Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 2016 - Day 2

Muahahah berminggu amik masa nak update day 2.. (-_-") Takpe la blog ni pun suka2 je.. aci  la kan... ;) Hanya tuan blog je yg tau 'hazabb'nya nk menulis bila 'seru' tu tak sampai..thats why i've never claimed myself as a blogger.. hiks! 

6 April 2016 - Rabu - 28 Jamadilakhir 1437H (D2)

So, day 2, as per itinerary, Lepas sarapan, destinasi pertama adalah membeli-belah, 'membeli' selagi ada barang yg dijual sambil 'membelah' dompet. Bergerak ke Cho Binh Tay atau juga dikenali sebagai Chinatown HCMC. Pengalaman waktu saya dtg pertama kali tahun 2013 dulu, tak tau nk sebut mcm mana just mention 'Chinatown' dekat receptionist hotel tu. Oh, kalau anda daripada hotel boleh minta bantuan receptionist hotel je untuk panggilkan teksi juga. Cuma perlu bagitahu nak ke mana berapa buah teksi yg diperlukan / total berapa org je. They were quite helpful too. Ingat, pastikan ia teksi Vinasun baru la naik ya.

Lebih kurang 20 minit dari hotel nak ke sini. Cho = pasar. Di sini, macam2 barang ada dijual. Daripada pelbagai jenis kain pasang, helmet (kenderaan utama org vietnam adalah motor), perkakas plastik, selimut, sampailah ke baju-bajan dan baaanyakk lagi. Makanan pun ado. Yg menariknya, semua dijual dgn harga borong dan kebanyakkan (read: tak semua) kedai boleh je nk beli satu tp dpt harga borong. Actually I prefer to come here more rather than the famous 'Ben Thanh' Market sbb kat sini selain lebih murah dan lebih banyak pilihan dan kain pasangnya kita beli dikayu (belum siap potong). Sesuai lah dgn diri ini yg terlebih tinggi, terlebih besar..semuanya lebih, tak syok la pakai kain yg siap potong ngam-ngam 4 meter (kadang2, dikatanya je dah potong cukup 4 meter tp bila ukur balik cuma ada 3 meter lebih je kan) (*_*)

Gambar selepas selesai 'tawaf'.. Sambil tunggu beliau2 yg belum sudah 'pencariannya' sambil tunggu teksi untuk ke destinasi kedua juga. Habis shopping dah tengahari, lunch hour. Naik teksi terus ke kawasan hotel sbb disana juga je yg banyak pilihan kedai makan yg halal. Nama lg 'Malaysian Street kan. Heee yg berminat boleh search "Nguyen An Ninh". Tu nama jalan sebenar/rasmi yg 'didaftarkan' atas peta. Hurmm.. sepanjang 4 hari 3 mlm tu kami cuma rotate makan di kedai2 sekitar tu je. Rasa pun boleh tahan la, sedap la juge. Plus on travel kan, so eat for the sake of energy.. :)

Selesai makan tengahari, singgah hotel hantar barang2 yg dibeli tadi, solat dan rehat lepas tu berjalan pula berbondong-bondong ke destinasi shopping kedua, Pasar Ben Thanh yang cuma 5minit dari hotel. Yes, approximately 5 minutes by foot. Cho Ben Thanh ini juga terkenal dengan pelbagai barang, boleh tahan murah, pilihan souvenir yg banyak, dan seperti juga Cho Binh Tay td, harga boleh ditawar tapi adat laa kan tempat2 shopping begini, ko tawar-dapat-tetiba tak nak beli-makanlah makian daripada penjual- hahaha 

Penjual kat sini kasar kot, main tarik2, dia maki depan2 je heh tapi kan penjual kat Malaysia ni pun bukan semua baik sgt jugak kan.. kikiki but still, i've also did met the good sellers, whom have a good personality, baik, tak lokek, amoi senyum manyak, bg kerusi kat warga emas dan bapak2 yg kendong anak2 masing sbb mak2 tgh dok pilih barang (read: ayah - abg & abg ipar2) hiks!

Tak lama pun dekat Ben Thanh sebab ptg tu nak pergi Hard Rock Cafe (HRC) dan tengok Water Puppet Performance. Water Puppet mula dalam pukul 6.30 mcm tu, so plan nk gerak dlm kul 5 ptg untuk singgah HRC. Balik hotel, rehat sebentar, tunggu asar dan sambung jalann.

Tak tau la sejak bila mulanya, tp mcm seronok pula jadi collector t-shirt HRC ni. Mahall tu sudah pasti tp sy semat dlm minda, its once in a lifetime. Jadi, walaupun pergi satu2 tempat ni byk kali, tshirt HRC hanya 1 je. For example, i've already bought my Ho Chi Minh's HRC shirt 2014, on my 2nd trip to HCMC. So this time around i purchase nothing. Just 'window shopping' :D

Bought on 2014, dah lusuh sikit since penyakit M banyak kritikal, basuh washing machine lg.. Oh menyesal.. (-_-)

As usual by using cab service, at 5.00 pm we depart to HRC. Clicking here, click there.. pose a little bit here, sightseeing..

Bergambar kenangan gittew.. Sy tiada dalam gambar. Isk isk kita yg pegang kamera. camno.. hihi takpe, kasi cannn.. (^_^") Tak lama kat HRC, nama lagi 'singgah' je kan. Bergambar sikit-sikit, lepas tu terus gerak ke Water Puppet Theater tu. 

The Tickets

Haa nmpak.. fokus habis anak buah2 kita tgk water puppet show.. sekali dgn makpak depa bergigih tau, walaupun sepatah haram dialog diorg kami tak faham.. :)

Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theater ni umumnya adalah persembahan puppet (macam wayang kulit) dalam bahasa Vietnam (tanpa sarikata tau!) yg menceritakan tentang kehidupan orang Vietnam dulu-dulu. Bersawah, memancing, laga ayam dan lain-lain, dgn diiringi traditional live band (warga emas belaka ahlinya). Dan yang menariknya lagi, persembahan dilakukan atas permukaan pentas yg berair (prop sungai).

Para 'Tok Dalang'. Berbasahan lah mereka bg menjayakan persembahan ni.. *tepuk2*

Nah, belanja sikit videonya ye..

Hasil sembang / risikan dgn org tempatan di situ, difahamkan tempat duduk mmg selalu penuh. Kami juga mmg dah buat tempahan sehari sebelum. Dan berdasarkan pemerhatian pada hari kejadian, memang ramai org pun. Full house. Lepas tu, bagi sesiapa yg dpt duduk dpn pentas tu mmg la seronok dpt tgk dekat kan taaapi, naya laaa, percik2 air tu. Mujur famili kita dapat 4th row seats gitu..hihi

Water Puppet Show selesai dalam pukul 8.00 mlm, mcm biasa naik teksi balik ke kawasan hotel dan makan malam kat kedai sekitar2 situ. Dah kenyang, acara bebas ler pulak. Ada yg naik bilik dulu-solat jap-turun balik-layann cuci mata/cuci poket kat pasar malam bawah hotel tu. Ada juga yg terus layan pasar malam dulu baru naik sbb mls dah nk turun-naik, mls nak keluar balik. Hiks! Alhamdulillah end of day 2.


Ada 2 hari lg oit nak cerita..*nangiss balik tiang (*_*) Its ok, take ur time yani.. (bisik kat diri sendiri)



Expenses Details For D2

• Breakfast (14pax) - VND 1,495,000.00
• Taxi Fare from Hotel To Cho Bin Tay - VND 125,000.00 x 2 : 250,000.00
• Taxi Fare from Cho Bin Tay To Hotel - VND 125,000.00 x 2 : 250,000.00
• Lunch (14pax) - VND 885,000.00
• Taxi Fare from Hotel To Hard Rock Cafe - VND 22,000.00 x 2 : 44,000.00
• Taxi Fare from HRC To Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theater - VND 33,000.00 x 2 : 66,000.00
• Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theater Entrance Tickets (10pax-Adults) - VND 2,000,000.00
• Taxi Fare from Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theater To Hotel - VND 30,000.00 x 2 : 60,000.00
• Dinner (14pax) - VND 1,255,000.00

= VND 6,305,000.00

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 2016 - Day 1

5 April 2016 - Selasa - 27 Jamadilakhir 1437H (D1)

Dont even realised when it started, but my family have been traveling together at least once a year. It becomes something like a tradition. So this year we decided to go to Vietnam. Alhamdulillah all 14 of us manage to go without any difficulties. Our 4D3N (5th-8th Apr 16) journey took place in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) or used to be called by the name of Saigon. Since this is my third time going there, i was asked to arranged & planned everything. *sighs.. I just need to asked them for the money i needed. Be their travel guide it is. Nasib family sendiri, kalo tidak tak kuasa la juge. Jadi, dengan mengambil kira kanak-kanak dan ibu mengandung yang akan turut serta, i planned for a very light and easy shopping trip. We depart from KLIA2 on 5th April-Tuesday around 1455 hrs (Malaysia Time) and arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, approximately 2 hrs later. 

My so-called Itinerary (with so many places to shops.. hiks!)

HCMC adalah bandar yang sangat sibuk yea. No further arguments. Hiks! Dengan motosikalnya, keretanya, basnya.. fuhh..semua nak jalan sekali. Since their vehicle operates in left-hand drive, it is quite terrifying to seat front, on the right next to the taxi driver. huuuu ngeri.. Sudah laa teksi tu memang pengangkutan utama kami di sana. Heee even if the destination was in walking distances, bare in mind we were traveling with toddlers, so anything more than 10 minutes walking wasn't really a good choice with such crazee traffic and cab fare wasn't so pricey. Affordable. 

Selesai semua urusan selepas touch-down, kami terus keluar dari airport cari teksi untuk ke hotel. Seperti mana yang telah dinasihatkan oleh blogger dan traveler2 lain, sila ambil teksi "Vinasun" ye, warna temanya hijau putih. InsyaAllah boleh dipercayai. Tambang dari airport ke hotel lebih kurang VND160,000.00 . Kami 1 famili je memerlukan 3 buah kereta (Jenis Innova).

We stayed at Than Thu Hotel in Nguyen An Ninh, District 1 nearby the Ben Thanh Market (5 minutes walking distance). This area was also known as Malaysia Street since you can easily met other Malaysians here. Bersepahh orang kita baq hang. (>_<) Hotel ni sy booked thru Agoda saje. Priced at RM95/night (Standard Room) & RM170/night (Triple Room). 3 Standard rooms & 1 Triple Room for us - a total of 10 Adults & 4 Kids. Rooms were nice and good enough for us. Staffs was friendly and helpful too.

Sampai hotel lebih kurang 6 petang. Waktu di Vietnam adalah 1 jam lewat berbanding Malaysia. Jadi, walaupun baru pukul 6, keadaan sekeliling dah gelap. Depan hotel, peniaga-peniaga dah ready nak bukak kedai. Fyi, there would be a night market everyday in this area. Murah dan meriah. Gittew. Hohoho.. Check-in & letak beg, terus turun balik cari makan malam. Habis makan, jalan-jalan kat pasar malam. Cuci mata dulu. Sabaq, sbb night market tiap-tiap malam ado. End of day 1.





Expenses Details For D1 

• Taxi Fare from Airport to Hotel - VND 160,000.00 x 3 : 480,000.00
• Dinner (14pax) - VND 1,075,000.00

= VND 1,555,000.00

A Quick Trip To Legoland, Johor Bahru

27 Mac 2016 - Ahad - 17 Jamadilakhir 1437H

Nak dijadikan cerita, Ministry Of Education (MOE) dengan kerjasama Legoland ada buat programmed called, "English Mania & Legoland Malaysia Resorts Education Programme (STEM)" sepanjang Mac lalu. Sebagai seorang 'ikan bilis' dalam kementerian itu, tidaklah ku tahu latar belakang kewujudan program tu. Isk! my random guess, basicly its a programme that will encourage primary students to learn in such a fun way. No idea what is the connection with "english"..Oops! Sempena program ni juga, Legoland bermurah hati untuk beri kemasukan percuma (read: free tickets) ke theme park dia. Yes, no water park but still freeeee kot? Hahaha Every MOE staff was eligible to redeem 4 tickets per person.

So, i secretly apply (yes, need to send an email for application and whatsoever) tapi pasrah je dan tak berani nak berharap lebih-lebih since the following weekend we, one whole family will go for a holiday trip to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. sure. money constraint. Anyhow, i did get a positive reply from Legoland. Waktu ni, dah berbelah-bahagi sikit, camna nak pujuk diorang ni oii.. Ha haa and i decided to go with my brother 's family since they are the one with kids in proper age for things like this (Danish, 6 & Sara, 3). Yang lain kecik lagi (Both are 1+ y/o), belum reti, kesian, nanti letih sesaje. along with my parents too. 

I managed to persuade them by telling that most of the expenses will be on me. Huhu and in order to save money, i booked a family room at Skudai Baru Hotel at RM80 per night, borrowing my sisters car (bigger than ours) to fit in all 7 of us, also prepared RM100 for gas and 'pau' my ayahs touch n go for toll.. Hehe.. isk nasib laa, oh familiku..im sorry, acu still can't afford to sponsor 100%.. And i did suggest to make that trip on Sunday - Monday (2D1N), dengan harapan tak ramai orang tapi tak ada maknanye. Huh...

Gerak dari Putrajaya seawal 5 pagi Ahad, dengan harapan sampai JB dalam pukul 8.30 pg, fresh-up & breakfast dan betul-betul waktu Legoland bukak, terus masuk. Heh time is money y'all. Sampai Legoland perlu tukarkan confirmation email tu kepada tiket. Unfortunately the line at ticket counter, fuhhh what a long way to go.. (T_T) Around 10.30am, finally get our tickets and inside we go! Ha ha ha

Dah namanya Legoland, haruslah budak-budak ni eksaited kan.. Huhu tambah-tambah si Danish, "acu, kita nak pergi Legoland kan..? Haa tu Danish dah nampak Legoland.. etc. etc." (^_^'') Hiks! here are some of the pictures..

Dalam keadaan cuaca yang panas, fuhh memang mencabar nak jalan-jalan plus with toddlers pulok.. Oh Malaysiaku.. ;)

Jalan punya jalan, main punya main, tau-tau hari dah lewat petang.. Isk isk patut la perut bagai bernyanyi riang. Maklum laa, quick escape.. so any expenses must be made wisely.. no proper lunch that day yea.. Hiks! Keluar dari Legoland terus check-in hotel dan cari makan malam. Last but not least, a must-have group photo before leaving...

So, thats it... Till then!

A little notes from the authors heart : 

I must've been blessed to have such a family. They keep supporting, being tolerant and giving me the opportunity to do something my way (of course, only if the decision do no harm to anyone huks). Less hanky-panky make everything turns out fine and smooth even it was a last-minute plan with a tight budget. Merci Me Familia!

2016 !

Assalamualaikum wbt!

Wahhh... it really has been awhile.. I seriously have nothing to say. Mengaku bersalah! Kurang lebih 4 tahun kot blog ni ditinggalkan. 2012 - 2016, what have u really been doing all this time yani..?

Alhamdulillah, masih dipinjamkan nyawa, kesihatan yang baik. Truth to be told, before i'm typing this post, i did considered to delete this blog. And as i look back, reading my old post (and it is very much embarassing by the way) i was thinking, why did i created this blog anyway.. I don't even have the talent to write. (read: penulisan hampeh, tak ada bakat punya olang) plus i dont have regular readers. Understandable, sebab update pun tiga empat tahun sekali. sadis sangat ko ni yani! But then, i changed my mind and typing this post. Huu sayang punya pasal, biar la tak ada yang baca pun.. at least, i'll remember what happen in my life (in details, of course!)

2016. I'm already 28 y/o.. to be exact, till the date of this posting i'm still 27 y 6 m/o..sebab tu malu sendiri bila tengok post lama-lama tu.mokcik dah tuo dah.. ngehngehngeh. How time flies huh.. still the same person here.. masih sedang mencari jalan terbaik menuju Tuhannya, masih mencuba mejadi anak yang terbaik pada ibu bapanya, masih sehabis daya cuba jadi adik yang behave buat kakak-kakak dan abangnya, masih juga cuba menjadi 'acu' yang super sempoi untuk anak-anak buahnya, still trying to slim down and still finding her mr. right. Ha ha ha.. 

Hurmm, saja la nak bagitahu, ada beberapa cerita lama yang dah dipadam (barang yang lama jangan dikenang). Maklum la 'mengemas'.. Bila dah kemas, kena la decorate balik. Iye tak? Heee so in terms of redecorating, i plan to share my traveling experience here. (along with some other non-important things too) Well, Alhamdulillah I've been to a few places within the years and currently in love with anything that involves 'travel'.. New interest i guess, huhu typical me.. And i also pledge to write as comfortable as i could (read: language). tak kisah la its either in english or bahasa.

So, since this is the first post after a few years, i do not intend to make it longer, neither do making promise that i'll be updating frequently too. Hiks! Till then.. see ya!