Ho Chi Minh: XO Tours

When I was in Ho Chi Minh late November, I took a Motorcycle Tour to have a look at Saigon by night. It's certainly one of the more popular things to do in Saigon, seeing the numerous companies offering this tour on Tripadvisor's Things to do in Ho Chi Minh. Being a fan of Motorcycles in general, I was happy to sign up and pay online for the Saigon by Night tour of XO Tours.

Email communication was prompt and concise. I was picked up at 6pm sharp by a tour guide on her motorcycle wearing a very fetching Ao Dai, the vietnamese traditional costume. She was friendly and enthusiastic and perky (although I dont remember her name). We went from District 1 where I stayed to Chinatown which took about 20 minutes or so. Note that departure times are not negotiable and if you are on the night tour you have to leave at 6.00pm to join the group.

We stopped in Chinatown where we waited for the rest of the travellers. The tour leader was waiting there to give us an introduction to the tour, the itinerary and a brief history of the location where we were at. We were all on seperate motorcycles, and each traveler had a local female driver cum tour guide accompanying them.

During the tour we were able to indulge in a few snacks, namely 1 Banh Mi or a noodle-like dish. Vegetarians can be catered for. We went through multiple districts and at the end we ended up at a sugar cane stall where we indulged in our snacks.

On the whole I felt like this was a good tour and I would do it at least once if I were in Ho Chi Minh. The tour guides were really friendly and personable and being on a motorcycle weaving through traffic really rocked. I also enjoyed the streetfood they provided which was included in the tour price.

I have to say that for the record I am a little uncomfortable with the tour being a strictly all-female driver one. It says on the website that women make more safer drivers in Vietnam - Ill have to take their word for it. But coupled with the female tour guides insistence to help me put on my motorcycle helmet, and help me buckle it (repeatedly) and their border-like manja (playful) demeanour, it made me very uncomfortable. As far as I can tell all the tour guide were like this, whether the passenger was male or female. I also overheard the head tour guide (and I think owner of the company) saying that his tours were also unique as "where else can you get a tour with women drivers right, they are usually such terrible drivers". So I was not impressed on these 2 aspects.

These 2 aspects aside, I was happy with the price and itinerary of the motorcycle tour. I'm happy I did it but I dont think I will recommend this company to any of my friends who's going to Vietnam. For example my brother is going to Vietnam with his fiancee and I dont think she will appreciate the tour guides acting so coy.

Attraction Details:

http://xotours.vn/

Singapore: Marina Bay Sands

I visited Singapore as part of my 30th birthday celebrations this year in 2011. Ive been to Singapore a few times since my college days, but I was never a big fan. I always stayed around the Orchard road area and went to Sentosa and from what I have seen, it really seemed very plasticky, commercialised and in summary, Singapore appeared to me like a web of underground, air conditioned walkways connecting malls and subways. This time round, I really had a good time in Singapore, more so than in Ho Chi Minh. I would not have expected it. I went to Singapore for a few reasons 1) The Lion King 2) Marina Bay Sands 3) Singapore Night Safari.

Also, I think what made a difference was HOW I travelled. After you have more experience travelling, you sort of know what suits you. What suits me ? Tonnes of activities, left right and centre. Nature and Culture. No staring into space at a cafe, people watching, 'mere sightseeing' or sunbathing on the beach/by the pool for Lavy81 please.

So during my weekend in Singapore it was packed jamed full of cycling at Tampinese and Bedok at their Cycling Routes, followed by dinner and Night Safari (which was awesome btw), and then by The Lion King, dinner with a friend at the Singapore Skypark at the Marina Bay Sands and gambliing at the casinos. And to think that this wasn't even all the activities I planned for for 2 days. I actually had to cut 2 activities cause I was so exhausted.

The Marina Bay Sands was fine. It wasnt as ritzy or as glamarous as I thought it would be but the Skypark was definitely worth going up. Here's a tip, instead of purchasing a ticket for the Skypark, why not get a drink at Ku De Ta (the bar at the Skypark) and enjoy the ride up for free, without a ticket? You need to inform the Ku De Ta staff at the ground floor and tell him/her you intend to have drinks and she will give you a Ku De Ta card for you to head up without a ticket.I had an ok cocktail but the views were lovely to justify the price. We ordered a fish and vegetable with 2 rice and split 2 drinks and it came up to be about SGD 90. Its chinese style, not western style so you need to order a dish and rice to follow. Its steep, but it was my birthday so whatever :) After that we went down to the casinos where I earned back my SGD 50 to pay for my dinner and took a short walk back to the MRT station. On the way back we managed to get this beautiful picture of Marina Sands Bay at night, next to the museum and the Esplanade.

All in all, I had a pretty good trip in Singapore. The Lion King was awesome (reminded me of Kenya, where I was based for 4 months in 2011), The Night Safari was awesome (reminded me of Kenya) and Marina Bay was pretty good (Skypark, won some money). I stayed at 1929 Hotel in Chinatown but that's a whole different story all together.
Attraction Details:

http://www.marinabaysands.com/

Malaysia: Taman Negara

I am currently on this phase where Im really into seeing Malaysia - actually having an opinion about our tourist attractions for heaven's sake. Because Im really into travel, I participate in Kuala Lumpur forums where I provide input (where I can) for travelers coming to KL. What pains me is that some times I have absolutely no opinion on the sites they want to see, even as a Malaysian. For example, up until recently I had no opinion on the Kuala Selangor Fireflies, or Taman Negara, or Borneo or Perhentian Islands. How am I to advise when I had absolutely no opinion about these destinations?

So lately I have been exploring Malaysia a little bit, and I managed to get some of my girlfriends to visit Taman Negara, one of the oldest rainforests in the world. My opinion is that the one thing Malaysia has in abudance is rainforest, surely that must be its standout point? Look at the Malaysia Truly Asia ads, surely our value proposition is RAINFORESTS.

Picture from the bottom of the canopy walkway.

On October 30th, me and my homies took a long drive to Kuala Tembeling via Jerantut - it was about 3.5 hours drive from Kuala Lumpur. Not a very scenic drive, but it got us to Taman Negara.

Pretty strange thing, once you get there (by car) , you actually reach a dead end. What you need to do is get out, and walk by foot until you see this sign below.

You know you have arrived when.....

From here, you should be able to get a small rowboat across the raging Kuala Tembeling river for about RM 1 each to the main HQ where you have to register yourself and branch off to the different trails. However, being so over enthusiastic, we booked a 2-3 hour rowboat tour with an operate before we crossed the river. Now, he charged us RM 140, which was fine and all, but it would have been nice to cross the river and register ourselves officially.

This was the uhh quaint little sampan our tour operater brought us on.

We waited cautiously for the sampan to arrive and hopped to our first destination, the Canopy Walkway. I was actually here for the Canopy Walkway - its certainly one of the highlights of Taman Negara. Unfortunately, due to the heavy downpour that morning, it was closed. We did manage to climb all the way to the starting point of the canopy walk though....it was so close yet so far. I made a solemn promise to myself to return and get the canopy walk thing over and done with one day.

We headed back to the sampan for some 'rapid shooting'. For those not in the know, rapid shooting is what they call maneouvring the rapids of Kuala Tembeling UPSTREAM. If you sit behind in the sampan going upstream, you will most definitely get wet. I was the unlucky person who sat at the back this time round.

We visited a Orang Asli settlement about 20 minutes upstream and had a good time learning about their home, and some details about their somewhat nomadic lives. (somewhat, cause I dont know whether it can be called nomadic, compared to the Penans, correct me if I'm wrong.)

Going downstream we traded seats again and this time I ended in the front. Not much water this time, but it was definitely a fun experience. Through it all I was happily thinking that I was incredibly lucky AND happy to be here riding the waves of Kuala Tembeling, rather than to be in KL at the mall for another weekend. (thats the default way of living in KL for most KL-ites).

We had a very average lunch at one of the floating restaurants and made our way home afterwards. All in all it was a fantastic 1 day trip and my girlfriends were the best travelling companions ever. I love being on my own and travelling independently but when I travel with people, its usually with the people I know are really great.

Ho Chi Minh: Le Vietnam Travel (Vietnam Cycle Day Tours)

I am a big fan of cycle touring and make it a point to visit countries via bike and cycling. It allows you to get your fitness in and let's you see part of the country that you'd have never seen in a car.

Some of my favourite memories are riding round off road in some 3rd world country in the middle of nowhere.

I did 2 seperate 1 day trips with Le Vietnam Travel. Tung was my guide and I am very impressed with the service provided Since a lot has been said about the Mekong Bike Trips on Tripadvisor, let me tell you about the Saigon Suburban Bike Ride that I did as I wasnt interested in the Cu Chi tunnels.

Some of the cons of travelling in a country similar to yours is that you get similar fruits and agricultural products. Here Tung was showing me the durian in the Mekong Delta Ride, which I get here anytime in Kuala Lumpur where I live.


The Suburban Bike Ride was a great ride, and I actually prefered it to the Mekong Delta Day trip (via Cai Be and Vinh Long) that I did as it was long stretches of road through the countryside rather than narrow walkways. in the Saigon Suburban Bike Ride we also took multiple local ferries carrying motorcycle and products to be sold with the locals. Definitely felt like we were blending into the Ho Chi Minh society.



We ended the tour at a very non-touristy ancient house for lunch where the very friendly host family cooked us a delicious chicken curry lunch with baguettes. If you want a real off the beaten track experience, want to experience the hospitality of the locals and prefer to see the countryside rather than the city sights/Cu Chi tunnels, I'd suggest this tour. The ride is shorter than the Mekong Delta day tour (slightly).Tung is a great guide- Ive been on LOTS of cycling tours (Africa, US, Cambodia, Thailand) and he is one the best cycling guides Ive had the pleasure to ride a bicycle with

Tour Company Details:
http://www.vietnamcycletours.com/

Ho Chi Minh: Saigon Mini Hotel 5

Im impressed with the hotel firstly because it had everything you might need at a reasonable price. I booked the superior single ensuite and my room had the following windows, shower, toilet, toiletries (with comb, shampoo, cups, soap), hairdryer, fridge (large), mini bar at a VERY reasonable price, phone, coffee and tea making facilities and the internet. I think I paid about RM 60++ a night.

At this price, hostels do not usually provide these 'extras'. Having all these extra facilities made my stay complete. Breakfast was also at a reasonable price with multiple set menus such as eggs, pho, and continental. Came complete with drinks and fruit.

I suggest the iced coffee with milk to all. Elevator can be a bit slow and the bed a little bit on the hard side but other than that, I would stay here again. Credit cards accepted.

From the email they sent me:
HOW TO GET THE SAIGON MINI HOTEL from the AIRPORT or TRAIN STATION

A/ BY METERED TAXI.

The Tan Son Nhat airport and the Railway station are inside the inner city. Along the road of getting to the central area, you can see a hustling and bustling down town. It takes about 25 minutes from the airport to the Saigon Mini Hotel group by car for a short routine around 7 kilometers. For a sound and safe journey, please be advised to take a metered taxi only.

The most popularly and highly recommended taxi companies include VINASUN (see its logo to catch a right taxi; and avoid some fake or cheating un-license taxi) and MAI LINH. The public fee is just around 140,000 – 150,000 VND/way/taxi from 4 to 7 seats (approximately 6 or 7 US$).

You can pay to the taxi driver in USD, but please make the amount of 6 or 7 USD ready for him. Remember don’t give any note having big value to him to avoid the controversy. You can fix the fee with the driver before getting into the car to avoid the cheating (if occurred) from the driver to set the odometer counting up fast or take you to travel around.

The driver will take you along the streets which may be listed: TRUONG SON (air-port) è NGUYEN VAN TROI è NAM KY KHOI NGHIA è LE LOI è LE LAI è NGUYEN THI NGHIA è PHAM NGU LAO è DE THAM è BUI VIEN Here is the address of the hotel in Vietnamese:

· KHACH SAN SAIGON MINI 5 · 196 BUI VIEN, QUAN 1

B/ OUR PRIVATE PICK UP SERVICE:

For your most comfortable and safest transferring to the hotel, we are very happy to arrange a private pick up service. We will send a private car and a staff to the train upon your arrival. The fee based on the arrival time and date will be cost as following:Flight landing4 SEATER7 SEATER16 SEATERBefore 19:00 pm$25.00$30.00$35.00Before 22:00 pm$28.00$35.00$40.00From 22:00 to 7:00 am$37.00$42.00$47.00

C/ HOW TO GET SAIGON MINI HOTEL 5 from the BUS STATION situated on the backpacker area. (BA If you take a bus owned by SINH TOURIST, KIM café , PHUONG TRANG BUS, HANH CAFÉ, DETAL ADVENTURES BUS…on DE THAM or PHAM NGU LAO streets, you really don’t have to take our private pick up service because we are VERY CLOSE to them. It takes about 5 – 7 minutes to walk from the stations. you can choose one of the two ways: -

Just keep to go straight and turn left: PHAM NGU LAO è DO QUANG DAU è BUI VIEN, and we are on your left side - Just keep go straight and turn right: PHAM NGU LAO è DE THAMè BUI VIEN, and we are on your right side

Hotel Details:
http://saigonminihotel.com/smh/

Introduction

I would like to start a blog about the places I travel to - just to highlight hotel, restaurant, attraction reviews for the places I visit. I am a Top Contributor on Tripadvisor but I would like to start a specific blog here as well for this purpose as there are some things I believe that I cant share on Tripadvisor. Besides I often get my inspiration, tips and etc from other travelers through their website so I feel that I need to contribute back.

Generally my posts here will be more detailed than my reviews on Tripadvisor, with more photos and personal elaboration. Also I think I can be more honest here as sometimes hotel owners cannot take constructive feedback and get personal when I give a negative review on Tripadvisor.

I hope that you will find useful information on this blog to help you with your travels. This is my way of giving back.