When we had our passports renewed a year ago, our lolo asked us where we were going next and I immediately answered Thailand. I promised a couple of friends that we would meet again in a foreign country and Thailand seemed like the best option for all of us. Unfortunately, Thailand was receiving some grim publicity at that time, so my dreams of going around south east asia was put on hold. Even my friends, busy with their own lives (in their own countries) were unable to commit to a date and the initial excited planning died down to a promise that we will all converge somewhere in the world, someday.
Fast forward to a year later, I was determined to put a stamp on my passport that had gone unused since. My international travel history listed only 2 countries and I had used a new passport every time so my dream of having a collection of immigration stamps was nowhere near reality. A friend from work suggested Vietnam (partly because she was a vietnamese language major and had friends there) and said she would happily accompany me whenever I decided to go.
A couple of weeks (and an airline promo) later, we were on our way to saigon.
Before the flight, I read a couple of travel blogs, looked at some photos and asked a few friends on what to do in ho chi minh. Eating (and eating A LOT) was on the top of their lists. My list included singing along to "Miss Saigon" while walking along a sidewalk, drinking only coffee (and beer) and fanning myself with a million dong. Ate was on a mission to hoard mountaineering equipment for Mt. Pulag in december.
And because I was really bent on collecting stamps for my passport, we squeezed in a plan to cross the border to Cambodia and go see the angkor wat. That way, we get to be in two countries in a week! It was tiring just to even think about the amount of time we were going spend in land transit (because we were backpackers with no money to fly) but that was trumped by the thought of old buildings, trees and tomb raiders.
We flew in on Cebu Pacific's late night flight (never too late for games!) and hailed a cab outside the airport. Our vietnam-based contact recommended only VinaSun or Malinh taxi cabs because the drivers won't try to charge you extra. Plus they have clean cabs in an assortment of sizes. We went straight to a backpacker's lodge located in district 1 that Satoko had found and booked over the internet. The seem pretty used to tourists, spoke good english and helped us buy bus tickets to Phnom Penh the next morning.
The bus was scheduled to leave at 7am and 9am. We chose the latter so we could go for an early morning walk in search for breakfast. There was a park right across the alley where our guest house stood, filled with Vietnamese people of all ages playing badminton, dancing to ballroom music and enjoying a lazy saturday morning. There weren't a lot of tourists around (probably still asleep or drunk from the previous night). We walked for about twenty minutes and found the deli we were aiming for where we got some Banh Mi (incredible sandwiches consisting of baguettes filled with sliced meat, pickled vegetables and liver pate) which we promptly brought to a nearby street-side cafe and devoured. And when I say street-side, I do mean street (we were sitting on the side of a building with a styrofoam ice chest acting as a table. a common sight around hcmc).
The sidewalk cafe served vietnamese coffee for people on the way to work (or anyone else in need of a fix) so we got some to go with our sandwiches (and so we they would let us sit there). This coffee, served SWEET and in beer mugs filled to the brim with ice chips, was a revelation. I have always been more of a hot, black coffee person only because I have never encountered iced coffee that I liked in manila. But this was a whole world of difference. I couldn't stop. It was so sweet that the first sip tastes like chocolate, but the rich, earthy flavor of the coffee and strong kick of caffeine wasn't too far behind. Like frozen, dark chocolate covered espresso beans in liquid form that was flooding my mouth. I finished my mug even before the ice melted (which is probably recommended to stagger the strength of the coffee and dilute the sugar) and I ended up drinking coffee like crazy for that whole week. It was really THAT good.
We decided to walk back to the hotel so we could immediately put all those calories to work but it turns out we burn food pretty fast and we still had time (and space in our stomachs) to swing by another alleyway shop for a second breakfast. We had beef noodles, strawberry sinh to and passion fruit juice (which is literally just one whole passion fruit sliced in half and squeezed into sugar water and ice. delish).
This (double) breakfast was easily one of the better ones we had in the entire trip. Lazy, local and purely delicious. Plus, it kept us full until lunchtime at the Cambodian border. But that's for next time :)
Useful Information:
GUEST HOUSE THANH THUONG
241/6 Pham Ngu Lao st. Pham Ngu Lao ward, District 1, HCMC
booking can be made in advance, english OK, payment in US dollars, breakfast optional. Free WIFI and nice staff. they would even help you buy tickets for your next destination.
email thanhthuonghotel@yahoo.com
CAPITOL TOURS BUS
Phnom Penh Office and Station
#14AEo, Street 182 Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Tel: +(855) (0)23-217627
English Speaking bus guides, cheap rates (although bus stop is in the middle of a prett busy market). they also operate a backpacker guest house for the budget traveler :)BANH MI sandwiches and beef noodles
available everywhere :)
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