Out-of-country trips are not part of my bucket list yet as I wanna explore the 81 provinces in the Philippines first but Coldplay – Coldplay bandwagon. Charot. Love ko talaga Coldplay from the first time I heard The Scientist. Kbye.
Since Coldplay tickets in Manila are pricier and mej chaka ung venue, we decided to watch it elsewhere.
We tried to secure tickets for the Korea venue but it got sold out few minutes after the selling period was launched. So when my bff Ace who is based in Bangkok announced that he can help us secure tickets for the Thailand leg, we grabbed the chance.
We then decided to visit Vietnam and Cambodia prior to going to Thailand and so the Southeast Asia trip was set. A 10-day trip in three countries. Sounds fun puwera kung ikaw ung automatically assigned to do the itinerary and book the accommodation. Lol
 |
| Our Proposed Itinerary :) |
 |
| Proposed Budget |
Lucky for me too, coz since I have social media influencer friends, we were able to secure our Skechers Go Walk shoes few hours before our flight. Super gaan sa paa and slip-on so swak for on-the-go people like me. Di ba, puwede na kong endorser? Basta nakatalikod.
 |
| Tali-talikod lang, bes. Shot by Karl Presentacion @larkvain |
We were three hours early for boarding since takot kami sa trapik sa Maynila at sa mahabang pila sa immigration (na wala naman pala). Tatlong oras tuloy kaming nakasalampak sa boarding gate ng NAIA para makicharge sa mga available na sockets at iensure ang battery charges in preparation for the long hours of travel in between our destinations.
In fairness sa city lights ng Manila on an almost-midnight flight, super warm and cozy niya.
Vietnam!
But ung city lights sa Vietnam, vast of the mainland was dark until the Ho Chi Minh area. Ang dami pang area sa provinces nila ung not lit.
Anyway, we were in Ho Chi Minh airport a little past midnight and since we were bound to wait for the 6 am bus to Mui Ne (famous for its sand dunes), we looked for a spot to tambay in the airport. But come 3 am, we grew a bit impatient kasi we can’t really sleep in the airport comfortably. The guys looked for other options like an earlier trip to Mui Ne or totally cancelling that visit. One of the guys found another option which is to hire a car. So we did. And somehow I regret. Haha
We went out the airport as instructed in the blog. Cab drivers immediately haggled rates to Mui Ne and since I have established the average cost to get to Mui Ne in our itinerary, we agreed on a dollar in excess of the said amount. Prior to the trip, I collected group funds which we always do from July last year (lesson learned from financial kaguluhan during our Cebu trip. Kaloka magcollect every single time may entrance fee sa ganito ganyan. We were 17 in Cebu. Lol).
Ung initial group fund namin sa Vietnam? 2.5 million. 2.5 million Vietnam Dong. Php 7500 lang talaga yun. Ang lakas makamilyonaryo.
I sat at the seat beside the driver and after getting out of the airport, the driver and the cab contractor was asking us the airport fee they paid which is 15000 dong. E sobrang nakakalito ung dami ng zeroes sa paper bills nila at mas nakakalito pa ung pag-e-English nila kuyang manggagantso (charot at di charot sa manggagantso), I took out the 2.5 million dong and tried to figured out how to pay them since I was entrusted bills in big amounts.
Etong intimitridong driver took all those bills from me and he counted them. Wala siyang pagpapahalaga sa personal space lol (Actually, most of them are. Ang hilig nila mangalabit in an invasive manner at kuhanin lang from your hands ung belongings mo kapag nagtatanong ka sa kanila. OA sa invasive haha). Gusto ko sabihin na I can count and he didn’t have to grab the money from my hands pero how to do in Vietnamese. Kaiyak.
We were able to settle the payment (finally!) and off we drove to Mui Ne. Since puyat-puyat kami, I tried hard not to sleep coz worried ako sa belongings ko pero ang himbing ng tulog ko. Ganyan ung worried sleep/powernap ko, mantikang pagtulog.
Pag gising ko pa, kinalabit na naman ako ni kuya driver para manghingi ng baon kong Ferrero Rocher from Jammel (Thanks sa pabaon! Lol). Grabe pa siya makademand na ipagbalat ko siya para isusubo niya na lang sabay tapon niya ng balat sa highway. Haha bakit galit na galit ako kay kuya lol.
Mej nagpanic ako na nakatulog ako nang mahaba at mej open ung drawstring bag ko with my valuables upon waking up. I checked kung andun ung wallet, phone, and camera ko and was relieved na andun pa sila.
It took us five hours of road trip and sandamukal na toll fees that we had to pay 2.150 million dong kay kuya driver. Lo and behold, when I took out the group funds, we were missing one million dong. Saya no.
So tinatagalog ko tong mga kasama ko and they insisted na baka namisplace ko lang which I highly doubt kasi sinecure ko ung
group funds in a separate big pouch. And I’ve got no proof that kuya driver could have taken it. Sakit, di ba? So we settled to pay kuya out of our own pockets again, dismissing the lost one million dong. Ayoko na humawak ng group funds from then on. :’(
Anyway, highway! I loved Mui Ne. We were lucky with our P350 accommodation, our room with AC and TV and its own toilet and bath with makapangyarihang bidet (oo, mapanakit ung bidet. Ikakadevirginize mo ganun charot) and with a cozy garden outside our room.
 |
| E ung wala akong picture ng lugar pero ayan. Maganda talaga jan. Check booking.com. |
 |
| Shot by Alexis Lim @litratonijuan @sinosijuan |
 |
| Pak sa photoshoot habang may natutulog sa likod. Shot by Alexis Lim @litratonijuan @sinosijuan |
The owner also organized our day tour in Mui Ne and our sleeper bus back to Ho Chi Minh which is six dollars lang for the most comfortable sleeper bus we rode in the entire SEA trip. Take note, we paid 15 dollars each for the private car to Mui Ne, wala pa ung toll fees and nawalan pa kami ng one million dong.
We looked for a place where we can eat breakfast after checking in at 8 am. We passed by a souvenir shop and I bought sakkat, their traditional hat, for 25,000 dong which is about P50. We somehow regretted na di pa kami sa Mui Ne nagshop coz prices are steeper sa Ho Chi Minh itself. The old guy from the souvenir shop pa in Mui Ne was so accommodating compared to the Ho Chi Minh people. Hahahahaha mapanghusga.
 |
| Umay ka na ba sa pics ko? Shot by Alexis Lim @litratonijuan @sinosijuan |
We ended up in a hole-in-the-wall since very few stores are open in Mui Ne at about nine in the morning. Siyempre, bida bida ako. Looking at the menu, my friends were pointing what they wanted to order or saying the English term for it. E bida nga ako di ba? I read instead ung Vietnamese term for my order which was written in English alphabet. “One Com Ga.” Si ate waitress, all-smiles sakin, nakita ko talagang tuwang-tuwa siya sa pagbibida ko. Napalapit pa siya sa tuwa niya. Kbye.
 |
| May free WiFi jan sa halagang P60 na rice meal :) |
Maya-maya, ung feeling ko owner nung kainan, binigyan pa kami ng libreng dragonfruits. Maraming slices ng dragonfruits. Hindi lang isa, kundi lima. Naniniwala talaga akong dahil sa pagbibida kong magVietnamese un. Charot.
In fairness, kahit na hirap na hirap kaming magkaintindihan, masarap ung chicken na inorder ko. Ganito kasi, may pa-sauce ung chicken na not-our-ordinary sweet chilli sa Pilipinas pero close to that. Since di ako mahilig sa matamis na sauces on ulam, inabot ko kay Alexis ung akin. Ung owner kinausap ako in incomprehensible foreign language and ang intindi ko, I signed no, I’m okay para di niya na ako kuhanan ng sauce. Si beh, bumalik, nag-abot ng pangalawang sauce. Inabot ko naman kay Karl ung sauce. At sumenyas na I’m okay without sauce. Huhu si beh, bumalik, may sauce uling dala. O e di, nagsauce ako. Saya no.
But yeah. Super bait ng owner and waitress in that store.
We slept and washed up for our day tour. Day tours in Mui Ne starts at either 4 am (in time for the sunrise on the sand dunes) or 2 pm (since masyadong mainit ung sand at around noon).
First Stop: Fairy Stream
Bago kami tuluyang lumisan, sinabihan kami ng aming day tour driver na free sa Fairy Stream. Pero pagdating namin sa entrance, hinaharang kami nila kuyang tagapag-ingat daw ng sapatos na need magbayad. Nakakatawa rin naman kasi kami. Siyempre, ang tanging bagay na alam namin sa Mui Ne ay disyerto or sand dunes. Beh, may stopover pala sa batis. Naka-Skechers rubber shoes pa kami so paano na ang paglusong sa tubig.
Akala nila kuyang nagpapanggap na tagapag-ingat ng mga sapatos na kaya naman naming ingatan sa sarili naming kakayahan, mapapagbayad nila kami. Siyempre dinedma namin sila.
Unfortunately, some paid. We carried our shoes and walked down the stream barefoot.
Naenjoy naman namin ung malambot na buhangin sa kahabaan ng batis bukod pa sa maarte (as in artsy) naming photoshoot. Mga isang oras din kami sa ilalim ng katanghalian. Pinaakyat nila ako sa mainit na sand dunes para sa picture at pinahawak sa matitinik na sanga ng puno para magmodel-model.
 |
| Pak! Shot ko yan pero yan na best ng Fairy Stream shot lol |
 |
| "Matinik, bes. Puro tinik na ung braso ko, bes." Shot by Karl Presentacion @larkvain |
Second Stop: Fishing Village
Best fishing village I have seen yet. Sobrang ganda ng kulay at amazing ung malalaking batya as boats nila. Makes you wonder paano un lumulutang at di basta-basta tumatagilid. Inawat na kami ni kuya tour guide/driver kasi ang tagal naming nagpicturean sa Fairy Stream. Umalis din kami agad pero amazing talaga ung view.
 |
| Shot by Karl Presentacion @larkvain |
Third Stop: White Sand Dunes
Our favorite place in Mui Ne, if not in Vietnam! Initially, we wanted to leave kasi ang mahal ng ATV ride until we were able to haggle at around P250 per pax instead of P600 for the one-hour tour on the sand dunes. P250 is for the 4x4 and P600 was for the ATV but they gave us lower rates pa sa ATV which we still declined so they offered na ung 4x4 at a lower rate din. Rule of thumb sa Vietnam: Haggle and walk away if the price is not right.
Before we actually took that rate, we decided na magshoot na lang on the lake nearby since it took us 30 minutes from the fishing village to the White Sand Dunes. Parang sayang kasi if we decide to just leave. Luckily, we initially declined coz as we were walking towards the lake, a herd of cows walked on the highway as in they occupied the entire lane going southbound (charot baka pala northbound un or westbound). Ang lakas makaNational Geographic Channel. There were some 40 cows in that herd.
Then we took the 4x4 ride to the sand dunes. Mahangin sa taas at pinahiga-higa ako ni John para magmodel-model sa buhanginan. Si insekta pa, e nakamaigsing red dress ako na di ko pa maintindihan kung alin ung harap kaya baligtad ata ung pagkasuot ko, pagkahiga ko, tumawa nang tumawa. Siguro mga limang minuto rin siyang nagtatawa dun e nakahiga lang ako at nakatakip ng sakkat ung mukha para maganda ung picture kaya malay ko kung bakit siya nagtatawa. Basta magmomodel model lang ako sa buhanginan, yan ung mindset. After niya makuntento sa pagtawa niya, saka niya sinabi, “Cor, nakalabas ung panty mo.” O di ba insekta. Di pa pala siya nagpipicture. Pag-uugali.
 |
| Shot by Alexis Lim @litratonijuan @sinosijuan |
 |
| Shot by Alexis Lim @litratonijuan @sinosijuan |
 |
| Shot by Alexis Lim @litratonijuan @sinosijuan |
 |
| Shot by Alexis Lim @litratonijuan @sinosijuan Umuwi ako na puro hinangin na buhangin sa undies kbye |
Red Sand Dunes: Last Stop
We had a flat tire along the way back to the Red Sand Dunes. The trip was another 30 minutes and the flat tire took us additional time to get there. But rewarding naman ung views on the highways of Mui Ne so we weren’t bothered much. The highways are a view by themselves.
Sa Red Sand Dunes dapat maganda ung sunset shot pero sandamukal ung tao gaya ng pagkasandamukal ng tao sa Fairy Stream at sandamukal din ung ulap kaya wala talagang sunset. Dahil sa tagal ng photoshoot namin sa ibang spots, feeling ko, kinabahan si kuya driver na magtatagal na naman kami. Pero nagkamali siya, umalis din kami agad after ilang shots.
 |
| But this fab shot by Karl Presentacion @larkvain |
We ate dinner and since I’m almost out of dong from the missing one million dong, I looked for a money changer sa Mui Ne. In fairness, may nagpalit ng peso to dong ko at a better rate than I got in Manila.
Funny part. Nagbida-bida ako sa money changer ng pagvi-Vietnamese. I wanted to say thank you but I said “Com Ga” instead of “Cam On.” Com Ga is chicken so takang-taka siguro si kuya money changer bakit ako nag-oorder ng manok sa kanya.
We rested with all the buhangin in our clothes and shoes and prepared for our midnight bus ride to Ho Chi Minh. Makulay yug ilaw sa loob ng bus at para akong ipinaghele sa tuloy-tuloy na four hours na biyahe. We got to Ho Chi Minh at 4 am.
 |
| Makulay na sleeper bus for $6 on a five-hour trip |
Unfortunately, I advised ung accommodation namin ng 8 am arrival.
The night streets of Ho Chi Minh are a bit dark and creepy, we decided to spend the next three hours in McDonald’s. Coz 24 hours. In fairness sa Vietnam, there’s free WiFi in every establishment including ung mga karinderyang kinainan namin. At wala ung internet sa Corean sa Malate sa bilis ng free WiFi nila. Updated lahat ng apps ko.
After getting umay with the tambay at McDonald’s, we booked a GrabCar to our accommodation, left our things, and decided to pick up our bus tickets which were secured by my bff Ace’s Vietnamese friend.
We didn’t buy a local sim card since we’re staying lang in Vietnam for two days and we secured our pocket WiFi c/o Flytpack but since our Flytpack devices only work in Cambodia and Thailand, we settled with the free WiFi sa establishments.
The GrabCar driver dropped us in front of the apartment of Ace’s friend where we will pick up the bus tickets to Siem Reap. Since wala kaming internet or even cellular network number, we decided to shout out her name sa labas ng gate of a ten-storey apartment. We were imitating the Vietnamese accent pa while shouting, “Nguc Thao, Nguc Thao!” Mga pauso ni John.
Realizing it was futile, sobrang squammy namin that we had to walk two blocks at nakiconnect sa free WiFi ng isang gadget store sa kanto. Dun na namin nameet si Nguc Thao to hand us over the bus tickets.
We visited their tiangge which is Ben Tham Market and ate the most satisfying Pho at Pho 24 coz they’re open 24 hours. Ang sarap ng caramel plan nila and the lime juice. Unfortunately, I ordered sugar cane juice na di masyadong masarap.
Matagal kaming tumambay sa accommodation afterwards kasi ang daming kuda nung owner na ayoko nang intindihin basta I don’t recommend ung place niya lol. We agreed to meet our friends who happened to be doing prenuptial shots for a couple in Vietnam. We decided in an artsy building after an hour of rest.
Dahil mali-mali ung geotag sa Instagram nung artsy place, naligaw kami at napadpad sa kung saang-saang kalye ng Ho Chi Minh, asking directions from strangers na after naming sundin, pag nagtanong na kami sa next person, iba na uli ung pinapupuntahan samin.
We ended up in Jollibee kasi wala kaming net or local sim so we were unable to contact Ben and Reg. Super sarap ng spicy chicken nila but they are not fond of rice meals so nakacombo ung chicken with fries. Wala rin silang gravy which they replaced with sweet chilli sauce. But may pacucumber sila on the side. Masarap din ung Mirinda Grapes nila.
With the help of Messenger Live Location, we were able to track ung artsy building, took some artsy shots and tumambay in one of the artsy cafes na matagal magserve. In fairness, ang sarap ng pawelcome tea nila. Sana di na lang pala kami nag-order. Charot.
 |
| Entrance to the artsy place. Look up Mockingbird Cafe in Ho Chi Minh for the address but there are a lot of cafes in the building pa. |
 |
| Shot by Karl Presentacion @larkvain |
 |
| Shot by Alexis Lim @litratonijuan @sinosijuan |
 |
| Shot by Alexis Lim @litratonijuan @sinosijuan |
 |
| Ho Chi Minh crew! |
We walked towards the night life district of Ho Chi Minh and had some drinks in a sidewalk bar, witnessing how a thief on a motorcycle grabbed a girl’s phone. Lol.
 |
| Shot by Karl Presentacion @larkvain |
 |
| Shot by AG Molina @agmolina |
But there’s a couple of things I still love about Vietnam despite the misadventures: The Sand Dunes, Mui Ne and the Provincial People, The Sleeper Bus From Mui Ne to Ho Chi Minh, Pho, and the Roads Full of Motorcycles. :)
 |
| Motorcycles everywhere! |
No comments:
Post a Comment