Last Day of my Backpacking in Saigon

My last day in Saigon is the sweetest! Well, I mean it literally. I found the tasty and sweet Dau Huay on the narrow lane of Saigon when I was wasting my few hours before my departure from the HCMC International airport, this old lady with big heavy pot hanging on her shoulder begin to lure me into what’s perhaps the most delectable and my favorite dessert in the planet. Sometimes, the best time in life are simple and come in a nominal price. For 3000Dong (30cents Sing), I enjoy the soft and tender texture of Soya melt in my mouth with the brown sugar syrup and guess what, coconut milk too. Oh my Lord Buddha! He is right that we get attached to our senses too easily and created this person call I. Nonetheless, it’s too good to let go that I order one more to satisfy my desire.

I remember when I was travelling in Cambodia; Andrew from Scotland mentioned there are 2 types of people he’ll differentiate. The bottle half full or the bottle half empty. He told me that from the way I form my opinion, I’m the bottle half full guy with strong optimism. Boy! Isn’t he right? Life is too short. You don’t waste it by worrying your life away. Everyone deserves to be happy even the ones that you detest the most. Why not be grateful and appreciate for what you have and maybe you’ll realize the simplest and most achievable happiness is not too far away…from you.

Here is the rundown:
Bangkok, Thailand > Kachanaburi, Thailand > Si Saket, Thailand > Bangkok, Thailand > Aranyaprathe, Thailand > Siem Reap, Cambodia > Phom Penh, Cambodia > Sihanouville, Cambodia > Phom Penh, Cambodia > Ho Chi Min (Saigon), Vietnam > Hue, Vietnam > Hoi An, Vietnam > Na Trang, Vietnam > Ho Chi Min (Saigon), Vietnam

Identity Crisis

It’s official! I look like Japanese even though I beg to differ. Thai okay, Jap not so much! No offence, Sunimasei! I’ve been keeping track of my tourist identity. The most frequent question people will ask is “Where you come from?” Sadly to say, I don’t know how a Singaporean looks like and most of them will acknowledge me as Japanese, Koreans, Thai or even Pinoy. So, whenever someone ask where I come from? I’ll always reply “Make a guess?” Here are the results;

Japanese: 14 times
Korean 4 times
Thai: 3 times
Philippino: 1 time
American (I know): 2 times

Make a guess: 3 times (Till to their limited understanding in English, they thought make a guess is a country :)

Nonetheless, I’m flying back to Singapore soon where someone will stop konijiwa me.

030509 Sunday - Na Trang

I covered most of the places of interest in one day! Na Trang is easy to navigate.


I first started with the Nha Trang Cathedral, Located on a hill overlooking the city, the cathedral shows the influence of French Catholicism. It's a Quaint, free and quick sight to see follow by Long Son temple, at this temple, you will see a 79 ft. tall white Buddha PAgoda. The pagoda was established in 1963 to honour the monks and nuns who died demonstrating against the Diem government.

Lastly, Po Nagar Cham Towers, These towers were built by the Cham civilization between the 7th and 12th century to honor Yang Ino Po Ngar, mother of the kingdom. The local Buddhists of Nha Trang occupied this place for prayers and worshipping, and there are many incense lighted giving the place an interesting aroma. The Po Ngar Kalan is a very glorified structure with amazing architectures filled with stunning colors.

After my sight-seeing, nothing completes without some bargain thus I walk to the Cho Dam Market, a popular destination for tourists. A pity I didn’t see anything that fancy me! ;)

Since my hotel is near to Tran Phu, a beach which is consider as the backbone of the city, I took a stroll accompanied by a pleasant waterfront promenade, palm trees and the nearly 6km of beach before I head for my dinner, a small little vegetarian stall. The soup noodle sure tastes good! What a rewarding day indeed!

My Shoes

Wow!!! Finally, my first hand in designing shoe! They are all customize in my size, made in Hoi An. Love it!!