Cam on!

Have you ever had the best vacation ever?

I did.

Last year, as a graduation gift from my ever-loving Tita, she booked me a trip to Vietnam. She has been working there for almost eight years now. It wasn’t my first time abroad, but it was the first time that I flew on my own.

So, Vietnam

Vietnam is not as progressive as Singapore neither it is underdeveloped. Their city is a fusion of trees and concrete buildings. In the Philippines, I would probably compare it to the likes of Manila and Pasay City. But the outpour of foreigners is really impressive. You can almost see one wherever you go. Later on, I found out that it’s because foreigners feel safe there. The country is under a strict compliance of gun ban and the residents give high regards to the law enforcers. One more thing that I was so shocked to witness is the ratio of cars to motorcycles in their main streets, or even on the alleys.  I may sound exaggerating but the ratio, I think, is in every 2 cars, there are 8 motorcycles.

My Tita lives on the 10^th floor of an apartment building and every time the rush hour comes, it is a funny sight seeing the streets of Vietnam clogged with motorcycles like ants crawling in a traffic jam.

I was there for over a month and it has been a place that I can call home. It is safe to say that I fell in love with the place, the ambiance, almost everything about it. But just like my trip to Singapore, I have listed down the top 5 reasons why you should visit Vietnam.

5. Pho, Banh Mi and more!

I have blogged about my food tripping in Vietnam and it is plain to see that I am a huge fan of their food palate.

4. Wi-fi access everywhere

Since arriving there, my Tita has given me her Blackberry phone with a Vietnam accessible SIM card. I was shocked upon learning that almost every establishment around the city has a wi-fi access even at the cinema! And it’s for FREE!

3. City Tour, Damsen, Vung Tao

What’s a vacation without sight seeing? Aside from the busy alleys and Tita’s workplace, I was able to tour the city and Cu Chi tunnels through a package tour at Sinh Tourist. Their historical story is actually interesting and inspirational. I’ve also visited Damsen, the city’s version of Enchanted Kingdom. I wasn’t able to try some of the rides because Tita feels that they’re not that safe. So we just tried to tour the whole theme park by foot and via the monorail train. The only ride I was able to try is that log jam-slash-horror-house-with-dinosaurs-instead-of-monsters nightmare on wheels. OK, I am exaggerating. But really, I was spooked and was just screaming all throughout the ride. Dinosaurs keep popping in and out the way trying (and really did to me) to scare those at the ride.

Lastly, if Brazil has a Christ the Redeemer statue, Vietnam has it’s own mini-Redemption statue at Vung Tao. It takes a ferry ride of 30mins to get to Vung Tao. You can compare it to a fishing village, like in Quezon Province. It was a long and steep walk going to the top of the statue but it was worth it. The view of the shoreline was beautiful, and it was a bit cloudy that day. Imagine if you get to witness a clear blue sky along the shoreline.

2. Ben Than Market/Saigon Square

For someone like me who has a lot of people to give pasalubong for (family, cousins, high school friends, college friends), looking for the right thing to give them is such a task. I went to Saigon Square with a ready list on my mind of what I should buy. But it was just so distracting seeing a lot of things that you would want to buy for yourself! I mean, everything is just so cheap and nice. Shoes, bags, shirts, DVDs, accessories and even shades are so tempting there.

The same thing happened to me when I went to Ben Than Market, the place where you can buy authentic souvenirs from Vietnam like embroidered wallets, figurines and other native products like spicy dried squid, candied fruits and several nuts.

1. Coffee

This is hands down my favorite part of being in Vietnam. From their instant coffees (Nescafe, G7) to their Café Sua Da (iced coffee with condensed milk), their coffee never failed to perk me up and brighten my mood. Their premier coffee house, Highlands Coffee has a lot more than coffee as well. Their cakes, pastries, teas and Nasi Goreng is the best! I hope they’ll franchise a branch here in the Philippines soon. : D