Ho Chi Minh Day 7 - Home Sweet Home

It was a short day. Our flight was at 12.35pm, which will mean that we had to leave for the airport at 9.45am. There basically wasn't much time to do anything after bfast. Well, we did manage to squeeze in some bathtub time while mummy did some last minute packing.

We boarded the cab at almost 10am after checking out and paying the balance. It took me awhile to check, the hotel bill came up to VND 27 million. So many zeros, have to check properly.

The kids played very well this trip and even sat together in the 30 mins taxi ride to the airport.

The plane ride went fairly well too. It would have been perfect without the turbulence. There was quite some shaking at some point and I was worried that the trays would start flying. Luckily it wasn't that bad.

Overall, the Ho Chi Minh trip turned out fairly well, our very 1st experience to a developing country where most people do not speak English. I think we are still not that ready for such trips. I had a few realisation this trip too. 1st of all, I really don't do very well when the weather is too hot. 2ndly, our kids could be well entertained if there is TV, ipad, bathtub and swimming pool, so maybe we should head to a beach resort (one with a fantastic kids' club) next. 3rd, we should have stuck to our golden rule of only 1 ah mah per trip. Well, there wasn't obvious quarrels but let's just say that they aren't and will never be the best of friends from now on. I know my mum isn't the easiest person to get along. My mil has plenty of peculiarities too. I am somewhat glad that our trip has ended. Any longer, I am worried that they would start clawing at each other.

Would I miss Ho Chi Minh? Well, it isn't as dangerous as what I had thought it would be. God blessed us and we didn't meet any snatch thief or lost any valuables. The traffic is interesting though. Accordingly to Tina (guide), it is legal to take 2 adults and 2 kids below 7 on the same bike! See the little boy squashed between 2 adults? This is a common sight and I even see kids sleeping while on the bike. Steady lah.

I am amazed at how cars and motorbikes get to the sides that they wanted at a busy X junction without traffic light. Everybody seemed to be weaving through the traffic. And the stuff that they carried on motorbikes! I have seen a man riding with one hand and the other holding a 2m long metal rod!

Once back on Singapore, I have to tell you how much I appreciate clean and sweet smelling toilets. Let's just say that in Ho Chi Minh, some of the toilets are indeed an eyeful and noseful too. Lol.

Our hectic life starts once again. I am quite confused with all the holiday week and makeup classes. Daddy Lim sent Lil Shauna for her maths class to realize that it was cancelled. Did the teacher tell me? Oh gosh, I can't remember. Haha. Too many things, I need another holiday. Hehe.

Mummy Lim

Ho Chi Minh Day 6 - Vietopia

We had intended to bring the kids to a theme park - our almost must do whenever we travel. We were still trying to decide which one. There are mixed reviews about the 2 main theme parks. However, my Vietnam colleagues advised us to skip the theme parks. They said that USS is 100x better. They recommended Vietopia instead. It is similar to Kidzania and Taipei's Baby Boss. Lil Shauna isn't a fan of Baby Boss after 2 visits but didn't reject the idea of Vietopia too much.
We woke up early for bfast and a taxi to Vietopia. It was located in District 7 and the taxi costs about VND 70k.

The tickets to Vietopia us very affordable at VND 190k (about S$13) per kid and VND 45k (about S$3.5) per adult. We were given this tag.

Vietopia!

Our 1st stop. Some lab sponsored by Yakult. They each get a free bottle of Yakult at the end of the work.

2nd job was that of a mechanic.

 3rd was a wall painter. Hard work indeed.

Next, A&E. This was quite interesting. Nut only did they get to ride the ambulance, they also attempted to revive a collapsed patient. She was declared dead bcos Lil Isaac kept saying that he can't hear her heart beat. Lol.

Then, some art studio thingy.

Ice cream making. After the ice cream was made, I was worried. I had been careful to avoid ice for the kids since I don't know what kind of water was used.

So I was glad that they were almost immediately lured to the dental clinic.

Then, milk making. They had to carry hay to feed the cows 1st before milking the cows then going to the factory to learn how milk is packaged.

After milk was coffee.

Then catwalk! Lil Shauna refused to dress up though.

After lunch, the kids made their own Pepsi. I am quite sure that what they eventually received wasn't what they made bcos I saw the staff loading real Pepsi bottles into the machine. Haha.

Then, Holick making. They received this mini drink and get to play kinnect alike game that the boy loves.

Choco pie making.

 And finally, some snacks making.

We left Vietopia at almost 4pm, when it was closing.  Lil Isaac had to miss his favorite fireman bcos it was so crowded. Lil Shauna refused to do all jobs that were crowded. She said that the local kids looked at them funny. The fireman was one of those jobs. Then, Lil Isaac refused to do any of the jobs without jiejie. Zzzz.

Overall, it was great. It was really cheap for the almost whole day fun. The place was spacious and less crowded than Baby Boss. The waiting time was so much shorter and many times none at all. There are many jobs too, some quite different from Baby Boss. The equipment and facilities are really new too. The only complaint that I have is that the staff aren't too kids friendly. I was telling Daddy Lim that Baby Boss staff were very entertaining. Oh, the $$ earned do not exchanged for anything too. We had to use real $ to buys something for the kids from the gift store to reward their hard work at the end of the day. Haha. Nevertheless, it was a great experience and the boy was so tired that he knocked out at 8ish.

Mummy Lim

Ho Chi Minh Day 5 - Shopping

Since many trips back, Daddy Lim and I recognised that we don't do well with trips with no itinerary. Daddy Lim would love to spend every minute doing nothing while I would want to pack every single minute with something. Haha. Day 5 was one of those days.

The day before, we struggled, trying to decide if we should book another tour with the agency booth at the hotel lobby.  In Ho Chi Minh city, other than the Can Gio tour that we had done, the other 2 famous tours are the Cu Cui tunnel and the Mekong Delta. Each of these would set us back by at least USD300 and would take a good 3/4 day. Seriously, it wasn't the cost. We were more worried if the kids and ah mahs would enjoy another of such tour. We eventually decided to spend the day shopping. The idea of spending 3/4 of a day under the sun was scary. It is really freaking hot. We are already lucky to get some rain for the past few days.

We woke up slightly later than usual and headed to the Starbucks around the corner for bfast.

The 1st stop was Saigon Square 1. There are plenty of good reviews - how things are fairly priced, the vendors are not pushy (unlikely Ben Thanh market) and the 2 levels mall is air conditioned. There wasnt much bargaining to be done. Shopping went fine, unfortunately I had a bad tummy cramp and had to turn the whole gang back to the hotel shortly before lunch. After pain killer and a short rest, I was good to go again.

We decided to go to Saigon Square 2 this time.  The mall basically sells similar stuff as its "twin sister". This mall is even more spacious. However, there are lesser stalls and the stuff are a little more pricier. Bargaining was almost non-existent. The kids did buy a few stuff. More surprisingly, there is a play area on the 2nd level and the kids had plenty of fun.

There is also a mini snack place beside the play area but serves lousy snacks. Daddy Lim had this duno what drink and he complaint loads about the lack of coffee.

We then decided to head to the Taka Plaza. Unfortunately, the taxi driver didn't understand us and we decided to head back to Saigon Square 1 to complete our shopping. We saw quite some stalls selling winter jackets and had been contemplating to buy them for the kids for our December Korea trip. The kids had definitely outgrown the old jackets bought for the last winter trip 2 years back. Vietnam is a country that manufactures clothes for famous brands and we saw quite some North Face jackets. We aren't sure if they are genuine, but definitely cheap. We eventually got Lil Shauna's Faded Glory jacket for about S$25 and Lil Isaac's North Face jacket for S$35. Yes, I know about the MERS virus in Korea now but our trip is still very far away.

We walked back to the hotel thereafter and stopped by for a nice coffee on the way.

The kids had plenty of fun back in the room. I am amazed at how nicely and long they played with each other this trip. It was like even if we stayed in the hotel room the whole day, they could self entertain with swimming, TV, ipad, bath tub and playing. They were happily playing while we watch TV and then we saw Lil Shauna running out of the bathroom with Lil Isaac tagging behind.

We found out that Lil Shauna had played with Daddy Lim's razor and cut her finger. She attempted to stop the bleeding but couldn't and had to seek help. It took a while to stop the bleeding. It must be painful but the little girl knew that she was at fault, that she shouldn't be playing with the razor, thus didn't dare to cry. It was only after a long while later that she started to cry so pitifully. She had to hold the finger up to help stop the bleeding.

The night ended early with dinner and more family shots.

We have a final day left. This trip is indeed slow and relaxing. After all the nuahing, I too got lazy and didn't do the Water Puppet Show, the Saigon River dinner cruise that I had intended. I too, wanted to hide in the comfortable hotel room. Haha.

Mummy Lim

Ho Chi Minh Day 4 - City Tour and Chinatown

While googling about things to do on Ho Chi Minh, I came across this free walking tour by the local university students looking to improve their English and expand their experiences. I signed up for one and we were to meet her - Tina on Sunday morning.

She is 24 yo and had just graduated from the university and is now a procurement officer.  She met us at 9am at the hotel lobby.

The 1st stop was the Independent Palace. The president used to live here. It wasn't that far from our hotel but the weather was freaking hot! We were all perspiring like mad by the time we arrived. Daddy Lim, naiani and Lil Shauna proceeded with the tour while the rest of us stayed with the grumpy boy at a bench on the 1st floor.

Our second family picture.

The next stop is the Notre Dame. We been to the one in Paris and now this one. It was much smaller than the one in Paris. The cathedral was also closed. We had some pictures outside.

The next, the post office. There were huge groups of students gathering in front of the post office. According to Tina, they are university graduates taking some sort of graduation pictures. The ladies all looked pretty in their traditional costume.

Then, we caught a taxi to Chinatown in District 5. I read that there were plenty of merchandises to buy here but it was so easy to get lost. There are like hundreds of stalls there. Unfortunately, most of the stalls do wholesale and it was way too hot! We did a little tour, bought some cashew nuts and went back to the hotel.

Tina had intended to bring us to some temples but Lil Shauna complained of tummy ache and so we headed back. Then again, we were all dead tired due to the heat.

Back at the hotel, the kids had great fun playing in the room and then swimming. They played for like hours without bugging the parents, who tried to be as quiet as possible. Lol. We ended the night with a dinner and back to the room for more TV watching. So relaxing. Lol.

Mummy Lim