Had our breakfast at 0800 right in front of the reception counter (hotel's lobby). There are limited breakfast choices from the hotel breakfast menu. The receptionist is well talented as he is the one who in charged to take order, prepare and serve our breakfast.
Began our free time with buying a conventional MAP and look for the places that we planned to go. As usual, the navigators will start doing their job and hunting for the famous Bahn Mi. We ordered roasted pork banh mi (VND17,000) and chicken & sauce bahn mi (VND15,000).
Visited Starbucks in Ho Chi Minh. There are a lot of passerby cobblers. (Tips: Ignore those passerby cobblers or else you will be ripped. They tend to persuade you and insist to repair your shoe by stopping you).
We passed by the reunification palace and decided to take a group photo. We didn't enter the palace as it is included in our tour package on Day 6. Found a beautiful garden near the Notre Dame Cathedral and we took another group photo again.
The Notre Dame Cathedral was constructed in between 1863 and 1880 by the French colonists (following their conquest of the city). The building reaches a height up to 60m. Initially the church was named Saigon Church but soon change to Notre-Dame Cathedral in 1959 (by Bishop Pham Van Thien) after the ceremony to install the statue of peaceful Notre Dame (made with granite from Rome).
Right across the Notre Dame Cathedral is the General Post Office. It is a French post office built in between 1886 and 1891. There are 2 painted maps inside the post office. The first located on the left side of the building is a map of Southern Vietnam and Cambodia whereas a mosaic of Ho Chi Minh can be seen at the end of the hall. Remember to spot the magnificient tiled floor of the interior. There are shops available inside the post office where you can grab a few souvenirs for your friends or perhaps sending a letter/ postcards to them. Postcard costed around VND5,000 per piece (depends on design) with stamp costed VND10,500 if you wish to send to Malaysia/ Singapore/ Australia.
After sending postcards to my friends (where the other 6 were waiting for me), we walked passed the book gallery alley near the Notre Dame Cathedral. At the end of the alley, we spotted a small stall that was pretty crowded and decided to take our lunch there. We ordered 3 different kinds of noodle soup, rice with deep fried 3 layer meat and rice with braised fish which costed us VND160,000. The rice came with soup and as usual the tea was complimentary. We gulped few jugs as it was HOT in HCM.
Went to Hard Rock Cafe and looking for directions in the air-cond building. A kind man helped us by giving direction with their limited English vocab. The guys were so eager to visit the river but somehow I forgot the name and we walked so far under the hot sun. Thank goodness I brought a cap for the trip.
Visited a market and spotted a lady selling Banh Xeo (pancake). We takeaway the Banh Xeo (VND30,000) and enjoyed it in our hotel. Decided to use taxi on our way back hotel which costed us VND62,000 per trip. (Tips: Remember to use "Vinasun Taxi" OR "Mai Linh Taxi" ONLY while traveling in HCM. Taking taxi in Vietnam is recommended if you are travelling in a group as it is CHEAP)
We decided to chill in a cafe before leaving HCM at 1700. We found a cafe named Chong Coffee Cafe that is located at the same street as our hotel (about 2 minutes on foot).
The driver picked us at 1700 and headed to Mui Ne. We ate the takeaway meat spring roll with rice noodle (VND28,000) in the van and it tasted so damn good with the sweet and sour sauce. It took about 5 hours from Ho Chi Minh to Mui Ne where we stopped at the Dai Phu Rest Stop for dinner. We ordered all kinds of Pho which costed VND50,000 per bowl.
Reached hotel about 2230, we checked in, took bath and had an early rest as the driver will pick us up at 0500 for the sunrise. We stayed in Ocean Valley Hotel in Mui Ne. As usual, toiletries and towels were provided. (Tips: There is NO lift in this hotel)
** Assuming RM1 = VND5,000.
Watch out our trip video HERE!!!! Thanks for your support.
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