May 25th, 2009 by sixpegs

The Vietnam – Ho Chi Minh trip has finally come to an end!
Although it was just a short 4 day trip,
Buttons & I had such a great time there.
The short break was much needed
for the busy Buttons before starting work proper.
Check out the rainbow outside the aircraft window.
It looks like a big, warm
WELCOME TO VIETNAM! ?

It is the first time I’m travelling with Buttons.
Being a paranoid myself, I was pretty worried that we might end up in disagreements and big fights!
But fortunately, we didn’t & it ended up really well on the contrary!
We REALLY dig the Vietnamese rice noodles (Pho) because it tastes good with practically anything!
I’m like a super noodles person – SUPER LOVE IT!
So the first meal is at this growing Pho chain in Vietnam called PHO24.
What a good name because we can really eat it 24/7!

We stayed in the backpackers’ area called Pham Ngu Lao.
This street is littered with budget hotels, hostels & lots of eating places.
Buttons & I fell in love with this place right away – mostly because of the wide variety of food it offers.
AND GREAT COFFEE TOO.
What a colorful & bustling city Ho Chi Minh is!


We checked out the famous Ben Thanh Market on our first day there.
To my disappointment, this place sells mostly souveneirs & textiles (which I am not interested in).
The market is like the Chatuchak Market in terms of its layout, but WAY smaller.
The aisles are narrow and it can get really crowded at times!
I didn’t take much pictures there because it’s not exactly very pleasing aesthetically. HAHA.

Buttons LOVES getting souveneirs and little gifts – maybe that’s why all the vendors loved him!
There are a lot of budding artists there & they are damn good at duplicating famous art pieces!
Great place for people who loves cheap and pretty art pieces.
For a camera whore like me, I fell in love with the vibrant colors of the streets.

AND THE CHEAP BEER OF COURSE!


Our days there were pretty much only made up of feasts and beer blasts.
Oh! And we took a little tour around town on Cyclos on the second day too!
I’m really bad at bargaining so this is not exactly the best city for me.
I heart how friendly the Vietnamese are though.
While on the Cyclos, there were occasional Hellos, waves & smiles from the locals.
Those friendly gestures definitely warmed my heart a little.
The Cyclo rider commented that I look Vietnamese too. You think so?
HAHAHAHA!


That’s Buttons & I at the Reunification Palace in Ho Chih Minh City.
Huge palace with lots of pretty rooms in there.
Nothing much other than that.
Even the very-cultural Buttons thinks that it’s over rated. You can imagine.
Just look at Buttons yawning in one of the pictures below!
B O R I N G .



We continued trekking around town & went to the War Remnant Museum next.
And now we’re talking because this place is really freaky.
All you can see from this place are pictures from the Vietnam War – tons & tons of them.
I can feel that the Vietnamese are really quite against the Americans.
The war ended in the mid 1970s.
Doesn’t that mean that the second generation of these people are still living around us in Vietnam?
They described in details how gruesome & ruthless the Americans were during war.
And together with the photographs on display, they really made me a little sick in the pit.
My deepest impression of the museum was the dead foetuses on display.
But to be fair, I thought the whole view on the Vietnam War was a little one-sided.
Oh well, why do people go to war? Sigh.
ALRIGHT. NEXT UP!
We haven’t forgotten about our dear friend Tommy.
He is the luckiest tomato ever – to be able to travel from USA to Taiwan & now Vietnam.
In just a matter of days, Tommy will be heading to UK with Buttons.
LUCKY HIM. *frowns*

We FREAKING love this French Restaurant called Au Pare on Dong Khoi Road.

Day two was fabulous although we were all thrashed out towards the end of the day.
And cheap beer will never fail to make my day.
HURHURHUR!

Buttons & I set foot on the dusty Vietnam streets in our super Vietnam Nationalists attire on the 3rd day. :p
I love the red and yellow star on their national flag.
SO PRETTY!
We visited the American Army Market & got some pretty good buys there!
I’m loving my 3USD vintage spectacles & Buttons his 12USD old clock.
WE’RE SUPER UBER HAPPY KIDS! :D




@ Thien Hau Pagoda Temple in Cholon (Chinatown)


Stupid cyclo riders on our 3rd day attempted to cheat our money.
DAMMIT.
We thought they were just being really nice helping us with pictures & stuff.
Buttons & I bought drinks for them somemore. NBCB.
They brought Buttons & I to this massage place in town WHICH WAS SUCH A NIGHTMARE!
The place (called Sunflower in Clamette Street) looked empty and bare.
And we were instructed to strip & wrap ourselves with just a piece of white cloth.
We were then guided to beds that were just separated by white curtains - like those in hospitals!
The curtains weren’t exactly very shut properly & I was feeling really uncomfortable because there are men walking around.
Worse thing is, the massage REALLY SUCKED.
Seriously, I think I can do a better job than the masseur.
She really got NO FREAKING IDEA where the muscles are & is ALWAYS massaging the wrong place.
She cannot speak English for nuts.
And honestly, the massaging is more like caressing!
TWO WORDS – FUCKED UP.
I couldn’t take it anymore so I asked Buttons how his massage was while we were still at it.
And I wasn’t surprised when he commented that his sucked too.
It was the worst massage I’ve ever had and it ended before 60mins (it was supposed to be 60mins!)
But good for me too since it sucked so bad anyway.
As we were changing up, Buttons told me that the way the masseur touched him was really suggestive.
Rubbing him way up on his thighs, making him really uncomfortable too.
She was more like touching him more than massaging, & even asked him who am I to him sneakily!
And it didn’t helped at all because his masseur is this fugly old Vietnamese woman with really CMI makeup. (HAHAHA!)
& he added that the masseur asked for tips!
I WAS REALLY FUMING WHEN I HEARD THAT!!!
Expensive massage – NEVER MIND.
Fucked up ambience – NEVER MIND.
Massaging is like fuck – NEVER MIND.
Try to be funny with my boyfriend?! – N E V E R