Friday, 20 April 2012
Oliver Twist comes to Saigon
Despite being in HCMC for so many years, we have yet to step into the Saigon Opera House for any performance. What a shame! Now that Oliver Twist is coming to town, what better opportunity to experience a performance in the Opera House than to grab 2 tickets. So grab I did not but pay I did - 600,000vnd (S$36) a ticket - this morning. Looking forward to 4 May 12.
Friday, 30 March 2012
Dai Nam Wonderland
Heard so much about it. Since Mum and her relatives are coming up soon, thought we'd check out the place. Decided to bike there instead of taking a cab. 30km and 80 minutes later, we found ourselves at the newest and biggest theme park in Vietnam. One pays for the entrance ticket (70,000vnd) and then again for whichever games/rides you want to try. For starters, it's a ghost town today. Which was good as we don't like crowds...but even this was a little too much (or should it be too little?) for us. Most rides were empty.
Dai Nam Wonderland has 5 distinct sections : Dai Nam Beach, Dai Nam Open Zoo, Worship Zone, Amusement Theme Park & Camp Site. Won't bore you with the details. See website for more details.
We only walked through the Theme Park and Worship Zone. We're not the beach kind so that didn't appeal to us. And the Open Zoo was really a long walk away. There are bikes available for rent though. You can also rent a personal tram that seats 6-8 pax. There's a free tram ride to the Theme Park - just after the entrance. Not sure whether there are free tram rides around the whole park - most signs and information are in Vietnamese - very inconvenient for tourists.
A man approached us and said that we could have free transport around the park if we ate at his restaurant. His is a legitimate restaurant but we found the prices on the high side. Wanted to charge us half the price of a set meal for 6-8 pax - and we were only 2!! Price for us ranged from 500-700,000vnd - quite ex as the menu seemed quite ordinary. Local food, fruits and drinks are widely available around the park and at quite reasonable prices, except for the above restaurant.
As for the games/rides in the Theme Park, there are quite a number (40 so the park claims) but most were empty - roller coaster, bumper cars, pedal boats, horror pyramid - but nothing out of the ordinary. Some are rides found in international theme parks but the atmosphere and feeling's different here - not quite the same if you get me.
Walked through the Worship Zone where's there's this huge Golden Temple - impressive and very peaceful inside the temple (maybe because there were only a handful of visitors). The artificial "mountain" range - looked more like small hills - was ok, again nothing spectacular.
There was an advert for a supermarket but all we found was a departmental store with several small vendors. Don't think of getting any souvenirs of the park - the only available ones were pathetic looking t-shirts. A Vinasun taxi stand sits at the entrance (lots of taxis) and is co-located with the small bus station. Bus No 616 gets you here from the bus station across Ben Thanh Market. So getting here is no a problem...just a question of how long it takes.
Some say that the park is so big, you'll need 2 days to cover it totally. True if one wants to see and experience everything in Dai Nam Wonderland. If you really need to stay, there's a hotel available. But it looks to us like there's nothing much to do at night there, and there is nowhere that you can visit at night...a ghost town at night.
We left with the feeling that this is a theme park more towards Vietnamese taste (which is fine since it caters to locals) but a long way from international theme park standards. But then again, the cost is also much lower, so one cannot really complain. It's like a big big Dam Sen or Suoi Tien (the other 2 theme parks in HCMC)...nothing really spectacular. Worth one visit and I think that's about right for us...but then again, that's only one opinion.
Getting there : The cheapest option for the tourist is Bus 616, next is to bike there and finally there's the taxi (which will set you back anywhere between 400-600,000vnd (or more) depending on where you are staying)
Dai Nam Wonderland has 5 distinct sections : Dai Nam Beach, Dai Nam Open Zoo, Worship Zone, Amusement Theme Park & Camp Site. Won't bore you with the details. See website for more details.
We only walked through the Theme Park and Worship Zone. We're not the beach kind so that didn't appeal to us. And the Open Zoo was really a long walk away. There are bikes available for rent though. You can also rent a personal tram that seats 6-8 pax. There's a free tram ride to the Theme Park - just after the entrance. Not sure whether there are free tram rides around the whole park - most signs and information are in Vietnamese - very inconvenient for tourists.
A man approached us and said that we could have free transport around the park if we ate at his restaurant. His is a legitimate restaurant but we found the prices on the high side. Wanted to charge us half the price of a set meal for 6-8 pax - and we were only 2!! Price for us ranged from 500-700,000vnd - quite ex as the menu seemed quite ordinary. Local food, fruits and drinks are widely available around the park and at quite reasonable prices, except for the above restaurant.
As for the games/rides in the Theme Park, there are quite a number (40 so the park claims) but most were empty - roller coaster, bumper cars, pedal boats, horror pyramid - but nothing out of the ordinary. Some are rides found in international theme parks but the atmosphere and feeling's different here - not quite the same if you get me.
Walked through the Worship Zone where's there's this huge Golden Temple - impressive and very peaceful inside the temple (maybe because there were only a handful of visitors). The artificial "mountain" range - looked more like small hills - was ok, again nothing spectacular.
There was an advert for a supermarket but all we found was a departmental store with several small vendors. Don't think of getting any souvenirs of the park - the only available ones were pathetic looking t-shirts. A Vinasun taxi stand sits at the entrance (lots of taxis) and is co-located with the small bus station. Bus No 616 gets you here from the bus station across Ben Thanh Market. So getting here is no a problem...just a question of how long it takes.
Some say that the park is so big, you'll need 2 days to cover it totally. True if one wants to see and experience everything in Dai Nam Wonderland. If you really need to stay, there's a hotel available. But it looks to us like there's nothing much to do at night there, and there is nowhere that you can visit at night...a ghost town at night.
We left with the feeling that this is a theme park more towards Vietnamese taste (which is fine since it caters to locals) but a long way from international theme park standards. But then again, the cost is also much lower, so one cannot really complain. It's like a big big Dam Sen or Suoi Tien (the other 2 theme parks in HCMC)...nothing really spectacular. Worth one visit and I think that's about right for us...but then again, that's only one opinion.
Getting there : The cheapest option for the tourist is Bus 616, next is to bike there and finally there's the taxi (which will set you back anywhere between 400-600,000vnd (or more) depending on where you are staying)
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| Taking a short break along the way |
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| The entrance |
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| Buying tickets |
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| The most misleading sign. Theme Park Entrance (1st line) does not equal Ticketing Booth |
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| Departmental Store |
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| Pyramid (Horror House) |
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| Rather lame props in the Horror Pyramid |
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| Five Phoenix Discovery (a ride) |
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| Trash bins are turned upside down all over the park. Trash bags are placed next to it instead????? |
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| Inside the Golden Temple |
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| The Golden Temple |
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| "Mountain" Range |
Monday, 26 March 2012
Good for tourists visiting HCMC
Came out from Tan Son Nhat Int'l Airport this afternoon and ... surprise !!! FREE MAPS!!! It's been ages since free maps were given out at the airport. There was an experiment once about 2 years ago but it died after a few months. Let's see how long this lot of maps will last. Anyway, I'm not impressed with the quality of the maps - the HCMC map is out of proportion - but better a map in hand than none at all.
The Burger King outlet at the airport (arrival terminal) still sticks to selling only 2 kinds of burger out of its list of several burgers. Don't let your jaws drop when you place your order! The fries are surprisingly very good - giving Macs fries a good run for their money (unfortunately no Macs here). Price for a set of burger, fries and drinks is 84,000vnd (about S$5) - much cheaper than back home. Burger is not as good though.
Another new development. Domino's Pizza has set up shop at the other end of the arrival terminal. With BK at one end, and Domino's at the other, that's good news for everyone!
The Burger King outlet at the airport (arrival terminal) still sticks to selling only 2 kinds of burger out of its list of several burgers. Don't let your jaws drop when you place your order! The fries are surprisingly very good - giving Macs fries a good run for their money (unfortunately no Macs here). Price for a set of burger, fries and drinks is 84,000vnd (about S$5) - much cheaper than back home. Burger is not as good though.
Another new development. Domino's Pizza has set up shop at the other end of the arrival terminal. With BK at one end, and Domino's at the other, that's good news for everyone!
Tuesday, 21 February 2012
Good bargains
There are still good bargains to be had if you look hard enough or if Lady Luck is smiling at you. Bought a pair of Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS) cargo pants for 180,000vnd (US$9). Compare this with the same pair on EMS website for US$55. Bought it at the Russian Market.
Monday, 20 February 2012
Paradise Hotpot Restaurant & Pho 2000
Bought 4 discount coupons for a buffet hotpot lunch at Paradise Hotpot Restaurant - from a Groupon-like VN website. Usual price : 199,000vnd; coupon price : 99,000vnd. It's popular with the locals but doesn't suit our Singaporean taste buds. Not worth the 99k/pax for me but the Vietnamese seem to love it. It's also quite a small restaurant and you have to squeeze to get to your spot at your table.
Address : 41, Ky Dong Street, District 3
The Pho 2000 restaurant at Ben Thanh Market is very popular with tourists. However, the prices are becoming quite ridiculous; it's gone up almost 100% since 2-3 years ago. I remembered when the beef ragout was about 38-40,000vnd a few years back - it's now 70,000vnd. Rice with a chicken thigh was about 30k then, it's 55k now. I don't know about other countries but prices do not go up like that back home in Singapore. I'll be giving it a miss from now on unless absolutely necessary. I think it's a rip-off.
Mum & Dad's first visit in 2012
Mum and Dad came by for a short visit over the weekend. Wanted to go to Dai Nam Park but Dad had just had a minor surgery on his calf and couldn't walk long distances. So we ended up wandering around town, visiting the new First Hotel's casino and our good old Ace@Ramana.
Checking out the penthouse and being escorted out by the guard ... lol
Making more spectacles with Ms Loan & Ms Ngoc
Shopping at Taka Plaza
Buffet hotpot lunch @ Paradise Hotpot
Buying shoes at Toni's
Happiness is getting free rolls!!
Making more spectacles with Ms Loan & Ms Ngoc
Shopping at Taka Plaza
Buffet hotpot lunch @ Paradise Hotpot
Buying shoes at Toni's
Happiness is getting free rolls!!
Tuesday, 14 February 2012
Kichi-Kichi Rotary Express Hotpot Restaurant
We thought of making Valentine's Day a simple affair of a home-cooked dinner. Then we thought again and decided to try out Kichi-Kichi (http://www.kichi.com.vn). There are several branches in HCMC and we went to the one at 197 Nguyen Van Troi, Ward 10, Phu Nhuan Dist.
The restaurant has done extremely well in catering to the Vietnamese taste buds - many had to be turned away at the door. The place is clean and hygienic. There is a section of cooked food (sushi and some others) where you help yourself. Unfortunately for us, we didn't find anything spectacular about the food or the hotpot. The variety of hotpot items seems limited after a while. Cannot understand why it's so appealing to Vietnamese. The bill came up to 478,000vnd for a buffet hotpot dinner for two plus one drink (drinks are extras) - I think the money is better spent at MK Hotpot Restaurant.
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