Ho Chi Minh City - Cho Ben Thanh Market & Empress Hotel

After visiting Thailand, I flew to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) in Vietnam. HCMC is in the southern part of Vietnam. Vietnam is officially known as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Vietnam neighbors China (not sure if I knew that beforehand), Laos, & Cambodia. China neighbors the most countries in the world but that’s another story. Vietnam has closely to 100 million people. The spoken language is Vietnamese – another tonal language. HCMC is not Vietnam’s capital, northern Hanoi is. HCMC (formerly Saigon) used to be the Capital of South Vietnam. Following the fall of Saigon in 1975, Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City – nice way to make a sudden stamp I thought of the ‘old’ man. However, HCMC is Vietnam’s largest city and its economic engine. The surrounding southern area is the rice basket of Vietnam.

Unlike Thailand, Singapore, and Taiwan – the other countries I visited during Spring Festival – Vietnam requires a visa. Thankfully, obtaining a visa is easy today. You can apply and pay an initial fee online. In ~ 2 days, you receive an email and a form that you need to take with you upon arrival at Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam’s largest airport – though comparatively small). Once at the airport, I had to wait around 20 minutes for the visa to be completed/issued and pay $25 U.S. cash. After that, you clear immigration.

Vietnam does not have any subways or anything like that (not yet) so transportation from the airport is bus or taxi. The airport is about 5 miles from the downtown/tourist areas. I didn’t really want to take a taxi so opted for the bus. I was able to locate the bus. The bus was 4,000 dong ($.19). Since I’m talking currency here – let’s briefly talk about the currency. Vietnam is one of those countries where the currency seems outrageous because of its very large denominations. First of all, 21,000 dong (VND) = $1. The notes (I was never issued any coins during my stay– they are rare) are 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, 100,000, 200,000, & 500,000. I exchanged $110 during my time there – 3 nights – and had 2,000,000 + dong. It seems weird to walk around with 2 million plus dong; seems to be a lot but it’s not. In fact, you will see a lot of prices listed in USD in Vietnam but payment is expected in VND. The reason being is you’re probably subliminally more likely to buy something with a price tag of $20 than 425,000 VND. And, unlike Thailand and Singapore where I had exchanged money in Shenzhen before I left for the trip, I had not for Vietnam. The Shenzhen money exchanger didn’t even carry VND; it’s worthless outside Vietnam. So I had to exchange money while there. But getting back to the bus, I knew I wanted to be dropped off at Cho Ben Thanh Market. My hotel was located near there and I knew the market was near a bus station. I also knew the market had a large clock tower. After approximately a half-hour bus ride (due to the absolutely insane traffic congestion – mainly from mopeds), I finally thought the bus was nearing my stop and I hopped off hoping it was the place I wanted to be; it was!

 

Cho Ben Thanh Market (the beige building with the clock tower across the street – see 1st pic below) is one of the most interesting places in HCMC – and one of the symbols of HCMC. Lots of vendors selling all types of stuff. Bargaining is a must. It’s also where you go to get real Vietnamese food. But before I could go there, there was 1 problem. How was I going to get there? In front of me was a huge traffic circle with non-stop traffic with no crosswalks, red lights, elevated walkways; nothing. I had just gotten off the bus and it felt like I was in true Vietnam. It was insane. It was mind-blowing. And it was extremely hot – even in January! I had read about this problem (crossing the street) before I came and now I was faced with it. Not only that (as I would soon realize), this would be a constant theme throughout my stay. It was by far, the #1 unpleasant experience I would (like many other tourists) have to endure during my stay here. You literally just have to walk out in traffic – right in front of traffic! You just have to take a slow, steady, straight pace (no sudden or herky-jerky movements) and somehow they avoid you – but it took me about 5 minutes standing on the corner until I had the courage to do it – not having health insurance outside of China didn’t ease my mind either – nor did their hospitals.

But somehow I made it to the other side and instantly a guy started talking to me in English asking me where I’m from and where I’m going? I kindly tried to ignore him and focused my sights on the Market. It was around noon and I thought I would take a look inside and see if I wanted or could eat lunch there. I went inside and walked around a bit and I noticed a stall with the word ‘vegetarian’ on it. A lady asked am I hungry? I asked do you have vegetarian? She said yes. Would I like rice or noodles? Noodles I said. And, of course, just like S.E. Asia style, it had meat in it when I was served. I ate what I could and left. By the way, Cho Ben Thanh turns into a night market after 6p. After 6, vendors and tents pop up all over the sidewalks selling goods. Makeshift restaurants pop up as well.

I started to walk to my hotel and just couldn’t believe the amount of traffic and scooters. There is simply no safe place to walk or cross streets. Take a look at the photos below. I simply stopped and took some photos. As you can see, the traffic is ridiculous. On some of the pics, you would think I’m standing in the middle of the road. But if you look close, they’re driving on the sidewalks! Again, nowhere is safe! One day I was walking on the sidewalk and the tiny cable of my headphones (that's attached to my iPod) I was wearing got caught on a scooter’s handlebars as he rode past me; that’s how close they get. I mean come on, how far could the cable of my headphones have been away from my body? An inch or two? He stopped and I cursed him in English; he had no idea what I said.

These pics below are of my hotel. I stayed at the Empress Hotel in downtown HCMC. The hotel was nicer than I thought and definitely reasonable ($20 per night). It’s a colonial-style hotel with 7 floors and about 40 rooms. The rooms had A/C, free Wi-Fi, minibar, Western toilet, shower/tub, safe, & sat TV. The staff was nice and the hotel had a little roof-top area where you could look over the city.

 

After checking-in, I did a little sightseeing...

MBK Center

After checking-in at my airport hotel, I took the free hotel shuttle back to the airport to take the Express Rail-Link back in downtown Bangkok.  I was going to go to the MBK Center which is the most visited mall in Bangkok.

However, before going there, I stopped near the Saen Saep Canal which is right near the mall.  A portion of the canal is used for public transport by boat service. The canal is lined with concrete walkways on either side in many areas where people stroll despite the foul smells of the canal, and in other areas the heavily polluted water oozes into adjacent properties, especially after heavy rainstorms. The canal is connected to many other canals in a large network, though most of the other canals do not have a regular transport service.  I did not get a chance to ride it do to time constraints but would have liked to.  But I stopped here just to see what it’s like and waited for a boat to go by to take some pics.  Pics below.

After this, I walked back to the mall.  Why would I want to go to a mall?  Because of MBK Wednesday Night Fight Night!  It’s Muay Thai fighting, free, right outside the mall’s entrance.  Pretty cool.  Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques.  It is Thailand's national sport.  I thought it would be cool to go see it.  I actually don’t think I’ve ever seen any type of boxing live; certainly not Thai kick-boxing.  It was pretty interesting and pretty crowded.  The mall is near a large intersection and there’s elevated walkways to traverse the intersection so you could watch the fights from up there too though, again, it was crowded.  I think there were like 6 bouts total and it started around 6pm and ended around 8:30p.  I watched about 4 fights.  In a couple of them, the announcer announced a couple of American fighters in separate fights and both won which I was kind of surprised at.  Near the ring and mall were tents where vendors were selling knickknacks, clothes, and food.  I got some good vegetarian eats (using chopsticks out of a bag) which were very good.

This was my last night and I would catch my flight the next morning to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam which was altogether a different kind of animal…

Phahurat

The next day I went to Phahurat which is an Indian neighborhood in Bangkok; Bangkok’s Little India.  I took the express boat to the Memorial Bridge pier.  Some pics of the pier and river below.

I proceeded to walk to the neighborhood but got a little twisted around and lost.  I wanted to go to Royal India restaurant for lunch as I read beforehand it’s a good little restaurant and may have been Bangkok’s first Indian restaurant.  After walking around for about an hour, I eventually found the sign.  Hopefully the pics below do it justice, but the restaurant is located down a creepy-looking alley.  I had second thoughts but I persevered and walked down the alley and it was located about 50 feet down the alley at a little corner.  It’s a small little restaurant with about 7 tables with uninspiring décor but it had good reviews.  I had my usual of palak paneer and it was good.  Wasn’t the best I’ve had nor the worst.  It was good value for the money; I think it cost around 175 baht (~ $5.50).  I read that the restaurant has won curry awards over the years so who knows.

The pics below are of my walk back to the pier through Little India.  One pic below, the plump child was crying.  Not so sure why he was so upset, but boy was he!

The pics below are of a statue of Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke.  He was the founder and the first monarch of the reigning House of Chakri of Siam (now Thailand).  He ascended the throne in 1782.  He’s celebrated as the founder of Bangkok as the capital.  The statue is right near the Memorial Bridge Pier.

 

I was leaving the next morning (flight was 7:50a) and I had decided to stay at a hotel near the airport as opposed to downtown as I wanted to be close to the airport just in case.  I decided to go back near the airport to check-in at the hotel and would come back downtown for my last night in Bangkok.  So I took the express boat, the BTS Skytrain, the Express Rail-link train, and a taxi and checked-in.  Later that evening, I would see something that I never saw before!  And it was free…

Wang Lang Market

After visiting Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, my last stop of the day before going back to the hotel to shower up and go out for dinner and hang out for the night at Khao San Road was to go to Wang Lang Market. I took the express boat back down the river to Wang Lang pier. I walked around a little bit. The market has vendors selling food, clothing, shoes, souvenirs, accessories, second hand goods, etc. There are vendors down little alleys as well as the streets and you can get lost easily. It was pretty crowded too. As you can see, if the food doesn’t please you, you can go Western and go to Dunkin’ Donuts.

 

After walking around a bit, I found this little restaurant on a second floor where I ordered a Singha and just relaxed and watched the action on the river.

I then took the express boat back to the area of my hotel. It was a long day; I saw The Grand Palace, Wat Arun, Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, & Wang Lang Market. Tomorrow I would travel to the Indian neighborhood.

Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall of Dusit Palace

After visiting Wat Arun, I took an express boat up the river to Thewet pier to visit the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall of Dusit Palace in the Dusit district of Bangkok. Pics of the pier and views of the river below.

It’s about a 20 minute walk to the Hall, a little bit of a hike, but I like the exercise and I like to walk through the streets like a local. However, you can take a tuk-tuk if you wish. As you can see from the pic below, which is a shot facing the entrance/exit of the pier, tuk-tuks are waiting to whisk you away.

Tuk-tuks are three-wheeled contraptions that act like taxis though you got to negotiate with them, beforehand! Some are disgusting smog spewing machines and others are decorated like pimp mobiles. During my time there, I didn’t ride one. Didn’t want to be bothered negotiating with them. I read it’s sometimes more of a headache than it’s worth.

It was a hot day and I started getting a little tired by now. I had already visited The Grand Palace and Wat Arun. This would be the last temple or museum for the day I decided. A lot of walking. On my walk to the Hall, I passed a 7-11 and bought a much appreciated Slurpee. Now I was in my realm.

The Hall is near a huge intersection and a large road leading to the Hall. Police were doing motorcycle driving exercises through cones (see the pics below). You can see the large, white Hall/Palace building in the background.

The Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall is a former reception hall within Dusit Palace. It’s now a museum and is from time to time employed for certain state occasions. The building is an Italian Renaissance and Neo Classic style. Marble from Italy and other foreign materials were used. The Throne Hall is two stories with a large dome in the center surrounded by six smaller domes. The domes and walls are covered with paintings depicting the history of the Chakkri Dynasty, from the first to the sixth reign. The building was completed in 1915. The Hall is a national treasure and serves as a venue for the Kingdom’s Royal and governmental pageantry.

You could not take photos inside. Admission was free with my Grand Palace admission ticket. Again, the building was very clean and manicured. Inside were a lot of paintings, wood carvings, thrones, models, weavings, & embroideries. I was most interested in the large banquet table. That was pretty cool. There also was a museum shop inside. They provided you with a little walk-man thing that was in English (and other languages) that described the artifacts in detail.

Afterwards, I headed back to the pier and down the river to walk around a market for a little bit and get a drink…