#OOTD Series: Vietnam and Cambodia

I tried my very best to pack "light" which of course was very hard for me to do. I used my medium-sized baggage which surprisingly was 1/3 full only and weighing 10kgs hehehe unlike any other bloggers out there, I wanted to be the realistic one, I packed which are deemed feasible (I cannot afford to have many outfit change per day nor will I wear a maong jacket under a scorching sun for #ootd purposes).

Tip: Pack your essentials. A light-weight bag that can go with your outfits while fitting everything, three pairs of shoes: rubbershoes, sandals, and slippers., a scarf that will save you from the cold aircon buses and plane, and give you that much needed cover., and lastly your 'oomph' fashion item: may it be a hat, shades, or a belt.

White, green, and brown hues are my to go colors

Vietnam and Cambodia are two countries who are very conservative. It is almost always advisable for one to wear clothes that cover both your shoulders and knees. For countries that are even hotter than Manila, this is a problem as we want to wear our breeziest clothes: a spaghetti strap and short shorts.

I tried my best to come up with outfits that will go well with our itinerary. Here they go.

Day 1: Mekong Delta Tour

Photography by: Andrew Qua

Teal is such a lovely color, it pops out with any background. The color itself is your statement.

Rompers are very easy for ready-to-go women like me.

Day 2: Cu chi Tunnels

A trip to Cu chi tunnels require you to duck walk/crawl under a narrow tunnel (which was way bigger than it used to be) where pants can save you from a wound or two. Plus, its set in a forest so pants are best to avoid all mosquitoes.

I originally wanted to wear a cap with this outfit. Unfortunately, it was very cloudy. Wearing one may be too off.

Day 3: City tour

Photography by: Mara Medina

Photography by: Andrew Qua

Everyone in the group was wearing the shades of black and/or white. Black is too dark for a hot day so I opted to wear a white breezy dress, instead. 

Who thought that a cellphone case can be your fashion accessory too!

Day 4: Killing Fields

Photography by: Andrew Qua

I wanted to wear this ensemble since it will perfectly match the red walls of the Royal Palace. Too sad that we arrived past 11 o'clock and it was already closed.

A maxi skirt can be more breezy than your pants so you can opt for this one and it gives you that needed cover.

Day 5: Phnom Kulen Mountain

A visit in Phnom Kulen includes a little hike so a sporty wear will be perfect!

Photography by: Andrew Qua

After swimming in the falls, I changed into this. I bought this pants during my trip, you can easily find this everywhere in both Vietnam and Cambodia. Its a good pasalubong for your love ones, too.

I borrowed that red hat i'm wearing which made me realize that maybe you can talk out with your travel companions on what they'll wear and you can share some things.

Day 6: Temple tour

Photography by: Andrew Qua

The temples are mostly in the hues of brown, grey, green so wear clothing that will pop in those colors. Some temples are very strict when it comes to dress code so bring your favorite scarf along with you for cover andddddddddddd as props for your #ootd.

So that's it. I hope you like my first attempt in doing my #ootd posts. I'm sure i'll get better in time! So watch out for my #ootd series from time to time ;)

#Vietnamazing : Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

*Our trip was divided into three legs: Ho Chi Minh, Phnom Penh, and Siem Reap.

The first leg of our journey was a visit to the beautiful city of Saigon. We arrived at midnight so there wasn't much to see yet. Our first impression of Saigon was that it was clean (at least cleaner than Manila), we did not see much trash nor were there any beggars sleeping along the roads. After days of touring the city, our impression did not waver. In fact, we even loved the city even more with its luscious gardens found in almost every block and roads lined with tall trees that made walking in the pedestrian lanes much more tolerable (not that we have a choice hehe no tuktuks here, its either you walk or you ride the taxi). However the the roads were filled with countless motorcycles (I think ratio of motorcycle to car is 10:1), which made crossing the street an adventure itself.

We stayed at The Townhouse 50 in District 1. Just upon entering, the hotel will give you 'chill vibes' with its very quirky interiors and very friendly staff like Mr. Johnny.

Disclaimer: Photo from Agoda.com

The rooms were very clean, the mattresses were thick and soft enough not to give me back aches, the air conditioning was cool, and the bathrooms were very spacious. Each room in the hotel looks different and have different amenities. So make sure to let them know which ones you need. 

Our breakfast was a choice of bread with peanut butter/jam/egg or instant noodles along with a mini buffet of salad, fruits, siopao, sausage, and our favorite spring rolls. 

My friends thought that the scrambled egg is too bland until we realized (upon seeing the foreigners) that after all we did not know how to eat it, apparently the salad bar was meant as not salad only but as condiments for the sandwich.

On our first day, we took a two-hour bus ride to the Mekong Delta River, a river that produces a very fertile soil that makes agriculture prosper in Vietnam. There are several tours being offered. We took the My Tho/Ben Tre tour which was the more popular option among tourists as it shows you a glimpse of how the Vietnamese live and work.

 I thought that the traditional cone shaped hats were available during the ride but you need to buy them pala :(

I had no high expectations with our lunch since it was only included in the tour. But boy, I did eat a lot! The food was better than expected and probably one of the best Vietnamese tom yum-like soup I had tasted.

 We initially ate the fried fish like our usual fried tilapia but the waitress came up to us and offered to prepare the fish which was actually the meat for the fish roll.

 Eat all you want coconut candies!

The tour consists of fruit tasting (mango, langka, banana), coconut candy making, and horse ride which are widely available here in the Philippines... Except for the boat ride along the mangroves and the free lunch, I will not recommend this tour to Asians like us unless you have a day to spare.

We had our dinner in Pho 2000 where the former President Bill Clinton dined during his state visit. I realized how appreciative he was for ordering a second bowl because this is the worse pho I ever tasted! EVER! Even the wet wipes and ice for water were for a fee! And why don't I have photos of the food? Because we dined in the dark!! Now you would probably know how disappointed I am with Pho 2000. So do yourself a favor and eat somewhere else. 

Next day, we had a very informative Cu Chi Tunnel tour. This is where the Vietnamese defeated the Americans during the war. Its amazing how bamboo sticks are stronger than bombs.

Some of the traps they made and used during the war

Towards the end of the tour, they'll allow you to duck walk along the tunnels which were narrow enough to prohibit the bigger American soldiers to fit through. (The tunnels we passed in were made to be wider and higher than originally made for the benefit of the tourists.)

This place has got me thinking if we, Filipinos, devised strategies like the Vietnamese did, will we be able to win against the Spaniards, the Americans, and the Japanese? How many lives could we have saved from the cruelty of these colonizations?... For history junks, I would definitely recommend this tour.

Tam Hao Hand Pull Noodles.

I ordered the roast duck in dry noodles (which was my favorite, the sweet sauce in the noodles complemented the salty duck) and spicy beef pho (which had the right kick of spiciness that made every spoon of soup heaven-sent).

 L'usine Cafe.

The meals were quite expensive but we couldn't pass our stay without trying this quaint cafe that serves one of the best chocolate cakes. The cafe was well lit and was not too busy- we all imagined ourselves doing our review sessions here.

We originally wanted to do the city tour after the Cu Chi Tunnels however, heavy rain poured so we opted to do it the following morning. We made use of google maps to get from one place to another and everything was near each other so its wasn't much of a hassle.

Tao Dan Park

War Remnants Museum

 

Notre Dame Cathedral.  

Did you know that all materials used to construct this Church came from France?

Saigon Post Office

And.. for our last lunch in Vietnam, Carl's Jr. When my eyes laid upon this establishment, all childhood memories in this joint came back and I had to persuade everyone to eat here.

I recommend for one to do the city tour first to get you acquainted with the city, a half day walking tour made us hurry a lot but walking allowed us to appreciate Vietnam a little more... I'm certainly hoping that I can go back to Vietnam really really soon. Two and a half days in Vietnam does not suffice. Vietnam is truly #VietnAMAZING.

How to travel Comfortably for One Week Under P18000

I'm sure you have read blogs about traveling under a budget: Vietnam-Cambodia for P20,000, Paris for P50,000, or P100,000 for a Europe tour. But these blog posts consist of sacrificing a good hotel for a bed space. This blog post, on the other hand, is traveling on a budget on a 'not-so' budgeted trip. How? With the right research. 

I have previously written on How to Prepare for a trip here which my friends and I did eight months ago (October) when we booked our flights thru Cebu Pacific's Piso Fare. We then booked our hotels via Agoda's 'Book now, Pay Later.' When checking for hotels, I checked its location, the aesthetic of the hotel (you pay more for aesthetic but it makes you sleep well at night)- by aesthetic I mean clean rooms, thick mattresses, and bide and heaters in the bathrooms, the breakfast included, and the reviews from previous customers.    

The next several months were full of emailing different companies and van drivers. 

     For our Vietnam tour, we used The Sinh Tourist, which was the cheapest that I've seen among all      agencies. Their buses were comfortable. The city tour we did on our own since the attractions were basically all 'walkable.' Download your google maps and you're good to go. (Unlimited FAST internet simcard available in the airport for P600 for 2 weeks)

    For Phnom Penh tour, we used The Budget Cambodia Tours, the van came in very punctual and our driver was really kind suggesting our next attraction to visit at.

   For Siem Reap tour, we used Sam the TukTuk Driver, since we were a big group we didn't use a tuktuk (Thank God 'cuz the sun was scorching) but instead a van. Sam was really kind too, he emailed me regularly and promptly answering my queries.

I have researched alot of good restaurants to try but you'll actually find yourselves starving already and you'll opt to dine in the nearest decent restaurant. You can even lower your spending by eating in food stalls found in the markets. Or give you extra cash to eat snacks in between. Its also actually better to eat in pairs so that you can cut your spendings into two- Order a main dish and a spring roll.

The itinerary and budget below does not include budget for shopping. Shopping in both Vietnam and Cambodia requires an expert skill in haggling and bargaining. Give them your price (preferrably 30% of their price) and work there. Try doing the 'walk-out' and wait for them to pull you back- giving your price. Tip: sellers are more likely to give you discount if you're their first customer so shop during their opening hours!!!

**Budget does not include baggage allowance, too. (If you're not like me who loves dressing up while travelling, do a back packing trip and wear your different colored camis and your maong shorts)

*i suggest you do the city tour of Vietnam first to have a grasp onf the area

I hope I entice you to travel to Vietnam and Cambodia which are beautiful countries. I will blog about the individual cities that we've been to, so please wait for my updates on the blog and on this post for the links.

Please email me at kiarapadua16@yahoo.com if you have questions.