The Real Travel Itinerary – What Really Happened

Well, I’m back after my sojourn and adventuring in Vietnam, Cambodia and my home, the Philippines. It’s been a blast but gave way to a lot of laziness. It’s going to take a while to get me back on track. Below is how much of my itinerary I was able to accomplish and contact numbers of hotels and restaurants. The crossed out ones were those I’ve done.

A	B	C
PLACES: Cu Chi Tunnels USD10 (takes most of the day) Mui Ne Sand Dunes- Bau Trang – 5 hours travel/1 Day Tour Restaurants: Le Fenetre Soleil- 2nd flr, corner of Le Thanh Ton and Nam Ky Khoi Nghia (watch out for decrepit staircase)	Benh Thanh Market Notre Dame Cathedral Reunification Palace Flower Market Saigon Square Cappucino Underground	Vung Tau Le Thanh Ton Diamond/Zen Plaza- expensive shopping malls

I Realized I should have a detailed plan on my first day. So what happened was without a plan, I naturally wasted my first day to sheer napping in the hotel and aimless wandering up and down the backpacker’s street in Pham Ngu Lao District 1, Saigon.

So my advice to you future travelers is to have a detailed to-do list for just that first day. Here’s a sample of what I might have done:

AM

1. Pack for Saigon
2. Leave City Backpacker’s Hostel via Subway from Singapore- don’t forget MRT card!
3. Go to Green Line Tanah Merah
4. Switch to Changi Airport
5. Go to Terminal 1 for Jetstar
6. Check-in

PM

1. Arrive in Saigon
2. Money Exchange at airport (no commission)
3. Unpack
4. Buy a Vietnamese Sim card (in this case, Mobi fone) with help from hotel
5. Get in touch with Marjorie (my friend who works in HCM City) and Mr Chinh
6. Plan get-together- write in calendar
7. Look for good travel agent and money exchange center in backpacker’s street
8. Book tour to Cu Chi, Mui Ne,- Mr Chinh will take me to Notre Dame and Reunification Palace and other places on B Secondary Places. Write in calendar
9. Walk around backpacker’s street and look for Le Fenetre Soleil.

As you can see, I made sure that most of the places in A were crossed out. B and C don’t matter that much. Many things can happen that will make major changes in your planned itinerary. Doesn’t matter. Just make the best decision (ensure most places in A, unless they’ve come into contact with a bomb, are covered) and go with the flow.

The Cu Chi Tunnels actually just took half a day and it was a good thing I didn’t book for the War Museum/Reunification Palace because they just dropped us off there after the 2 hour ride back to the city. But better bring a map when you go there because the Independent/Reunification Palace is a couple of blocks from the War Museum. You can get a free and better map at the Saigon Tourist Office across from Rex Hotel (any taxi driver knows where Rex Hotel is) rather than buying those along the streets.

I thought Mui Ne was nearby when it turned out to be a 5 hours bus ride from Saigon –the same amount of time it takes to go to Phnom Penh, Cambodia! And there was a whole bunch of stuff to look at besides the Sand Dunes and yes, they were all included in the package. It was a good thing I was staying longer in Vietnam. Mui Ne was worth it but you wouldn’t want to stay there for long after seeing the Sand Dunes. It’s a resort place so unless you’re a beach type of person don’t waste your time here.

Most of the places in B were visited thanks to Mr Chinh, the xe-om driver my friend recommended to me. He’s really sweet and will take you to places with bargains. Could also speak English though I could only understand 2% of what he said. He said and I’m paraphrasing some: Don’t buy shoes in Vietnam because they easy break! Buy shoes in Thailand!

There were often constant blackouts in Saigon and Mui Ne. God knows why. So plenty of that time, I was cooped up in the hotel because I heard there was a lot of stealing going on in Saigon though not that much in the backpacker’s street, but still…. Just to be safe. It’s a bit scary walking by yourself (especially if you’re a petite female like me) at night clouded in the stealthy blackout darkness. Just the other day, a Japanese tourist got nabbed at the park with all his important docs and wallet.

I found a better café than Le Fenetre Soleil called Highlands Coffee which served all these great drinks including the famous Vietnamese Coffee. It was so strong that when I first tried it I couldn’t stop my hands from shaking. Mostly it was due to the fact that I never drank much coffee myself.

Places at Letter C were crossed out thanks to pals Helen and Marjorie (thanks guys!) who took me on a surprise trip all over District 1 on my first night in Saigon (heard from them that Vung Tau wasn’t that great so didn’t bother going there). They also introduced me to some of the best places to eat where I finally sampled the famous Vietnamese Hot Pot – Lao Ye. Below I’ve pasted addresses of the hotels and restaurants that I liked.

Saigon Comfort Hotel

175/21 Pham Ngu Lao St.

District 1, HCM City

(84.8)8376516

Email: reservation@saigoncomfort.com

Website: www.saigoncomfort.com

Great clean rooms with private bathroom, A/C, TV, fridge and even your own wastebasket at USD26 per night. Also with elevator and free internet at the first floor (most HCM hostels offer free internet but boy, but careful with inserting any flashdrives or your card reader as most of them got serious issues with virus as I’ve learned.). No need to put some deposit. Instead they’ll keep your passport for you.

There were cheaper hotels than this but I just loved the staff. They were very accommodating and really friendly. Always greet you with a big smile on their faces.

The hotel is also located in a quiet enough area but can be tough to look for as it’s in a small street between De Tham and the long Nguyen Thai Hoc st along Bui Vien road. Just call the staff and they’ll arrange to pick you up from the airport for US$12. The official taxis from the airport cost the same.

Money Exchange

Hung Long Co., Ltd/ Exim Bank

86 Mac Thi Buoi St

District 1, HCM City

Tel: 84.8.8. 297 887

Email: hung-long-co@hcm.vnn.vn

Best rates in Saigon. Most foreigner go here but it’s a 5-10 minute ride by moto from the backpacker’s street but worth it. At first glance it looks like a clothes shop but walk closer and you’ll see a counter with the usual money exchange board. It’s next to an ATM and across from Sun Wah Tower. Or just show the address to any moto driver and they’ll know. Saigon’s streets are not that hard to navigate and their street numbers are in order unlike Cambodia.

Be careful on accepting any old money from other money exchange. Only accept the new money –the pretty smooth one with the small plastic sheet at the left (denominations start from 10,000 dong. The smaller ones won’t have the plastic sheet). My friend got some old money and wasn’t able to exchange it back again. No shops won’t accept it either.

Lemongrass

4 Nguyen Thiep St, District 1, HCMC

tel: 848. 8220496

One of the best Vietnamese restaurants I’ve tried. Really delicious but slightly more expensive than the cheap local restaurants. It’s worth it, I tell you. Customer service is excellent. They can also speak good English.

Across from it is the ubiquitous Pho24. More affordable than Lemongrass. Also excellent Vietnamese restaurants serving the popular Vietnamese dish of Pho noodles. Drop by here to get a business card. At the back they would list all of their branches in Saigon.

Lao De

105 Truong Dinh

Q3 TP Ho Chin Minh

Telephone: 930 4296

This is the Vietnamese hot pot. Not to be missed. They’ve got both grill and hot pot. Lots of locals dine here if you’re looking for a genuine Saigon dining experience. You can hardly see a foreigner. Bring a friend along as hot pot usually has big portions. The staff doesn’t speak English but are willing to assist you. Just thinking about this place makes my mouth water again.

If you’ve got any other questions, about Vietnam: feel free to comment or email me at ksirine.yu [at] gmail

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Strip Down- Getting Rid of the Non-essential Things in Life

Photo by vooey

Alright! Listen! I’m going to put you:

1. on an island where nobody can understand you.

2. where you won’t have any Internet

3. where your favorite shows are all gone (yes, that includes Heroes).

4. where your favorite malls and restaurants have vanished.

Would you be able to survive?

Years ago, I found myself in this situation when I came to China to work for a year. I had to start from scratch and adjust to nearly everything. In the process, I found myself making do without a lot of ‘necessary’ things that days before if someone had told me I’d be deprived of them, I would’ve whacked that numbskull’s head and scolded him for uttering such blasphemy.

What happened was a series of unfortunate events that would have given my former self nightmares. I had no internet for nearly a month because I had to save up and plow through the numerous Chinese service providers. I opted not to have any channels installed in the T.V. because all of them were in Chinese. How the heck could I understand? It was very hard missing American Idol, I tell you. I had no fridge for four weeks because the Chinese way of fixing appliances is to always call and cancel. The best supermarket was an hour away (and by best, I mean that it sells cream and at least three kinds of cheese). Worse of all were the absence of English bookstores, blogs (hail the Great Firewall of China) and Mexican food. These were things I used to take for granted in my country.

But somehow, I’m still here, surviving.

And that’s when I realized my world doesn’t revolve around MTV, American Idol, GE, Blogspot and WordPress. I had survived without them for a year and I’m still fine. Deprived yes, but most importantly, still breathing.

It’s amazing how self-reliant we can be when the situation calls for it.

During that time, I felt like I had just woken from darkness and into a bright morning full of possibilities and said to myself, “Hey, I can do this.”

Do you find that you attach certain things to your identity?

“I’d never be without my IPOD!”

“I can’t survive without my iPhone.”

“Me without my Palm Pilot? You must be joking.”

But take them away. You might cry. You might feel incomplete. Or you might just move on. For centuries, humans have been surviving solely on their instincts and ingenuity. At that very moment when you’ve been stripped down to your most basic and barest essentials, you will discover yourself without frills and as Ralph Waldo Emerson calls it –your self-reliance.

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What’s the Rush?- Why People Are Missing Out on the Important Things in Life

Photo by Maria Kristen Steinsson

Meet Jo. Jo is working on her 75^th customer complaint email. It’s two in the morning and tomorrow at ten, she has to work on her second children’s book for her language school. She’s an ESL teacher in Shanghai and also works part-time as a customer service agent for height enhancing footwear (she’s 4’10, if you can appreciate the irony). On top of that she also tutors privately to two Korean kids. She can barely get a few hours of sleep, gets chronic migraines, vomits a lot and now discovers she has trouble mustering a decent appetite for a meal of McD’s cheeseburger and a Super Size Coke. She’s currently back at home in the Philippines consulting five doctors.

Jo’s case is an example of rush hour gone wireless. We usually associate rush hour with the phenomenon of hundreds of civilians sprinting to work, munching their sandwiches and gulping their cups of coffee hurriedly. But in today’s society, it isn’t like that anymore. It’s already invaded your office and yes, even in your own house. At home, rushing for work. At work, rushing for home. At malls where they have the Christmas Rush or the Super Sale Rush.

We’re constantly on the move. We now take our own ball and chain wherever we go especially if you work abroad in countries where the pace of life is so much faster.

Michael works two full time jobs. From 8-2pm, he’s a digital archivist at Stanford. Then at 3-11pm, he’s an IT teacher assistant in a college in San Francisco. Presently, he’s contemplating taking on a third job.

Shirley works seven days without a break. She is a freelance teacher in Shenzhen. On weekends, she would swing into the learning center with just five minutes worth of shut-eye, chug down her caffeine laced Starbucks, pump her fists into the air and announce to the whole world, “Alright! Time for class!”

And there’s me. As a college lecturer in Zhuhai, I start work at 7am till 9:30 pm. During evenings, I mark papers in the office with my colleague, Alma. On my first night, she tossed me a bag of chips.

“What’s this?”

“Dinner,” she said.

I couldn’t believe it. I swore I’d get more proper meals than this but as working late became more frequent, Pringles became my best friend. Sometimes I’d even go without it just to tackle and reduce my workload quickly. I even work at home during weekends putting in a 12 hour work shift making lesson plans and materials. Eating and showering were regarded as mere duties that take time away from my tasks. I just can’t simply be bothered with them. Life was for working than living.

Henry David Thoreau once said, “Why live with such hurry and waste of life?” Sorry Thoreau, I’m stumped for an answer. Come to think of it, ask several others in the workforce and they’d be just as clueless as I am. If we strip down our excuses and alibis to its barest skeletal essentials we honestly don’t know why we’re doing this.

But one thing I do know is that if you continue going through life in the speed of light, it’s going to eclipse what’s important.

Mom: Happy birth—

Me: I just got this urgent email. Wait, hold on. My boss wants us to hand in our class grades within three days?! I have to get on top of this. Mom, can you call me back next week?

Mom: That’s what you said last time.

Me: That’s because you caught me at a bad time. I was up to my neck designing the class boards.

Mom: I only see you once a year and we only talk once a week.

Me: Look, I’m sorry. I’ve just been really busy. We’ve got tight deadlines.

Mom: (sadly) Okay, just call if you’re ever free.

That never happened because once you’re caught in the nefarious cycle of addictive work, it’s almost impossible to get out of it.

If you’re like me and the rest above, when was the last time you had a proper meal? Or talked to your loved one? Or just took a whole day off? Why are we so determined to get burned out in our twenties and thirties before we even reach our fifties? Now I’m not saying to put a halt on your careers or stop chasing your personal goals. Just plant your feet firmly in the ground for once and smell the roses. Put some balance in your life. Learn to experience it more rather than let it pass you by.

Life is not a rush hour. It’s not hundreds of pedestrians making a mad dash at an intersection. The traffic light has to be red for once because life is more than that. And that’s why I’m stopping at last, putting in all the breaks to see and experience what’s all around me. The question is, “Will you make it that way?”

I keep that in mind as I got connected to my mom’s number in the Philippines. “Hi,” I told her. “I miss you.”

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Strip Down- Getting Rid of the Non-essential Things in Life

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Let people know what they’re missing out.