Uncle Loh picked me up at my house at 6 in the morning, and send me down to the Budget Terminal. Very very kind of him to wakie at such unearthly hours.. =) 
Did not know that they have Mac'donald's at the Budget Terminal... Had my favorite hotcakes~*
Checked-in.. and this is my luggage for the next 3 days. And guess what: TT's luggage is heavier then mine. =_=
In the lobby while waiting for TT.. I am damn tired.. TT is not the best travel buddy I ever encountered; but not the worst.. But I am thankful for the fact that even after I start to attitude after an 'episode', he manage to keep his cool and hence we manage to pass that 3 days in peace. 
And with that.. we proceed to our gate for boarding. 
And with tat.. we're high up in the air~*
I was out the nite before hence packing was a rush. job. Grab an old book to keep me occupied for the trip. 
A short flight.. 1h 35min +/-. And with that.. I'm in Vietnam~*
Landed~* Dont know its the mist or the air is misty (reads: very polluted).
Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City!!
JC and his wifey NC is at the airport waiting for us.. after meeting up with them, we took a cab to the hotel. 
Ermm... HCM is still rather backwards. Their main form of transport appears to be motorbikes. They are everywhere in huge quantities.. needless to say, the drivers all seemed to be rather 'license-less'.
The hotel that I will be at for the next couple of days... 
I noticed in HCM, all the Hotels have a pledge like this just outside. How many stars a Hotel deserve are not self-determine by the Hotel, but rather... their tourisim board. This standard is good... me like. 
JC and NC doing the check-in procedure for us.. 
My humble abode for the next 2 nights... fot USD 40/ nite, I think this is pretty decent. At least.. it is clean. =) 
My attire of the day... didnt realised its so dark. Anyway... TT ask me a damn classic question: why is your top so long? I totally speechless. This is a babydoll top.. too short for a dress so i wore it with jeans. I mean, how you want me to answer that? And worst.. he went on by saying my dress sense is weird, different from Bestie and QH. Why do I have to be the same? You thought still in school wearing uniform ah. 
This is USD 100 worth of Vietnam's currency. I am a multi-millionaire there~* And guess what.. it is only USD 100 worth of local currency, and even after 3 days of good food, cab rides here and there.. I didnt manage to spend all. 
And with all that... I am ready to hit the town!
Walking around the town...
This is considered their most high-end shopping centre.. like our Singapore's Palais.
This is the most up-scale market (their context of market is more then just vegetables and meat; they actually mean a place that sells things).. coz this comes with Air-conditioner. But having said that.. this is not even our Far East Shopping Centre standard. Maybe more of Bangkok's Platinum Mall, but just way smaller and much more messier. 
I left that place in no time.. and went to this Ice-cream place highly reccomanded by JC. 
They served this... yellow berverage which I got no idea what is it. I only took a sip.. the taste didnt even manage to register. 
I had Yam Ice-cream~* This is damn old-school loh.. its like some Ice-cream palour that our parents will go to back in the 70s, 
After the Ice-cream break.. we walk around a little more. It is close to 2pm Singapore time and I'm getting hungry.. I only had 2 pcs of hotcake at 7am.. at this time, TT promptly declared that he only eats 2 meals a day. =( 
On the way back to the Hotel.. I saw a Bakery and drag TT in. I insisted in buying a couple of the cakes coz they are cute (but actually its more of I am hungry). 
This is the 2 I bought.. but to say they are cakes is an over-statement. They are more of.. 2 pieces of CREAM. So.. totally un-edible (reads: Xin is still hungry.)
So a grouchy and hungry me stay in the room and Chanel-surf.. oopz! Not me.. Hipopo holds on to the controller and refuse to let me know it. =__=
So around 3pm Singapore time, we set off for our half-day City Tour! 
First destination - Some Temple. This is the first temple in HCM (I think..), nothing significant.. BUT, this is where the Mossie Feast started. I got no idea why, but I am the only one that got bitten. 
Some.. pond in the temple. Alot of tortise 'piggy-backing' their little tortise. Quite cute I think. =) 
Then we hit the road again.. this time to Independence Palace. The tour guide did give us a brief idea, but I cant remember anything about it now. :x 
Some houses we pass by along the way.. they still have those 'atap' houses. 
Look at what the motorbikes have on board.. This is actually 小儿科, there is even 1 bike carrying 2 huge roman columns or 4 people on board 1 bike. 
Next destination... some Church. This is the First Church in HCM; but once again.. nothing fantastic. :x
Then we got onto some Trishaw-look-alike-thing for a tour round China Town. 
Travelling on the very dusty and dirty road together with the Cars, Lorries and Motorbikes... Yeeks! 
Their real market... okie, I'm going to keep my comments to myself as they will all be pretty negative. You can go figure it out... :x
If I'm not wrong.. these are Fighting Rooster, on sale in the middle of the road. 
Come to think of it... it is pretty dangerous. 
This is the main market in China Town. We took a quick tour around, nothing significant that I can remember. 
Then the Tour Guide brought us to the Final Destination - some handicraft centre. We walk through it half-heartedly and return back to the van. 
Then... they sent us back to the Hotel. Me is so tired. =( 
The group (JC + Wifey and his extended family) assemble at the Hotel Lobby in the evening and we proceed to Saigon Port (I'm impress that I still remember!!) for a Dinner on a Cruise. Err... the Cruise is rather cheesy-looking. 
But nevertheless... its quite decent inside. 
With the blissful couple~* I mean JC and NC... not us of coz. 
I am famished remember... so when this arrived, I almost wanted to jump down and swim back on shore (1. I dont eat veg remember, 2. Nope, I'm kidding... the sea water is even dirtier then our Singapore River). I thought we ordered a Hotpot??!??
Indeed is the Hotpot, just that the Seafood arrives much later... 
This is my first try of Vietnamese Food (remember I got a travel buddy that lives on air).. and they never disappoint! The Seafood is fresh and the Soup is damn good.. better then the Hotpot I had in Hongkong and Taiwan. 
A little cruise trip down the River/ Sea... 
After which... we tried to take a cab back to the Hotel coz I am toooo tired, but the Cabby refuse to take us as the distance is too near. So... I took a long walk back. After a shower, I thankfully join Hipopo in bed. =)
Day 2
Its the Wedding Day~* I wore a Flowery Dress... Did not sleep well the night before; my right leg suddenly cramp in the middle of the nite.. the acute pain woke me up and I had a hard time going back to bed. 
The Brekkie at the Hotel... me love toast! 
We reached~~* This is the main entrance of NC's Aunt's Hotel... A decorated arch at the main entrance~* 
After gathering at the Hotel Lobby, JC has arranged for transport to bring us to NC's Aunt's Hotel which is near her home. And upon arrival.. the ceremony officially begins. There are 7 'wedding trays', each with some symbolic items placed in it. 
JC and his parents.. and extended family. 
After making a grand display of handing the hand bouquet over to JC, the parents need to cover the metal trays with the lid and the red fabric. 
There are in total 7 trays... each holding some symbolic items. 
JC and his band of 'Brothers'... Each Brother got to hold 1 tray, and the 8th to hold the suckling pig... All the Brothers are NC's friends and cousins. 
Parents handing the trays over to the Brothers... 
Brothers with their Red covered Trays... 
All done!! A final picutre before we move off to the Bride's House... 
The old lady in black is NC's 外婆.. She is here to represent JC's elder and to coach us with the procedure... 
The 花车... 
Braving the horrible traffic to NC's house... 
NC's 'Sisters'... All dressed in Vietnamese traditional atire in various colors~* Take your pick guys... they are more then willing to marry a Singapore Man. And looking at NC... I can assure you that Singapore Girls really pales under comparison - if you are looking for a 贤内助. 
The 'Wedding Acrh'.. 
The Brothers standing neatly in a row opposite the Sisters... 
And as uniform as the army... they hand the items over to the band of Sisters... 
Ta dah~~* All these under the hot hot sun. 
Both elders of the family started going through the motion about some tradition proceedings... but it sounded more to me like casual greetings... 
After much ado... the Bride finally make her appearance! Her pretty pink dress is one of the items in the Red Trays... 
先拜祖先.. 在拜天地. Or is it the other way round?? 
All done~~* Lets give the couple our blessings! 
A group photo with both sets of family... Its really sweet to see the union of 2 family with a marriage. =) 
Me back in the car... time to head to the Event Hall for the Lunch Reception. 
Haiz... braving the traffic once again. =( 
Okie... at Vietnam standard, this Event Hall is very atas. 
Their wedding portay... 
Comparable to Singapore standard right... but in terms of Veit's standard, this is damn high-class. 
Me in the toilet~~* 
See.. they even have the center flower placing... very Singapore standard. 
TT and me~~* 
Before the couple's first march-in, they have 6 dancers doing this ballet dance... very cheesy. 
The couple finally make their appearance. NC has changed out of her traditional outfit... in fact, she is changing after every dish the entire night... At least 4 times. 
The Vietnamnese places great emphasis on their parents.. The parents' role in a wedding there is more crucial as compared to Singapore (JC's mum said that). JC's mum is happy that they still hold parents with such high regards, this imply filial piety.. 
交杯酒。。
First dish... some cold dish. 
The Groom also had a change in outfit... JC with me~* 
All these while... there is a 4 piece band (piano, saxaphne, violin and guitar) playing.. 
Next dish up is Chicken Soup... which is damn good. I realised all the Vietnamese did all the Soupy dishes well. 
Prawns... 
TT peeled all the prawns for me on this trip... speaking of which, we are the only one who are peeling the prawns. The locals sharing the table ate the whole prawn (head and shell) and are staring at our plates of shell like we are some idiots. 
Some veg... 
This is some Fried Pork dish... Initially... I aw the lady next to me separating the skin + fats away from the meat.. So I follow suit~* No way that I'll put that layer of fats into my mouth. So I ate the meat, then I notice the lady ate the skin + fats. =_= So she is saving the 'Best' for the last... So I separated the skin and fats and ate abit of the skin... that futher strengthen their beliefs that these guest from Singapore are weird. 
Hotpot on a wedding recep~~* This damn good. Me love! 
This is the veg - thou it looks more like a flower to me... I checked with NC - yupz... they do eat that. 
Finally... the deserts. White fungus with water chestnuts. 
After the wedding recep... JC arranged for transport to send all of us back to the Hotel first. I am tired can... 
An hour later... I called TT (coz he went out for a stroll) and found him at a Eatery with JC. JC was walking around through out the entire wedding.. he didnt even have a seat - not to mention have a proper meal. 
After we bid good-bye to JC... he went back to rest at the Hotel while TT and myself explore District 1 a little more on foot. 
Yupz... they have an LV. And Gucci... but no Prada. 
Walked around a little more... and we settled for Dinner at a Fast Food Joint - Lotteria. This is a Korean chain... Then i notice something weird... I've got no idea why you can find KFC there, but not MacDonalds. 
The chicken is good.. especially the grilled on. Juicy and tender. =) 
After dinner... we took a stroll back to the Hotel to meet up with the rest. Suddenly alot of horning and blaring of engines... I turned and look and realised there are MANY bikes gathered together and are going around making a din with the Vietnam Flag... They will stop at a Landmark and do a grand display with the flags (and more horns and engines blaring) and will move off together to the next destination. 
I thought its some rioting... but it turn out to be: Vietnam just won the Football SEA Games Cup! Congratulations~~* Somehow... their patriorisim touched me. =) 
Back at the Hotel... I washed up a little (I've been doing that everytime I return to the Hotel... You have no idea how filthy is the air) and together with the extended group, we went for a Water Puppet Show. 
The show is near Independence Palace... We have an unpleasent episode with the Cabby who tried to over-charge us... I told him to on the meter and when he refuse, I told him to stop coz I am getting off the cab. He reluctantly on the meter... The meter reads 32k when we arrived, we gave him exact but he kept holding us back... He pointed to the 50k in my hand and said he wanted that. I told him no way and I simply walk off... TT stayed in the cab and I got no idea what he told the Cabby. I was furious I tell you... why even bother to explain to the fxxking Cabby... 
The show... was cultural. But it is in Vietnam's language so I got no idea what it is all about... I almost doze off towards the end. And you know what's worst... the cab ride back to the Hotel is 22k. Go figure that out yourself... I am utterly disgusted by that Fxxking Cabby. 
Back to the Hotel... my last night (albeit an angry one) in Vietnam. Hipopo supervise me packing...
Day 3
Toast with Butter and Sugar... me like! 
We took a walk to this Market.. which should be the biggest one I think. They sell almost everything you can think of. But I am so not amaze when the store owners grab my hand (not one kae... its everyone down the aisle) and ask me to check out their stuff... 
I was in there for barely and hour and I told TT its time we should move on... We walk to a Food Court in a Shopping Centre - we wanted to buy the couple a meal for having us over on this eye-opening trip! This is some Vietnamnese Sweet Desert - err... its just like Chendol loh. 
And this is Vietnam's famous Pho - once again, the soup is damn good. =) 
My last meal in Vietnam... I wanted Hotpot again before I go. This once again never fails to disappoint. The Tomyum is sour and yet not spicy, while the other one is simply fantastic~* 
TT wanted the Claypot rice (which comes with plenty of ginger inside - me no like) and I order a Spring Roll to share... 
Me and NC... I got to know her alot better after this trip. She is more then just JC's wife to me now; but more of a friend. She is such a nice girl~~* 
Groupie Photo~*
Then we head back to the Hotel and checked out... 
We have time to spare before we proceed to the Airport... We bidded Goodbyes to the newly-wed. and walk to a cafe to chill out. 
Guess what.. they have Wifi there! =) 
After the drink.. we took a cab to the Airport... Seriously, their Airport is nicer then I have expected... Better then Taipei's actually. But.. just their Airport. =) 
At the check-in counter... I bought this packet of milk at the super market... Its so cute! Its only 110ml! 
TT looking for the toilet... 
At the departure lounge waiting for the flight back... for once, I am waiting for the flight back home after a holiday with a longing heart - to go back home. 
And this.. is the Xmas pressie for my Bestie - not telling who I picked out, but I'm sure she will like this. =) 
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