Day 5 - War Remnants Museum - Jollibee HCM - Opera House - Ben Thanh Market - Koniko Backpacker's Hostel - Coffee Shop - MD Hotdog Cart - Mekong Bus Express - Vietnam Border - Cambodia Border - Flower Restaurant - Pratna Guesthouse - Riverfront Restaurant - Phnom Penh Night Market
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| Good Morning, Vietnam! |
We woke up around 7 am, went to the uppermost floor of the hostel and tasted for the first time, the best coffee my tongue has ever tried. It's Vietnamese coffee along with a baguette! I'm used to this kind of breakfast back home but there seems to be something with the coffee that made me really happy. Well, I kind of peeped through the door and watched as a staff was making one. Well, I did not just see a person and some 3-in-1 coffee. My eyes were fixed on the entire process of filtering to waiting for that last drop. Indeed making this coffee takes a lot of patience, precision and LOVE!
As much as I would've wanted to stare at the staff, we still have a lot of things to do - and we only have the whole morning to do them! So, after buying dong, we hailed a cab. Well, we couldn't just waste our time. The War Remnants Museum is a bit far. We're just happy that the driver was way better than yesterday's.
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| motorcycles all over a park |
We originally wanted to go to the Killing Fields but due to time constraints and the suggestion of most blogs, we opted for the War Remnants Museum instead.
Well, from the name itself, you could really expect to see remnants of Vietnam's traumatic history. Once you enter the gate, you would immediately notice all kinds of military equipments I thought I could only see in movies and history classes.
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| must've been really scary way back then |
When you enter the building, you would find a gallery. Each picture has a label and explanation. Most of the pictures here were during the American phase of the Vietnam war.
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| very big bullets! |
Seeing from the pictures and reading from the various references, I felt like crying specially when I had a glimpse of the effect of this war. It was so heart-breaking I'd rather not share my photos about it.
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| getting a glimpse of a traumatic past |
Actually, when we went out from the museum, we all realized how the Philippines and Vietnam seem to be similar. We both have very rich yet heartbreaking histories. And from this moment, we kind of forgave the taxi driver yesterday. Maybe the people here have become really strong against foreigners and do not just trust them easily - well, we can't blame them. It's their country and it's their history.
Instead of talking so much on a horrible past, we were back on our feet again and walked to a Jollibee branch in Ho Chi Minh!
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| reminding me that i'm in Vietnam! |
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| best thing about strolling here - a lot of trees in the streets! |
The Jollibee here is a block away from the museum. It was busy with a lot of students from a nearby school.
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| proud! |
We originally ordered burgers and spaghetti yet, there was a misunderstanding and we only had spaghetti. We were running out of time. So, we did not queue again.
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| got it! |
My friends said that the spaghetti here was much creamier and more delicious than the original one. Well, that's just an opinion and maybe they did some changes in the recipe to cater Vietnam's taste.
We took a cab to the Opera House, Saigon's municipal theater. A true example of French colonial architecture.
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| feels like I'm in France! |
We could not enter the theater. So, we made our way to the Ben Thanh Market. Actually, going to the market is exciting as we saw buildings of high-end, world class brands.
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| Rex Hotel and Chanel in the background |
Then we saw a fully operational Ben Thanh Matket. One thing I could say - so many things to see, so little time!!! We had just 30 minutes to buy what we wanted. It was so much like the amazing race. Haha. I only went back to this market for one thing - Vietnamese coffee! And I got it!
We took a cab to the hostel and checked out. We then walked to the Mekong bus station where the 1 pm bus parked. We settled our belongings first before crossing the street to buy sausage in a bun and Vietnamese iced coffee!!
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| sausages! |
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| cafe just across the bus |
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| iced coffee! |
Our bus departed on time, going back to where we departed yesterday. Saigon is really huge and I know my stay was just too short to explore this very large metropolis. Even though this is the case, I'm still happy to have set foot on this very historic place.
Next time, if ever I chanced on going to 2 countries and have to cross a border for long hours, I would book a flight to the first country and depart from the second country.
So, we passed by the Vietnam Border again. By this time, I was able to take a pic of the tower which signifies you're standing in Vietnam territory!
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| Bye, Vietnam! |
Then, we passed through the immigration of Cambodia.
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| Hi Cambodia again! |
Then, we stopped by the Flower Restaurant again and passed through the Mekong River. It was already dark when we arrived in Phnom Penh. We went to the Pra Tna Guesthouse again then went to the Riverfront for dinner.
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| nam nam nam! |
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| spell CHILL! |
After filling our stomachs, we walked to the Phnom Penh Night Market! Our last chance to buy that must-have souvenir!
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| let the souvenir shopping begin! |
The place was not really that big and most of the items are the same from one stall to the other. We ended up buying scarves, key chains, and more. This is just few blocks away from our guesthouse. So, we never had any problem - we went back by foot. :)
Day 5 - War Remnants Museum - Jollibee HCM - Opera House - Ben Thanh Market - Koniko Backpacker's Hostel - Coffee Shop - MD Hotdog Cart - Mekong Bus Express - Vietnam Border - Cambodia Border - Flower Restaurant - Pratna Guesthouse - Riverfront Restaurant - Phnom Penh Night Market
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