Don’t mind us, we just want to shop till we drop. That would have made a good tag line for my recent trip to Ho Chi Min City. And we did drop – at the airport to be exact, upon weighing our luggage. It was a whopping 130kg all together, an alarming number considering we only have an allocation 80kg in total.
An excess of almost 50kg!! What on earth have we done? There were only two days of shopping and how could we have picked up so much?? I still have no answers to these questions and believe me I am still struck with awe of those crazy moments spent with Desert Rose, her friend M and Liadevega, hubby S and baby Yusuf.
From one market place to the other, bags and bags of merchandise exchanged hands; from the shop into our open arms. Parting with our Vietnam Dong had become so natural after the second hour of roaming the hot and humid market place. Even the downpour couldn’t stop us.
Desert Rose & M were stocking up for Unggu – their boutique which made debut some two months back. With festive celebrations coming up, the timing couldn’t have been better. I’m pretty impressed with these two ladies actually – so young and very entrepreneurial. So when the invite came from Desert Rose to go explore HCMC, I obliged. When looking at merchandise they got, I’m confident that their “Cotton Story” will excel.
Ho Chi Min City by the Mekong River awaits us
Ho Chi Minh City Hall or Hôtel de Ville de Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Head office - Trụ sở Ủy ban Nhân Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh) was built in 1902-1908 in a French colonial style for the then city of Saigon.It was renamed after 1975 as Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee.
That’s their story. And mine? What else if it’s none other than RT. After a stretch of stressful days both in the office and at home, I just had to go recharge myself. And RT works like magic on me; all troubles out the window – well at least temporarily for the two or three days. If I recall what my doctor said about exercising the other day, it must be the happy hormones that did the job. From the walking around, I believe my happy hormones are triggered. Thus, making me feel like I’m on cloud nine. Spirits uplifted and there wasn’t a single sick bone in my body. I have recovered, thank God.
I shall let the pictures do the story telling.
Motor bikes...so many motor bikes conquered the city
Polka dot pants, anyone?
Shops at An Dong Market
Our good friend Raja (a local who speaks fluent BM) in Ben Than Market and he sells baju kurung!!
It's raining season now in HCMC. Heavy downpour on our first night. We should be indoors, right?
Wrong answer..... The search must go on...walaupun having to put on that horror looking raincoat. Memang rupa hobbit!!
Tired....had to find a place to sit at one of the shops we walked into.
Dah penat...apa lagi cari makan je lah. This was at the Parkson Food Court in HCMC. There are two Halal outlets there, Pak Indian food & D'Anjung.
The chicken briyani I had for dinner....sedap!! (well dah so hungry...makan apa pun sedap lah)
Our luggage of weight total 130kg.
The trio - posing before leaving for airport, with probably these thoughts on their mind -Shopping is a woman thing. It's a contact sport like football. Women enjoy the scrimmage, the noisy crowds, the danger of being trampled to death, and the ecstasy of the purchase -
Erma Bombeck
11 comments:
Aunty Kay,
Are there many textile factories in Vietnam? Interestingly, most of the textile shops down here are Vietnamese owned. Any coincidence? har har har *evil laughs*
Hmmm...pi dgn dessert rose tak payah cakaplah...aih, nxt time i nak ikut, i tolong angkat beg!
Salam Kay,
Wah! dasat betul nyoping!...tak kira hujan ribut...kah!...kah!
Geng ofis Auntie pun pergi juga awal sikit pada you all bertiga...depa pi ramai..37 orang...termasuk bigbos..so adalah jugak diselitkan 'lawatan' teknikal yang tak berapa nak teknikal tu...errr...melawat kebunsayur & sawah padi katanya.
Bila pulak nak tayang barangan tu kat...tingin jugak nak tengok.
Auntie walau pun tak pergi, tetap dapat ole-ole dari Vietnam dan dah siap tayang kat blog! :-)
Puan
Shok nya p makan angin n shooping.I believe baju kurong depa cantik cantik belaka.Pompuan bila dah beli belah boleh hilang stress.Betul u kata hormone seronok meningkat.Alhamdulilah selamat pulang ke tanahair.
....wawa
I would love to have u as my shopping companion always or even better as the captain of the team
Dear CatIS,
Yes I think there are sister shops of these Vietnamese that mushroomed down under. Hey Angie...pujuk lah Mama, get her to open a shop jugak. I'm sure it'll be a hit. Both Brad & you can help layan the customers too..heh..heh
KG,
Apasal plak nak tolong angkat bag, kita sesama comb the streets okay. Lepas tu bila dah excess luggage, buat muka cuak kat check in counter tu..heh..heh
Dear Auntie Yan,
Wahhh...37 orang!! Berapa lah agak nya berat luggage they all. Ho Chi Min mmg a shopping heaven. Semua benda nak dibeli, bawa duit berbakul-bakul pun tak cukup.
Glad you like the ole-ole dr yr friends. Bila pulak Auntie nak join buat lawatan sambil belajar ke HCMC pulak...pasti gempaq kan :)
Dear Wawa,
Yes...ni lah yang dinamakan perempuan. Kalau membeli tak tau nak berhenti. Selagi kantong tak susut, tak tau nak stop.
Beli barang-barang raya lah dear...just doind some early preparations :)
You from Kertau camp ke?
Dear DR,
Cepat....cari next destination. Captain ni jenis yg tak tau duduk diam. Jenjalan tu always in her mind..heh..heh
salam kak,
may i know the hotel that u stayed in while in HCM city? is it nearby the market?
tq:)
Post a Comment