Honey4Boyz

Things to do with your kids in Ho Chi Minh City... 1. Observe the transition to modernity Vietnam is opening up its economy and this brings a sharp increase in foreign investment. And it's changing the landscape of the city at lightning speed.  The Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches are like a type of breakfast staple, combining a mix of French baguette, pate and native Vietnamese ingredients, eg cilantro, cucumber, pickled carrots and daikon and a drizzle of soy sauce. This trip, I saw a shift in trends - in December, two McDonald's were opened in downtown. I also saw a fast-growing trend from sidewalk stalls to the more upmarket lifestyle cafes. 2. French architecture in postcolonial HCMC.  You can walk anywhere in the city and noticed the influence of French in their buildings, food and culture. Most of these buildings were built in the late 19th century like the General Post Office, Notre Dame church, opera house and some hotels. 3. Soak in the music ...

Posted by Xian Jin I had a very memorable trip to Vietnam recently. It really was an eye-opening trip, because the life and culture there was totally different from Malaysia. Despite staying there for only 7 days, we took the opportunity to uncover this city as much as we could, to blend in with the lifestyle of the people who, only a few decades back, had gone through terrible sufferings of war. I could see that the Vietnamese loved being outdoors, and I liked how they can always be found in groups scattered around parks or in shops just to chitchat or play some games. Unfortunately, this is something uncommon in Malaysia.  Even at night, people crowd around in squares to watch musical performances, a mini-football game or to just gather around and chitchat. Ho Chi Minh is known for having rows and rows of shops selling the same things, be it guitars, sports equipment or shoes. I enjoyed visiting these shops, as I could join in with them or even just wa...

Written by Xian Wei When I heard that we were going to Vietnam, I knew that it was going to be an exciting trip.  We were going to Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon, the old city name, for 7 days.  The weather forecast was around 23~25'C but when we arrived it was 30+'C! So much for bringing jeans...  We stayed in a 4-star hotel called Paragon Saigon hotel, next to many other hotels. We went to many must-go sites, like the  Ben Thanh  market, War Remnants museum, The Post Office( Bưu điện ) , Notre Dame Cathedral, Mekong Delta etc. There were many French architecture because the country was colonized by France for 100 years, But now it's a communist country. A common sight in the city- the messy electrical wires! Whoever who manages to 'organize' the mess into a systematic order should be elected as mayor. I hope it doesn't make one go hair-wired... One of the most memorable things I enjoyed in Vietnam was the food. Their food is very simpl...

I don't have a burning desire to visit Vietnam. But I've acquired a taste for Vietnamese coffee so when the opportunity arose, I went with my husband on his short business trip to Ho Chi Minh City recently. It's a great excuse for just the two of us to get away from our work (at least for me) and daily routine. If I were to wait for the 'right time' when nothing else is scheduled, probably I may not go away with him again until my kids are in college! Maybe "the road to success is paved in coffee" is not an exaggeration.  Coffee drinking is indeed a culture in Vietnam. You can see coffee cafes everywhere, mainly homegrown brands (Trung Nguyen, Highlands coffee chains) and more recently even Starbucks; kiosks with a few small stools in front of houses or shops; and mobile vendors, moving from place to place with a simple, small basket of flask and cups.  The Vietnamese drip coffee tastes better with ice cos it's very concentrated and comes ...