Salam,
Finally finally finally, my family's mixed-up, chaotic plans for a holiday have finally settled into a definite decision. Yes ok we have long-distance drives to my clients' places out of KL so that is considered kind of a holiday but we were really looking forward to travelling somewhere FOREIGN. FOREIGN AND CHEAP TO BE EXACT. Heh! =D
So we have been browsing the Air Asia flights to South-East Asian destinations and finally, VERY LAST MINUTE decision, we purchased the tickets to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam the day before we depart. Haisyy. Doesn't matter, we just wanted to celebrate the New Year 2010 out of Malaysia so HCMC here we come!!!
Fortunately, my very dependable sister Deena managed to browse on Trip Advisor for a modestly good quality hotel with an affordable rate in HCMC, we chose Sophia Hotel for our stay of 4 days and 3 nights in the city. Previously I went to HCMC with the TV show crew, 3R from Red Communications when I won the 3R Intern to Vietnam competition, so that time it was all paid for be it from travelling cost (sponsored by Malaysia Airlines, love you MAS) accommodation, food and even paid a few hundred US Dollars which was very cool and fun. =) I like Ho Chi Minh City (its old name is Saigon) because of its architecture and its culture. It's more lively and city-like compared to Hanoi. Though I have never been to Hanoi but I was informed that Hanoi was more popular for its beautiful natural sights such as Halong Bay.
Alright, when we arrived at the LCCT, we were informed that our flight delayed for one hour. Another pet peeve that annoyed us big time was that of course with Air Asia hidden charges. For the luggage, if you PRESUME you are going to return with 15 kg of baggage, then you have to pay RM 10.00 in each advance. If you presume you are going to return with 20 kg (not sure 20 kg only or 20 kg and above) then you have to pay RM 55.00 each in advance to avoid paying more when you return. Such crazy difference! Ahh we did not intend to shop much so we just paid RM 10.00 each. And yes previously we wanted to pay cash when we bought the tickets at a ticketing counter (too late to purchase online) and the staff at the counter asked us to pay extra RM 30.00 each for nothing! Actually they use credit card on behalf of their company but instead they want us who are paying cash to bear their burden. Urghhh.
Ok nevermind, we still managed to go for a holiday right and that's what matters most anyway. Yes since our flight was delayed, Nana had to do something to inform the hotel that we will arrive late. Let's check out Nana settling this small, yet crucial problem.
Finally finally finally, my family's mixed-up, chaotic plans for a holiday have finally settled into a definite decision. Yes ok we have long-distance drives to my clients' places out of KL so that is considered kind of a holiday but we were really looking forward to travelling somewhere FOREIGN. FOREIGN AND CHEAP TO BE EXACT. Heh! =D
So we have been browsing the Air Asia flights to South-East Asian destinations and finally, VERY LAST MINUTE decision, we purchased the tickets to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam the day before we depart. Haisyy. Doesn't matter, we just wanted to celebrate the New Year 2010 out of Malaysia so HCMC here we come!!!
Fortunately, my very dependable sister Deena managed to browse on Trip Advisor for a modestly good quality hotel with an affordable rate in HCMC, we chose Sophia Hotel for our stay of 4 days and 3 nights in the city. Previously I went to HCMC with the TV show crew, 3R from Red Communications when I won the 3R Intern to Vietnam competition, so that time it was all paid for be it from travelling cost (sponsored by Malaysia Airlines, love you MAS) accommodation, food and even paid a few hundred US Dollars which was very cool and fun. =) I like Ho Chi Minh City (its old name is Saigon) because of its architecture and its culture. It's more lively and city-like compared to Hanoi. Though I have never been to Hanoi but I was informed that Hanoi was more popular for its beautiful natural sights such as Halong Bay.
Alright, when we arrived at the LCCT, we were informed that our flight delayed for one hour. Another pet peeve that annoyed us big time was that of course with Air Asia hidden charges. For the luggage, if you PRESUME you are going to return with 15 kg of baggage, then you have to pay RM 10.00 in each advance. If you presume you are going to return with 20 kg (not sure 20 kg only or 20 kg and above) then you have to pay RM 55.00 each in advance to avoid paying more when you return. Such crazy difference! Ahh we did not intend to shop much so we just paid RM 10.00 each. And yes previously we wanted to pay cash when we bought the tickets at a ticketing counter (too late to purchase online) and the staff at the counter asked us to pay extra RM 30.00 each for nothing! Actually they use credit card on behalf of their company but instead they want us who are paying cash to bear their burden. Urghhh.
Ok nevermind, we still managed to go for a holiday right and that's what matters most anyway. Yes since our flight was delayed, Nana had to do something to inform the hotel that we will arrive late. Let's check out Nana settling this small, yet crucial problem.
Nana anxious about our hotel booking.
Luckily she brought her super hot pink Fujitsu laptop with her, when she failed to phone the hotel, she e-mailed the agent and alhamdulillah they replied the e-mail promptly informing that they noted our delay.
That is Sophia Hotel on the net. People, please bear in mind of how majestic this hotel building stands alone in the photo. I will explain to you later.Oh yes after a few hours of waiting, we killed time by talking nonsense (OK most of the time Nana ignored me by managing her Kung Fu Dee Cafe on Cafe World) and staring at people wandering in the airport, finally it's time to leave ground.
I love looking at the sky and clouds in the airplane..suddenly wondering about my MAS pilot ex-bf hehe.
Tan Son Nhat International Terminal.
Behind Deena is a Vietnam Airlines aeroplane.
Don't be deceived with the huge luggage people, we usually travel light but with big luggage so that we do not need to buy new smaller bags for the things we will shop.
Yes we arrived there around 6 pm if I am not mistaken. Ummi said actually the time zone of Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Bangkok, and many other places in the South-East Asia region had the same time zone in the 1970's. However they recently (not sure how recent, sometimes according to my mother the 1980's could still be regarded as recent) changed it into the one hour difference like Bangkok is 1 hour later than KL and same goes with Ho Chi Minh City. I did not believe it at first but then I do because ok for example, our dusk in KL is around 7 p.m. where it's starting to get dark. However in HCMC their dusk starts at 6pm which is equivalent to 7pm in Malaysia. Another thing I noticed was, their office hours in HCMC starts at 8 a.m. instead of the normal 9 a.m in KL, this is because their dawn here starts around 5 a.m instead of 6 a.m in KL. Thus in conclusion, the time zone is still the same as informed by Ummi just that the governments differ the time according to locality. If you do not get what I am trying to deliver then no problem, just forget it and enjoy our journey k :D
This was taken at 6 p.m in HCMC. Same like 7 p.m in KL.Yes since we arrived after office hours so we just laid back on the cab's seats and watch the traffic crawl slowly but smoothly.
Christmas Decorations cum New Year decorations all lit up through the roads.
Check out the packed architecture of the shops and residences. Vietnam is Socialist Republic but the Communist Party plays the main governing role therefore everybody has the same rights over property, which explains the exact same size of property owned by its citizens.
I Love the architecture of Hotel Continental Saigon.
The City Theatre.
Louis Vuitton ya all! =D
No comments:
Post a Comment