Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

About 1 hour 45 minutes after departing from KLIA we landed in Ho Chi Minh City airport. A much shorter flight than from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu. From the airport to the city center took about 40 minutes for an amazingly short distance. Reason, traffic which consists of bikes and more bikes criss-crossing in a discipline that I have never experienced before. Discipline, because throughout the chaos there were no accidents. Cost USD8 for 5 adults and a mountain of luggage in an MPV.

Hotel room can be had for as low as USD12 per night. Nice clean and comfortable. Within walking distance to all the interesting places in town. Shoppers will go nuts. Malaysia seems to have quite an influence as some signage used in the shops were in Malay. Art and crafts are abundant. Replicas and original works abound. Bargaining is a must though. Always ask for the price before committing to any purchase. One of our colleague was charged USD10 for 3 coconuts which he graciously accepted as he stepped out of the market tired and parched. When its time to pay, the bomb was dropped, its too late as the coconuts were already consumed.

Halal food is quite easy to find. Mainly Muslim Indian in town and a Champa Malay inside the compound of the city mosque. Find the mosque and you will find the halal food.

Personally, the best thing is that, even as a wayward tourist wandering the city, I feel safe. Safe in a sense that even though the street peddlers are persuasive and will follow you around, you will not be harmed and that the eyes of the authority is looking out for tourists like you. Contrast this against the feeling of wandering around Petaling Street or the back lanes of Chow Kit at night.

Its a very nice city. However, I will not go with known shoppers (wife, aunties etc.) as I am certain they will go bonkers on all the cheap and varied wares on offer at the complexes, shops, markets, night markets, road stalls and peddlers of all sorts ...