Friday, 22 December 2006

Mummy and I caught 9.40am Singapore Airlines SQ0172 G flight to Ho Chi Minh City. We did not book any tour and were basically on our own. I had done some research and had booked a Deluxe Room at Liberty 3 Hotel.


Waiting for my flight to Saigon.

Upon arrival, we were a little lost and there were so many cabs. I had printed a map and when I showed a few of them our hotel location, they quoted me US$20 to go to Liberty 3. I was alarmed of course as I had read from some travel forum that it should cost about US$5. Finally a cabbie quoted us US$10 and insisted that this was the lowest. At my wits' end, I called Liberty 3 Hotel using my Singapore mobile phone. As confirmed, a cab to Liberty 3 would only cost US$5.

Anyway, none of them refused to take us for US$5 and finally one did. And so, we were on our way there. Finally in Saigon! The reason for this hotel was because I had read very good reviews about it and most importantly, it is near the backpackers' street where we can find many local tour operators there.

Located at District 1, Liberty 3 is also accessible to many tourist spots in the city area. A bonus will be that it is merely 5 minutes walk from the Ben Thanh market where we can do our shopping!

The traffic at Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) was horrible. There were so many motorbikes around and the air was definitely heavily polluted. When the cab dropped us off opposite Liberty 3, Mummy and I were freaking out on how to cross the road. Thank god the bellboy saw us and crossed over to help us. Mummy was holding on to the poor guy for dear life as he led us across the road.

What greeted us at Liberty 3 was a surprise with warm and friendly staff. We checked in with breeze and were very pleased with our room. It was definitely worth paying for the Deluxe Room. It was quite spacious with a small living room area.

The mini living room area.
Television can be spun around to face the sofa.


Big cosy bed for us.


Feeling so comfortable in our hotel room.

Finally, after resting our legs for a while, we decided to explore around. Noted that there were many eateries near our hotel and there was this Allez Boo Bar & Restaurant right at our hotel which was really popular with tourists. Indeed, there were many local tour operators at the backpackers' street which was like 2 minutes walk away. There were many tailor shops too.

As per my research back home, the two reliable tour operators will be SINH CAFE and DELTA ADVENTURE TOURS. We booked a half-day trip to Cu Chi Tunnels and a one-day Mekong Delta tour with DELTA. With SINH, we booked a one-day Ho Chi Minh City Tour. We got ourselves a map and learnt that there were a few tourist attractions in District 1 itself, so went exploring. We managed to located Ben Thah Market but decided to go shopping there only on our last day.

We were trying to located the Reunification Hall but could not find. Eventually, we were directed by locals (who did not understand English) to this place of interest, Ho Chi Minh Fine Arts Museum. We walked for so long and were definitely glad to find some place at last.

Ho Chi Minh Fine Arts Museum.

The map we had gotten was so confusing that when we showed the reception lady at the HCMC Fine Arts Museum that she was frustrated too. Eventually, she gave us a more reader-friendly map. Anyway, a little background on the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum. It was established in September 1987, located in 97A Pho Duc Chinh Street, District 1. The building was built in the Asian European style by French architects in early 20th century. Before, it was privately owned by a businessman, Hui Bon Hoa.

Level 1 showcased Regular Exhibition with selected works from both domestic and international artists. Level 2 showcased Contemporary Art with sketches, paintings and statues expressing war resistance. There were also art works surrounding themes like national defence, praise for country and Vietnamese. Level 3 showcased Antique Art with artefacts from various cultures and several centuries. There was a variety of media such as ceramic, bronze, wood carving, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, red lacquer glided with gold etc.

Interior of HCMC Fine Arts Musuem.
With an Asian-European feel.


Me on staircase at HCMC Fine Arts Museum.


Mummy in front of Art Gallery inside the museum.

We were dead beat after that and on our walk back, tried to find some places for dinner. We entered 2 restaurants/cafes but the staff at both eateries could not understand English when we tried to tell them we wanted to eat in. One of the restaurants staff even brought me to see her boss and her boss thinking that I was Japanese, went "Tabemasu ka?" which I replied "Nevermind. I am not a Japanese!" and left.

We ended up having dinner at this restaurant near our hotel and went back hotel soon after. Needed to rest our body and feet for the next day's tour...