spokesperson for this budget airline hor..hehe)! With 20kg & 40kg baggage included on departure flight to HCMC and Singapore respectively, each of us only need to pay a mere SGD$108!! Isn't this dirt-cheap?? haha...Well, this fare is considered very appealing as an usual fare will set you back by at least SGD$150 (with only 20kg on the flight back to Singapore). Hence, we were quite 'kiasu' to book our trip 4 months in advance but was glad that we did that in order to enjoy such deal :) 


Unfortunately, one of the Stars was not able to join us for that 'inaugural' trip so the 4 of us packed our bags and 'armed' with a detailed tour itinerary (from me, the 'seasoned Saigon-er of course...ahem!), set off on 20 April this year for the French-colonial capital, SAIGON!

Posing in front of LV Boutique

Throughout the whole trip, we had practically done what a 'tai-tai' would normally do during their leisure day, i.e. cafe-hopping, manicuring & pedicuring, hair washing & styling, leg-massaging, hi-tea-ing, eating at 'atas' restaurants, etc. No words to describe our happiness as that was the only time where we can relax our whole mind & body, escaping from the stressful environment in Singapore. Most importantly for those 2 mummies, to seek 'peacefulness' from their children...haha..


The top picture was taken when we were walking along District 1 and our destination was fixed at all the various places of interests (Reunification Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, HCMC Post Office) about 300m away. 

Along the basement tunnel at Reunification Palace

This picture was taken inside the quite eerie-looking tunnel of the Reunification Palace and frankly I quite like the 'nostalgic-feeling' it depicted. As if we had 'travelled through time' and landed ourselves at then war-inflicted Vietnam :)

Group pic at Chill Skybar 

For the night activities, we were joined by my hubby, Khriz who brought us to some of the night spots like SIN LOUNGE & CHILL SKYBAR. In terms of the safety aspect, it was not so feasible for us ladies to venture out in a not-so-familiar environment overseas so my hubby's company was crucial. 


We unanimously loved the mesmeric view at this Chill Skybar as it is such a modern building for us to take pictures, overlooking the whole of Saigon! No doubt its scale is not as big compared to Singapore MBS' SkyPark, it is afterall an iconic building in the eyes of the Vietnamese and well-known to the expatriates working and staying at Saigon. Therefore, drinks sold at that bar naturally will be much more expensive which is understandable. 

That's my hubby, Khriztopher Phay!

Bitexco Financial Tower (very brightly lit) is just opposite this Chill Skybar as can be seen in the above pic. They have their own Skybar too so probably we can go try in our next visit! hehe...

Suitable expressions for Halloween night :)

Loved this picture effect! But it seemed I had 'spoiled' it by smiling when the rest of the Stars were trying to act cool....No choice lah, since I like to laugh....oops! hehe..

Relaxing at a cafe near to Reunification Palace

Cafe-hopping can be considered a 'culture' in Saigon due to its world-famous dripping coffee and travellers all over the world, like us, just love to spend a few hours in their cafes, drinking coffee while watching the 'horrendous' traffic passed by (for those cafes situated by the roadside)....Anyway, there's one cafe, AU PARC which I particularly like, for its mediterranean-influenced decoration (seen above). Nevertheless, I did not order any coffee (it was freaking hot that day! Almost 35 degrees, we reckoned!!), just my favourite Italian Sparkling water, Pelligrino. Can you imagine this 'atas' water actually cost almost 3 times cheaper in Saigon as compared to Singapore's price? Hmm, talk about the inflation in Singapore!

Ben Thanh Market is one of the must-visit markets in Saigon, similar to the fact that travellers like to explore Chatukchat in Bangkok too since both are the iconic markets in the respective countries. No doubt the prices of the items sold there are exorbitantly high but it's a known practice to bargain at least 50-70% off the quoted price. Most Singaporeans will do that anyway, as a habit :) Above video featuring the operations in Ben Thanh market on a typical day...Enjoy!

4 of us trying some of their local food like pork pho at Ben Thanh Market

Frankly, I would not recommend this particular eatery at Ben Thanh market as the pho and fried noodles were not something to shout about. Nevertheless, at least we had tried to 'blend' ourselves to their local culture by squeezing our bums on a small metal chair and eating on a table-top which is far from wide enough to place our bowls :)


In summary, Saigon has gradually become a French-infused environment with lots of cafes lining along their roads and many fantastic restaurants (French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc) have also made 'a name' for themselves, judging from the good reviews posted by the netizens. In my next blog post, I shall continue with the food we had tried during our HCM trip and provide some recommendations of restaurants for anyone who would like to visit Saigon soon. Look out for it!