All of us have been counting the days since we bought our air tickets in March. Come 17th June, we will be in Ho Chi Min City, staying with our dearest friend, Pius and KimChee. We are still talking about our first trip though it 's been two years. Junju is still excitable about the food, the trip to the Bamboo Park and riding on Uncle Pius' motorbike. For her, it's been one of the most thrilling holidays she's ever had.
First and foremost it was the adventure of riding on a motorbike for the first time. Of course, had I known they had gone without wearing safety helmets, I would have stop them. Alarmed I was, but the millions of cyclists in HCMC obviously do not adhere to the safety rules as the local government does not enforce them. Bicycles and motorbikes swarmed the city of HCMC everyday. They are a common mode of transportation for both human and animals. We have come across riders carrying chicken, pet birds and even dog all over the city. (Of course, both chicken and dog eventually ends up in the market as food). The kids have certainly enjoyed the adrenalin rush riding pillion on Uncle Pius' Suzuki.
As HCMC is not known for kids oriented activities like, museums with dinosaur skeletons or mummies, Uncle Pius suggested swimming. The swimming facility was nestled in a beautifully landscaped garden with fishing lakes and a restaurant. The kids had a smashing time and even made some new friends. But definitely no more motorcycle adventure! We'll be taking taxis from now on. (HCMC many outstanding war-based museums may not appeal to energetic impatient kids too young in ages. You're far better off taking them to Cu Chi Tunnel where they will have a time of their life pretending to be soldiers especially if they are boys. It's a good opportunity for older kids to do some videoing, if not do bring your notebooks and still camera. Lots of great moments here!)
Taxi service are time-saving and efficient way to get around in HCMC. Uncle Pius and KimChee depends on them daily as oppose to having their own car and driver which requires additional liability such as insurance. Streets in HCM central business district are narrow and most are one way street, making it all the more difficult to find a parking box. VERY SUSAH if you don't have a driver that waits and picks up as soon as you are done with whatever you are doing. Likewise, the thought of taking public buses quickly diminished as we are limited by our inability to speak Vietnamese.
So we indulged ourselves by taking taxis everyday and enjoyed them thoroughly as we would not have this opportunity back in KL. It was cheaper and more efficient that KL. We struggled to converse and memorizing Uncle Pius' home address was the only few we've managed. Till today, we can count on it to provide a good laugh as recalling the address in Vietnamese is soooo... hilarious. That's because Vietnamese words don't sound the way they are written at all. The kids gave it a good try for days and kids being kids, they are so gungho about learning new things especially if they are funny.
So Uncle Pius suggested going to the Bamboo Park. What an incredible surprise the Bamboo Park was. Again, beautifully landscaped with of course, lots and lots of bamboo plants. Everything is made from bamboo, the giant swing(I really mean GIANT), see-saw, the windmill, the merry-go-round etc. Everything is layout in a tropical garden with fish and lotus pond reminiscence of a traditional Vietnamese village. It is so nostalgic and picturesque that couples considered it to be a key location to have their wedding pictures taken there. Armed and escorted with hair, make-up artist and professional photographer, it was such a sight. We counted more than 20 over couples including one with a foreign groom, who almost fell out from a tree branch overhanging across the pond. Another sat in a traditional boat or sampan dressed in traditional Vietnamese wedding gown. Now, that's is what we called the "Universal Studio" in the most natural setting.
After "rubbing shoulders" with all the beautiful brides and grooms, we sat ourselves in a quite corner of a local cafe to sample a traditional "burnt rice crust pie" and some tea.
We would love to share more quirky moments in HCMC with you but we exit now with a short home video of the Bamboo Garden ......
