Vietnam : Day 2...

Our second day in Vietnam was of course spent shopping, shopping and more shopping... hehehe.

Early in the morning, after breakfast, we started our journey. Actually, I did a little bit of preparation prior to the trip. I managed to ask my friend Anne about where to shop and eat beforehand (she used to travel to HCMC a lot). I also googled and wikied HCMC. So, I kind of know what I wanted to do and a loose itinerary in mind.

Since yesterday was spent looking round in Ben Tanh and the night market, today I wanted to do serious shopping. It seemed that yesterday, some people felt left out of the shopping spree, the majority decided to travel in a big group. Iskh, I was not really keen because travelling in a big group is a little bit messy and slow, I mean real slow. I'm the type that if I wanted something, I would just grab it. I'm really not the window-shopping kind of lady. But well, I also understand that some felt that they're not confident travelling in another country, so I decided to join them.

First, we went to Hong Anh Collection which is very near our hotel but it was still closed. After that, we went to Minh Collection (the one I visited yesterday), also closed. Then we decided to go to Cho Binh Tay in Chinatown (my original suggestion, by the way!). It's a bit far from where we're staying but it was worth it. It's smaller than Ben Tanh, but definitely cheaper.

In Ben Tanh, we kept on bumping into Malaysians, but in Cho Bin Tay, we're the only one there... Even the shop owners in BT went there to buy stuff. I managed to buy gifts for the upcoming bowling tournament. I also bought jubah material for the whole BSS department, even for my Chinese boss...muahahaha. I also bought a lot of vietnam silk which is going to be given out to those lucky people...hehehe.

From there we went back to the hotel, where I chucked everything in the room. This is when our group got a little smaller, one cab was nowhere to be seen. I led them to Hong Anh Collection but the group felt that it was a bit expensive. For me, it's better than Minh Collection because the material used and the beading works was definitely superior. But, I didn't buy anything because I could not squeeze all my fat inside the readymade clothes...hehehe. If I were smaller, I would have went into a shopping frenzy there...muahahaha

After that, they wanted to go to Minh Collection, and I bid them farewell because I wanted to rest in the hotel while waiting for time to go for lunch. My boss wanted to follow me to Khai Silk, so I asked them to lunch with us at halal@Saigon. I booked a place for 12 people at 1pm. When we arrived there, we were ushered to the top floor where a place was already set for us. Yeay! My boys were really hungry, they could have eaten a horse. The waiter was really attentive because he gave the kids two plates of fries. The kids had nasi lemak while the rest of us had nasi berlauk. I ordered lemon grass chicken, ginger chicken, grilled lala, vietnam style chili fish, fried local vegetable called 'tokin' among other things. I had one of the best lunch...yummy!

After lunch, we just walked to Khai Silk where I bought my MIL a silk shawl and treated myself with one shawl also. Then we took a taxi to HRC where my husband bought himself 2 shirts and Amir managed to get one shirt also. On the way out, we met some of the others going to HRC. We went back to the hotel and I went out to the BT market with Kak Ina, Kak Aliah and Kak Midah. We went to the same stall that we found the day before. I knew that I wanted to buy the linen pouches, so that was what I did. I bought the small and the big linen pouches plus some table cloths and bed linen. I asked the seller to send all the stuff to the hotel and walked back with Kak Ina's daughter in tow.

After dinner, my husband and I went to the night market to buy a bag for kak long. There we met Kak Ina and Kak Midah with a calculator in hand roaming the streets...muahahaha. We got back to the hotel by 9pm and I started packing all my 'loot'. I didn't realised that shopping can really be hard work! Hehehehe...

Vietnam : Day 1...

Today, I woke up around 5.20 am and straight away started the ball rolling. Got everybody out of bed, showered, dressed, solat and away we went to LCCT. I drove because I could drive faster (it's a fact!)...hehehe.

We arrived at LCCT around 7am, checked-in, had a leisurely breakfast and then it was time to board the aircraft around 8.30 am. I told the kids to expect the worse of AA. I told them to not expect anything on board, just a seat without freeflow of juices, food or even inflight entertainment that they're so used to. Thanks to my exaggerations, they were quite docile on the flight, even sleeping most of the time...hehehe

We reached HCMC about 10 am local time. After taking our luggage, we waited for our transportation to the Blue Diamond hotel. There was just the 20 of us but the bus was huge. Along the journey, we were introduced to HCMC traffic which was actually quite 'mild' compared to the crazy traffic in Khartoum. There was definitely more motobikes but less 'honking' on the road. In fact, I think HCMC's quite modern and well-planned.

When we arrived at the hotel, we were quite early but managed to get rooms next to each other. The hotel is actually better than what I expected, a 3 star hotel within walking distance from Ben Tanh Market. The rooms are really good and comfortable. Hadi was starving by the time we got the rooms and we just chucked our belongings in the room before rushing down to wait for the others at the lobby. Our mission : to find halal food!

We walked to VN Halal but it was full of Malaysians...hehehe. We were redirected to eat at Four Seasons which we did and it was a tasty lunch though the service left much to be desired. The kids and my husband went back to rest at the hotel while the wife was left to roam free. Yeehooo! I followed the other ladies to Ben Tanh Market and experienced my first taxi scam, where the driver of the Saigon Taxi asked for more than was shown on the meter. We were fooled because we're not familiar with Vdong...Iskk.

In the market, I just followed the others as they went 'crazy' with telekung, fabrics and anything and everything at the BT market. Miraculously, I just spent about 30 USD for 2 long dresses. By 4 pm, I was ready to get back to the hotel. I just watched the others as they shop like there's no tomorrow...hehehe. I would have thought that I would be like them but surprisingly I was really 'cool'...muahahaha

I got back to the hotel around 5pm, found Amir asleep like the one who's supposed to take care of him. Isk! After solat, showered and ready to get out by 6pm. We walked to VN Halal again to finally get a seat inside the restaurant. The food was okay but it was a bit pricey. I'm spending more money on food than on shopping, seriously!

After eating, the boys were cranky, so I send them off back to the hotel with my husband. Kak Long wanted to follow me, so I allowed her to do so. The night market around BT just got started and I bought a table cloth, made a jubah for Kak Long and me and bought 3 cheap bags for friends. I also bought something for my husband and toys for the boys. That's it! A very disappointing first day...hehehe.

We finally reached the hotel about 9pm...tired and thirsty. I'm currently resting, to gear up for tomorrow's challenge...muahahaha. Shopping! Yeay! I love HCMC!

A lazy Saturday...

Pheww... What a lazy Saturday...

I really miss my 'lazy weekends', those were the days when I could get up as late as 11 am, eat brunch leisurely and maybe do some grocery shopping. The weekend's a time for 'reboot and recharge' and by Monday, I'll be refreshed and ready to tackle anything.

Nowadays, everything is 'Go, go, go'... non-stop! Sigh...

Since the end of February, I joined the 'Kursus Haji Bersiri', so every Sunday morning, I would be rushing to Masjid At-Taqwa, TTDI. Why so far from Rawang? Well, it's just a walking distance from my in-laws house where the kids could play and wait for us. The course was 18 weeks long and only ended end of June. Alhamdulillah, I managed to sit through all the sessions without fail, except for the last week as I got a wedding to attend to.

Anyway, I learnt my lesson. Normally, we won't know that we're lucky to have something good until we lose it. In this instance, it's my 'down-time'...sigh. I'm really happy to have nothing to do...hehehe. To be able to blog... so precious, so sweet! To be able to blog-hop, even more precious (I managed to read and catch up with "Live High"...yeay!)...

Vietnam, here I come!

Yeay, tomorrow morning I'll be flying to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam! Hehehe, finally going away for a few days... away from the normal humdrum of my boring life. My life has been compressed into such a predictable timetable that I'm feeling squeezed out of life. Ecewah, I'm feeling a little bit melodramatic this morning...hehehe

Actually, it's just an office trip, well sort of...hehehe. It's organised as one of the activities for Puspanita. Not that I'll be following their trip, because I have my whole family with me...hehehe. I'll be doing my own thing with the main aim of the trip, my favourite sport...Shopping! Muahahaha... yep, I still have my evil laugh...muahahaha

I'm trying to 'squeeze' my husband for a little bit of 'shopping allowance'...hehehe. So, now I have to be in my best behaviour...muahahaha. Hmmmm, wait till I get the money in my not so little chubby hands...muahahaha. I've got to go now, skipping to the nearest money changer...hehehe

Missing my blog!

I really do miss blogging! Seriously!

Now that I don't have the leisurely time to blog, I miss it profusely...sigh

Now, I only blog in my head (while driving, while doing numerous other stuff...)

So many stories to tell, so little time to spare...

I miss my blogging days. I sorely miss the free time as a stay at home mom...

Now, I'm a working mother (without a maid!) that have her hands full looking after the kids and working like a zombie with a lot of deadlines...sigh.

Will try my best to update my blog from now on. Insyaallah... Au revoir!