Thursday, March 21, 2019

Visiting Hung and Marianne in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

It's been nearly a decade since I last visited Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), Vietnam, which was work related. This visit (between March 15 and March 22) is purely for fun while bonding with friends, Hung Bui Quang and Marianne Pham.

[An important note on Cebu Pacific. In spite of my reservations to patronize Cebu Pacific (no doubt due to some negative experience I had when I previously used Cebu Pacific many years ago but just can't remember what went wrong at that time), my frugal nature got the best of me. I booked online at a substantial discount relative to a comparable round trip flight with PAL and I was particularly careful to add check-in baggage for Selina and myself (which was NOT included in the basic charge) as well as seat selections for both flights (going to Ho Chi Minh and returning to Manila). To my disgust, I was informed by the attendant at the Cebu Pacific check-in counter that my booking only had my seat selections for the flight going to Ho Chi Minh but had no record whatsoever of my seat selections returning to Manila and no provision whatsoever for any check-in baggage in either flights. Even though I distinctly remember the price build-up from the basic charge to the price I paid online that included check-in baggage and seat selections for both flights, I was unceremoniously informed that I had to pay AGAIN for check-in baggage for both flights and my seat selections for our return flight to Manila. A clear case of double-charging. Cebu Pacific duped me again!

As the saying goes, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me! Hence, this is the last time I am going to be fooled by Gokongwei. I will never patronize Cebu Pacific ever again and I would recommend the same course of action (i.e., never patronize Cebu Pacific ever) to any traveler.]

At a glance, Ho Chi Minh City has boomed compared to a decade ago yet it is still affordable. Thanks to Marianne, who booked us at the SILA URBAN LIVING HOTEL at the heart of Ho Chi Minh City, we were given a substantial discount and an upgrade on our room (US$62 per night, which is a great deal for the quality of the hotel). It's new, well-maintained and has a professional staff. SILA has a decent gym, lap-pool, Jacuzzi, steam room, sauna, free machine laundry at the basement (you need to buy detergent) and a kitchenette in the room. SILA is walking distance from the grocery (they call it the coop over here), a brief taxi ride away from the Ben Thanh Market and the Takashimaya Mall. What else could you ask for?






Of course, we purchased Vietnamese coffee and condensed milk so we had brewed Vietnamese coffee in the comfort of our hotel room every morning. We also purchased baguette and croissant from an authentic French boulangerie (owned by a relative of Marianne) at the basement of Takashimaya (beside the Baskin Robbins ice cream shop), which was a perfect match to the proscuitto, liver pate and Brie we got at the Annam Gourmet store (also at the basement of Takashimaya) and the mushroom omelette and bacon (ingredients purchased at the grocery) we prepared for breakfast.

We had Pho (Vietnamese noodle soup), among other authentic Vietnamese dishes everyday. We sampled the avocado, atis, durian, mango and mangosteen in Vietnam. I thought the atis and avocado were better than the ones I would normally get in the Philippines. Durian was good (quite expensive though) but I have tasted better in Davao. The size of mangoes here are impressive but I think Philippine mangoes taste better.

The best value roasted duck in the world is probably in Vietnam, where we purchased half a roasted duck for about US$6.50. That would translate to US$13 for a whole roasted duck. A whole roasted duck in Manila (better quality, in my opinion, than the one I bought here in Ho Chi Minh City) would be about US$23 (and that's a promotional price); whereas, a whole roasted duck in Montreal (the very best in the world according to Hung and Marianne) would be about US$21.

Marianne was a great tour guide (Ben Thanh Market, Takashimaya Mall, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Post Office, the Opera House, among other landmarks in the City). She also brought us to the neighboring cities of Vung Tao and My Tho, where we visited churches, pagodas and, in the case of Vung Tao, the villa of the French Governor General (also served as a rest house for the last King of Vietnam, Bao Dai).

What struck me with Vung Tao and My Tho is that, while these cities are NOT Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi, they appear to be quite prosperous. Economic inclusivity to the common folks of Vietnam seems to be happening; that is, in spite of the usual third-world corruption in government that remains palpable from the standpoint of our taxi driver. Indeed, it was a bit surprising that a Vietnamese taxi driver would even have the guts to discuss the topic of government corruption lest he be shot by the Vietnamese government. Some progress on the political front I suppose.

Selina and I had a fun-filled time in Vietnam, which was made possible with the company and hospitality of Hung and Marianne. We are even discussing the possibility of visiting them in Montreal next year--towards the end of May . . . lobster season!