Good Morning Vietnam (GMV)

Kumho Link is opened

2012-02-13T21:20:00.005+07:00

Photo : http://www.ngoisau.net

The 10 Feb 12 issue of Vietnam News reported that Kumho Link has just opened. Located at the junction of Hai Ba Trung and Le Duan in District 1 (next to Intercontinental Asiana Saigon Hotel), this was the previous Kumho Asiana Plaza that closed due to poor traffic and business. It now boast "14 interesting international restaurants" - Brotzeit (a German restaurant), Subway, Bobby Chinn, Lion City (yes, Singapore food but I've never been impressed with this chain), Sushi Bar, Dae Jang Gum, Sejong, Lau Xe Lua (Train hotpot), MOF, Hard Rock Cafe, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf etc.

Well ... at least there's another place to explore on Sunday.

PS : Found the website : http://kumholink.com.vn/en/

CNY 2012

2012-02-06T12:01:00.010+07:00

This is the only long break that we have each year. Came back home 19 Jan to 1 Feb 2012. Met and caught up with many old friends.

CNY at Mum's place

Dinner at Tuan's place with PS Class of 86

Dinner at Fong's new home with Angie and Hwei Leng, and the guys!!

Annual CNY dinner with Mr Chow & Co

Lunch with Elizabeth Poey

Breakfast with Raj, Chee Meng & Clarence

Crescent Mall

2012-01-16T20:46:00.007+07:00

Went to Crescent Mall in Phu My Hung (District 7) yesterday to check it out since it has just opened its doors in end Nov 11. It's a huge mall, and a huge disappointment. It's boring ... ground floor has many big brands with big discounts for Tet ... but who's gonna buy Gap or Tommy Hilfiger when Saigon Square and so many other places have "copies" at a fraction of the price? Looked for a bookstore but there was none. Looked for a restaurant and only MOF and Pizza Nut were available. And you can give MOF a miss there (we had lunch there) - the quality of food sucks, poor service and poor value for money. You're better off going to the one in Le Loi Street in District 1. The foodcourt is nothing fantastic. Giant Supermarket at the basement is also huge but prices seem higher than normal. There's a big Cholon electronics supermart next to Giant.

While it wasn't exactly a waste of time, it wasn't a good shopping experience for us at Crescent Mall either. To top it all, the quality of finishing in the mall is pathetic. Many tiles are stained and the wooden floor parts have started popping out after just 2 odd months - someone should be "shot" for that.

Website : http://www.the-crescent.com/trung-tam-thuong-mai

Wooden tiles popping out

Stains like these all over the place

Gyu Jin ShabuShabu & Sukiyaki Hotpot Restaurant

2012-01-14T22:49:00.004+07:00

Happen to drive by this evening. The restaurant looked interesting so we decided to have dinner there. It near Bui Vien Street in Pham Ngu Lao so those staying at the backpackers' area can just walk there. It's a ShabuShabu & Sukiyaki Hotpot Restaurant. We took the Combo at 300,000vnd (S$18) each - unlimited servings of beef, seafood, vegetables, mushroom, etc - good value for money if you love good beef. Saw this 2 men at the next table eating nothing but beef, beef and beef!!!

Address : 102 Cong Quynh, P. Pham Ngu Lao, Q1

Website : www.gyujin.com.vn

Tet - Chinatown

2012-01-12T22:30:00.004+07:00

Tons of Tet decorations for sale in Cholon (Chinatown) in HCMC. Nowhere else will you be able to find the range and quantity of Tet decorations save for here. Small-time retailers buy from these shops for resale in other districts.

The new Quan An Ngon

2012-01-08T12:23:00.006+07:00

We finally stepped into the "new" Quan An Ngon Vietnamese Restaurant last night - about a year or so after it reopened. The old restaurant was demolished and a new one rebuilt in its place. The old Quan An Ngon was famous for its wide variety of Vietnamese food and more importantly, for its really reasonable prices...but that was more than 3 years ago.

Prices have increased 2-3 times. This makes it no more fun to dine there (as far as I'm concerned). For instance, a sinh to (fruit shake) costs 42,000vnd, a coconut 25,000vnd, a bowl of pho 42-48,000vnd, a cafe sua da (ice milk coffee) 32,000vnd, and crab cost 460,000vnd/kg. The quality of the food is just average. I think the only reason I would want to go there again is probably to bring some visitors there because the wide range of Vietnamese food under one roof.

Address :

Quan An Ngon 138

138 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia

District 1

(Diagonally opposite the entrance to the Reunification Palace)

New Year's Eve in HCMC

2012-01-01T10:49:00.004+07:00

It's New Year Day. Went for dinner at Dragon Noodle after mass last evening. Caught a bit of the New Year's Eve madness in downtown Dong Khoi Street - it's going to be packed later in the night. It's like Vietnamese have no where to go except to town ... actually to some extent, that's true. Can't blame them. Anyway, we "ran" away back home after dinner to a more peaceful environment.

Moving out ... again

2011-12-17T21:54:00.003+07:00

Here's our sentimental garbage again ... some of the boxes were not even unpacked from the last shift-in ... lol

Jeremy and Julia's visit

2011-12-14T17:24:00.004+07:00

Jeremy and Julia came over from 11 to 15 Dec 2011. Very kind of him to offer to lug up our groceries - button mushrooms, gluten, curry powder - things not easily available here. Accompanied them for a visit to Vung Tau on 12 Dec.

Vung Tau

2011-12-12T23:26:00.009+07:00

Went to Vung Tau again - this time with Jeremy and Julia. Good thing as it gave me the opportunity to find out a few more things about Vung Tau.

HYDROFOIL SERVICE

Important things to note :

1. Vina Express is the best of the 3 hydrofoil companies, followed by Petro Express and then Greenlines. I took Greenlines the last time - it was small and being the last, we were squeezed into a small space at the back. Vina Express has bigger ferries and the aircon was working well. Too well, in fact, that it was cold ... but better cold than hot and stuffy.

2. Determine when you want to come back and buy both the forward and return tickets together at the same time. Tickets cost 200,000vnd one way as of Dec 2011. A group was stranded because they "assumed" there would be tickets available (in Vung Tau) for them to return on the same day. Well, they had an extra night to spend there.

Although most sites say it's 1 hr and 15m one way, it's actually 1.5 hrs if you take into account the delays here and there. For us, it was 1.5 hrs there and the same when we came back.

The ferry/hydrofoil terminal in HCMC

Viet Express Counter

Entry to waiting area

The waiting area

Boarding the Vina Express Hydrofoil

Sufficient leg space in Vina Express Hydrofoil

Ferry Terminal at Vung Tau

TAXIS

Always use Vinasun or Mai Linh. Never take the other taxis, whatever brand they are, as they're known to overcharge and rip you off. We had an arrangement with our Mai Linh driver - we paid him the indicated meter fare at every destination, and then tell him when to come back and pick us up. Both parties are happy with this. Note that the meter runs faster than in HCMC, about 30% more according to reports in the internet.

The following is an indication of our fares :

Terminal to Mary & Baby Jesus Statue : 70,000vnd

Mary & Baby Jesus to Ganh Hao Restaurant : 20,000vnd

GH Restaurant to Imperial Plaza (Shopping Center) : 130,000vnd

(I estimated : GH Restaurant to Jesus Statue : 90,000vnd)

Imperial to Jesus Statue : 40,000vnd

Jesus Statue to Ferry terminal : 45,000vnd

All in all, we spent about 305,000vnd running between Mary & Baby Jesus statue, ferry terminal, Jesus Statue and the Imperial. So if you need to negotiate a flat fee for a day's visit to these 3 places, 250,000 to 300,000vnd for a taxi should be just fine.

Vinasun taxi fare guide (Dec 2011)

The sign reads " Statue - God Jesus the King, Mount Tao Phung"; Tao Phung translate roughly into "meeting point/place"

The second last flight of steps before reaching the top

Mary and Baby Jesus Statue

Stations of the cross are lined along the hill side under the shade of trees

TIMING

We reach the HCMC ferry terminal at 8.10am on a Monday morning and managed to get Seat No 98-100 (out of 131 seats). A little later and we might have no seats.

So if you plan to go on a weekend, better to book a day earlier or go there an hour before.

We took the last boat out at 4.30pm - that's the latest of the 3 companies.

As mentioned above, we went to 3 places.

We reached Mary and Baby Jesus statue at about 10.10am and left at 11.45am for lunch.

Spent an hour for lunch and an hour at Imperial.

Started at Jesus Statue at 2.00pm.

Reached the top at 2.25pm - that's the average climb rate for 2 middle-aged man and a young lady on a day with very few visitors.

Spent 30 min at the top, including going up inside the statue - but that's because there was no one there today. Add another 30min or more if you're there on a weekend as there'll be a queue to go inside the statue. Ladies, be warned again - you must be in long pants. Shorts and prohibited and you'll find yourself sitting outside if you're wearing shorts. The guard is very strict about that - and he is one who doesn't stoop to bribery so don't try that.

It's a 10min walk down to the giftshop - add 5min to go right down to the road.

Additional taxi charges at TSN Airport

2011-12-10T11:07:00.003+07:00

The exit "toll" fee (or whatever you want to call it) at the airport has increased from 5,000vnd to 10,000vnd - just recently. So when you take a cab to the airport, you have to add 10,000vnd to the fare. Likewise, when you leave the airport, add 10,000vnd to the fare when you reach your destination.

The Perils of Living in a Foreign Land

2011-11-19T23:02:00.004+07:00

Well, our apartment was burgled yesterday. Someone climbed from the window at the open staircase onto our balcony, picked the lock and the rest is history.

Here's where he climbed in from

He headed straight for the bedroom (must be a seasoned thief) and took all the cash he could find, some jewelry and watches. The irony was that he locked the door after he left. We came back to find every door and window locked, and the above missing.

Of course we had to make a police report but they couldn't help much. Came in uniform and slippers. Said that this was not the first case in this block - guess it will not be the last. Oh yes ... Vietnam doesn't believe in finger-printing. So they said it's no use looking for that when we pointed out some finger smudges to them...not that we wanted them to do so in the first place.

Thank God for Ms Dung and Ms Nga who rushed over when they heard about the burglary and helped with the translation for the policemen. It's a lesson learnt - we always hear about it happening to other people but when it happens to us, we're more than shocked...how surprising.

To those of you who thought like us, it's about time to do a stocktake of the security measures at your home to prevent a burglary.

Saigon Square and Russian Mart

2011-11-13T17:35:00.008+07:00

The latest news - Saigon Square 1 has taken over its neighbour - the Singapore-owned Chinese restaurant. Went there last night to find that SS1 has expanded by at least a third of its original size. That's good news for shoppers.

On the flip-side, Russian Market at Lucky Plaza has closed down. That's bad as it's actually a better place to shop - cheaper prices, less crowds even though it's smaller. Seems like some of the vendors have shifted to the new Taka Plaza. We're now on the look-out to see where the rest have moved to - esp my fav Jack Wolfskin shop.

Official Opening - The Happy Schoolhouse

2011-11-11T15:31:00.001+07:00

We had a small party to celebrate the opening of our 3rd preschool in HCMC, The Happy Schoolhouse. Students from The Alpha Kindergarten joined us in the celebrations, giving the school a more lively and vibrant environment ... at least for the morning.

LotteMart Dist 11

2011-10-22T20:33:00.003+07:00

Went to LotteMart at the Everrich Apartments in Le Dai Hanh Street, Dist 11 for dinner at our fav Japanese restaurat, Hikari. We like Hikari for its reasonable price, generous helpings and the fact that there's no ++. Today, we had a steamboat dinner set - for 190,000 nett (about S$11)...yes, that's the 3 photos below.

Then these 2 old folks decided to pass some time at the arcade on the same level before going marketing at the LotteMart supermart. Paid 35,000 (S$2) for 10 tokens. Each game costs 1 token. Had a hard time finishing the tokens.

This cost 2 tokens.

Another month has passed

2011-10-18T18:40:00.013+07:00

Here's the view from our living room window - it's a fine evening indeed; one of the rare sunny evenings in this rainy season. And that's a concrete jungle out there if you can't picture what one is like.

We had dinner last Sunday at a very cozy Japanese restaurant, Geisha at 85 Pasteur St in Dist 1. The ground floor was a boutique. The restaurant occupied the 1st and 2nd floor. They had a set dinner special at 150,000vnd (S$9). For that, I had pork chops and potatoes (it was really good; one of the best pork chops I've had in a long time), desert - peach and mango torte (my kind) and iced green tea. Joyce had fish and a mixed of carrot and ginger juice, which definitely did not go down well with us. Desert was fried bananas with coconut cream (my kind again!), and hot green tea. Geisha's a very nice and cozy place for a meal or a drink to while the afternoon away. Books and free wifi available. The couches on the 2nd floor looked most inviting. And they have shisha there too - 120,000vnd (S$7).

This is where I buy my phone card top-ups.

A 100,000vnd (S$6) card goes for 95,000vnd here.

Once a month, there'll be a 3-day period where there's free 50% for every top-up (used to be 100% a few months back).

What you see below are prices for new SIM cards. Pay 25,000vnd and you get 65,000vnd for Mobi-phone. For Vina-phone, 33,000vnd gets you 117,000vnd worth of calls. So many Vietnamese have 2 phones - one permanent line for incoming calls (free) and one phone for new SIMs. This has led to the ridiculous situation of them discarding SIM cards (and the accompanying tel numbers) and buying new ones just to take advantage of the offers. There are an estimated 85 million people in Vietnam. If 1% buys new SIMs every week, can you imagine how many numbers would have been discarded every month?

School No 3 (The Happy Schoolhouse) is up and running - have finally completed most of the preparations. Updates are here and the website (temp) is here.

Crumpler Bags

2011-09-03T16:47:00.005+07:00

2 queries in a day made me realize that I haven't had any updates on these hot item bags.

The most convenient shop (for visitors) with the most range of Crumpler bags and also havanas and crocs is at 137 Bui Vien St, District 1. It is in the backpackers' area - Pham Ngu Lao - within walking distance from Sinh Tourist - if you're booking tours from the latter. However, this outlet's prices seems to be a tad more expensive than the original at District 4, whose prices are found in the bagvina website.

The shop with the bagvina website is located in Dist 4. But it's kind of way-out and inconvenient for visitors unless you're adventurous. A cab will get you there in about 10 min or less. Walking will take you about 20-30 minutes from Pham Ngu Lao.

Website : http://bagvina.com

See my friend's post : http://www.vietnam720.com/travel-tips/crumpler-bag-shop-in-hcmc/

You can also buy Crumpler bags at some stalls in the Ben Thanh Day and Night Market, and at both Saigon Squares (there's a 1 and a 2). But the range is quite limited.

"Happy" and "Dai Nam"

2011-08-28T13:22:00.004+07:00

The 3rd pre-school, The Happy Schoolhouse, is coming along fine and should be up and open for business in about 2-3 weeks. A little delayed but not much of a problem.

Will be taking a break on 1 Sep 2011 and biking to this huge theme park know as Dai Nam Theme Park in Binh Duong. Supposed to be about an hour out of HCMC and includes temple, mountains, rollercoasters, a zoo and more. Will blog more about this next week.

Mum and Dad visited last week and had a "rolling" good time here - esp at Ace and Dynasty casinoes. No harm passing time there so long as the stakes are low and all are having a good time. As usual, Dad is here to shop for his golf wear - good value-for-money here in HCMC; half or less than half the price you get in SG. If you're lucky, you may get a bargain at 80% off.

They followed us to Can Tho City in the Mekong Delta as I had an appointment there. A change from the routine run-around in HCMC. We hired a 16-seater bus for the 4 of us - a luxury! - and took about 3.5 hours to reach there. Nothing much has changed since our last visit 3 years ago.

Lazy, lazy

2011-07-22T16:50:00.004+07:00

...been a good four months since the last entry. A lot has happened. School No 3 is official after a long search for a suitable location. We now have a presence around the airport area. More updates when it's done up properly.

Nicole and Adeline had come and gone - it was really nice to have them around. Hopefully it will be Bryan the next time round but he seems really caught up with school work and personal work.

We shifted ... yet again. It's a long story but it has taught us a good lesson. If something's too good to be true, then it is. The short story - we offered the owner our budget if she wanted us to stay on. She agreed despite it being low and then changed her mind just before signing the new contract. That sparked a mad rush to look for a new place.

3rd school - front entrance

Back entrance

Side view

Phnom Penh (26-27 Mar 2011)

2011-03-31T10:44:00.014+07:00

Here's an update of Phnom Penh from our recent trip :

MEKONG EXPRESS (MKE)

I would give it 7 out of 10 points - good service indeed. Cost : US$12 one way. We were given breakfast (from ABC Bakery), a bottle of water and a wet towel, all served on a tray. The bus leader was a nice and polite Khmer who spoke quite good English. The driver was careful and did not speed...well, speeding here is a relative term. The seats were comfortable although the bus was not new - understandable as the company makes many daily trips from Saigon to PP to Siem Reap and back. The bus leader collected our passports - all we did was to fill up the immigration form for Cambodia (Vietnam abolished this in Sep 2010).

The trip back was more impressive. MKE set up a table for the bags, unlike at the VN end where we dropped our bags by the road side. Then we had to go to the office to have our passports checked before we were allowed to board. The journey itself was just as good except for the Vietnam immigration side. More of the immigration next.

Just note that the end point (coming from Saigon) at PP is at the Russian Market while the embarkation point (to Saigon) is at the riverside opposite Bopha Phnom Penh Restaurant (locally known as Titanic Restaurant). Another landmark is the Weekend Night Market - it's just after this location.

IMMIGRATION

The Vietnamese immigration is a mess compared with the Cambodian side. I cannot, for the life of me, understand why they don't do something to make life more comfortable and easier for travellers and for themselves. Perhaps if they made a change, they won't get any "benefits" for processing some passports faster than others?

The VN system - the bus leader collects all the passports and hands it to one of the VN immigration officers. He stamps the passports, and if another local squeezes his/her way through and throws his/her passport on the counter with a "tip", naturally that passport is given priority and the owner breezes through. Then it's back to our passports. MKE has a staff standing by who will call out the names. Once you get yours, you move on to a desk where another officer will check your passport ... again. If several tour buses happen to arrive at the same time, then there'll be a big crowd to jostle with.

Going to PP wasn't so bad, but coming back was bad. It took a good 55 minutes to clear the VN immigration. Compare that with the 5 minutes (I timed it) over at the Cambodian side!!!

The Cambodian system - like any international immigration, even more efficient than some developed countries. You queue in front of an immigration counter and the officer does the usual - checks the passport then stamps it. They even take a digital photograph of every visitor. All done in a few minutes. They're dressed smartly in proper jackets.

Coming back was even more impressive. The bus stopped at a restaurant near the Cambodian immigration. Someone from MKE collected the passport while we were resting/eating. When we finally reached the immigration, all we had to do was to disembark from the bus. The Cambodian officer, with all passports stamped and ready in his hand, simply stood by the door of the bus and called out our names. Everything was done in 5 MINUTES - from the time we started disembarking to the time we depart!!! I was thoroughly impressed with the efficiency.

Of course, we almost died from frustration when we reached the Vietnamese end.

TIMING

7.09am Depart Mekong Express Office at Pham Ngu Lao.

8.25am Pass Cho Cu Chi (Cu Chi Market)

9.10am Moc Bai Immigration

9.40am To Cambodian Immigration

9.55am Cleared Cambodian Immigration. Rest at Flowery Restaurant.

They accept VND. We paid 70,000vnd for our bill of 13,500 riel.

10.30am Left Flowery Restaurant for PP

11.50am Reach Ferry Terminal

12.10pm Clear Ferry Terminal

1.25pm Reach Mekong Express Office at O'Russey Market (Russian Market)

2.05pm Depart PP from Mekong Office at the river side

3.30pm Reach Ferry Terminal

3.45pm Depart Ferry Terminal

5.13pm Reach Flowery Restaurant

5.43pm Depart Flowery Restaurant

5.47pm Reach Cambodian Immigration

5.52pm Clear Cambodian Immigration

6.47pm Finally cleared VN immigration and on to Saigon

8.20pm We disembarked at Cong Hoa MaxiMark which is about 30 minutes from Pham Ngu Lao. It's nearer my home.

So it took about 6 1/2 hours in total to get to PP from Saigon and

about 7 hours to get back to Saigon at Pham Ngu Lao.

BLUE TONGUE HOTEL

It's a modern hotel in a minimalist design. Our superior room was very clean and neat. The beds were firm and the aircons quite new. The shower head was BIG but the toilet was very small. We were quite happy with the room. The only gripe we had was about breakfast - a little bare. The hotel needs more light - especially at the reception and cafe.

Hotel Reception & Cafe

The location is quite ideal because it takes only a few minutes to walk to Sorya Shopping Centre and the Central Market. It is also a 5-min walk to Golden Sorya Mall which is quite a pathetic place as most tenants have moved out of the place, most likely due to a lack of business. Only the shops along the road were occupied.

Golden Sorya Mall - only the shops along the road are open.

The inside is empty - a sorry state

ROMDENG RESTAURANT

No 2 restaurant of 174 in PP on Trip Advisor's list. It lived up to it's name - the food was good, so was the ambiance. And it's just 3 minutes stroll from Blue Tongue Hotel.

My delicious & extremely sweet dessert

BOPHA PHNOM PENH RESTAURANT (TITANIC RESTAURANT)

No 11 on Trip Advisor's list. Definitely did not meet expectations. The rice was hard, barely edible. The food was palatable but nothing great. The ambiance was nice, that's about all. Service was nothing great too. Romdeng, with only apprentice young waiters, put them to shame. I will not be going to Titanic again.

Note that this is the only restaurant on the river bank. All others are found across the road. Tells you something about the owners, doesn't it? Cambodia is all about connections.

Fish Amok in Coconut

Chicken and vegetables

Some duck dish

TUK TUK DRIVER MR SMITH

We happened to chance upon Mr Smith, a very enthusiastic English-speaking tuk tuk driver just outside Blue Tongue Hotel. We engaged him for a one-hour city tour for US$10. It was a nice ride and Mr Smith took pains to explain to us the various sight

s along the way. He brought us to Diamond Island and insisted on helping us take a few photographs. So how could we resist such a sincere offer? And the result ...

Here's the man himself - Mr Smith

Vungtau Tourist

2011-03-19T22:57:00.007+07:00

Finally found a travel company doing daily tours to Vung Tau. Even Sinh Tourist doesn't do Vung Tau tours.

Address : Vungtau Tourist, 275F, Pham Ngu Lao, District 1

Normally, I have to hire a mini-bus or take the hydrofoil to Vung Tau. I heard that there's a local bus route between Vung Tau and HCMC (naturally!) at one of the local bus stations but knowing the local bus standard, I'd rather keep away.

Here are the details :

As of today, cost is 399,000vnd (US$19) per person. The bus brings you from HCMC to Vung Tau and drops you at their 2-star hotel along Back Beach. Lunch is included in the price. You even get free use of the chair and umbrella at the beach!! (For info, you need to pay for these when you go to the beach). Picks you up at the end of the day back to HCMC. If you stay a night, the price is double (US$38) but you get accommodation at the 2-star hotel which they claimed is by the beach.

Disclaimer : I don't know what kind of bus they provide until I try it out. I also don't know the standard of the hotel. The company also deals with other tours but it seems to be a rather small company from the looks of it, so service might not be up to standard.

The small office with one staff

The exterior

Note : It shares office with Mekong Express Bus Service; the latter providing bus services between HCMC and Cambodia.

Mekong Express

2011-03-19T21:47:00.006+07:00

Just booked 4 tickets from Mekong Express (MKE) this evening. HCMC to Phnom Penh (PP) - each ticket costs US$12. Their exchange rate was bad - 22,000vnd to US$1 but no choice, we had a lot of dong with us. Apparently Mekong Express seems to be the No 1 bus service to PP. Most reviews have been positive unlike the reviews for Sapaco, Mai Linh and some of the rest. They gave us US$1 off if we booked a round-trip with them, so we did. US$23 for a round trip.

I've had a hard time looking for the MKE office; surprising for such a supposedly reputable bus company, and I'm no stranger to Pham Ngu Lao. Finally found it tucked away in one small shop at 275F. It shares the same office as Vungtau Tours, and there's only a tiny inconspicuous signboard outside the shop advertising itself - another surprise.

This is the small MKE office.

It is found inside this Vungtau Tourist shop.

275F, Pham Ngu Lao, District 1

More of MKE after our trip next weekend...

Adel's Visit

2011-02-26T20:22:00.001+07:00

After Nicole comes Adeline from 26 Feb to 5 Mar 2011. Adel comes here with a busy schedule, meeting her ABC classmates, bringing her god-parents shopping and having a short trip to Nha Trang with Timon. Looks like we have to take a number in order to go out with her...

Watch dealer @ Lucky Plaza

2011-02-20T16:48:00.005+07:00

When we get this urge to splurge on a new "branded" watch, we will go to our friend "Army" who has a stall at Lucky Plaza. His is not a big stall, but he has a big heart and a bigger smile. Always jovial and polite, he's never one to put on that "face" if you don't buy after browsing. Army will be the proud father of a baby girl next month (Mar 2011). Congratulations, my friend.

Shop HL 03

Watches - Sunglasses

Lucky Plaza

38 Nguyen Hue/69 Dong Khoi

District 1

Mobile : 0938471846

Lucky Plaza is also known as "Trung Tam Thuong Mai Lucky Plaza" in Vietnamese.

There are 2 addresses because there are 2 entrances, one on each street.

Nicole's visit

2011-02-20T16:33:00.004+07:00

Nicole came over from 16 to 20 Feb 2011. Reason? To extract her wisdom tooth.
Cost : 530,000vnd (S$33) vs "from S$600" quotation from Singapore.
The price is all-inclusive - x-ray, extraction, medication, an English-speaking dentist, a proper dental clinic (like any in Singapore) ... the whole works. After deducting VN dental fees and airfare, she still has S$200-300 for shopping compared to having it done in Singapore. So who wants to go next??

Dinner at MK Restaurant - Vincom Center

"Great" experience for Nicole at Aldo (shoes) in VINCOM Center. It goes like this :
Size 36 is a bit small. Do you have 37?
Yes, please wait a while ... here it is.
Size 37 seems a bit big, can I try the other side of Size 36?
Er ... sorry ... we lost the other side.
Oh dear. Never mind. Can I try the other side for Size 37?
Er ... sorry ... we also lost the other side!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We couldn't help falling over laughing as we made our way out. Can you beat that?

Ben Thanh Night Market - Update

2011-02-20T01:40:00.005+07:00

The bad news - it's true, Ben Thanh Market has closed down. The good news - partially!! About half the stalls are gone now - the food stalls are still there but the souvenir, t-shirt and others stalls along the 2 side roads are gone...and along with it, a lot of the fun and spirit that used to be associated with Ben Thanh Market. So tragic! However, the permanent stores are still there - probably the reason why the night stalls have disappeared. There were rumours about complaints by shop owners that the night market stalls were taking away business from them. See map to see what I mean.

Back in HCMC

2011-02-13T18:45:00.007+07:00

How fast does time fly? Very ... it seemed like yesterday that we came back home to SG and now we're back at our "second" home in HCMC - all in the twinkling of an eye. It's been a good 2 weeks. We had a good reunion with many old friends and acquaintances.

Let me just list down who I met (for my own reminiscence when I'm 75!!).
There's Mr Chow, Chee Hoong, Ah Fong, Hong Seng, Leslie, Bee Hwa, Hui Min, teachers and staff of CHR, Chee Seng, Chee Meng (the Chee's are not related ... hmmm ... that didn't sound quite right!!!), Raj, Clarence, Desmond, Vincent, Lucy & family, Jeremy & Joanne, Irene Lim, Wan, Abby, Cassie, Mr & Mrs Poh, Poon and of course the families on both sides.

It's back to school tomorrow but with more visits to look forward - Nicole and Adeline this month, Mum and Dad next month and Mum- and Dad-in-law in Apr. It's a good time to come to HCMC now as the VN dong has been devalued ... yet again (sigh, sigh) and things will be even cheaper than before for visitors to Vietnam.

What we did in Feb 2011

2011-02-07T12:52:00.006+07:00

Annual CNY Portrait (2011)

Lunch at Tao's Restaurant

Visited Marina Bay Sands

Back home for CNY

2011-01-30T14:46:00.021+07:00

It's good to be back home for CNY (29 Jan to 13 Feb 2011). Problem is that it's been raining the past 2 days so we're stuck at home. Apart from NEX Shopping Mall (which has a sheltered walkway all the way from our block), going out would mean hauling an umbrella and getting wet - too lazy to do that. Anyway, we're meeting the old CHR gang this evening ... hope the rain stops by then.

... and so we finally arrived at the 6-star St Regis in Tanglin Road. Never been to a 6-star hotel

before, so thanks to Mr Chow, we're here. Decor is nice but doesn't feel any different from the other 4- or 5-star hotels in Singapore. We had dinner at Yan Ting Chinese Restaurant.

St Regis

At King's Hotel

At Si Chuan Dou Hua Restaurant, Parkroyal on Beach Road

At Hong Seng's home in Holland Village

More photos of our activities :

Mum's birthday

Proud Grandma with granddaughter Adel

Adel's dessert treat@Caramel

Had dinner at Grandma's Restaurant in Nex twice

Menu at Grandma's

Where to get O•P•I in HCMC

2011-01-25T22:19:00.005+07:00

Adel needed us to buy a bottle of O•P•I nail polish for her as it costs a bomb in SG. We're talking about the original stuff here. True enough - it's only 180,000VND (S$11.25) at Parkson Flemington. Unfortunately, the outlet had only a small selection. Going to check with their office tomorrow to see if they have more colours. For those who want to know the O•P•I addresses :

253A-B Nam Ky Khoi Nghia P7 Q3 Tel (08) 3243 0562
142 Ba Thang Hai Q10 Tel (08) 3243 0559 (this office has closed! Went past it on 28 Jan 11)
Parkson C.T. Plaza (next to the airport) Tel (08) 3297 1820
Parkson Flemington Q11
103 Nguyen Hue Q1
03 Chau Van Liem Q5
06 Le Thi Rieng Q1

http://www.opi.com

Blackout and Mus*Mus Healthy Hot Pot

2011-01-25T08:53:00.004+07:00

Went home to find the whole area almost pitch dark. Blackout ... again. Seems like this year, it'll be worse because there's not enough water (for the dams) and consumption is rising every year.

So we had to go out for dinner. Drove around and found this Japanese hotpot restaurant. Value-for-money, I would say as the shabu shabu hotpot for 2 was 180,000VND (S$11.20) - see pix below. The pot itself was big enough for 4 pax. Total damage was 204,000vnd which includes tea and tax. Mus Mus also has sushi and other Japanese food.

Mus*Mus Healthy Hot Pot
117 Vo Van Tan (just after Truong Dinh)
Q3
08-3930-9135
www.musmus.net

Lunch : 11.00-14.30
Dinner : 17.00-22.30

If you don't like Japanese hotpot, you can go next door for some coffee and ice-cream, and the next door for Vietnamese BBQ, and the next door for Bready (bakery-cum-cafe selling good and reasonable food). Or across the road (there's a new expensive restaurant) and its neighbour - local Vietnamese rice paper roll and noodles. Or at the junction of Vo Van Tan and Ba Huyen where there's a seafood restaurant. No shortage of eating places along this small stretch.

HCMC Taxis

2011-01-24T11:11:00.016+07:00

Was outside Ben Thanh Market yesterday. Took several photos to differentiate between the good guys and the bad in the taxi business here.

(Warning : There are many pirate taxis outside and around Ben Thanh Market. They also park themselves at Nguyen Hue outside Saigon Tax Trade Center's entrance. Be sure you know the real from the pirates. Don't know why the authorities allow them to dominate that area.)

Always take either Mai Linh or Vinasun. They're 95% honest, always some bad hats around.

Here's the real Mai Linh.

Problem :
Mai Linh has 3 different taxi colours : white-green, green and silver-green.
Always look at the driver - if he wears a tie, he's probably the real thing.
Mai Linh drivers wear a green tie.

Here's the real Vinasun.

Problem :
The unlicensed taxis "disguise" themselves with Vinasun's tel number "272727".
The real Vinasun tel number is 38 272727, and the driver wears a maroon tie.

Some of the other genuine taxi companies:

All the drivers are supposed to wear ties too.
My opinion : Vinataxi (the yellow one) and Hoang Long (green & yellow) are next in line after Mai Linh and Vinasun.
All the rest I try to avoid, especially SaigonTourist, the airport taxi (can't remember the name) and very sadly, Savico-Comfort. Sad because Comfort is from Singapore and this joint-venture taxi company has ripped me off twice by bringing me a big round.

Here are the fakes :

The advertised tel numbers end with 272727 or 272777.
They come in variations, the most common being : 38 272777, 54 272727
So don't be fooled. The best way is to look for the driver's "tie".
Be forewarned - all their meters are rigged.
You'll end up paying 3-5 times the normal rates or more.

In some cases, 10 times!!!

Interesting tit-bits:
- In case you're wondering, there are decal shops that can provide the "disguise" for a fee. Not sure where they get the meters from though.
- I know Vinasun inspectors go round on motorbikes doing checks on taxi-drivers. They snap a photo if the driver is not wearing his tie. That's what happened to me one night - though I had my pix taken by a crazy fellow until the driver started cursing and putting on his tie.

References :
http://www.vietnamtravel.org/taxis-saigon-avoid-being-taken-ride
- good article. Note that Mai Linh has changed its number from 262626 to 383838.

Sunday "stroll" around town - Hello Kitty, Swensen's

2011-01-24T09:40:00.011+07:00

We took a Sunday "stroll" on my bike around town today. Found a new "Hello Kitty" shop - great news for "Hello Kitty" fans. Prices seem reasonable to me - 250,000 upwards for a bag. But we're no HK fans, so just browsed around and left.

Address :
Hello Kitty
360, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai
Quan 3
(after CMT8)
Tel : 08 7303 7900; 0903669100
Website : www.kittybycam.com
E-mail : minhanh3891@yahoo.com

Checked out Swenson's for lunch.
"Assume" = making an ass of u and me, ya? And so assume we did - that Swenson's will have a menu for lunch just like in Singapore. We sat down only to find that they served only ice-cream and coffee!!! No food!!! Hungry, hungry. No choice - ordered a waffle and a brownie. Both came with a scoop of ice cream of our choice. Damage : 45,000vnd for waffle, 55,000vnd for brownie. Fair price to pay. Waffle was freshly made and brownie was fresh too.

Swenson's
73 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street,
Quan 1
(848) 3838 8335
(it's after Tran Hung Dao Str.)

Next on our list - the latest Russian Mart. No change in the place. Not fruitful today - didn't get anything there. There was a very nice backpack there for 700,000vnd but since I'm not going trekking anytime soon, no point buying one now.

Then it's to Ben Thanh to buy some lotus nuts and soursop sweets - prices have gone up quite a bit probably due to Tet.

Misty City

2011-01-14T14:28:00.005+07:00

The whole city was blanketed in a heavy mist this morning, so much so that the horizon from my balcony has disappeared. I think it's probably due to the cold spells that the north is experiencing now. It has been misty for the past week or so in the mornings, but never this bad. But it's a nice change - the air can be quite cold in the morning, making for a refreshing drive to school.

However, the freak weather is giving lots of people a big headache. Peach blossoms and other flowering plants are not flowering in time for Tet, with potential losses running into tens of thousands of US$.

Bitexco Financial Tower

2010-12-18T09:24:00.007+07:00

This tallest building in HCMC was opened on 31 Oct 2010 with a big bang, boasting commercial and retail space. So thought that the 6-level shopping centre would be opened. Went there last night to a big disappointment - nothing is up. It's like a ghost town. Couldn't even see any semblance of a shop, let alone a shopping centre. Looks like it'll be a couple of months more before we do any shopping and dining there.

See? No shops!

By the way, there's supposed to be an observatory deck at Level 47 where you can have a 360 degree view of the city. Would be nice to go there ... on a clear day! The helipad is at Level 50 - hope to fly there one day - in my remote-controlled helicopter!!!

See some reports about the tower here :
- http://vnre.blogspot.com/2010/11/bitexco-financial-tower-world-class.html

- lovely photos of the opening : http://vnre.blogspot.com/2010/11/inaugurated-vietnams-highest-building.html

Bizarre Food in HCMC

2010-12-15T20:54:00.002+07:00

This is a very interesting page on the types of food we consider "bizarre" but probably totally "common" to Vietnamese. Have a look here.

Caphe Cut Chon (Fox-Dung Coffee)

2010-12-12T21:57:00.010+07:00

You see it all over Ben Thanh Market - different grades, different prices etc. The ignorant me thought that the vendors were really selling fox-dung coffee aka weasel coffee aka caphe cut chon aka civet coffee beans aka kopi luwak (in Indonesia)!!! We bought a 100g pack for my mum last month for 45,000vnd (US$2.25), and thought it was the real deal. Actually, it was real dumb!!

"Weasel or Welsel Coffee?"

Did some digging around and found out that fox-dung coffee is one of the most expensive in the world. It's made from coffee beans that eaten and 'passed out' from the civet cat (which looks like a fox and so the name fox-dung coffee in Vietnam). This process supposedly enhances the taste of the beans and makes them highly desirable to coffee connoisseurs worldwide. The civet eats only the best coffee cherries and eventually excretes them out — though only after the beans have gone through a fermentation process in the animal’s stomach. Indonesia is the leading producer followed by Vietnam and the Philippines. Apparently, the data shows that only 200-300kg is produced world-wide annually, which naturally accounts for the expensive price.

Fox-dung coffee costs a few hundred US dollars a kg. So how can it be sold for US$20/kg in Ben Thanh? Thus what is advertised as weasel coffee in VN and sold at cheap prices are all fakes. Here are some photos and references.

A civet cat eyeing coffee cherries

Civet cat droppings

However, Trung Nguyen Coffee has laid claim to an artificial fermentation process that reproduces the fox-dung coffee taste without the "passing out" process. Named the "Legendee", Trung Nguyen boasts that there is no artificial rival to it. Try it out the next time you're in a Trung Nguyen cafe.

References :
New York Times
QY-Coffee
Photos from here.

AFTERNOTE :

Bought a 250g pack of Legendee Coffee for my mum at 135,000vnd (S$8.44/US$6.75) at MaxiMark Cong Hoa on 17 Dec 2010. At this price, isn't it much better to buy the Legendee than some fake dung coffee at the market which costs the same??? Some even cost more.

The 250g Legendee pack will set you back US$16.95 if you order online in the US; the Legendee Coffee Gift Pack (250g pack, a tin of condense milk and a phin filter) cost US$26.95 (not including shipping) .

The Legendee gift pack of a mug and aluminium "phin" filter sells for 205,000vnd (S$12.82/US$10.25) at CoopMart in HCMC.

A cup of Legendee coffee costs more than S$10 in Singapore. Goodness, one cup in SG costs more than a 250g pack in HCMC - one reason why I like living in HCMC.

Sinh Tourist Prices

2010-12-10T21:14:00.006+07:00

Adrian, Agnes and family came over today for a short trip. They went to book their day tours and open bus tours from Sinh Tourist. Apparently, Sinh Tourist does not advertise their prices publicly now unlike in the past. Their brochures do not have any tour prices, only descriptions. You need to enquire at the counter - seems like overall costs have risen too rapidly and too much for them to keep printing new brochures. As of today, Sinh Tourist prices for the following tours are :

Day Tour to My Tho/Ben Tre : 218,000vnd/pax (US$10.38/S$13.70)
Half-day tour to Cu Chi Tunnels : 97,000vnd/pax + 80,000vnd/pax entrance fee (the latter to be paid to the tour guide on the bus) (Total = US$8.42/S$11.06)
One way open tour to Mui Ne from Saigon : 101,000vnd/pax (US$4.80/S$6.30)
Same price to come back
One day tour to Cai Be/Vinh Long : 280,000vnd (US$13.33/S$17.50)

Exchange rate today:
US$1 : 21,000vnd
S$1 : 16,000vnd

(Take note that Sinh Tourist normally round up the figures when you pay in US$; actually they will quote in US$ first, and then tell you in vnd if you ask)

Why we love HCMC

2010-11-24T21:49:00.008+07:00

Joyce needed a pair of glasses - progressive, anti-reflection, light and thin. She checked with her optician in Toa Payoh (Singapore) for a new one - that will set her back some S$800-900 with frame. The last time we made it here with Tien My (see photo below), it costs over a million dong (about S$100) then. But it was heavy and thick, so she didn't use it. We have been making many spectacles with Tien My for the last 3 years as their prices were reasonable.

This time, we tried the neighbour (Nhan Quang) and had a pleasant surprise. The frame cost 500,000vnd and the lens 800,000vnd - total 1.3 mil vnd (about S$78). It turned out to be as good as the old glasses made in Singapore. So one can fly to HCMC (from Singapore), make a pair of progressives, have a 4D3N holiday that includes airfare, accommodation, food and shopping and probably still have some spare change leftover to save in POSB!!!

If anyone's interested, please visit :

Hieu Kinh Nhan Quang
104 Le Thanh Ton St, Dist 1
Ho Chi Minh City
(the road at the back of Ben Thanh Market)
Tel : 38292206
Mobile : 0909 925 558 (Ms Loan)

Look for Ms Loan - she speaks good English and is such a pleasant and cheerful lady. She also knows her work well (from our conversation with her) and is able to give very professional advice. And talking about service, we got our 2 pairs of glasses done overnight (Mum made a pair of progressives too).

Nhan Quang and Tien My

Ms Loan is at the extreme right

Mum and Dad's Visit

2010-11-23T09:06:00.011+07:00

Mum and Dad paid us a visit (19 to 24 Nov 10) and they joined our teachers for our annual trip - this time to Vung Tau. They liked Vung Tau and said it was better than Mui Ne - there's more to do in Vung Tau. It's a pity they couldn't climb up the hills to see the Jesus and Mary statues. We visited Cho Vung Tau and found, to our surprise, that it was a big market. But the road to Vung Tau had deteriorated to a very bad state - potholes, poor state of repair (if at all), you name it they have etc - that we decided to take the hydrofoil back. That wasn't a pleasure ride too - the one we took was a smaller craft and overcrowded. But it still beats a 4-hr bus journey back - took 1.5 hrs to get back to HCMC.

Their fav place in HCMC? Club Ace at the Ramana Hotel in Dist 3. The casino is new, there's free food and no crowd, service is great, so who could ask for more? They were even given their own member cards, complete with personal photographs - all done on the spot. Looks like a return visit is due real soon.

Mum praying at the church in Vung Tau where the Mary and Baby Jesus Statue is.

At Mary & Baby Jesus Statue (Vung Tau)

Dad at the Hydrofoil Terminal in Vung Tau

Dad at the Small Mountain (Vung Tau) where the Jesus Statue is

Mum & Dad at the foot of Small Mountain (Vung Tau)

The interior of Green Line hydrofoil

This table is suppose to seat 10 pax!!! The worst seats!!!

This is what the Green Line Hydrofoil looks like

Dad drinking coffee at Cho Vung Tau

Cho Vung Tau

Cho Vung Tau is quite big

Fruit stalls outside Cho Vung Tau

Johnny is so cute!

Binh likes his lollipop

Lollipops for every child

Joyce and Mum at Saigon Square 2

Mum and Dad at Club Ace

Mum and Dad at Ramana Hotel

Our fav stall at Cho Ben Thanh

Bought superior weasel coffee 45,000vnd for 100g

BAGS GALORE

This costs 280,000vnd (S$17)

600,000vnd (S$36)

350,000vnd (S$21)

600,000vnd (S$36)

Kipling Bag 120,000vnd (S$7.20)

Kipling waist-pouch 100,000vnd (S$6)

Kipling Bag 300,000vnd (S$18)

Kipling Bag 85,000vnd (S$5.10)

Vung Tau - Review

2010-11-21T22:20:00.008+07:00

My latest visit to Vung Tau - 20-21 Nov 2010. If I have to go there again, it will definitely not be by road.

The road to Vung Tau

The worst trip to Vung Tau so far. Never remember the road being so bad, especially after National Highway 1A when we turn in Highway 51. The potholes, the roadworks or rather the lack of it makes travelling to Vung Tau a living nightmare, and to add to the woes, the bad roads of course give rise to those notorious Vietnamese traffic jams - 4 lanes of traffic converging onto one lonely lane ever so often. There must be a good reason for this - there's always a reason for everything.

And we finally found out why when we met a VN tour guide gathering his "sheep" and he thought we were one of his "lost sheep". He explained that the local authorities awarded the upgrading of the road to Vung Tau to SEVEN local companies which then sub-contracted the works to even smaller contractors. So any surprise that the road is still in a condition of dis-repair?? It was supposed to be up and running by Jan 2010 - and this is already end 2010 with no "end" in sight - forgive the pun.

Horrible road condition

So if you have a bad back, motion sickness, or allegy to traffic jams and bumpy rides, give the road trip a miss and take the hydrofoil. Not that the hydrofoil's a great sailing experience either, but it certainly is the much lesser of 2 evils.

The Hotel - Thuy Duong Hotel

This is a 2-star hotel just next to the 4-star Dic Star Hotel. The hotel looks like it serves mainly Vietnamese tourists. We were the only foreigners there. Anyway, no complaints about the hotel. It's neat and clean; toilet and aircon in working order (aircon is LG and looks new). The bed is firm enough but the bed cover did have a musty smell about it. No blankets though - so I guess we're expected to use the bed cover which we didn't, of course. The toilet is quite new and all in working order, including the heater. Hot water (for drinking) is supplied through traditional hot water flask which you have to ask from the reception - quaint! Actually, I think it's cool - haven't used that kind of flask for many years. Overall, the hotel fulfills the basic needs of a traveller and nothing more. That's something to be grateful for given the price we paid. So thumbs up for Thuy Duong.

Toilet is quite clean and new.

This is the suite that they have there. Good for groups that want to sleep together.

Facilities

There is a function room that doubles up as a karaoke room - or is it the other way round? The sofa's torn and in a bad condition. That's a minus. There are 2 bikes for hire - we're talking about those kind of bikes meant for 2 riders. A lonely single computer sits next to the staircase for guest use. The good thing is that there are toilets along the corridors which are convenient for use. The restaurant is a simple place. Breakfast (complimentary) is a bowl of pho or french loaf with egg. Iced coffee accompanies. Palatable and acceptable.

There is a massage parlour just next to the hotel. We found out too late that firstly, Dad was overcharged (200,000VND) vs the local price of 120,000VND, and secondly, that place was meant solely for "activities" other than a massage. Dad said the massage was pathetic, so did my teachers.

New Cable Car at Vung Tau

Saw a new cable car line that leads to the top of the hill. Doesn't look like there's anything up there so we didn't try it out. Checked the cable car out later and found this :

http://vungtau-city.com/?p=566

Road Block

2010-11-09T14:04:00.004+07:00

Look what blocked my way home?
Not uncommon here in Vietnam but definitely a rare sight back home in SG, if at all.

Dream bikes

2010-10-27T22:47:00.007+07:00

Dreaming on ...

Source : www.walyou.com

And some helmets to accompany ?

Great shopping in HCMC

2010-10-02T21:41:00.010+07:00

We walked around town today. One reason why shopping is great in HCMC is that you'll never know what bargains are in store for you. Bought Joyce a Mickey Mouse Raincoat - an original from Tokyo Disney Resort, and paid only 150,000VND (about S$10.50) when the going price was Y3,900 (about S$62). Good bargain @ Russian Mart!

Can be stuffed into a compact bag thru the back pocket.

Craved for the Floss Bun (@17,000VND) from BreadTalk - so took a walk after Mass to Vincom Center. Found that MK Restaurant had opened a branch there - it was packed. (MK is a Thai hotpot chain - hooked on it in Bangkok). Had a great dinner there after so many days of canteen food!! Damage : 305,000VND (S$21) for 2 pax. A reasonable price to pay.

Let's see. These are the following restaurants at Vincom that I can remember : Bud's Ice Cream, Fanny's Ice Cream, Popeye, a milk tea cafe, Long Hai Restaurant, Pinochio Restaurant, a food court, Pho 24, a Japanese Restaurant, a donut cafe, Highlands Coffee, NYDC, BreadTalk, MK, Carl Jr ... and the Select Mart holds a wide range of imported products for the expat.

Yummy floss bread from Bread Talk

A Mushroom and Swiss Burger costs 69,000VND (S$4.80)

The Strange World of Translation

2010-10-02T10:13:00.003+07:00

Another classic translation from Vietnamese to English ... anyone wants a piece of hair?

Family Key-chains

2010-08-29T16:59:00.004+07:00

Went to Winsor Plaza Hotel this morning after mass for tim sum brunch. Big crowd there. Quality of the food is so-so. Price ranges from 22,000VND to 48,000VND per dish. I'm sad to say that the delicious sesame buns are no more delicious. I think the chef has changed - a great pity. The buns used to be a mouth-watering sensation but not any more. Sad!

Walked around the old An Dong Market - nothing changed there. Gets boring after a while. Some changes to report about the new An Dong Plaza though. They have turned Level 3 into a Saigon Square look-alike; it's now more fun to shop there than previously.

Found a shop selling some cute letter keychains @15,000VND; so bought 5 for the five of us.

Fish Sauce

2010-08-21T14:54:00.003+07:00

For fish sauce lovers, here's another fragrant fish sauce brand from Mui Ne. Bryan brought back half a dozen from his recent trip to Mui Ne - it's good, much better than those commercial ones sold in HCMC.

Brand name : Di Muoi Tiep (Hong Thuy) Fish Sauce
Address : 69 Huynh Thuc Khang, P. Ham Tien - TP. Phan Thiet - BT
Tel : 062 3847 209; 062 3604 799

National Day

2010-08-13T08:41:00.014+07:00

As true blue Singaporeans, we returned home for our annual celebration of Singapore's National Day celebration - Happy 45th birthday, Singapore. We also brought back with us 4 teachers from Vietnam; 2 were on attachment to PCF Bishan East Centre, thanks to the kind principal, Mrs Irene Wong. Looks like the YOG spirit is on everywhere, and we were so excited when the torch relay came right to our very doorstep where we witnessed one change of torch bearers. It was good to be home again, even if it's only for a week or so.

Singapore and Vietnamese teachers - a portrait to remember

YOG Torch-bearer outside our home

Nick Vujicic

2010-07-13T08:33:00.005+07:00

No words needed, just watch this clip ... and be inspired

And the man himself ...

Teen Leaders Course

2010-06-25T20:59:00.005+07:00

Helped out at the Teen Leaders Course (TLC) with some English and positive/creative thinking lessons. TLC is a month-long course for teenage leaders organized by the Southern Youth Center. Most of the participants could speak English (some were quite fluent) and that made my job easier. Today was my last lesson with them. We got on well and it was sad for me to say good-bye. Next will be the Semester-in-Army (SIA) in Singapore from 3 to 9 Jul 2010.

Visitors

2010-06-20T20:56:00.004+07:00

Hong Seng and 4 ex-CHRians (Eugene, Wei Hern, Ian and Cheng Kern) came visiting from 13 to 18 Jun 2010. We had the opportunity of inviting them to our home at Hoang Anh Gia Lai in Dist 7 before we shift to SCREC Tower in Dist 3. Stephanie and her friend came over - from 18 to 22 Jun 10. Rebecca and hubby, Ronald, visited from 3 to 7 Jun 2010 and bumped into Chee Hoon and Hock who were here on 3-6 Jun 10.

Reunion @ HCMC - HS and the Gang of Four with Stefanie and me in the background

Hong Seng & The Gang of Four at my place

Vietnamese BBQ dinner

Waiting for sinh-to (Vietnamese Fruit Smoothie)

Visiting TAK

Visiting ASYC

Shifting to SCREC Tower

2010-06-20T19:34:00.004+07:00

We don't seem to have many possessions here, but that's only a figment of our imagination. The truth is that we've accumulated stuff and hidden them in places we never knew. So when it comes to shifting time, goodness, the "rubbish" keeps piling! Thank goodness we did not have a lot of furniture, only a table and 2 pedestals. We finally did it today.

View from our home on 22nd floor

TAK Official Opening

2010-06-08T19:28:00.007+07:00

We celebrated our opening of TAK (The Alpha Kindergarten) today - together with the 1st anniversary celebration of ASYC. (We shifted from Tan Phu District to Tan Binh District where the catchment is better). The biggest surprise was seeing our very good friends, Mr & Mrs Poh, Cassie and mum walking into the school in the morning. There was no word from them about coming over to HCMC and we thought they were too busy to make it. What a wonderful surprise! No wonder Ms Thuy was behaving so strangely in the morning when she came over. They also paid a visit to ASYC.

Back again

2010-05-30T18:56:00.005+07:00

I'm back again on my blog. Let's see what has happened. Tomorrow, we will start at our new campus - we have shifted from Le Trong Tan to this place at Tan Binh District (near the airport). We expect a better catchment as this is more of an office area (several high-rise office building and a big place called e-Town).

ASYC celebrated our year-end and graduation concert last Friday (28 May 10) - had lots of fun and many excited parents and children.

June being the school hols in SG, we're expecting a few visitors. Rebecca, Chee Hoong, Hock and Hong Seng are coming up. Wonder who else?

We'll be shifting "home" again. This time, we'll be going to Dist 3 where it's about 15 minutes from the new campus and 30 min from ASYC. Now, it takes me an hour to get to ASYC - that's 2 hours a day on the bike. Back-breaking for an old man!!

This is the illustration.

This is the real thing!

Vincom Center HCMC

2010-04-04T13:02:00.006+07:00

The latest and perhaps most luxurious shopping center scheduled to be opened in HCMC on 30 Apr 2010 - Vietnam's National Unity Day. Just walked past it today and the fences have been removed, giving pedestrians a glimpse of this big modern shopping center. It has 3 basement and 5 ground levels of shopping, dining and entertainment; a total of more than 250 shops. So far, there's nothing like this here in HCMC so this is a first indeed.

Related to this is that most of the shops opposite Parkson on Dong Khoi St have been vacated, including the relatively new Eden Mall. Wonder what they're planning to do next. Only Fahasa Book Store is still intact there.

Phnom Penh

2010-03-22T16:11:00.003+07:00

21 Mar 2010

0615 Depart HCMC on a Mai Linh 16-seater

0835 Cleared both VN and Cambodian customs; took a short break

0900 Depart for PP

1030 Reach Ferry Terminal

1145 Reach Golden Gate Hotel

22 Mar 2010

1035 Depart PP

1135 Reach Ferry Terminal

1150 Depart Ferry Terminal

1355 Cleared both customs

1550 Reach home

This is our first trip to Cambodia. Our observations :

1. Cambodia is indeed a poorer cousin to Vietnam.

2. Vast pieces of empty land. Many houses in the countryside are built on concrete stilts. Horse and bullock-carts are still common in the country-side.

3. Most riders wear helmets that are of better quality than VN riders. Most helmets have visors. Either they wear helmets or not at all!

4. In PP, more cars than in HCMC. They even have multi-storey carparks!

5. PP seems more cosmopolitan than HCMC. Supermarkets are better stocked with imported foodstuff compared to HCMC.

6. More Khmers seem to be able to speak better English than Vietnamese.

7. Khmers do not push each other like Vietnamese do.

8. Things are more expensive in PP than in HCMC - looks like the cost of living is higher. One DVD movie costs US$2 (20,000VND). It's 10 - 15,000VND in HCMC. Petrol is about 21-22,000VND/litre compared to 17,000VND in HCMC.

9. US$ is the main currency for transaction - not the riel. US$1 : 4,000 - 4,200 riel - it varies from place to place.

10. Few riders wear masks - and these masks are all medical masks. They do not have anything like the masks that are found in HCMC.

11. Tuk-tuks and motor-cycle taxis are the most common mode of transport for tourists. We saw only a few taxis.

Vinh City

2010-03-20T23:10:00.005+07:00

Visited Vinh City on Sat 20 Mar 2010 at the invitation of a friend. Takes about 1h 45m to fly there. It is the capital of Nghe An Province and the fourth Grade-I city after Haiphong, Danang, and Hue.

Vinh is a laid-back city, quite clean and the air is fresh compared to HCMC. Life is slow there and traffic is light. All houses have several lightning conductors because of the frequent storms and hurricanes there. Four seasons here - it's early spring now and the night is quite chilly. The best part was dinner. One dish looked like fried egg with mince-pork - we were told it's cooked with some sea creature which the Vietnamese couldn't translate in English. Well, what harm is there in trying? Tasted quite good - I had three helpings :) ... see last pix for the sea creature!!! Shown to us after dinner!!! Managed to take a few hurried shots from the taxi.

Nice article on Vinh City by a German.
SOS Village in Vinh

Vinh City wrt Danang & Hue

Giant Uncle Ho statue in the middle of the town square

Ancient gateway to the city, I think

Nice hotel

Dragons for decoration of altars

This was the sea creature that we ate!!!

Saigon Square 2

2010-01-24T19:04:00.004+07:00

Saigon Square 2 (SS2) opened in Nov 09. Decided to explore it today. It's located after Legend Hotel - at the junction of Ton Duc Thang and Nguyen Huu Canh. SS2 is a bigger sister to its sibling Saigon Square in Nguyen Thi Minh Khai; with 350 shops in tight spaces of 2-4 sqm. It looks much nicer from the outside but doesn't have the same feel as its smaller "sister". Has a more "expensive" and "commercial" look to it.

Sinh Tourist (aka Sinh Cafe) - then and now

2010-01-24T13:42:00.003+07:00

Just found a 2008 brochure of Sinh Cafe, which has changed its name to Sinh Tourist (probably too many "imitation" Sinh Cafes sprouting up in Vietnam), and compared prices with its recent brochures out of curiosity:

1D HCMC Tour

then 112,000VND now 140,000VND

1/2D Cu Chi Tunnels Tour

then 80,000VND now 90,000VND

(exclude all entrance fee)

1D HCMC Tour + Cu Chi

then 128,000VND now 150,000VND

(exclude all entrance fee)

1D Cao Dai Temple + Cu Chi

then 112,000VND now 120,000VND

(exclude all entrance fee)

1D My Tho & Ben Tre (Mekong)

then 160,000VND now 180,000VND

1D Cai Be & Vinh Long (Mekong)

then 176,000VND now 210,000VND

2D1N Phan Thiet-Mui Ne

then 900,000VND now 980,000VND

(twin-sharing)

3D2N Phan Thiet-Mui Ne

then 1,460,000VND now 1,570,000VND

(twin-sharing)

Adel and Bryan star in the school musical "Grease"

2009-12-16T22:28:00.004+07:00

After months of preparation and rehearsals, the night finally arrived when parents are more anxious and nervous than performing children!! What an outstanding performance - if I had not been watching them, I wouldn't know that those were my two kids singing. Joyce and I are so proud of them.

1st Anniversary

2009-12-08T18:30:00.003+07:00

It's been exactly one year since The Alpha International Kindergarten was opened. It's been a short, and yet long, year. We've been through so much - the worries of whether we'd be getting students, the problems with authorities, management of the school, the language etc etc...it's a wonder that we still have hair on our heads! It would have been a much, much easier process to just start a kindergarten in efficient and clean (in more than one aspect if you know what I mean) Singapore but we chose to venture out. So we have to be happy and live with our choice.

Today, we have 2 kindergartens with almost a hundred kids - guess it's not too bad a start after a year's work. There was a time when we worried whether we'd ever hit 10 students! We are thankful to God (who has seen to everything for us despite all our doubts), our families (for being so understanding), our partners and friends (for their very staunch support) and especially our 3 kids, Nicole, Adeline and Bryan for understanding despite the disruptions we brought to their lives with this shift.

Our plans for 2010 are to open at least another kindergarten and a primary school. We pray that God will continue to guide us and give us strength to face the new challenges ahead. It's very exhausting and frustrating at times, and we need to rely on more than just our own strength and effort to move on.

See what we bought

2009-11-28T20:57:00.009+07:00

Went to Ben Thanh Market tonight - the kids had to do some shopping. This is what was bought :

2 Crumpler bags for 800k (S$60)

Socks @ 10k/pair (S$0.75)

Eagle long-sleeve Shirt @ 120k (S$9)

Bag @ 70k (S$5.20)

2 VN wallets @ 15k (S$1.20)

Bryan's boxers @ 35k (S$2.60)

10 Magnetic Necklace @ 30k (S$2.30); 35k if bought per piece

Adidas @ 50k (S$3.70) & 60k (S$4.50)

Long-sleeve shirts

Took a pix of this when I was walking past - Abercrombie slippers

Boxers @ 35k

Nicole buying magnetic necklaces (35k each)

This stall sells the cheapest Crumpler Bags

This money-changer (jewellery shop) gives good rate

--------------------------------------

More updates :

"Samsonite" bag - 200k

Metal Robot - 250k

Dragonfly (medium size) - 10 for 50k

Egg Lacquer coasters (pack of 6) - 65k

Lacquer box - 40k (Painted box), 50k (egg shell dragonfly), 60k (Painted box with eggshell)

Billabong Shirt - 60k

"Adidas" t-shirt - normal 55k; with printing 60k

"Levi's" bermudas - 90k; buy 2@80K

3m embroidered table cloth with 12 emb napkins @ 250k (Saigon Tax Trade Center)

"Saigon" emb t-shirt XXXXL @ 50k (Roadside)

Filigree picture @ 120k (Central Post Office)

2 Magnetic necklace @ 25k (Saigon Tax Trade Center)

Phu My Bridge & East-West Highway

2009-11-22T17:42:00.009+07:00

Decided to recce the newest bridge across the Saigon River while waiting for Adel to finish at the hairdresser's. Had been wanting to do this since its opening on 2 Sep 2009, Vietnam's National Day. This cable-stayed bridge is about 2km long and connects Dist 7 to Dist 2. It is the 3rd bridge across the Saigon River. The road leading to the bridge is still under construction (from Dist 7 side). Access to the bridge is via the side roads for now. It is the world's most modern bridge in terms of suspension cable technology, so claims the project co-investor Phu My Bridge Corporation. (Note : If you want to see the bridge, better go now as it'll be open to big vehicles after Dec 09.)

A 4th crossing, the Thu Thiem Tunnel, is still under construction. This 1,490m tunnel will be the longest in SE Asia when completed, with 371m running under the Saigon River. I have already biked on the new East-West Highway that leads to the uncompleted Thu Thiem Tunnel. Originally slated to open in 2007, the highway was finally declared opened on 2 Sep 09 (auspicious date, huh?) and spans 8 districts...well, better late than never. It's a nice piece of work for Vietnamese standard; traffic is light along this stretch (about 14km for now) which is a blessing indeed. It links Binh Tan to Dist 1, passing Binh Chanh, Cho Lon (Dist 5), Dist 6, Dist 8 and Dist 4. Problem is that the bike lane gets flooded in heavy downpours - poor drainage again.

The new Phu My bridge is a place for lovers, vendors and sight-seeing - yes, you just park your bike at the side, buy a snack or just "makan angin" and enjoy the view ... until the police comes!!!

Ref : Baovietnam

It's that time of year again ... for visits

2009-11-22T14:15:00.003+07:00

Let's count the visits for Nov and Dec 2009 :

David Kuoh - 9 Nov to ?

Nicole - 26 Nov to 1 Dec

Roderick - 26 Nov to 7 Dec

Vincent Lee & Family - 26 Nov to 1 Dec

Raj - 1 Dec to ?

Fong & friends - 3 to 7 Dec

Chris & friends - 17 to 22 Dec

A warm welcome to everyone.

Vietnam's Teachers' Day

2009-11-20T16:32:00.005+07:00

It's Vietnam's Teachers' Day today, and Vietnamese parents put their international counterparts to shame with the gifts and flowers that they send to the school and teachers. Even the principal gets flowers and gifts! In my school back home, I'll be in seventh heaven if 2 parents were to wish me a Happy Teacher's Day, let alone buy flowers and gifts. It's good to know that teachers are held in high regard here and that regard is outwardly expressed on Teachers' Day. No point having nation-wide surveys showing that teachers are highly regarded but everyone keeps mum about it. Keep it up, Vietnam!

Life and weather

2009-11-08T17:27:00.008+07:00

Life is different in HCMC. There were floods here the last few days even though there was no rain. Strange phenomenon to a SIngaporean - but I've got used to it by now but no less frustrated. The tides were exceptionally high and broke the banks. Coupled with the backward drainage system of the city, many streets (and homes) flooded. Had to divert from my usual route to school yesterday (if I'm not to get my shoes and trousers wet) but unfortunately ran into an exceptionally dusty highway - still can't figure out why it was so dusty on Sat. As if that's not enough, there came a sudden 10-minute downpour at noon ... on a sunny afternoon ... just when I was all packed and ready to go home. That's life here.

Today's weather was hot and humid, no rain to cool down. But it can come anytime. There's a lovely sunset today, though ... will never have such views back home in Singapore - I appreciate that here.

... half an hour later

Purse picked @ LotteMart

2009-10-26T21:37:00.005+07:00

Joyce had her purse picked last night - 2 VN women had her constantly sandwiched between them while she was buying vegetables at LotteMart, moving where she moved and picking the same vegetables. While waiting for the vegetables to be weighed, the 2 women left their vegetables and took off, with Joyce and the weighing staff shooting them dirty looks. It was only a while later that Joyce realized the 2 women had unzipped her purse and took off with her cash. Looks like they've been eyeing her for a while.

LotteMart is new and about 5 minute's walk from where we live. There's a huge supermarket on the ground floor, with shops, apparel outlets, food courts, a bookshop and cinemas on the 1st and 2nd floor. It's convenient for us as they have a free delivery service. So we just buy our groceries and they send it up - this is one good thing about VN supermarkets - they all have free delivery service. Prices are reasonable at some outlets although there are one or two expensive shops too.

Latest Shopping News

2009-10-25T20:50:00.011+07:00

RUSSIAN MARKET

After weeks of procrastination, we finally "found" time to "find" the new Russian Market (RM), which is quite near to Pham Ngu Lau, the backpackers' area in District 1 (about 15 min walk). It is located at a block of pink apartments (Central Garden Complex) and can only be entered from the new East-West Highway. It's a far cry from it's original state - there were only a handful of shoppers on a Sunday morning. It's a smaller and poorer cousin to Saigon Square and the variety less than the old RM, which was recently reopened (in Lucky Plaza at Nguyen Hue Street) after some renovation works. The good thing was that it had good air-conditioning which unfortunately sent the vendors under their cloths and blankets after lunch (for their mandatory siesta). That didn't make for a good shopping experience; seems like the vendors are all in agreement not to serve the customers but to let them browse at their own time; good in a certain sense.

Russian Market

Central Garden Complex

225 Ben Chuong Duong

District 1

Banner outside RM

RM looking nice and colourful on the outside ...

...but empty inside

Came across a Bambo branch (a local t-shirt chain)

Had lunch at a Monaco cafe (2nd level)

SAIGON PARAGON SHOPPING MALL

(Update : The management of Saigon Paragon has been taken over by Parkson since Jan 2011)

This is one of the latest shopping centre to be opened (first half of 2009, I think) - in District 7, next to the new Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre. Looks grand and has "Batman" spotlights spotting the sky. Very tempted to put a "Batman" logo there!! But it's as dead as a "ghost shopping centre" (adapted from "ghost town" ... get it?) can get.

Went for dinner at the basement foodcourt on a weekday - you could count the number of diners on your toes!!

There are 4 levels of shops (mostly branded, like Paragon in Singapore) but hardly any shoppers. Megastar Cineplex is located at the 5th level. Things are expensive here - and so not much fun shopping. My idea of great shopping is buying stuff at great discounts or bargain prices. In case you think I'm exaggerating about this ghost town, see the photos :

Nobody ...

and no body ...

Joyce browsing @ Esprit

If you are really desperate to get to this place, you'll have to take a cab from town - about 30-40 minutes from District 1 depending on the traffic.

It has a nice website though.

NOWZONE FASHION MALL

"Now", this is a much better shopping centre to go to, with 4 levels of shops. Each level has small individual outlets and so far, there seem to be quite a number of "sale" going on. Prices are more affordable, so for those who do not like shopping along the streets and at night markets, this is one place to go.

Daiso opened its first store here - everything goes for 30,000VND.

I bought an original Ecko jeans at a discounted price of about 200k (20% of the original price) - now that's a real bargain.

Joyce had a better time shopping along the street outside Nowzone, bought a decent blouse for 60k. T-shirts at the roadside go for about 50k. There's also a bookshop near Nowzone (can't remember the name now) - quite a big one and sells lots of other stuff apart from books and stationery. Mostly patronized by locals - so if you want a taste of local life, this is one place to go.

The food court at the top level serves quite good food - at SG prices. You'll have to buy a card, tell the staff how much you're buying (about 150,000VND is more than sufficient for 2 pax), and she'll add the value in the card for you - like our MRT top-up card. After your meal, you can get an instant refund of the remaining value - strange system to me.

NOWZONE

235 Nguyen Van Cu

District 1

Stairs or Escalator?

2009-10-20T14:52:00.002+07:00

How do you get people to use the stairs and not the escalator? Think about it for a minute and then see one creative solution below - brilliantly creative or creatively brilliant?

A day in the life of an Industrial Zone worker

2009-10-13T21:03:00.007+07:00

This is the story of an Industrial Zone worker in Vietnam - repeated millions of times over. It's a heart-wrenching tale of trying to improve one's lot - how does one get out of the vicious cycle of poverty? Compare this with Singapore, where many gripe and complain about the smallest of inconveniences ... it's a sin the way we take things for granted in SG!!!

Part 1

Part 2

Cai Be - Vinh Long Mekong Tour

2009-09-20T22:01:00.008+07:00

Molly, Joyce and I departed nice and early at 7am with 9 TAIK staff. Took about 2 hours to reach Cai Be where Phu, our friend from Vinh Long (he owns a tour company there) personally took over the tour and led us through. Here's our itinerary :

Toilet break (no, not in the pond!!!)

Photo time with TAIK Staff

All set and ready to roll

First stop - Cai Be Floating Market

Coconut Candy Cottage Industry

Pop-rice is next

Flattening the caramel-coated pop-rice

Buying goodies

Row, row, row your own boat...

Trying hard to row without rolling over...

Lunch : Elephant Ear Fish - a Mekong Delta Speciality and lots of other Vietnamese cuisine. Thank you, Mrs Phu

And finally, kissing the orange at Vinh Long market

The trip back was delayed because of road works and jams. Took 3h 15m when it should be 2h 30m. And we left Vinh Long early - 2.35pm. If we had departed later, we would have taken even longer to reach back. Always be prepared to be stuck in jams when coming back from a tour anywhere in VN.

Molly's here

2009-09-20T00:15:00.004+07:00

Molly's here with Nicole for a short visit from 19 to 22 Sep 09. Molly is Joyce's aunt. Booked the Cu Chi tour this evening and had a good dinner at Hai Lua Restaurant in Ben Thanh Market. Had a shopping good time, esp with the Crumpler bags. The backpack went for 500k, the camera bag for 350k and the 2 laptop bags for 390k/350k- the cost of all 4 bags is less than 1 in SG!!!

Tomorrow, we're making a trip to Cai Be for our Mekong tour.

Pastor John's visit

2009-09-19T00:18:00.001+07:00

Pastor brought along 2 new friends for me - Alan and Kian. It was great to share with them my experiences here and to learn about their experiences too. Pastor also introduced Fred Ong who has been here in HCMC for 19 years - sure have a lot to learn from him. Thank you, Pastor.

Kian, Pastor and Alan at TAIK

Raj's here ... again

2009-09-09T00:24:00.000+07:00

This fellow loves HCMC - he should shift over. Thanks for the button mushrooms, mate. Raj thought someone was hoarding BMs here but the fact is that VNese do not take to BMs - they prefer straw mushrooms. Had a good time catching up over dinner. See you back here soon.

Visiting Time again

2009-08-23T15:07:00.009+07:00

Mom and Dad came for a week's visit - dropped by to see the 2 kindys and went to Mui Ne too. Did quite a bit of shopping. Brought Dad to see Binh Dien Wholesale Market, the biggest wholesale market in SE Asia. Just dropped them off at the airport for their flight back.

In Sep 09, it'll be Raj, and then Pastor John and his friends before Nicole and Molly pops over. Wonder who'll be coming next?

Mum @ ASYC

Mum @ TAIK - helping Suri to colour

Dad saying hello to Yogurt

Dad @ Binh Dien Wholesale Market - the biggest in S E Asia.
In the background is one block - there are 6 of these. See plan on next pix.

No we didn't...

2009-07-22T21:17:00.002+07:00

Yes we did ... and then, no, we didn't. That's the problem doing business in VN. It's hard to get them to keep their word. So there goes Kindy No 3. The excuse - they need to complete the toilets and need another 6-12 months!!! 12 months to complete a toilet??? I must say they totally and completely have no imagination - can anyone help them come up with a creative excuse not to rent to us?

Rambutan and Durian Season

2009-07-18T14:43:00.003+07:00

It's the rambutan season now over in HCMC - or chom chom as they are known here in Vietnamese. There seems to be two varieties - the cheaper, bigger ones going at 3,500 (30cents) to 5,000VND (40cents)/kg (or sometimes 3kg for 10,000VND) and the smaller, sweeter but more expensive cousin at 15,000VND/kg. Wonder how much is a kg of rambutans in Singapore now?

Durians are also in season now, the ones I buy are 25,000VND/kg and they're good.

Yes, we got it ...

2009-07-15T12:56:00.003+07:00

Yes, we got our third kindergarten at a reasonable rent today. Unless the owners change their minds tomorrow (which is highly common here), we will start our new school year on 7 Sep 09. Seems like the preparation time gets shorter with each kindergarten that we have. This 3rd one will be a real rush. We have barely 6 weeks to get everything in place and ready. The good thing, like I said earlier, is that it is in a move-in condition. So we only need to equip the place and clean it up. More updates later.

Third kindergarten?

2009-07-14T11:49:00.004+07:00

This is a location recommended by one of our students' parents and so we went to take a look. It's a nice place tucked between 2 blocks of apartments, and there's a swimming pool. It's quite self-contained with a kitchen, classrooms and offices and definitely in a move-in condition. Problem with the place is that there are only 4 classrooms which means a limited number of students - quite a waste of space.

Indoor swimming pool

View from 2nd floor of kindergarten

Bryan's New e-motorbike

2009-07-04T20:55:00.003+07:00

Bryan "donated" his old e-bike to TAIK so that Huong can make his way to and from ASYC. So he got himself another bike for 6,500,000VND today. And had it blessed with showers of blessing - it just had to rain today.

Ashima Mushroom Hotpot

2009-06-12T22:20:00.004+07:00

Decided that we needed to have a good dinner tonight and hopped over to the Ashima Mushroom Hotpot Restaurant at 11 Tu Xuong in Dist 3. This mushroom specialty restaurant serves everything mushroom. We ordered a mushroom hotpot soup (what else??) with beef, and 4 dishes of different mushrooms. Turned out to be more than sufficient for the both of us - even had to cancel the order of noodles. There are so many varieties of mushrooms - prices range from 65k to 190k per dish of mushroom. Total damage for the night was 410k (including soft drinks and service charge) - which was a reasonable price to pay in view of the quality of food. Ashima has 5 branches in HCMC which speaks well of its reputation, I guess. The downside was that it was rather noisy in the restaurant - looks like Vietnamese are very affluent nowadays - the restaurant was quite packed and it looked like most were Vietnamese diners.

Opening of the Alpha-SYC International Kindergarten

2009-06-08T22:38:00.001+07:00

Our 2nd kindergarten finally opened on my sister's birthday - 8 Jun 2009. The renovation works were delayed and could only be 90% complete on Saturday. We had to work through the weekend to get the place cleaned up and looking presentable for the opening. As usual Murphy never fail us - we could only get the aircon in the main room to start 15 min before opening time, the TAIK kids came early (what are we going to do with them??), the class furniture did not turn up until the afternoon, but we still survived the opening. Have a look at more photos here :

http://alpha-syc.blogspot.com/

Will you ever see a cow grazing outside a kindergarten in Singapore?

Sticky, sticky

2009-05-28T17:00:00.003+07:00

This is the 17-month kiddo that refuses to leave Joyce's side. He's Vietnamese and we're foreigners but he doesn't want any of the VN teachers. Instead, it's the foreigner he's attached to despite not knowing any English. Strange. Here's a clip showing him pushing open the heavy glass door just to get to his God-mother.

I met Mega Shark & Giant Octopus

2009-05-22T16:16:00.010+07:00

Not only did I meet them, I got bitten by Mega Jaws and squashed by Gigantic Ock! I can't decide which is worse ... "ah long san" at home or "cheng hu nang" (aka MS & GO) here. The "mata" came again today ... passed everything after something to "minum kopi". Last week, it was the local MOH people. Our previous visitors were from SCDF's counterparts, the "mata" and various depts of the local MOE here, something like our clusters in SG. (Understand that I have to use our local SG terms here.) They all want to "minum kopi" with us. Seems like foreigners are easy pickings for them. In a sense, we are held hostage. We don't entertain them, they don't entertain us - delay this, reject that etc etc. Sounds like old SG in the 60s - our "pai-kias" and their "bao hu fei". Very tired of this. It's already hard enough trying to make a decent living here without having to deal with such problems. So pray tell me, which is worse, "ah long san" at home or my "cheng hu nang" here? Be grateful ... extremely grateful for our efficient and clean civil service - don't take them for granted.

21st Wedding Anniversary

2009-05-21T17:38:00.000+07:00

My, my ... how time flies. It's been 21 years since I married my best friend.

One-wheeled Motorcycle

2009-05-15T20:22:00.008+07:00

Wow wow!

"The EMBRIO Advanced Concept is a one-wheeled recreational and commuting vehicle for the year 2025, designed by the Canadian company Bombardier Recreational Products. Although the riding position is similar to that of a motorcycle, the vehicle uses sensors and gyroscopes to balance up to two passengers on a large single wheel whilst driving.

Although the vehicle will also remain stable when motionless, with two small front wheels deployed at speeds below 20 kilometres per hour (12.5 mph). To move forward, the rider activates a trigger on the left handlebar. At a speed of 20 kilometres per hour (12.5 mph) the front wheels or “landing gear” retracts so the rider is balancing on the large single whe

el. To turn the rider leans to the left or right. The brake is activated by a trigger on the right handlebar. Fuel cells running on hydrogen provide electricity for the electric motor which drives the single wheel."

Source : http://thecontaminated.com/embrio-one-wheeled-motorcycle/comment-page-1/

And here's another :

Source : http://technabob.com/blog/2008/04/25/the-uno-motorcyle-meets-segway/

And another interesting model ...

Nicole's Graduation Day

2009-05-13T18:02:00.004+07:00

Today, my daughter Nicole had her poly graduation ceremony ... my son Bryan took his iGCSE Math paper and Adel, my 2nd daughter had her school exam ... sob sob ... feel so old!!

Nicole and friend Faiz

Nicole's started work with this company Liqui Moly and to my surprise, I found the brand plastered on the building near here.

Mother's Day in Saigon

2009-05-12T21:00:00.001+07:00

We celebrated Mother's Day on Sat instead of Sun - had dinner at this Korean restaurant at Mac Dinh Chi, Dist 1 - mushroom (220,000VND) and NZ beef (300,000) hotpots. Sufficient for 6 pax, not 4! It was a good dinner indeed.

Mushroom Hotpot ... yummy

Side-dishes - not so yummy for me, all veggie!!!

NZ Beef Hotpot

Happy Mother's Day, Joyce

This evening, got booked by the police for running a red light - hey, everyone runs that red light - so all of us (4!) were stopped...lol! Not sure about the rest, but I settled it the usual way (must you ask?) - thank goodness for that.

The Rain is Coming

2009-04-25T17:24:00.006+07:00

Yes, the rainy season is almost here ... probably a week more and it'll hit us. I dread riding in the rain. I get drenched not so much from the rain but from the inconsiderate riders who speed through puddles of dirty, muddy water, splashing bikers riding near them. Idiots!

The rain will hit us soon

Lovely evening sky when it's not raining (about 6pm here)

Watermelon & Mango Season

2009-04-17T19:58:00.008+07:00

It's watermelon galore as cartloads and truckloads of juicy green watermelons descend upon the city, esp the outskirts. The market price in the outskirts is 3,000VND per kg - about 25 cents. So a 4kg melon costs only S$1!! Bought this cute watermelon today from a vendor along Highway 1A - 3,000VND each. Watermelons here are small - 5-6kg is considered big. The really big ones are available only during Tet (Chinese New Year).

And mangoes too ... though the season seems to come a little later than the melons. Here are three (1 kg) that I bought for 6,000VND (in Binh Chanh District) - less than S$0.20 each. Can you believe that? And it's good. The better ones go for about 15,000VND/kg and they're very good.

Bryan's Broken Bones

2009-04-13T20:28:00.001+07:00

Our goalkeeper son kept goal so well that he fractured two bones while making a save on Friday. That costs us 1,500,000VND just for consultation, an x-ray and a splint at FV Hospital on Sat.

And he had his cast today - all in - another 1,300,000VND.