Monday, September 26, 2011

Shopping baju kurung di Ho Chi Minh

OMG it's been more than 2 years since my first attempt to blog!! Oh well- somehow somewhat the intention died for a short while only to be revived NOW..!
This is actually a copied write up written for my friends who asked me how was my trip to ho chi
minh like? So it's a guide for my Malay shopaholic girlfriends...here goes..:
My first trip 2008 i tak buat homework sgt sbb follow husband pegi meeting - so most of d time merayap sorang2 kat city jer. Shopping pun kat ben thanh market yg panas dan memenatkan sbb nak tawar menawar memanjang- diorang letak price sume giler giler mahal so u hv to bargain really really hard.. Back then susah nak jumpa malaysian.
 
These days if u pegi malaysian are everywhere.. sellers tu kekadang boleh cakap melayu dgn kita..air asia mmg buat " now everyone can fly..!!" Another airline aprt fr MAS is Vietnam airlines. Tapi tak semurah air asia la i rasa (based on their website price). 
 
Second trip last july bawak mother in law MIL yg memang hajat nak ber shopping jer (sebab just before ramadhan/raya kan..) - so i check dgn my aunty yg dah pegi 15 kali mana kedai2 sesuai nak bawak my MIL shopping. Selain MIL ....i bawak 3 kids and 1 baby - so along with hubby - ada 3 adults, 3 kids n a baby (7 pax!)
 
I stayed at An Tam Hotel sebab dekat ben thanh market (yg lively malam2) n senang MIL nak jln shopping.. (only 20 steps away fr ben thanh market).  Ada another hotel right opposite an tam hotel yg sgt famous dgn malaysian (siap serve halal breakfast sbb msian ramai mintak tapi bfast halal dia stil sgt ltd) - tak ingat apa ntah nama tapi byk msian yg ambik package duduk hotel tu. I tak nak duduk hotel tu sbb my aunty yg dah 15 kali pegi cakap at USD100/- night tak berbaloi sbb most of d time kita keluar jer - balik hotel utk tido (btw my aunty yg dah pegi 15 kali nih mak datin n dia duduk hotel USD10-12/- per night dgn geng2 mak datin dia..!! ).  So an tam yg opposite tu actually hotel baru bukak mid 2011 - n i took dua triple rooms dia - each triple room cost USD60/- per night. But i must warn hotel an tam ni breakfast dia really tak best langsung- yg boleh makan toast jer- so kalau nak duduk situ try ask no breakfast rate k. Nak breakfast pegi jln kaki ke VN Halal (refer attachment) - abt one block away. Cuma harga muslim food kat sana mahal sikit drpd non halal establishments i.e. harga roti canai sekeping back then if convert fr Dong ke RM was abt RM8/- sekeping..! teh tarik dlm RM3 ke RM4/-  So our breakfast for 3 adults n 3 kids was average abt RM70/-... kira mahal la kan kalau compare dgn breakfast biasa biasa kat mesia nih..!!! Nak senang bawak serunding n beli roti jer kat kedai convenient store mcm 7-11 dia kat sana (ada one opposite an tam hotel).
 
The 3 famous kedai2 kalau nak beli baju kurung, jubah, tudung dan seangkatan nya as attached - Minh collections, Hong Anh and Daina's collection.  Baju kurung yg i tengok jual dlm RM300-400 kat subang parade shops - same ones dekat saigon jual dlm USD25-30 jerrr.. Actually kat mana2 kedai pun ada jual baju kurung and telekung - cuma these 3 yg i sempat collect biz cards diorang.  Telekung boleh dpt dlm USD12 ke atas - depending byk mana bunga sulam kat telekung tu - sulam timbul ke tak - ie lagi byk bunga along with sulam timbul maka makin mahal ler.. Dekat kedai Minh u (3 floors) ada jual jubah sulam2 harga USD10/- jer so i borong tu buat kan souvenir utk family..!!!
 
Beg Ipa-nema - is vietnam's cult handbag brand yg some hollywood celebrities reputedly adore. Kat vietnam of course (made in vietnam) lebih murah drpd dekat US. D bags design penuh dgn beads accessories etc.So a matter of personal taste. I bought a simple leather bag without beads etc for USD100/- La Bella shop (ref attachment) is a shop i bought leather handbag for my mum n MIL (murah sikit fr Ipa-nema ; ada bargain corner on 2nd floor)
 
Kalau u all malas makan luar - boleh order by phone jer dgn Kedai Samsuddin (ref attachment).  They deliver to all hotels within abt 30-45 mins - but kena wait for delivery boy naik motosikal kat lobby. Amongst all kedai halal i've gone to - kedai samsuddin punya delivery paling murah n sedap. Just call d mobile phone no, he can cakap melayu - so order jer la apa2 masakan melayu dgn dia. Masa my first trip i n hubby dgn naive nyer order Pho yg seafood (d famous vietnamese noodle soup) kat pasar malam ben thanh tu thinking seafood shud be halal la kan - but apparently we were told by muslim vietnamese all Pho yg takde tanda halal for sure ada babi - even "vegetarian' pho pun most likely ada babi gak dlm soup dia - vietnamese in genreral love their pork/lard. Lepas tahu tu kembang tekak.. sampai today bila teringat jer isssh rasa kembang tekak...!!! 
 
On touristy places - sorry i tak pegi pun sbb byk habis masa bershopping.  Satu jer yg pegi War Memorial Museum.  Very touching tengok gambar victims vietnam war - my 8 yo girl sedih tengok gambar children bodies n victims of agent orange yg cacat badan etc sampai cakap "mama if i am Allah i would stop all these wars.." (???!!!)
 
Lagi satu precaution on taxi - naik cuma VinaSun and Mei Linh.  A friend pernah kena rompak naik taxi sebarangan (were ask to give her handbag n valuables yg dia pakai).  even VinaSun and Mei Linh tu pun ada copycats - so beware. Get them to use meter k.  Also it helps to hv d name of places u nak pegi written in vietnamese bcos diorang even tourist place pun drivers taxi dia blur se mcm tak tahu jugak..!!
 
Another thing - motorsikal kat sana sgt sgt sgt sgt lahhh byk byk byk..!!!  bila nak cross d roads yg ada beribu ribu motorsikal tu kan - yg penting keep on walking at same pace - dont ever lari or patah balik - bcos their motorcyclist akan elak kan u based on your consistent pace - d moment u panic n run or patah balik - tu yg buat diorang pun confuse. So just brave thru jer - jgn takut2..!!
 
USD is used everywhere. I byk tukar duit ke USD instead of Dong sbb Dong ni mcm Rupiah - byk sgt kosong kosong kat blkg - kira in USD senang lagi. And tukar RM ke Dong lebih murah kat sana than at mesia (at least thats d rate i got bila tukar dekat money changer near to an tam hotel).
 
Kalau u all suka fruits - try ler beli n makan fruits2 dia kat sana (basuh sendiri dulu tau - takut sakit perut if harap kan dia cuci dgn air tak bersih ker..) - rata2 very sweet n juicy - esp buah mata kucing dia. Ciku dia besar2.  Durian dia pun besar2, very fleshy n sweet - i suka tapi my kids n hubby cakap durian mesia sedap lagi (a matter of personal taste..!!)