Day 3
Woke up super early because we are taking the earliest bus back to Ho Chi Minh City at 7am. Unfortunately for us, the complimentary breakfast only starts at 7 so we bought instant cup noodles the day before. Not sure if it is just Mui Ne or what, there were quite a lack of convenience store and there weren't much options for cup noodles. A very big differences from Thailand which I wasn't expecting it to be..
The trip back to HCMC was of course with Sinh Tourist costing us another USD 12. By the time we reach HCMC, it was noon and it was really really HOT! The traffic jam near HCMC make me feel much worst. Kept sleeping during the ride but the headache didn't subside.
Having read up on Tripadvisor prior to the trip, I decided to go to Pao Cafe for lunch before it was just a short walk from Sinh Tourist (where we were dropped off). But I was feeling really under the weather, I didn't had any other than a cup of coffee. Boyfriend ordered this very healthy looking noodle which he said taste better than it looked.
Pao Cafe
158 Bui Vien
It's finally time for us to head to Hotel Nikko. Although it is still within District 1, it is rather far away from the main tourisy area and that calls for taxi :) And we love love love Hotel Nikko! It was Christmas Day so we had pretty Christmasy deco at the lobby, making the whole place look so cheery. Managed to book the room through agoda with a promotional price of SGD$180 which I felt was really reasonable given the peak holiday season and 5 star service and room
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| huge mirror to camwhore upon stepping into the room |
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| what a sight that greet us! |
Rest for an hour in the hotel before deciding that it is time we go out to explore. Head to Saigon Square for some shopping which was rather disappointing for us because all the imitation doesn't interest us a teeny weeny bit. Decided to take a coffee break at Highlands Coffee again.
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| because I didn't had lunch, we ordered Bánh mì to share |
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| SUPER YUMMY!! |
Was really tired when it was only 6.30pm and the Ben Thanh Night Market was not out yet. Decided not to wait and head back to the shopping mall just beside Hotel Nikko. Quite disappointed to find that it is just a departmental store with a couple of fast food joint at the highest floor. Boyfriend has KFC before we retreat to our room.
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| pretty deco outside the mall |
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| how the Vietnamese eat their KFC |
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| Hotel Nikko's facade |
Day 4
Was super excited to wake up on our last day in Vietnam because we have booked the room together with the breakfast at the hotel. Read all the good stuff about their breakfast and am super eager to try! It was free seating and there were friendly staff near the entrance showing you the available best seat (beside the window). There were bottles of jams and spread at each table and the staff was very efficient in serving coffee/tea although there were juices at the dispenser as well. The buffet breakfast was truly international standard and we LOVE their bread the most!
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After breakfast, we tried to find our way to a supermarket which we saw while on the taxi the day before. It was a weekday but the supermarket was full of locals with fully loaded trolley. Shopped a little before heading back to the hotel to enjoy the room. Didn't managed to get a late check out so we deposited our bags at the reception before making a trip to:
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We went to the second outlet of L'usine at 151 Dong Khoi St which was a short walk from Ben Thanh Market. Boyfriend had Vietnamese Coffee which pale in comparison to Highlands' whereas my Mocha was passable. Was still full from our buffet breakfast so we only shared a lemon tart.
Lunch was settled at one of the fast food joint before we catch the plane back home.
Can't wait for the next holiday already! Hope things goes as planned because the next trip is to.... Kota Kinabalu!
