Blogs from District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Southeast, Vietnam, Asia - page 9

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Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City » District 1 February 17th 2015

... Wow quelle ville de fous! Méchant contraste entre l'ile de Kauai à Hawaii et Ho Chi Minh! Première impression, il y a des scooters PARTOUT! Et apparemment, il y a 5ans, personne n'avait de scooter O.o Assez impressionnant quand tu y penses! Dans les rues, il y a des bus, des taxis et des scooters, c'est tout! Probablement personne en ville possède de voitures, tout le monde se promène en scooter! C'est même un moyen de transport familiale! J'ai vu des familles de 4 sur un scooter... malheureusement je n'ai pas encore réussi à prendre de photos de cet exploit! Ils sont un peu trop vite maudit! Sans oublié que Ho Chi Minh c'est une ville qui ne dort jamais. Night market, resto ouvert toute la nuit.. ca n'arrête plus! Je crois que c'est moins ... read more
Do you want some chicken?
Fresh food
Working on the chicken

Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City » District 1 December 19th 2014

Let's begin this post with our first activities with the family last weekend. On Saturday afternoon we travelled about an hour south of Manila to the municipality of Pampango. Each year they host a "lantern parade" with the different neighborhoods designing, building and displaying their lantern in a big competition. Think of it as a small-scale Macy's thanksgiving day parade that features the lanterns-or Parol's-instead of inflated floats/balloons. In the Philippines a Parol is a seasonal star-shaped lantern that appears throughout the nation during the holiday season. They are made of all different types of material but the original Parol's were make of colored paper or shells with a frame made of bamboo or other type of light ridged material. They are everywhere one looks...hanging from telephone poles, buildings, bridges; in store windows; on or in ... read more
Erin, Jack and Joseph....
Street Scene HCMC
Saigon Sunset

Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City » District 1 November 30th 2014

And so it begins! We arrived last night after a very full days travel. Great flight times with Air Asia, we left at 11am so a great start time. We pre checked in online the day before which was a great decision, it means that you can get to the airport an hour later, so two hours rather than three and skips a massive que at the airport. It's also useful for booking in your seat allocations early as with Air Asia you need to pay extra to sit together. I didn't worry about doing that as we can all cope sitting apart and it saved lots of extra $$. As it turned out, we all were seated together in any case, so a good decision. We arrived at the airport at about 8.30 and really ... read more
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Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City » District 1 November 30th 2014

The day started with a bonus of time change! We actually slept in until 9.30 Adelaide time but it was only 6 am here so that was a very good start. Paul was up early to take advantage of the gym and if you can believe it! I even turned up at the gym for a run! Yes, I know Damo!!!! Breakfast was a winner, with Max practically crying with delight over the selections on offer. The French influence in Vietnam is certainly seen in lots of little ways, the pastries etc being one of them! Harry worked out the waffle machine so it was fresh waffles for him amongst French toast, dough it's, pancakes and bacon! I was very sensible for day 1 and the freshly squeezed watermelon juice was my pick. We headed off ... read more
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Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City » District 1 November 28th 2014

Well we are nearly ready to roll in the morning. The house is clean, the house sitters have been briefed, I have overseen the packing of 5 bags so lets hope nothing has been forgotten. Or at least, the things we have forgotten wont matter too much. The house is in a mad rush, we have planned a Birthday/Farewell/Work Xmas Dinner for Harry tonight as the family want to celebrate and see us off. Tom has come home from school and forgotten to return his trombone.... he also insists he has head lice..... He DOES NOT have head lice. But I have put the foam on him anyway to appease him. And because i might have to sit next to him on the plane.... read more
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Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City » District 1 November 26th 2014

Before we head off a big THANK YOU to our gorgeous house sitters Sauce and Jack. They will be looking after Chez Sheldon and babysitting Smeagle the Beagle for us so he is not too lonely without us. Sooooo.... don't be calling in for a coffee unanounced. We are not there.... read more

Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City » District 1 November 25th 2014

Booked the flight in August - LGW to HCMC - leaving 6th December, returning 7th January. And now it's imminent! 65. Travelling alone. Excited , for sure! Apprehensive? A little. Booked a hotel in HCMC for a couple of nights, then a flight to Hanoi, and a couple of nights there, then off to the north. Thereafter, who knows!... read more

Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City » District 1 November 23rd 2014

Saigon (Ho Chi Minh) City Vietnam In the mid-1960’s as I watched the young men in my high school class being sent to Vietnam, many of them never to return, and as I watched as we as a nation, agonized over the war, were split by the war, and prayed it would be over soon…never, ever did I think that I would one day be in Saigon, Vietnam. Our ship docked at Phu My and we took a 2 hour bus ride, along the Saigon River to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). Saigon is still referred to as Saigon by the locals. They revere Ho Chi Minh (Uncle Ho) but say the name was a political move so the natives still call it by its old name, Saigon. Lots and lots of rice fields flooded ... read more
Water Puppets
Buddhist Temple
Working Man

Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City » District 1 November 4th 2014

Today there was nothing planned on my itinerary until my train trip to Da Nang in the evening, so I did what I normally do in these situations - grab a map and my camera and just start wandering! I have no idea where I went, but I saw: Lots of bikes and alleyways People selling goods on the streets A rooster wandering the streets Old and new buildings The river An old church and a temple (possibly a mosque) A bird in a cage Street markets with fresh fruit and vegetables I also went up Bitexo Financial Tower and checked out the view. (Don't forget to keep scrolling for more photos!)... read more
Saigon Wanderings
Saigon Wanderings
Saigon Wanderings

Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City » District 1 November 1st 2014

My first experience with Vietnam was in the customs hall. My old passport photo is me with brunette hair however I have dyed it now and it's blonde. I guess the Vietnamese customs people haven't seen blonde hair dye because he was unsure that it was me in the photo. It took me a while to convince him that the passport was mine, but it didn't help that he didn't speak English and I don't speak Vietnamese. My next experience was my missing luggage, as it hadn't made the flight from KL to Saigon. I had to report it missing to the lost luggage counter, where I had to fill in some forms and describe my bag and then hope that it would make it to my hotel. They gave me a reference number and I ... read more
Saigon - Day 1 - Landing in Saigon
Saigon - Day 1 - Landing in Saigon
Saigon - Day 1 - Fuel trucks Ho Chi Minh City Airport




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