Postcards from Palawan

No posts from me for almost a week now. Writer's block.

Echos lang! Haha. :p

Since I'm not in the mood to write (or maybe  it could be the lack of inspiration. Naks.) despite the backlogs I have for this blog, let me share with you this entry from my college classmate slash travel buddy slash good friend, Romel. (Click for the link at the end of this post).

It has already been an annual event for us, with our other classmates and friends Venus, Godo, MJ and Ex to spend a week or less for a local getaway. This blogpost is about our Palawan trip in August 2011. There's so much to do there so aside from the usual city tour, we also ate crocodile meat and tamilok; scuba dived; biked in their boulevard; snorkeled at Honda Bay; watched fireflies; and of course, personally saw one of the world's new 7 wonders - the Puerto Prinsesa Underground River.

We first traveled together back in August 2010 in Bicol, with another friend and classmate Hyannie. Too bad she wasn't able to join us last year. We did wakeboarding at CamSur Watersports Complex (CWC); island-hopped and rock-climbed in Caramoan; and ziplined in Legaspi, Albay with Mt. Mayon as backdrop.

I know it's not really planned but I noticed there is always a beach in our chosen destination. 

Summer in August, anyone? :D

This year (guess which month?), we are set to invade Hundred Islands in Pangasinan, side-trip to Baguio, go hiking and spelunking in Sagada, and another side-trip to Bataan.

I cannot contain my excitement. This will surely be another great, and fun-filled trip with equally great and fun to be with friends! :)

Go here for Romel's more detailed entry >>> All my bags are packed and ready to go!: The Angry Birds goes to Palawan

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)

Saigon, Vietnam: Itinerary

Saigon, Vietnam

April 5-9, 2012

Itinerary

April 5 (Thursday):

11:00 PM Manila Time, ETD NAIA Terminal 3

April 6 (Friday):

12:30 AM Vietnam Time, ETA Tan Son Nhat International Airport

7:00 AM Breakfast

8:00 AM Cu Chi Tunnel Tour

3:00 PM War Remnant Museum

5:00 PM Late Lunch & Early Dinner at Pho 2000/ Window Shopping at Saigon Square

7:00 PM Back to Hotel to Rest/Freshen up

9:00 PM Shopping at Ben Thanh Market/Dessert at Baskin Robbins

11:00 PM Back to Hotel/Sleep

April 7 (Saturday):

7:00 AM Breakfast

7:30 AM Mekong Delta Tour

7:30 PM Back to Hotel to Rest/Freshen up

8:30PM  Dinner at KFC

9:30 PM Shopping at Ben Than Market/Stroll around Pham Ngu Lao , De  Tham and Bui Vien Sts.

11:00 PM Back to Hotel/Sleep

April 8 (Sunday):

8:00 AM Breakfast/Check out and leave luggages

9:00 AM City Tour – People’s Committee Bldg., Notre Dame Cathedral, Central Post Office, Reunification Palace

12:00 AM Lunch at Quan An Ngon

1:00 PM Shopping at Ben Thanh Market and Saigon Square

5:00 PM Back to Hotel to Lodge our purchases and freshen up

6:00 PM Last minute shopping at Saigon Square

7:00 PM Dinner at Pho 24

8:00 PM Walk Back to Hotel to arrange our bags/luggages

10:00 Off to the airport

April 9 (Monday):

1:00 AM Vietnam Time, ETD Tan Son Nhat International Airport

4:30 AM Manila Time, ETA NAIA Terminal 3

Saigon, Vietnam: Day 1 - War Remnants Museum

From Cu Chi, you can ask your guide to drop you off at the War Museum like we did. There is an entrance fee of 15,000 VND (+/- Php 30) and it closes at 5pm.

 I’d like to warn you that it is very depressing to read articles and see photographs taken during and even after the war. I can’t imagine what the Vietnamese had to go through to think it was just merely 20+ years ago. Let the pictures below speak for themselves. 

Outside the building are various aircrafts and tanks that were used in the war. Some were donated by the U.S. 

By the time we were done, I was already feeling dizzy since we haven’t taken lunch. So I advise you to always have a heavy breakfast before starting the day at Vietnam and bring something to eat with you if you can. You will be doing a lot of walking around the city if you don’t want (or avoid, as much as possible) taking the cab like us.

Saigon, Vietnam: Day 1 - Cu Chi Tunnel Tour

Since we’ll only have 3 full days in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, I booked our Cu Chi Tunnel Tour thru our hotel. Besides, we will be arriving late so I would not have the time to book it at Sinh Tourists as recommended in an online forum. Anyway the rates are the same or almost.

I was quoted $6 for a half day Cu Chi Tour while it’s $8 for Cu Chi + Cao Dai Temple. I’m not interested with the temple so I decided to cut it off the itinerary. That rate only includes the bus and the English-speaking guide but it excludes the entrance fee to the site which is 80,000 VND or roughly about Php 160, more or less.

We were picked up from the hotel a few minutes before 8am. Yes they were right on time, or so I thought. It ended up we still had to pick up other tourists from different hotels and by the time the actual travel to Cu Chi took place was an hour later. It’s a bit of a waste of time. But that’s how it is there. The only thing that was favorable was we were the ones to get on the bus first so I had the liberty to choose our seats, thus taking street pictures was so much easier.

See all those motorcycles? :D

 

Travel time was around 2 hours; maybe less if the bus was faster. However we were informed that there is a speed limit of a maximum of 50 kph. Ambagal, pramis!

We had one stopover so you can go to the restroom, shop at the store, or drink some fresh fruit shake. We did the latter.

This is where we had a stopover where you can see how locals produce their artworks.

A few minutes before arriving at Cu Chi, our guide Dan asked if he could collect the 80,000 VND each for the entrance fee so he could get our tickets as a group since he was informed that there are a lot of tourists on site.

True enough, there were a lot of tourists that day! The first thing we did was watch a short 15-minute presentation about the war, and how the Vietnamese fought for their land. 

 

Next, you will be toured around the jungle where you will see how the tunnels during the war looks like, the kinds of trap and tanks they used, and the weapons they themselves made. You’ll be amazed at how smart the Vietnamese were. There is also a firing range there where you can buy bullets for a little amount and try firing with real guns. 

yey, kasya ako! :D

 

Don’t leave Cu Chi without experiencing passing thru the tunnel. Our guide said it is 100 meters long but there is an exit every 20 meters. I challenged my mom to finish it and she did! Being an Asian with a relatively smaller body frame is an advantage here that’s why we were the only ones who did it in our group since mostly were westerners and the tunnel is really narrow.

all sweaty! imagine how hot it is inside the tunnel!

At the end of the tour, they will serve tea and cassava (kamoteng kahoy) or steamed tapioca to Westerners. There are souvenir items being sold too should you want to buy one. All in all, the tour was very informative and worth it, considering its price. It lasted for about 7 hours including pick up of guests and travel to and fro.