Vietnam Trip! [ Day Four ] *(^_^)*

After eating breakfast, we went to the Thein Hau Temple. :)

We didn’t really do anything in the temple. We just took lots of pictures. We headed off to the Reunification Palace after. It was a really big place. It was nice that when we arrived there, the fountain was on. When we were leaving, it was already turned off. Yeay for being able to take pictures before they turned it off! :)

It was really, really hot in the palace. As you can see in the following picture, my sister and I are putting our hair up. My hair is longer than hers now because she got a haircut. :))))

We went to the War Remnants Museum but we were given very short time to enjoy it. Personally, I really liked it better than the Reunification Palace. The stuff that we read and the pictures that we saw were really amusing and sad at the same time.

To be honest, I would’ve liked to stay there longer instead of the palace. I learned more things and the stuff was more interesting. In that short 30 minutes, I was able to see what the other experienced in the war. Many photographers also died. There’s even a book there containing their names and a corner of their photographs.

We had a buffet lunch at Buffet Ganh Palace. The food was really delicious. Yeay food! :3 They have balot but I forgot what they called it. In English, the name was really long. It’s just balot. Yummy! :>

We were supposed to go to the Saigon Sky Deck but there was some conflict and such so we didn’t go. We just took a picture then went outside to take pictures in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral (upper right picture) and the Old Saigon Post Office (the other three pics).

We went inside the Old Saigon Post Office and it was really, really cool. As for the cathedral, I don’t really remember if we went inside or if it was that church that we went inside for around 10 seconds then went outside again. =)))))

After those, we went to the Saigon Square to shop for a little while! :) I saw a really cute violet iPhone case. I wanted to buy it, but I wouldn’t be able to use it. Hahaha. My sister and I didn’t buy anything, and we both regretted it when we decided that we need to buy new outfits for the cruise later this day,

After that, we went to this place called Handicapped Handicrafts. They make amazing stuff using only eggshells. It’s a long process so the stuff are really expensive! We went into a room full of the stuff they made. Taking pictures of the finished products weren’t allowed so there’s no pictures. :)

We went to the hotel to rest for a while. Before shopping for the outfit that we’re going to wear for the dinner cruise, we stopped by Baskin Robbins. ♥ So yummy as always. :3

I was so thankful that I brought three necklaces for our Vietnam trip. I was able to use one, and it really worked with my new dress! :>

My sister and I was vain after eating. Hahahaha. The lighting was good, so we looked pretty. XD

• First Day in Vietnam
• Second Day in Vietnam
• Third Day in Vietnam

Vietnam Trip! [ Day Three ] *(^_^)*

We ate buffet breakfast at our hotel, Hoang Hai Long 2. From our hotel, the drive to Mekong Delta was an hour and a half. We stopped at the Mekong Rest Stop. It was a place where you can just rest for a while after a long drive. There are ice cream, food, drinks, and lots of places where you can take pictures. It’s a cool rest stop. Since it’s so pretty, it looks like an actual destination, not just a rest stop. (do you get what I’m saying? sure hope so…)

After the Mekong Rest Stop, we went to the Mekong Delta. There are four islands: Dragon, Unicorn, Phoenix, and Tortoise. We went to the different islands by crossing the Tien River.

We went to this place where they sell honey. We sat at a table and they gave us a free drink, which contained honey, calamansi-like thing, sesame seeds, and tea. It was delicious, but too hot. I would’ve liked it more if it was a cold drink. :>

After another boat ride (these boats aren’t motorized though, and they’re registered, like cars and other vehicles), went to the Coconut Candy MIll. They had these candy that were made of … well, coconut. Before we went in, they offered these candy for us to taste. Unfortunately, I didn’t know it had nuts (how was I supposed to know that those little brown spots were nuts?!) so I subtly spit it out in the trashbin. It’s not that I’m allergic to nuts, I just don’t like the taste so I avoid it as much as I can.

They had different kind of candies. The plain ones, the ones with nuts, the ones with chocolate, and another one that I forgot. We didn’t buy those, instead we bought the stuff that was kinda shaped like a macaroon… it tasted like macaroons, as well! (but it wasn’t macaroons) I really like macaroons, and since they taste like one, we bought it. :)

I don’t know what these are, but we tasted it. It was kinda crunchy and it didn’t taste like anything at all. It had no taste. It was kinda fun munching on them while walking, though. Hahaha. :)

After that, we had lunch. (that’s not all that we ate. we also had fresh spring rolls, shrimp, and fruits) I love fried spring rolls. ♥ (you might think that we just went from one place to another. we actually walked — a lot. we also looked at many shops. and walked a lot. :D )

Such a yummy meal! We took lots and lots of pictures after eating lunch because the place is really, really beautiful! (the light wasn’t too harsh so the lighting is perfect. good job, sun!)

We rode in the boat one last time so we can get back. All in all, we visited two islands, but I don’t know the name of the other one. (Tortoise Island and …???)

We weren’t able to go to all four islands, but it was okay. When we got back, we bought stuff at this souvenir shop. They said that it’s cheaper there, so I bought a cute bag and a black shirt that has the word “Saigon” on it. I wanted it on a maroon t-shirt but …

We went back to the hotel to rest for a while (since we did a lot of walking). We also changed our clothes. The tank top I wore to dinner was the one I wore to Malaysia. It’s just so comfy and pretty. I didn’t post a picture anyway so it’s okay. =))))))

After resting, we went to have dinner at a restaurant called Chateu. Food food food food! :3

After having that delicious dinner, we headed off to the hotel. The night market is really, really near our hotel so we went there. We’ve been going there a lot. There are just so many shops to look at! Some stalls sell cute stuff but are too pricey. Hahaha. :D

My sister and I went inside this convenience store. We found out that it has an actual cafe inside, with cakes and such, like Starbucks but with free wifi. They also sell Haagen-Dazs ice cream (my favorite)! :> It’s a great convenience store. :)

We were walking around, just a few blocks away from the hotel, when we came across this shop named Orange! (there was a shop named Banana near it. I’m not kidding. It was closed, though.) I was really tired and didn’t want to visit shops, but the shop’s pretty amazing so I went in. It’s like Artwork. Their shirts, tank tops, dresses, and bags are really cute!

I ended up buying a pink tank top with a cat wearing hipster glasses. There was a blue, yellow, green, and lighter/darker shades of those colors with the same cat design, but I liked this one. My third buy of the day. Hahaha. I wore this the following day. :D

Random fact: Few minutes after taking photos of my new tank top, I took lots of pictures of myself, including the picture that I am currently using as my sidebar. :)

• First Day in Vietnam
• Second Day in Vietnam

Medyo GV. :)

Bigla akong ginising kanina, sabi si Kim daw nasa baba. Una kong naisip, “Sabi ko kagabi na hindi ako sasama eh!” Pagbaba ko, edi ayun nag-usap kami. Sobrang bagong gising talaga ako. Hindi pa talaga ako bumabangon. Hahahaha. May muta pa and such. Hindi pa nga ako nagmumumog eh. LOL. As in talagang diretso baba agad ako. XD I wonder how bad I looked ….

Anyway, wala ang saya lang. Nag-usap kami about random stuff for about an hour and a half. Pagka-alis niya, naligo na ako, tas kumain ng breakfast. I woke up earlier than usual yeay! :) Nakaka-GV lang haha. Usually kasi pagkagising ko ang init kasi tanghali na, tas ligo, kain, computer, other stuff, computer.. Ganun ang sequence lagi ng araw ko. At least ngayon may bago. :>

[totally random]

Wala. Pinost ko lang yung picture kasi nakakamiss rin yung hangout namin. HAHAHAHA. Kiligin kayo please~ LOL. Hahaha. XD

In other news, 3 days nalang bago yung first day namin sa Brain Train Review Center. Nung kaka-enroll ko palang, sobrang excited ako. Ngayon, medyo tinatamad ako kasi gigising ng maaga, ganito, ganyan.. Pero syempre pagbubutihin ko parin yun kasi syempre para rin naman yun sa ikabubuti ko. Madrama pero totoo hahaha. ;)

I need to finish blogging about Vietnam (days 3-5) and Sagada. Huhuhu kailangan matapos ko na yung at least Vietnam today. :((( Okay, I will get back to work. Lol. I really have to blog. :))))

Vietnam Trip! [ Day Two ] *(^_^)*

(I know it’s too late to blog this and I’m so sorry. :D )

For the second day of our trip, we went to the Cu Chi Tunnels in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). We were staying at a hotel in Mui Ne, so we had do drive to Ho Chi Minh. It was really far, so when we got there, it was already lunch time. Yeay food! :3

It was a really nice place. The restaurant was near a river, so there’s that bridge. While we were eating, we saw ducks. Hahaha. :D After that, we headed off to the Cu Chi Tunnels. :3

Cu Chi Tunnels. These tunnels were used by the Vietnamese to hide (in the war times). The entrance are camouflaged so the Americans wouldn’t find it. We were just walking around when Steven (our guide) stopped and told us that there was an entrance right around this spot:

Amazing, right? If really look at it, you’ll see it. You’re supposed to put leaves on the cover before going down and covering it again. (of course). Somebody showed us how to do it:

My sister and I tried it and it was fun. In the picture, my eyes were closed when the cover was above me because I didn’t want dirt and leaves to get in my face, but when I started to squat I opened it. :)

After that, we were shown a documentary film about the Cu Chi Tunnels. How deep, how they lived, stuff like that. It was amazing, but it’s black and white and obviously really old, but still interesting.

After this, I don’t really remember which stuff we visited first so I’ll just go ahead and blog randomly.

We went through this tunnel! As you can see (in the second picture), it’s really small. In the first picture, you’d think that it was bigger because I was able to stand up and all, but no. There was just a part where you had to go down, hence the large space. It’s actually really small so you had to crouch. It hurts in the back and the thighs. There are small lights so it’s not so dark. :)

I didn’t really notice the time, so I can’t say how long we stayed in there. Since we took lots of pictures, I’ll say that we stayed longer than we normally should. Some of the people with us decided to stay outside and wait for us at the exit, and they claim that they heard our voices because we were all being very loud. Hahaha. It was very hot inside, so when we got out, we were thankful for the wind. Hahaha. Such a fun experience. :D

Unfortunately, we were so busy taking in the awesomeness of the Vietnamese, we weren’t able to take much pictures. (but I’m still gonna blog about it)

• Hoang Cam’s smokeless stove

You’d think that they wouldn’t be able to cook because they’re staying in the tunnels. They just redirected the smoke so that it wouldn’t lead the Americans to where they were hiding. Their enemies can see the smoke, but it doesn’t lead them to the entrance of the tunnels. The Vietnamese covers the hole with burnt leaves (if I understood correctly). Haha so amazing. :D

• Recycling American’s bombs

They used the gunpowder and the other stuff to their advantage. They formed metal spikes that they used for the traps. Cool, huh? (the following pictures are not mine. I just found them on google.)

(L to R: Rolling Trap, Window Trap, Folding Chair Trap, Swinging Up Trap, Fish Trap, See-saw Trap, and the Clipping Armpit Trap)

There was another trap called the Door Trap but I couldn’t find a good picture. Hahaha. :D These traps are so amazing!

• Wearing slippers backwards

They made their slippers from old tires, and it was made in such a way that it could be worn backwards. Whenever the Americans followed their footprints (rather, slipperprints. hahaha), they wouldn’t be able to see the entrance of the tunnels because the Vietnamese wore the slippers backwards, which just confused their enemies. =)))

• How can they breathe normally?

The tunnels are a couple of meters underground. (There are are three levels, each one deeper than the other.) The tunnels that we went through were made wider and bigger to accommodate tourists. They have their little air holes so that they can breath normally. It’s build in such a way that even when it rains, the water can’t flow through their air holes. They are also near the Saigon River so they can get their water there. (they have a well inside the tunnels). 

Our trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels are so interesting and amazing! We learned so many things about Vietnam’s ingenuity. They were so smart! It’s really, really great. ♥

By the time that we were finished, it was time to eat dinner. We ate at this pretty restaurant:

The food is really, really delicious! The shrimp, the spring rolls.. oh how I love their spring rolls! ♥ The place is really nice and the food is great. We all had this drink that I wanted to have, and it was yummy. It was a great way to end the amazing day! :>

• First Day in Vietnam

• Pinanuod ko yung 17 Again nung madaling araw. Ang ganda nung movie tas ang funny rin. Hahaha. :)
• Natapos ko na yung goal ko of reading 50 books this year. Lol.
• Hindi parin ako makapag-blog ng Vietnam Trip namin kasi dala ni ate yung laptop. Nandun yung pictures eh. T_T
• Tas pagkatapos ng Vietnam Trip, Sagada Trip naman. Hahaha. Daming naka-line up. Di tuloy ako makapag-post ng ibang bagay sa tumblr ko. Masyadong male-left behind yung iba. XD
• Okay. Yun lang. :))