Date of Visit: 06th April 2012
My friends and I were almost done with visiting all those famous attractions around Ho Chi Minch City, except for China Town which tucked in District 5 and 6 and I thought it wasn't necessary for a visit since I had visited the one in London and Manchester. Even in Malaysia, we have our own Chinatown located in Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur. Hence, on the 6th day of our Ho Chi Minh City we just simply wandered around the city without any contingent plan.
To be frank, if you wanna visit Ho Chi Minh City, 5 days and 4 night will be totally sufficient for you to cover all, including a day trip to Mekong Delta and Cu Chi Tunnel. Don't be like us, where we spend a week in Ho Chi Minh City itself and nothing much we can do around. So basically what we did on that day was kinda laid back and relax which watching the times goes by.
Since we didn't manage to visit any coffee shops for the past few days, therefore we decided to try at least once given that Vietnam is one out of the top 10 best coffee producing countries in the world. Forget all those global coffeehouse such as Starbucks, Coffee Bean and more cause in Vietnam itself, there are countless number of coffee shops for you to enjoy the authentic Vietnamese coffee.
#1: 10 stylish coffee shops in Ho Chi Minh City
#2: According to one of the tour guide, Trung Nguyen Coffee is the number 1 coffee in Vietnam but I found the coffee is kinda bitter for my taste.
#3: Highlands Coffee
We had our Vietnamese coffee in Highlands Coffee, which located very close to our hotel. Simple and modern ambiance, just like how Starbucks and Coffee Bean looks like but not really crowded with plenty of seats still available for us to sit down and enjoy the free WiFi connection. Unfortunately, phototaking is not allowed inside the cafe. Besides coffee, there are many foods being served as well such as dessert, sandwiches, noodles and more but we're still full with our late breakfast.
#4: Two packets of coffees from Highland Coffee for family
My friends and I bought few packets of coffee for our family to taste and enjoy how Vietnamese coffee taste like. I noticed that if you don't have sufficient Vietnamese dong, you can opt for US dollar to pay for the bills. After spending more than an hour, we left this cafe and moved on to wander around before leaving on the next day.
#5: KFC for lunch
Fast foods are not always I fond of but when comes to travelling, I always love to try for something different and unique, especially McDonald's. I had McDonald's at almost all the countries I visited - Thailand, Singapore, United Kingdom, Italy, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Japan and even South Korea but then in Vietnam, we couldn't located any of these the big golden arches there. Mainly due to the American war which hurt deeply to the Vietnamese people, hence these red and yellow American fast-food giant unable to conquer this country at that moment. At the end, we had our lunch in KFC - nothing special and almost the same like Malaysia. But like I said before in one of my previous posts, I always being spoil with fast foods. Meanwhile talking about local foods, I will share this in the upcoming post.
#6: A random church we stumbled upon
I can't say Vietnam as a whole cause I haven't been to any other parts of Vietnam, but in Ho Chi Minh City, we came across quite number of beautiful churches and buildings with unexpected architectural delights that instantly took my breath away.
#7: Another unique and sweet-looking coffee house across the street
#8: No doubt Vietnam is known as Land of Motorbikes, where motorcycle is the king of the road
#9: Local enjoyed their foods by the road side is part of their routine activities
#10: Hardworking street seller
#11: Night market outside of the Ben Thanh Market
Almost every night, we were never fail to visit the night market which was located few minutes away from our hotel. All the items sold were almost the same like in Ben Thanh Market, nothing to shout for. But one thing for sure I love this night market was because I can freely browse the items without being hassled by the sellers. I managed to grab few Nike tops and shorts for at least USD3 each for myself and my family. A pretty bargain right? But of course, those are not authentic items.
Conclusion, what we did on the second final day were eat, drink, shop, walk and take a pitcha - that's all. Kinda pretty lay back and relax, right? This is what I call - HOLIDAY! You don't have to be rush or even touch and go when comes to travelling. Just take it easy and slowly as life is for you to enjoy.
