Part 1 | Osaka-Kyoto-Nara-Kobe in 4 days

I travelled to Osaka, Kyoto, Nara and Kobe in 4days. I wished I could have stayed longer. But there is always a next time.

How did I start planning for this trip? Ofcourse, it all started with a Cebu Pacific promo flight.

Flight

I took the Cebu Pacific flight from Manila to Osaka and vice versa. Roundtrip ticket costs Php5,300 only with 15kgs baggage on the return flight. Anyone who has travelled frequently to Japan would know that this is really a great deal.

Accommodation

Searching for an accommodation in Japan can be really stressful. Japan is known as an expensive destination, and sure it is!

As I am travelling solo, staying in a hotel, even 3-star hotels, is not an option for me. It is not practical since I’ll be out the whole day, and I just needed a decent and safe place to crash for the night.

So what is my option? Stay in a guesthouse!

Thanks to the reviews I’ve read in tripadvisor, agoda.com and booking.com, I found these guesthouse where I stayed during my 4night stay in Japan. Trust me, always make sure to stay in a place that is close to a metro/train station. It can save you a lot of time and energy.

J. Hoppers Guesthouse Osaka

Location: 3-minute walk from JR Fukushima Station

Price: 2,500JPY (approx. Php930)

Kyoto Hana Hostel

Location: 5-minute walk from JR Kyoto Station

Price: 2,500JPY (approx. Php930)

Drop Inn Osaka

Location: 5-minute walk from JR Osaka Station

Price: 3,900JPY (approx. Php1500)

Day 0 - Travel from Manila to Osaka

The flight left NAIA Terminal 3 at 3:20pm and arrived at Kansai International Airport a little past 8:00pm (7:00pm Manila time, Japan ahead by 1 hour). 

From the disembarkation area, we took a short train ride to the Main Terminal, to the Immigration Area. It took more than an hour to pass the Immigration counter. 

Upon passing through the exit doors after the custom counter, I went up to the 2nd flr of the terminal to the JR Ticketing Office. I bought the ICOCA prepaid card for 5,000JPY (Initial cost is 2,000JPY with 500JPY deposit & 1,500JPY consumable, and I topped up another 3,000JPY) or approximately Php1,850.

I took the 10:28PM train from Kansai Airport directly to JR Fukushima Station (approx. 70mins) via JR Kansai Airport Rapid Service.

Day 1 - Universal Studios Japan

At 9:00AM, I was already at JR Fukushima Station waiting for the train to Universal City, which is only 10mins via train. Universal Studios Japan (USJ) opened at 9:30AM today. Be sure to check the operating hours ahead to maximize your stay.

Even on a Thursday (considering it is a weekday), there was a long queue in the ticket booth when I arrived. 1-day ticket costs 7,200JPY (approx. Php2,700) per person. I bought my ticket first, before I took a customary shot at the Universal Studios globe.

I immediately find my way to the 'The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (HP)'. Honestly, I had no idea what it is all about. I am not a fan of HP and I did not watch nor read any HP movie or book. Haha! I was just curious how does the area look like.

I first tried the 'HP and the Forbidden Journey in 4K3D' ride. The thrilling ride is about 5 minutes traveling through the massive castle gates and entering Hogwarts. The ride is full of thrills and is exciting, but I did not understand the story as it is in Japanese. Anyhow, I still enjoyed the ride and it was worth it.

Here are the other rides/attractions I tried/visited:

1. The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man - The Ride 4K3D. The experience is almost the same with the HP ride, and the story is in Japanese. At any rate, I had fun.

2. WaterWorld - I started to line up at 12:00PM for the 1:15PM show. Less than 5 minutes after the show started, I left the auditorium because the story is the same with what was shown in Universal Studios Singapore, and it is in Japanese as well. 

I was not able to enjoy as many rides/attractions as I would like to because of the very long lines and I also hesitated to try other 3D rides because the stories are in Japanese. I just took photos around USJ.

Here are my snapshots at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

At around 1:00pm, I was already famished and my footsteps found its way at the Amity Village. I ordered this combo meal (photo below) at Boardwalk Snacks for 1,100JPY (approx. Php405). Its worth the price!

After lunch, I decided to take more photos around USJ. 

I left USJ at around 5:00PM. I took the train from Universal City to Osaka Station. I decided its now time I look for a Starbucks store where I can buy a tumbler (I collect SB tumbler of cities & countries I've been).

After 2 unsuccessful attempts at 2 SB stores, finally I was able to buy at the 3rd store I visited. It's at the 9th flr. of Lucua Shopping Mall, just outside the JR Osaka Station.

After a quick dinner at Yoshinoya, I decided to call it a day. I was so tired from all the walking I did at USJ. It was so sunny then, take a look at my sun burn (photo below) and just imagine how hot was it.

My Travel Diary

My first plane ride was from Manila to Bohol in May 2008. I was 22 years old. Some say I started my wanderlust too early, while others take me as a late-comer (well, it really depends on who’s perspective were looking at).

Since then, I’ve taken 9 local and 11 international flights. Here’s the list of local and international cities I have been and the months and years I visited them:

Local*

1. Bohol and Cebu (May 2008, Nov 2011, Nov 2013)

2. Puerto Princesa & El Nido, Palawan (July 2009)

3. Boracay (July 2010, June 2012)

4. Davao (Nov 2010)

5. Coron, Palawan (Aug 2011)

6. CDO & Camiguin (Feb 2012)

*Not included those provinces that can be reached by land

International

1. Hong Kong (June 2009)

2. Singapore and Kuala Lumpur (March 2010)

3. Taipei, Taiwan (March 2011

4. Bangkok, Thailand (July 2011)

5. Seoul, Korea (Nov 2011)

6. Singapore and Bintan, Indonesia (April 2013)

7. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (Aug 2013)

8. Beijing, China (Nov 2013)

9. United Arab Emirates (Jan 2014)

10. Hong Kong & Macau (March 2014)

11. Siem Reap-Phnom Pehn, Cambodia (July 2014)

And because I am so excited, sharing as well my upcoming trips for the rest of 2014 & early 2015 (flights were already booked)

      1. Davao (Nov 2014)

      2. Seoul, Korea (Dec 2014)

      3. Tokyo & Osaka, Japan (March 2015)

More often than not, I get questions like “how do I get to travel”, “how do I save for a trip”, “where do I get my travel fund”, etc.

The answer is simple: I know how to prioritize. And travelling in my PRIORITY! It is the thing I enjoy the most. So what I do is, I prioritize my expenses,  budget my expenditures. And all excess are saved and used to fund my travelling saga.

You might be surprised but I really do not have a “travel fund”. It takes a lot of discipline not spend the amount that so very liquid on my account. Liquid meaning can be easily withdrawn and be used. For some who might have hard time keeping off on buying things specially during “sale season”, may be you may want to consider having a travel fund.

Also, I keep track of my daily expenses (really!). I record ALL my daily expenses and categorize what kind of expense is it i.e., food, transpo, groceries, shopping, etc. By month end, you’d be surprised to discover how much you spend for these things.  Little things add up. You just need to be honest with yourself.

For me, I don’t really go to coffee shops unless there is a valid reason to be. I don’t go shopping often and only buy things I really need. I don’t go out and eat out often. I bring packed food. I take public transpo. I stay in cheaper hotels. I don't spend more than I earn. I buy airfare on promo/sale so I have one month to save on airfare and the others months for pocket money.

So it’s no luck. It’s a matter of setting priorities and doing what I enjoy the most. And at the end of it all, It’s not what you earn, but what or how much you save.

Touring Taipei!

I had the opportunity of visiting the city of Taipei in late April 2011. We have to admit, most people don't give Taipei a lot of credit as a tourist destination. Having visited other countries in Asia like HK and SG,  I still find Taipei as a good travel destination for budget travelers.

As all my travels started with promo airfare, next on my checklist is the visit visa application. It was only after I booked the flight that I learned Filipinos needed to apply for a tourist visa before visiting Taiwan. Since that was my first time ever to apply for a visit visa, I was excited and nervous at the same time (haha!). I've heard quite a lot of stories of those being denied during visa application (not actually of taiwan visit visa, but generally speaking. right?).

For this post, I'll share how I applied for my 1st visa application and of course, my budget breakdown for this trip.

How to Apply and Get a Taiwan Tourist Visa in Manila?

Step 1 - Submit complete requirements for tourist visa application
1. Fill out the Online visa application form completely and accurately. Indicate N/A for items not applicable. Print the form. 
2. Two (2) passport size photo (just inform the photo studio that this is for Taiwan visa application)
3. Passport valid for at least six (6) months and old passport showing previous travels (i don't have old passport so I just brought my current)
4. NSO Birth Certificate
5. NSO Marriage Certificate (if applicable)
6. Certificate of Employment
7. Bank Certificate (at that time I only had P28,000 in my account (P20k of which was actually borrowed from my mom)  and I was approved of visa. Cannot say what is their required amount, but somehow this gives you an idea that they do not require high amounts in your bank cert.) 
8. Latest Income Tax Return (ITR)
9. Roundtrip airfare ticket, hotel reservations, and itinerary (additional docs that may be required)

Note: All documents submitted shall be all original with 1 set photocopy

Step 2 - Submit application at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines

41F, Tower 1, RCBC Plaza
Ayala Avenue, Makati City

* Filing time: 8:45am to 11:45am, Monday to Friday
* First come, first serve basis. No appointment is needed
* Processing tome = 3 working days
* Releasing time: 1:45pm to 4:45pm, Monday to Friday
* No personal appearance of the applicant is required. 


Step 3  - Pay the visa fee at the window/counter

Visa fee: P2,400 (updated: single entry - P2,100, multiple entry - P4,200)

Step 4 - Claim your passport on the scheduled release

The date of release is indicated in the receipt of visa payment. 

Disclaimer: All information stated above are based on the personal experience of the writer. Should you have any clarification, I suggest you course it directly to the consular office.

Budget Breakdown

In Philippine Peso
2,719.92 = Round trip airfare via Cebu Pacific (Manila-Taipei & v.v.)
2,400.00 = Tourist visa application
1,620.00 = Travel tax at NAIA
   750.00 = Terminal fee at NAIA
--------------
7,489.92 = Total in Php

In Taiwan Dollar = TWD1 = Php1.4895

Day 0
   400 (P598.50) = Airport to hotel transfer (1,600TWD for 4 pax)
2,820 (P4,200.39) = Wonstar Hotel (5,640TWD/3 nights for 2 pax)
----------------------------
3,220 (P4,796.19) - Total Day 0

Day 1
180 (P268.11) = Taipei MRT 1 day pass (unlimited Taipei MRT ride for 1 day)
*Visited Sun Yat-sen & Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Halls
  50 (P74.48) = Lunch
100 (P148.95) = Roundtrip Maokong Gondola Ride (cable car)
55 (P81.92) = Dinner
-------------------
385 (P573.46) - Total Day 1

Day 2
625 (P930.94) = Van rental for 1 day
*Visited National Museum, Yangmingshan National Park, Yehliu Geopark, Danshui Old Street
50 (P74.48) = Entrance fee to Yehliu Geopark
500 (P744.75) = Pasalubong: local delicacies
300 (P446.85) = Pasalubong: keychains & ref magnets
250 (P372.38) = Pasalubong: bracelet
292.50 (P435.68) = Lunch
300 (P446.85) = Paid reservation for hotel-airport transfer (1,200TWD for 4 pax)
148 (P220.45) = Pasalubong: starbucks tumbler (297TWN for 2 pax)
20 (P29.79) = MRT to Taipei City Hall Stn.
400 (P595.80) = Entrance fee to Taipei 101 Observatory
50 (P74.48) = Pasalubong: Taipei 101 gift shop
20 (P29.79) = MRT to Houshanppi Stn. 
25 (P37.24) = Dinner
-------------------
2,980.50 (P4,439.45) - Total Day 2

Day 3
20 (P29.79) = MRT to Zhongxiao Fuxing Stn.
20 (P29.79) = MRT to Houshanppi Stn.
850 (P1,266.08) = Pasalubong: winter jacket for older brother
55 (P81.92) = Lunch
30 (P44.69) = MRT to Yuanshan Stn
200 (P297.90) = Entrance fee to Taipei Expo Flora 2010
731 (P1,088.82) = Pasalubong: Taipei Expo Flora gift shop
30 (P44.69) = MRT to Houshanppi Stn.
35 (P52.13) = Dinner
45 (P67.03) = Dessert
450 (P670.28) = Winter jacket for me
100 (P148.95) = Blazer for me
150 (P223.43) = Pasalubong
50 (P74.48) = Pasalubong
30 (P44.69) = Coke at Taipei airport
--------------------
2,796.00 (P4,164.64) - Total Day 3

Summary of Expenses
P7,489.92 = airfare, visa, travel tax, terminal fee
P4,796.19 (3,220TWD) = Total Day 0
P    573.46 (385TWD) = Total Day 1
P4,439.45 (2,980.50TWD) = Total Day 2
P4,164.64 (P2,796TWD) = Total Day 3 
-------------------------------------------------------
P21,463.66 TOTAL EXPENSES ALL-IN

NOTES:

What I loved most about my visit to Taipei is that I got to experience the cold weather abroad for the 1st time (wiiiiiih). We traveled last week of March so temperatures are really dropping to low numbers especially during night. At first I had hard time to acclimate. To make things even harder, it was very windy during our visit.  But at the end of it, I made a promise to myself that I'll visit more countries during their 'cold' seasons. Philippines is a tropical country, so experiencing 'cold' weather is a welcome thing to me.

Happy traveling everyone! :)

=================================
This entry is part of travel to Taipei, Taiwan dated March 23 to 26, 2011

Travel to Seoul for Php27K

With all these K-dramas and K-pop fever, people are getting more excited to visit Korea. In fact, a 59-day visit visa to Korea for Filipinos is gratis (free!!!!). 

I came across my "Korea" travel notes while planning for my return trip this December. For this trip, I spent almost Php 26k for 3-full days. Expensive isn't it? Well, it's up to you to decide. For me, it's super worth it and I am so excited to be back here!!! But the fact remains, that Korea is an expensive destination. But just like any other destination, there are ways to lessen the costs (noted for my return trip, hahaha!).

Here's my budget breakdown

In Php
3,398.18 = Roundtrip ticket (Manila-Incheon)
1,620.00 = Travel tax
   750.00 = Terminal fee
6,592.87 = Accommodation: Astoria Hotel for 3 nights (4,395.25 per night for 2 pax)
---------------
12,361.05 - Total in PHP


In Korean Won (Php1 = 0.0389 won)

Day 0
16,250 (Php632.06) = Transpo: Taxi from airport to hotel (65,000won for 4 pax)
11,750 (Php457.03) = Food: Dinner at Myeongdong
-------------------------------------
28,000 (Php1,089.09) - Total Day 0


Day 1
19,580 (Php761.58) = Food: Breakfast in Astoria Hotel (only 1 free bfast per room)
11,500 (Php447.30) = Transpo: Taxi from hotel to Everland (46,000won for 4 pax)
38,000 (Php1,478.05) = Tour: Entrance fee to Everland
  4,450 (Php173.09) = Food: Lunch at Everland
  2,000 (Php77.79) = Transpo: Bus to Sadang Stn (nearest subway station)
  1,100 (Php42.79) = Transpo: Subway from Sadang to Myeongdong Stn
  5,750 (Php223.65) = Food: Dinner
-------------------------------
53,880 (Php3,204.25) - Total Day 1  

Day 2
  1,000 (Php38.90) = Transpo: Subway from Myeongdong to Insadong Stn 
  1,900 (Php73.90) = Transpo: Subway from Insadong to Gapyeong Stn
  5,000 (Php194.48) = Transpo: Bus to Nami Island (took the Gapyeong City tour shuttle bus)
  8,000 (Php311.17) = Tour: Entrance fee to Nami Island
  5,000 (Php194.48) = Food: Lunch at Gapyeong Wharf
  5,000 (Php194.48) = Tour: Electric car rental at Nami Island (20,000won for 4 pax)
     650 (Php25.28) = Transpo: Taxi from Gapyeong Wharf to Gapyeong Stn (2,600won for 4 pax)
  1,900 (Php73.90) = Transpo: Subway from Gapyeong Wharf to Myeongdong Stn
  1,000 (Php
38.90) = Food: Pancake (street food)
46,000 (Php1,789.21) = Pasalubong: Korean chocolates
60,000 (Php2,333.76) = Pasalubong: Giordano tshirts
17,000 (Php661.23) = Pasalubong: Starbucks planner
  9,000 (Php350.06) = Pasalubong: Starbucks mug
  6,725 (Php261.58) = Food: Dinner at Myeongdong
  4,500 (Php175.03) = Pasalubong: Starbucks mug (9,000won for 2 pax)
----------------------------
172,675 (Php6,716.36) - Total Day 2

Day 3
  1,000 (Php38.90) = Transpo: Subway from Myeongdong to Gwanghwamun Stn 
10,000 (Php388.96) = Tour: Seoul City Tour Bus
  8,000 (Php311.17) = Tour: Entrance fee to Teddy Bear Museum at N Seoul Tower
32,500 (Php1,264.12) = Pasalubong: Souvenir items in Teddy Bear Museum
10,000 (Php388.96) = Food: Lunch at N Seoul Tower
  9,000 (Php350.06) = Pasalubong: Cellphone accessory
  1,000 (Php38.90) = Transpo: Subway from Gwanghwamun to Myeongdong Stn
10,000 (Php388.96) = Pasalubong: Keychains
     300 (Php11.67) = Print out of web check in boarding pass
10,000 (Php388.96) = Transpo: Airport shuttle from Myeongdong Stn
  3,900 (Php151.69) = Food: Dinner at Paris Baguette 
----------------------------
95,700 (Php3,722.34) - Total Day 3

TOTAL COST: 700,510 won or Php 27,093.09

==============================
This entry is part of my travel to Seoul, South Korea dated November 26 to 29, 2011

Cambodia-Vietnam in 4D5N for PHP17K

From today on, I'lI will start making budget breakdown blogposts. One budget breakdown post per trip.

So today's posts would be about my very recent trip to Cambodia and Vietnam. 

Take note that there are 4 different currencies involved in this travel: Philippine Peso (PHP), US Dollar (USD), Cambodian Riel (KHR) and Vietnamese Dong (VND). USD is widely accepted in Cambodia. No need to exchange USD to KHR. You will be given change in USD except for values lesser than 1USD, they'll give you KHR (1USD = 4,000KHR). I will keep my KHR as souvenir.

In PHP
3,843.61 = Roundtrip ticket (Manila-Siem Reap & Ho Chi Minh-Manila)
1,620.00 = Travel tax
   550.00 = Terminal fee
---------------
6,013.62 - Total in PHP

In USD
Day 0 - Siem Reap
15.00 = Pasalubong: paintings, tshirts, keychains at night market

Day 1 - Siem Reap
20.00 = Tour: Angkor Wat entrance fee 
  8.00 = Tour: Whole day car rental (25USD + 5USD tip for 4 pax)
  3.00 = Food: Lunch at Ta Prohm restaurant
  1.00 = Food: Meryenda (street vendor just outside our guesthouse)
10.00 = Food: Dinner at Amazon Angkor Restaurant (buffet w/ cultural show)
----------
42.00 - Total Day 1

Day 2 - Siem Reap & Phnom Penh
18.00 = Accommodation: Bousavy Guesthouse (18USD/night for 2 pax - 2 nights)
13.00 = Transpo: Mekong Express bus to Phnom Penh
  2.60 = Food: Lunch at the bus stop bound from Phnom Penh
  3.00 = Transpo: Tuktuk ride from bus terminal to Blue Lime Hotel (3USD for 4 pax)
10.00 = Transpo: Khai Nam bus to Ho Chi Minh (bought one day earlier through local agency)
  1.00 = Food: Chips at convenience store
  1.00 = Dinner: Local food at a local restaurant
---------
48.60 - Total Day 2

Day 3 - Phnom Penh
25.00 = Accommodation: Blue Lime Hotel (50USD/night for 2 pax)
  2.00 = Food: Lunch at Khai Nam Restaurant
---------
27.00 - Total Day 3 in USD

In VND

Day 3 - Ho Chi Minh
  66,000 = Transpo: Taxi from bus stop to Kim Huong Hotel (for 4 pax)
  65,000 = Food: Dinner at Pho 2000
200,000 = Pasalubong: Local coffee at night market
500,000 = Pasalubong: Vietnamese purses
  60,000 = Food: Trung Nguyen Coffee shop
  19,000 = Foods: Chips at convenience store
-------------
910,000 - Total for Day 3 in VND

Day 4 - Ho Chi Minh
  20,000 = Food: Dessert at Kim Huong Hotel (free breakfast)
  45,000 = Pasalubong: Dried fruits at Ben Thanh Market
  68,000 = Food: Lunch at The Grill Bar
490,000 = Pasalubong: Northface jacket at Saigon Square
260,000 = Pasalubong: Crumpler backpack at Saigon Square
  99,000 = Food: Dinner at The Grill Bar
  82,000 = Food: Coffee & Dessert at The Grill Bar
  50,000 = Pasalubong: Vietnamese fans at night market
  30,000 = Transpo: Taxi to airport (130,000VND for 4 pax)
--------------
1,144,000 = Total for Day 3 in VND

In USD

Day 4 - Ho Chi Minh
14 = Accommodation: Kim Huong Hotel (28USD/night for 2 pax)
14 = Tour: Cu Chil Tunnel
------
28 - Total for Day 4 in USD

TOTAL:
In PHP =    6,013.61
In USD =       160.60 (1USD = PHP43.4)
In VND =  2,054,000 (1USD = VND21,210)

TOTAL COST: PHP17,025.95

Some notes:

1. Some expenses are not equally divided among ourselves, i.e., costs of taxi and transpo. If divided equally, actual cost could be lower than the amount stated above.

2. Currency conversions are based on the actual rate I bought them. This certainly will differ depending on the current exchange rate.

3. We preferred comfortable accommodations with aircon and free breakfast. There are a lot more cheaper accommodations that those we booked.

Happy traveling!!! :)

========================================
This entry is for my travel to Cambodia and Vietnam dated July 24 - 29, 2014

Backpacking in Saigon

This trip is extra special for me because I traveled again with my cousin, Shobe. This was a follow-up trip after I visited her in SG last April 2013 (story of my recent SG trip in my next post). Since she is working in SG, we initially planned on meeting in Ho Chi Minh City (also popularly known as Saigon). I’ll be coming from Manila and she from SG. After a couple of attempts in booking a flight, she finally decided that she’ll be coming from Manila instead. That made my task easier as I just have to book two roundtrip tickets from Manila to HCMC (haha!)

Flight

I booked our flight thru Cebu Pacific. Our flight left Manila at 10:50PM and it took around 2.5 hours to reach HCMC (HCMC behind by an hour).

We arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport at around 12:30AM (1:30AM Manila time). Upon clearing through immigration and exiting the airport, we just took a cab to our hotel. Just be careful when choosing a taxi in Vietnam. I have heard quite a number of warnings that it is safer to take more reputable taxi companies as taxi scams are very prevalent in Vietnam. Vinasun taxi was recommended to me by a friend.

Hotel

Throughout our 3 days in HCMC, we stayed at Kim Huong HoteI¸ as recommended by my officemate. It’s just in front of the famous Ben Thanh market and walking distance to Saigon Square. This is just a simple and decent hotel. In fact you can find a lot of affordable accommodations around HCMC. I got our room at USD28 per night for two persons, inclusive of free breakfast.

I directly coordinated with the hotel via email for my inquiries and reservations. I also bought our first 2 days tours around the city with them. But take note, nothing is paid until we checked out on our 3rd day. Not bad right?

Foreign Exchange

I usually buy local currency even before my scheduled trip. That has been my practice since I started travelling in 2009. But VND is not available in our bank, so I brought USD with me and just exchanged at the airport. We all know that airport rates are relatively low compared to the rates outside so we just exchanged only a small amount just to let us reach our hotel and have some left for any contingency.

FYI. USD is widely accepted especially on big stores, restaurants, hotels, and tours. I am not sure if USD can also be used in tiangge and night market.

Tour

For both days, we were picked up by the agency from our hotel. What they did was, they pick up guests using smaller buses then they meet at one point to join everyone in a bigger bus. The country attracts tourist across continents (haha!). In fact, I lost track of the different languages I heard while inside the bus (I tried so hard to pick up the language and identify the nationality, but I failed).

We did the Cu Chi Tunnel and Mekong Delta tours on Days 1 & 2 respectively. Each costs USD14 and USD17 respectively. And already inclusive of the transpo, lunch, entrance fees, guide.  

Here are some photos of the places we visited.

View of HCMC from our hotel. Those red roofs is Ben Thanh Market 

Day 1 - Cu Chi Tunnel tour

see how we fit into this small hole

this is Shobe! :)

know what is this?

its a trap!!!

tunnel entrance

 

we managed to crawl inside the tunnel for about 20 mins

film showing

they are blonde foreigners

Day 2 - Mekong Delta tour

the boat and the river

we bought our "salakots" at the night market

river cruise

At Mekong Restaurant

Day 3 - Third day is our free day. I did not book any tour for this day. We did our huling hirit sa shopping today and also visited these places.

Notre Dame Basilica

Saigon Post Office

Inside the post office

In front of the Parliament House
I think hahaha! I really don't remember

Shopping

Ben Thanh Market

I think this is the largest and oldest marketplace in HCMC. It is mostly popular among tourist looking for souvenirs, over-runs or imitation items, coffee, tamarind, tshirts and many more. There is a daytime and night time markets here. I feel that the night market prices are cheaper than the daytime one.

TIP: Sellers would initially tend to offer higher prices than what really should be. Don’t be afraid to haggle. Haggling is very common in Vietnam, and honestly, I was immediately identified by the local as Filipina everytime I haggle (I really don’t know if this is a good thing :D).

Like in our case, I just asked how much does one tshirt cost. They said its 600VND. That is very expensive. When we were about to leave, they initially offered to bring down the cost to 300VND. That’s already 50% discount. So Shobe and I began to choose tshirts as pasalubong to our family back home. In the end, we bought around 9 or 10 tshirts and asked for discount. Finally they priced us at 200VND per tshirt. That’s almost 67% discount (hahaha!)

Saigon Square

Saigon square is an indoor air-conditioned shopping center not far from Ben Thanh market. The shops there are mostly selling clothes and bags at affordable prices. I am not sure if these are authentic or not. But those brands do have manufacturing in Vietnam and Cambodia. But I guess most of them are imitations. Nevertheless, I bought bags and clothes and they are still in good condition now.

You can also haggle here but they might not give as much discount compared to Ben Thanh Market. For me, I prefer shopping here in Saigon Square.

Vincom Center, Parkson, Diamond Plaza, Nowzone

These shopping centers houses high-end brands. The look and feel is comparable to Greenbelt. I guess this is popular for those who are really on a budget. But for us, we went inside these malls to window shop (hehehe!) and also because these malls have good airconditioning system, it’s good to stay indoors given that it was really humid outside.

Eat

I love Vietnamese food!!! I must say, this is the first trip wherein I really enjoyed the local food. I am not really a foodie. I just like comfort food which I believe I deserve after the loooog day of touring. But it was different in HCMC. I enjoyed all the food I tasted there.

1st day dinner. From the drop-off point, we happen to pass by a restaurant near New World Hotel. We chose what's within the area because we we so hungry after the tour. We ended up at Pho Hung Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup. And ofcourse, we ordered beef noodle soup :-D

they served us with those leafy thing :D

2nd day dinner. We looked for Pho 2000, as recommended by another friend. The restaurant is also known as Pho for the President. They have pictures all over the restaurant of Mr. Bill Clinton dining there. The restaurant is just outside Ben Thanh Market.

 

3rd day lunch. We decided to have lunch near our hotel. After we checked out and left our luggage (our flight is on the night), we just walked and found the Grill Bar

3rd night dinner. It was raining so hard then in HCMC. Shobe and I decided try another authentic vietnamese restaurant as this was our last night in HCMC. Our feet led us to Pho 24.

yum yum yum those noodles

Vietnamese coffee is very famous and strong. We both tried Highlands and Trung Nguyen. We even bought both 3in1 coffee as pasalubong.

trying out Trung Nguyen Coffee

beatin' the heat at Highlands Coffee

Transpo

We did not spent even a single dime on transpo, except for the taxi from and to the airport. We stayed at District 1 which is known as the central district. All the places of our interest are just walking distance away (both short and long walks). 

Budget Breakdown

In PHP

Airfare: 5,325.50 (two way per person)

Travel tax: 1,620

Terminal fee: 550

Total in Php: 7,494.50

In USD

Accommodation: USD 28 x 3 nights / 2 pax = USD 42 (3 nights per person)

Tours: USD 14 (Cu Chi) & USD 17 (Mekong) = USD 31 (2 days tour per person)

Other expenses (i.e., shopping, food) = USD 120

Total in USD: 193 (@ USD1 = Php45) = Php 8,685

Total for 3D2N in HCMC= Php 16,179.50

And with that, I am already scheduled to go back to HCMC July this year! This time, it will be Cambodia-Vietnam.