Saigon, Vietnam: PHOod Trip

For our first day, we got back late from the Cu Chi Tour at around 3:00 PM so we opted to go to the War Museum first since it closes at 5:00 PM. I was losing all the energy I had early on that day because we haven’t taken lunch. Mom’s a girl scout because she had some munchies on her bag she brought all the way from ‘Pinas. Too bad I’m not a fan of otap, a delicacy from Cebu City, Philippines. Hehe

Our first meal in Saigon was at Pho 2000, a block away from Saigon Square. It is also known as the Pho for the President since it is where former US Pres. Bill Clinton dined when he went there. I guess it has many branches around the city since I also saw one outside Ben Thanh Market.

Here are the photos of our late lunch/early dinner:

 

Our total bill was 147,000 VND. That amount already includes two cans of soda and fee for the use of wet tissue. LOL. I know I read somewhere that if you use it, you’ll be charged separately for it. 

It looks like this:

"Discarded After Use" LOL

I totally forgot about it so we used it and of course paid for it.

Ahhh… never again! I always bring a pack of tissue and a bottle of alcohol with me so why would I pay for a small piece of wet wipes, regardless if it’s cheap? Haha.

We both were full until late night so we decided not to have dinner. Instead, we went to Baskin Robbins for dessert. I ordered banana split for me and mom. It’s quite pricey at 190,000 VND.

ayaw talaga marotate ng pic ni mama. haha

On our second day, plated lunch was part of the tour but drinks were not included so we had a separate order for it. It was so hard to resist not drinking soda since the heat was scorching. 

complimentary tea + plated lunch

We got back to the hotel at almost 8pm, freshened up a bit and then went out to have dinner at KFC for a total bill of less than 100,000 VND.

finger-lickin' good!

On our last day, we had lunch at Quan An Ngon near The Reunification Palace. The ambiance was nice and food was surprisingly cheap. Here is what we ordered. Our total bill was 185,000 VND.

Quan An Ngon 138.  Cha Gio (Fried Spring Rolls) is a must-try!

Come dinner, we saw Pho 24 so we decided to eat there. I just wanted to know how it differs from their branch here in Makati. I skipped on Pho since I had so much of it since Day 1 and had a rice meal instead. We paid a total of 129,000 VND. It pretty much tasted the same compared here.

If you are more adventurous, you can try the Pho served in the side streets. My mom didn’t want to since they don’t look as clean so we limted ourselves to a more private, enclosed restaurants.

By the way, we also tried the mango being sold in the streets/park and boy, it was yummy! I’m starting to drool over it again. Hehe.

Overall, food in Saigon is great and cheap. Their (iced) coffee is to die for. I wish I had the chance to try their desserts, though. :)

Saigon, Vietnam: Budget and Expenses

Saigon, Vietnam

April 5-9, 2012

Budget and Expenses

We spent a total of US$500 for this trip, excluding airfare, travel taxes, terminal fees and taxi rides here in the Philippines. That’s quite a big amount for just 3 full days in Vietnam but we spent mostly on shopping as detailed in our ITINERARY. So if you’re not into shopping, then a budget of US$300 or even less is already enough for two people.

Below is the actual amount we paid for the accommodation and tours:

Hotel:

1^st night                         - US$ 21

2^nd & 3^rd nights             - US$ 46 (US$ 23 per night)

                                        US$ 67 x 20,500 VND = 1,373,500 VND

Airport Service:

To                               - US$ 14

Fro                             - US$ 10

                                     US$ 24 x 20,500 VND = 492,000 VND                             

Tours:

Cu Chi Tunnel Tour  - US$ 12 (US$ 6 per person)

Mekong Delta Tour  - US$ 34 (US$ 17 per person)

                                  US$ 46 x 20,500 VND = 943,000 VND

Summary:

Hotel (3 nights)                                    - 1,373,500 VND

Tours                                                   -    943,000 VND

Cu Chi Entrance Fee

      (80,000 VND each)                      -    160,000 VND

War Museum Entrance Fee

      (15,000 VND each)                      -      30,000 VND

Airport Service                                    -    492,000 VND

Total                                                      2,998,500 VND or US$ 147 (rounded up)

Food is cheap also; a bowl of Pho averages at 50,000-55,000 VND or less than US$ 3.00 only. I’m doing a separate entry for the food that we had in Vietnam including photos and prices for your reference. Click here for the link > Saigon, Vietnam: PHOod Trip

For shopping and other miscellaneous expenses, I listed the ballpark figures below which were bought from Ben Thanh and Saigon Square and the streets of HCMC. I am not sure though if it’s already cheap or you can actually get it at a lower price. I admit my haggling skill is poor.  :p

Bottled Water – 6,000 – 15,000 VND

Fruit Shake – 35,000 VND

Can of Soda – 15,000 – 22,000 VND

I heart Vietnam Shirts – 45,000 – 80,000 VND

10-pc ref magnets – 70,000 VND

Trung Nguyen Coffee – 40,000-45,000 VND depending on the flavor (3-in-1 or black)

Blouses – 90,000-120,000 VND

Kipling Bags (Fake) – 140,000-180,000 VND

Kipling Wallets (Fake) – 40,000-50,000 VND

The North Face Bag (Melinda) – 370,000 VND

The North Face Bag (Amira) – 290,000 VND

The North Face 2-layer Jacket – 800,000 VND

Taxi Flag down – 11,500 – 12,600 VND

Post Card – 4,000 VND

Doing a rough estimate for the hotel, food, and tours, we only spent a total US$ 200.00 for 3 full days including water/soda and gratuities/tips. It’s only now that I realized how much we’ve spent on pasalubong and shopping. Deym! I overspent again! Shopping in Vietnam is so much like in Bangkok, irresistible!

On our first day (2^nd night), I actually tried to list everything that we spent for the day. Take a look on my mini notebook:

I can really be OC sometimes. See the details? LOL. :p

I was happy doing it and I was being really OC. In the end however, I gave up. I’m short by 260,000 VND. Imagine how frustrating it was for me. I have a Management Accounting degree but I can’t balance my expenses with the amount I had on hand. 

My mom was laughing at me because I didn’t want to admit that I overpaid for something. It must be the bottled water we bought from the sidewalk. But 260,000 VND was too much for a bottle of water. How come I didn’t notice if I paid that much? 

Ggrrr… I was really disappointed with myself. I hate that their money is in hundreds of thousands a piece. It was just so hard for me to keep track and count. Haha.:p

(Being a banker, I felt stupid with my last statement. LOL)