Day 3 of Ho Chi Minh Trip ^_^
Continue from Mekong River Trip Part 1 (click here to read more)......
Continue from Mekong River Trip Part 1 (click here to read more)......
After we had our lunch, then we proceed to listen traditional music and tropical fruits tasting. It was quite a chillax session where we get to listen to people playing traditional instruments and enjoy some fruits. They served us with papaya, jackfruits, papaya, banana and "ciku".
I was sitting with a few Korean tourists and I noticed that they seem a little fascinated looking at "ciku" and jackfruit. One of them took and tried jackfruit for a bite. Then her face turned a bit sour and gave up on it. That scene reminds me that I shouldn't take things for granted, even just a fruit. Things that seem so usual for us back home may be something new for others. That's why...... we have to explore more places to try more new stuff! =D
Their traditional instruments.
They look a bit like our traditional chinese instruments and they sound a bit special to me.
After that, we went to the coconut candy factory. We get to see how they make coconut candy and also get to try some. But because the weather is too hot, we don't have much energy to check out their coconut candies thoroughly. Instead, all of us bought one coconut to quench our thirst. Coconut is such an amazing thing in the world. It is so important when there's hot sun!
The making of coconut candies.
Meet our new friends from Taiwan!
Really appreciate them for helping us in photo-taking and shared experience with us. They are so nice and kept asking us to visit them in Taiwan. Love is all around the world.
The Mekong River Day Tour ended around 5pm. Finally we can check in and get some rest in Ho Chi Minh city! We booked a unit via AirBnB and it's our first time booking via this website. So, we were a little worried at first. However, with the help of the owner to text us the address in Vietnamese language, we get to reach the place successfully. =) It is actually really hard to communicate with Vietnamese taxi driver if you don't have an address in Vietnamese language.
Surprisingly, the unit is very beautiful! It is located at third floor and there is no lift available. Indeed, most of the buildings in Ho Chi Minh does not have lift. Luckily our luggage aren't too heavy and hence carrying them up the stairs is still an achievable mission.
One of the rooms! So cozy!
And there's a corridor full of plants. A very relaxing place. Love it!
Selfie before heading out to Ben Thanh Market for dinner.
Ben Thanh market is a large marketplace in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. It is one of the earliest surviving structures in Saigon and also an important symbol of Ho Chi Minh City. It is popular with tourists seeking local handicrafts, textiles, souvenirs and local cuisine. This market is developed from informal markets created by early 17th century street vendors gathering together near the Saigon River. The market was formall established by the French colonial powers after taking over the Gia Dinh citadel in 1859. This market was destroyed by fire in 1870 and rebuilt to become Saigon's largest market. In 1912, the market was moved to a new building called the New Ben Thanh Market to distinguish over its predecessor. The building was then renovated in 1985. (information from Wikipedia)
We took a cab from our place to Ben Thanh Market, which is about a 8 minutes drive. Actually, we could walk to the market instead of taking a cab. But we are a little confused with our location and a bit tired after the tour, we decided to take a cab. Taxi fare here isn't expensive and it is shared among six of us. Less than RM1/person for a trip. Not too luxurious.
We walked into the busy street where all the vendors are, and we eyed on this!
Colourful sticky rice! Look so yummy! Of course, we bought one to try. We ordered all in one.
After buying the sticky rice, we continue walking to explore more food and also souvenirs.
This is how Ben Thanh Market looks like at night. Pretty much like our pasar malam back in Malaysia. There are vendors selling clothes, souvenirs and food.
After a while, we passed by this huge "makan" (eatery) place and there are a lot of people eating there. Hence, we decided to follow the crowd.
This is one of the reasons that attracted us into the shop. Grilled prawns! Look so good!
We were seated at a less crowded spot and then a few of us went to order food.
Whereas ivy and me started to try out the sticky rice. The sticky rice was served with coconut milk (Santan), salt, sugar and also coconut. It tastes sweet with a little salty taste in between. Quite a nice combination. Food that comes with coconut milk can't go too wrong. =P
This is Vietnamese version kind of cucur udang.
They have a lot of vegetables in it, with some prawns and meat.
Long waited CRAB! The tamarind sauce is really good! I've never try tamarind sauce in my life and it amazed me! Love the sourness and a little bit of sweetness of this sauce. Heavenly good! A must try sauce if you happen to come to Vietnam.
Barbeque meat served with rice rolls. Though the meat seems a bit small, but the taste is fantastic too! Maybe I'm more of a barbeque person. Anything that are cooked via this method taste awesome to me. XD
And finally, our grilled prawns are here!
Due to financial issue, we ordered smaller prawns instead of the one we saw. Although we ordered cheaper ones, they have people to help us to peel the shells off. So "atas" (high-class)! Remember, we are eating this in a night market by the roadside.
Complete version of our prawns. Nicely arranged. =) *claps*
Apart from these, we also ordered a Cantonese fried rice to fill up our tummy's space. Fried rice is just pretty normal and hence I'm not gonna share it here. After dinner, we had a walk around the night market to hunt for souvenirs.
To shop wisely in this night market, you need to know how to bargain. The prices that are offered can be cut down to about 40-50% of the original price, some can go down to 30% of the original price. Scary! For me, I'm really not good in bargaining. When I buy, I will try to bargain to a price which I can accept. Sometimes, I just try my luck with an impossible low price and see what the seller can offer me. It does happens that my so-called impossible low price is a price that they can agree with. Oh my! I should go way lower. But well, lessons learnt!
After the night market, we went to Cafe Anh to try out their coffee and check out their beautiful decorations. Stay tuned for my upcoming post! Cheers!
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