Weekend Drive, MALAYSIA

September 13, 2008

We decided to take a drive just to kill the time during this 13th day of the fasting month. It was also an opportunity to test my Garmin Nuvi portable GPS outside KL.

We hit the north-south highway soon after we got dressed up. Port Dickson (PD) was our first destination. It took us about one and a half hour of leisurely drive before we reached Mohd. Noor’s house in Telok Kemang. From his house we went to look at a few apartments for sale. The prices of apartments in PD had dropped by more than 50% that we thought it was a good time to shop around. At least we would have a place to go during weekends and holidays. However, most of the apartments were in deplorable conditions.

With Mohd. Noor & Nurul

We checked out several units at PD Perdana condo before moving to another site. Both failed to impress. Then we drove around checking out the beach. We chanced upon a place called Bougainvilla Resort that I fell in love at first sight. We straight away booked for a 3-day 2-night stay for the upcoming Deepavali holidays. The place is a bit rustic but fronts a beautiful Sri Purnama Beach. Mohd Noor told me that it is a favourite fishing spot. I could picture a perfect spot to catch the sunset.

Sri Purnama Beach

Sri Purnama Beach


Teluk Kemang's Main Beach

From PD, we took the coastal road via Lukut to Sepang. The portable GPS guided us nicely to Kota Warisan. We went to check on a tenant there.

Nilai 3

From Sepang, we drove to Nilai 3 for some Hari Raya shopping. There were not that many shoppers around. Then we drove to Staffield Golf Club for breaking the fast. It was almost 9pm when we arrived home.

Staffield's Buffet

Bikes in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

They told me that half of HCMC's populations are on motorbikes. Some said the ratio of motorbikes to cars is 30:1. Whatever the statistics, there are a lot of them on the streets. Below are some photos sent through emails on Vietnamese main mode of transport.

Anything goes......

Sahur in HCMC, Iftar in KLIA

September 1, 2008

It was the first day of Ramadan, the start of fasting for Muslims. We had our early morning meals (sahur) of instant noodles earlier. After that, we slept late. We had enough shopping and were waiting to go to the airport at 1pm when we checked out.


Flying Over the Mekong Delta

We left HCMC at 3.40pm and arrived KLIA at sometimes after 7.00pm. Just as we got out of the plane, it was time to break the fast (iftar). We stopped to have our meals at the waiting area before going to collect our luggage.

It was a good trip.

Shopping in HCMC, VIETNAM

August 31, 2008

After breakfast, Zack and his family left for airport to take the morning flight to KL. We planned to do some serious shopping for the day.

Binh Tay Market

We took a cab to Cholon District to Binh Tay Market. Cholon is a commercial center, a Chinese business district. Binh Tay Market is bigger than Ben Thanh but caters more to the local populations. It is a wholesale market. The prices were a lot cheaper but there were less tourists’ stuffs. We bought clothes for Ton’s baju kurungs and my pants. It was time for me to make new pants as my waist was bulging like crazy making most of my pants obsolete. We bought another backpack for Anas, similar to Daddy’s but cheaper. Then we were ready to catch a cab back to hotel, lugging the stuffs all the way.

Inside Binh Tay

After a short rest in the room, we walked to the mosque, not for prayers, but for more shopping. The mosque is located next to Sheraton Hotel, in front of our hotel. The guys hanging about the mosque pointed us to go inside thinking that we were looking for a halal eating place. We were actually looking to buy telekongs, the ladies’ prayers clothes. A guy, speaking in perfect Malay, took us to a living quarters inside the mosque compound. We were invited in by an elderly Champa Malay lady. Ton bought some telekongs from her.

Bombay Restaurant

Right across the mosque, there was a halal restaurant called Bombay. It was at this place that we frequented for meals during most of our stay in HCMC. It is a mamak-like restaurant serving spicy Indian foods. Anas could have his favourite roti canai. The prices were a lot cheaper than Four Seasons but the menu was limited.

While Ton and Anas were resting inside the room, I went to Caravelle to try my luck. I recovered some of the earlier losses. Then, it was more shopping at Ben Thanh.

HCMC at night

Mekong Delta Tour, VIETNAM

August 30, 2008

After breakfast, we waited for the bus to pick us up for a trip to the Mekong Delta. We were taken to what looked like a backpackers’ area near Pham Ngu Lao Street. We boarded a coach with other tourists. That was the cheapest way to travel in Vietnam. The tour cost us only $14 per head. Otherwise, a private tour could set you back more than $50 each.

The Start of Our Tour

After 2 hours, the coach stopped in My Tho. Half of our group left for their tour. Ours, that included a tour of floating market, would take another 45 minutes to one hour. Once we reached our destination, we were transferred to a waiting boat. There were only 3 families in our group of 10 people. First our boat took us to Cai Be floating market. We were told that the market started before dawn and we were there after 10am when the people had already left. Even the vendors were seen resting and taking a nap on their boats.

Inside Our Boat

Whatever Remains of the Floating Market

The Church Along Mekong River

Zack & Mrs

Maizad & Anas

Me & Heung, the Tour Guide

There was nothing much to see of the floating market, we made our way to the next destination. Most tourists would be brought here to see some cottage industries. The mostly western tourists were shown the making of coconut candy, pop rice and other tourists’ stuffs. I grabbed some pop rice and put in my mouth only to be told later that they mixed the rice with lard while preparing the wok. So much for being adventurous! I found out that the prices charged at this place were outrageously steep.

Dragon Fruit Grown in a House by Mekong River

We continued our Mekong River journey in our boat to An Binh Island for lunch. From the makeshift jetty, we walked along a small path in the village (which I jokingly called the Ho Chi Minh Trail) to a restaurant called 7 Thoi (referring to 7 members of the Thoi family running the restaurant). We had fresh water fish, after passing the standard prepared lunch of pork.

The Trail to Lunch

Fish for Lunch

Super Strong Vietnamese Coffee


Phyton for Lunch?

After lunch, we went on bikes riding along the paved road in the village. It was a short “do it yourself” tour of the Vietnamese village. The bikes were too high for us, Asians and the small road was a bit dangerous when a vehicle came by.

Bike Tour

Ton in Venice of Asia

Zack Rowing with Mrs & Heung

From the jetty, we were taken on a gondola-like small sampan to cruise along Mekong tributaries. I believe it was a way of passing on the benefits of tourists’ dollars to the local villagers. We truly enjoyed the short ride. Then we boarded our boat to go to Vinh Long, which was at the end of our tour. Another coach was waiting to take us back to HCMC. It was a long 3-hour journey. We stopped at a rest area called Bonsai Garden for refreshment before continuing back to HCMC.

Bonsai Garden

It was already dark when we reached the city. We walked back to the hotel, stopping at Ben Thanh Market for more shopping. Ben Thanh was closing down but the area surrounding it turned into a night bazaar, another shopping opportunity.

Our Tour Group. The family of a Vietnamese married to a Belgian

It was a good outing despite the long journey. We learned from our tour guide, Heung that most sampans, boats or ships plying along Mekong River would have a distinct painting of what looked like eyes in the front part of the boats. In the old days, there were a lot of crocodiles, phytons in the river. The eyes painted on the boats help to see the danger.

The Eyes of the Boat

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

August 29, 2008

It was a family shopping trip to my favourite city in South East Asia. Zack and his family (wife Hamimah and son Maizad) flew in a day earlier. When we arrived they were already busy shopping at Ben Thanh Market. So we joined them after checking in at Bong Sen Hotel. I like Bong Sen due to its location on Dong Khoi Street in District 1. It is within walking distance to Ben Thanh, Halal Restaurants (Four Seasons & Bombay) and my favourite place in HCMC, Caravelle. This was my 10th. trip to HCMC and I stayed at Bong Sen a few times. Hotels are very expensive in HCMC. A 3-star would suffice.

"Perfect" Hotel for us

We had dinner at Four Seasons Restaurant. It was a short, straight walk from our hotel. Since it was night time, there were less motor bikes on the road which made crossing the streets a lot easier. Dodging motorbikes during day time would be a daunting task and a memorable experience for any first time visitor. Somebody told me that there were 4 millions of them on the street in HCMC. Half of its 8 million populations were on motorbikes.

Four Seasons at Night

Four Seasons is a Malaysian restaurant run by a Vietnamese lady. Her late husband was a Malaysian. It serves mostly Malaysian dishes. The restaurant is normally packed at dinner time. During my many trips to HCMC, I noticed that the prices had gone up quite a bit for this restaurant. Asam Pedas at this place is worth a mention. The strong Vietnamese coffee is a must try.

Family Dinner

After dinner, Zack and I went to our favourite haunt at Caravelle. It changed a bit from my last trip, August last year. The VIP room was turned into blackjack room. They added another roulette table at the old blackjack place. I did not even notice this until the last night I was there. We left after a small loss.