Friday 20 November 2015

#CamNam Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City October 2015


Phnom Penh

#CamNam : from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC)
15 - 19 October 2015 (5 days 4 nights)
2 pax

Itinerary

15 Oct (Thursday)
0645 - 0735 : Flight KUL to Phnom Penh
0735 - 0835 : Leave bag at Green Centre Point Inn. Buy bus tickets to Saigon (HCMC)
0900 - 1200 : Visit Choeung Ek
1200 - 1300 : Lunch at Ah-Man Green Restaurant
1400 - 1530 : Tour National Museum
1900 - 2000 : Dinner at Wau and back to hotel

16 Oct (Friday)
0600 - 0610 : Check-out
0630 - 1300 : Off to Saigon by bus
1400 - 1500 : Check-in at Ono Saigon Hotel and rest.
1700 - 1800 : Book tours

17 Oct (Saturday)
0840 - 1500 : Pick up from hotel to Cu Chi Tunnel.
Free and easy 

18 Oct (Sunday)
0800 - 0900 : Breakfast
0930 - 1600 : Saigon city tour. War Remnant Museum, HCMC Museum, Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica
1900 - 2000 : Shop at Ben Thanh night market

19 Oct (Monday)
0700 - 0900 : Shop at Ben Thanh Market
1000 - 1030 : Breakfast
1200            : Check-out
1300 - 1400 : Lunch
1800 - 1900 : Get to airport
2110 - 2359 : Flight SGN to KUL


What I didn't do?

- Dinner at Wau. The restaurant moved from New York Hotel to a few blocks away from Ah-Man Green.

- Go out to book tours in Saigon. I booked from the hotel because rate was within my budget.

- Shop at Ben Thanh night market. Too lazy

- Shop at Ben Thanh market on Monday. Turned out I didn't like the market much so once was enough.

- We went to airport early. Right after check-out at noon.


Green Centre Point Inn, Phnom Penh
Checking in at Green Centre Point Inn, Phnom Penh

Choeung Ek, Phnom Penh
Choeung Ek Killing Field - the reason I returned to PP

National Museum of Cambodia
@whitelambchops | Instragram | posing in front of National Museum of Cambodia

Transportation

Phnom Penh
Tuk - tuk. Hired the one we got from airport at USD 30 for the day.

Phnom Penh - Saigon (HCMC)
Cat Mekong bus. USD 15/adult including hotel pick-up to bus depot.

Saigon (HCMC)
Taxi with meter. Totally affordable.
Attractions in the city are within walking distance from each other. Traffic was a controlled chaos, really.

Cat Mekong Express
@whitelambchops on the bus to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
I bought the bus tickets from Cat Mekong's Orussey Market office branch a day earlier. Told them hotel's name for morning pick-up. 

  A van came in the morning and took us to Orussey Market. Gave passport to staff > given tickets > pass luggage(s) for keeping under the bus & given tags > journey started (passport will be collected again on the bus and returned at immigration)

  Going through Cambodia immigration was a breeze compared to Vietnam's immigration. Our passports were taken to a counter and they called out names. That was the only annoying part. Scan luggage and then back on the bus to Saigon!


Vietnam Immigration
Vietnam's immigration building

Cat Mekong bus stops at Pham Ngu Lao- tour agents are nearby so you might want to drop by and arrange for tours before heading to your hotel. My hotel was nearby so I ignored the taxi drivers and walked.

Ono Saigon
Ono Saigon: A delightful hotel hidden in an alleyway

Cu Chi Tunnel, Ho Chi Minh City
Cu Chi Tunnel

I was too lazy to go back to Pham Ngu Lao to book a tour and the hotel I was staying in, Ono Saigon offered a Cu Chi Tunnel tour that was within my budget. Paid directly to the hotel, no receipt but no problem. Tour agent picked up from hotel the next day and issued us a paper when I said we didn't get any receipt from the hotel.

  Other attractions can be visited on your own. Get a taxi to one and walk to others as they are pretty much near each other.

  Mekong needs a whole day so I skipped that one.


War Remnant Museum, Ho Chi Minh City
War Remnants Museum

Ho Chi Minh City Museum
HCMC Museum
Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica
Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica

To read on halal food in Phnom Penh, use #GoMakan #PhnomPenh or #CamNam #RepeatCambodia in this blog. 

  Halal restaurant in Saigon, Vietnam are mostly in the Nguyen Ah Ninh (dubbed the Malaysian Street) near Ben Thant. To read in this blog, use #CamNam or #GoMakan #HoChiMinhCity

Breakfast at Passio
Breakfast on the last day in Saigon. Yummy!

Budget
RM 1886 for 2 pax (including flight, accommodation, transport, dining & attraction)

Cash brought for the trip USD 252

Actual Expenditure

Transport - USD 69
Attractions/Tours - USD 55
Meals - USD 74
Shopping & Massage - USD 12

Cash balance USD 42

Note: Flight and accommodation are paid in advance.


Finally, meet my favourite food in Saigon:





Fitting eh? In Cambodia, I stocked on Pringles and in Vietnam, I gorged on these chips! Sedap unlike any in Malaysia.




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