Depart Ho Chi Minh City using Malinh bus.

Most bus tickets for the 6:30am, 7:00am and 8:00am to Phnom Penh,Cambodia were sold out one day before departure but I was lucky to get hold of Malinh bus the night before.

 The fare price was US7.00 which is the cheapest among all other companies.
 If you ever wish to travel out of Ho Chi Minh City to neighbouring Cambodia,always buy ahead as tickets were easily sold out.

 Ever since from day one while I was here in Ho Chi Minh City,the weather condition was not so friendly to all travelers.Either you walk with the raincoat on or choose to be a water buffalo.The moment you thought the rain has stopped,another intermittent downpour started again.It's a free shower practically this month of July and August.

 Vietnamese have rich folklores and fairytales.The local people were already capable of predicting the current month weather. It was about two lover,Nguu Lang and Chuc Nu.
Both were so deeply in love that the Jade Emperor diapproved their courtship thus separating both of them and forcing them to live on opposite side of the Milky Ways.
Their whole-hearted love thus made the Jade Emperor touched.
Both the couples were allowed to meet each other once a year on the 7th July (Chinese Lunar Calender).When they were united,they weep all day long in July so that's why it's a wet,wet ,wet month.






The vehicles here are all heading towards Ben Thanh market area and will subsequently turn right to the bus terminal.

From the vehicles oncoming directions,you can also walk to the terminal in less than 10 minutes.

This is Pham Ngu Lao Road and I'm standing near Malinh Office which is just beside the corner to De Tham Street.

 The zebra crossing is hardly being complied by almost all vehicles to and fro.One needs to just cross the road even if the vehicles were just inches away,just raise your hand and be your own self made traffic warden.

 Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) main green lungs right up to the junction where Tran Hung Dao Street and Le Loi Street meets.

So if you were to stay around Pham Ngu Lao area,it's just right at your doorstep. Joggers will be the early bird of the day while later in the evening,the locals will be having some sports activities. There are two section,one as in the photo is just across Ben Thanh Bus terminal where it has been partially turned into a motorcycle parking lot while the other section in front of Pham Ngu Lao Street is the main highlight area.

  Inside the Malinh bus the seats were equally comfortable and the compartment for hand luggage is not that big.
The bus has good suspension so won't feel the bump. I was allocated the middle seat at the far end despite booking a day earlier.
Most of the Vietnamese people book a seat via telephone call so that's why it was very fast taken up. There were three Filipinos onboard while the rest were local residents.

 Malinh Head Office at 201,Pham Ngu Lao Street,Tel:(08)39202929 while their ticketing offices are also at:
+15,Dao Duy Anh Street.Phu Nhuan District. +293,Tran Phu Street,District 5
+64-68,Hai Ba Trung Street,District 1.

 Daily Departure: Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Penh: 6:30am,7:30am,8:30am,13:00hrs:14:30hrs.

 Just in case you need a light snack for morning breakfast,a stall selling Vietnamese baguette sandwiches is available.

They are called Banh,a perfect Frence influenced in their cuisine. Delicious French-styled baguette are enriched with flavorful meats and are garnished with crispy cucumber slices,marinated carrot,daikon salad and ciliantro leaves.
The price range from 8,000 VNDong to 10,000VNDong.







 Sorya Bus was further down infront of their office at Pham Ngu Lao Street.
The previous night I tried to make a ticket purchase but early morning seats are all fully booked except for the 11:30am trip.
The fare was USD10.00 and the journey would take around six hours.

 It was a brilliant idea for the local tourism authorities to put up a signboard displaying all the guesthouses inside the alleys.

 Lookout for the alley which was just in between some the shops.

Example are Rainbow Guesthouse,Ngoc Linh Hotel,Red Sun Hotel,Ngoc Minh Hotel,Tan Ah Mui Apartment,Nguyen Khay Hotel,Lin Phuong Hotel,Saigon Cafe Guesthouse and Tan Loc Hung Hotel.
 The range are normally between USD8-USD12. Staying at the guesthouse among the alleys is a wonderful experience to be close to the Vietnamese families as they are the main operators of the premises.

 The lifestyle of the people are very interesting as they do operate small shops inside here as well.
Only the motorcycles are accessible but do not create any noise pollution.It is a very quiet neighbourhood. At times there will be peddlers on bicycle selling foodstuffs and singing to their best tones.

 Salam Restaurant and Lounge is located at No:280 Nguyen Dinh Chieu,Ho Chi Minh City which is quite near to the War Remnants Museum.

The entrance arch is a typical Muslim mosque architecture and this is a Muslim restaurant.

 "SALAM" is the most commonly used word in the everyday life of the Muslim which is a greetings sentence especially in most opening addresses and conversations.

 Assalamualaikum means "peace be with you" while the other party will reply as mu'alaikum salam.
Kirim salam means send my greetings.

 In Ho Chi Minh City there are also many Muslim Restaurants so Vietnam is also proud to have a multi racial society.
 Muslim Restaurants only sell "Halal" food,that is no involvement of pork products and the method of preparations are in accordance to Islamic Law.

 A list of Muslim Restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City:

 1) Bombay Restaurant:- 66,Dong Du Street, near the Mosque Tel: +848 38233594
 2) Ali Baba Restaurant:-60,Le Thanh Ton Street Tel: +848 382335943.
3) Bon Mua / Four Season Restaurant:-2 ,Thi Sach Street, Dist 1 Tel: 84-8-382571864.
4) Satay House Restaurant:-35, Mac Dinh Chi Street, Tel: 090-39254755.
5) Sulayman Restaurant:-459/25/40 Tran Hung Dao, District 1,behind mosque Tel: +848-38385332
6) Tandoor Restaurant:- 103, Vo Van Tan Street, Dist 3, Tel: 84 8-39302468/ 39304127.
7) Zamzam (Taj Mahal):-26 Bui Vien Street District 1, Tel: 84-3883693638.
8) SAPHIGIAH LAN:-193 Hai Ba Trung St, Dist 3'
9) Kedai Shamsudin - Lê Hong Phong, Dist 10
10) Taj Mahal :-241, 265/1, Pham Ngu Lao Street. 11) Halal Saigon Restaurant:-31,Dong Du Street,Dist 1. Tel: 84-8-38274602





After completing all the immigration formalities at the Vietnamese side at Moc Bai,buses no matter which companies you're in will stop for lunch at a restaurant just after the border.

 This advertisement near the restaurant main road was sponsored by the Titan Group,one of the casino giants.

The Sorya bus leaving at the same time also arrived for lunch at the restaurant which was just opposite the So Nguon Inland Dry Port.
Inland dry port are actually inland custom clearance depots.

The Titan King Casino at Bavet near the Vietnam Cambodian border,about 110km from Phnom Penh.

This hotel and resort building stands elegantly tall among all the others here in Bavet.
A luxury five star hotel with built-in city of entertainment. It was opened on 26th February 2010 with over 6,000 employees.

 

Ferry crossing across the swollen Mekong River over to the other side of Neak Loeung town in Prey Veng Province.

According to Wikipedia,on August 6,1973 this town was bombed by mistake by the American B-52 Stratofortress 20-tons load bomb.

It happened during the Cambodian Civil War when the Americans were siding the Cambodia Republic and Republic of South Vietnam and having a conflict with the Khmer Rouge with their allies,Democratic Republic North Vietnam and Vietcong.




Neak Loeung Ferry Dockyard Administrative building. A ferry ride sitting inside the bus with no safety features is also a big concern if you were to think of the negative side.
 In fact there were plans to construct a bridge which will be funded by the Japanese Government to the tune of US131million.

 Ground breaking of the two kilometre bridge,the longest,biggest and most difficult to built was made by the Japanese Ambassador Masafumi Kuroki on 12 February 2010.





 Traders selling betel leaves (thai:miang khum) at the market near the ferry terminal.

 In India the betel leaves played an important role in the Indian culture especially among the Hindus.

 It also has great influence among the Burmese,Thais,Cambodians and Vietnamese.

Specifically used for chewing purpose,festivals and ceremonials. Sometimes you might noticed that the people who chewed the betel leaves have red colour set of teeth after eating them.
If one were to go back to history,the Srivijaya Empire which is a Hindu Kingdom consisted of the coastal areas of Sumatera,Java,Thai Peninsula till Ayutthya,Champa in Cambodia and the Mekong Delta region as well as the Irrawaddy Delta in Myanmar. So chewing betel leaves is part of everyday life because of the Indian culture influence.

Enroute Ben Xe Mien Tay Bus Terminal.

A bus ride to Ben Xe Mien Tay from Ben Xe Cholon takes about 15 minutes with intermittent stops.
The fare is 4,000 VNDong.

From Ben Xe Mien Tay terminal back to Ben Thanh terminal also cost the same fare. The locals called the terminal as Minh Tai .

Passing via Hau Giang Street in District 5,the road is slightly wider and a busy business centre with many Chinese temples and churches as well.

 Hau Giang Road is quite a long stretch which starts from the Nine Dragon Park near Cholon terminal till a road circle connecting to Kinh Duong Vuong Road where the Ben Xe Mien Tay terminal is located.

  This arch entrance is to the Chua Tuyen Lam Buddhist Monastery off Hung Vuong Street.
 This must be related to the biggest Truc Lam Buddhist pagoda in Dalat City beside Tuyen Lam Lake in the high mountain.

 There are three types of Chinese religious beliefs namely Taoism,Confucianism and Buddhism.
In all they have the same kind of doctrines except for some principles.




  Bang Bo Chinh Quyen Road circle at An Duong Vuong Road and to Kinh Duong Vuong Road.

Ngu yen Van Cu-Cay Co Bookstore

  Lotte Mart is South Korea's leading supermarket.
Apart from Vietnam it has 6 stores in Beijing,2 stores in Tianjin and a takeover of 19 Makro-stores in Indonesia.

 Phu My Hung in District 7 is Ho Chi Minh's new uban centre and a vibrant commercial district.
There are lots of high rise condominiums and apartments in the vicinity.
A 3-room apartment in the area is renting around USD600 per month.
 District 7 is connected to District 2 by the Phu My Bridge, which was opened in September 2009.

Bus from Cholon only passed by the Mien Tay station and enroute to some other places.
The bus conductor will inform passengers who wish to get down at this point.
 Ben Xe Mien Tay is a very large bus terminal which serves the districts around the Mekong Delta region.

This huge station is about 10km west of HCMC in An Lac, a part of Binh Chanh district (Huyen Binh Chanh)

This is the new building ticketing area where most of the companies offer route to nearly the same destinations.
In one of the counters the fare prices were as follows: Can Tho :80,000 Dong
Trai Ninh: 110,000 Dong
Rach Gia: 95,000 Dong
Triton: 135,000 Dong
Omon: 90,000(1st Class),70,000(2nd class).

 Mitraco Bus to Ca Mau:120,000 Dong and Bau Lieu:100,000 Dong

 






The old section of the bus terminal.At the very end is a counter for tickets to Nha Trang,Dalat,Hue, Vinh and Hanoi.

To enter inside the bus parking bays,you need to show proof that you have a ticket in hand.

 Malinh Bus Company fleet of buses are in colour green which is very popular among the Vietnamese people.

 Phuong Trang Buses to Can Tho in the Mekong Delta.

Can Tho is a 4 hours drive from Ho Chi Minh City and buses here leave every 30 minutes.
The fares around 85,000 Dong.

A view inside the terminal which was very spacious with the minivans and taxis available.
The minivans leave every hour and cost close to US10.00 Vietnam

Map of the Mekong Delta Provinces also known as Cuu Long in Vietnamese meaning :" nine dragons" having 9 exit points that flow into the Gulf of Thailand.

The mighty Mekong River begins its journey from Tibetan Himalaya making its 4500 km through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Southern Vietnam.

 Its rich alluvial plains make it the rice bowl of Vietnam where paddy rice is widely cultivated.

 Can Tho is the capital of the Mekong Delta and home of the Vietnamese fish sauce (Nuoc Mam).It is also famous for the floating markets with the many canals that serve as a trading route.

Can Tho is 34km from Vinh Long, 62km from Long Xuyen, 63km from Soc Trang, 104km from Mytho, 116km from Rach Gia, 117km from Chau Doc, 169km from Ho Chi Minh City and 179km from Camau. The local ethnic groups includes the Viet (Kinh), Khmer, Hoa, and Cham people.

Tailoring accessories wholesalers at Cholon.

Statue of Lao Tzu(pinyin: Lǎozǐ),a great chinese philisopher who live during the 5th century BC along Hải Thượng Lãn Ông Road just across the Sacombank in Cholon Chinatown District 5,Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

 Lao Tzu is depicted as an old man with a white beard and a yellow robe.
In his right hand, he is carrying a peach, the symbol of immortality, while in his left hand he carries a wooden staff with the head of a dragon.

 Over here in Vietnam he's known as Lao Tu,that's why you have Lao Tu Street nearby with the Buddhist pagoda temple known as Chùa Quan Âm.

Behind Ben Xe Cholon is Trang Tu Road,running parallel to Tránh Chăn Chiếu Road and there are many textile merchants over these side.

 Further up will be Nguyễn Trãi Road[Thien Hau Pagoda (Chua Thien Hau),Ong Pagoda (Nghia An Hoi Chan Temple) and Jamil Mosque in the vicinity] that meets the main artery road of Hồng Bàng Street[Phuoc An Hoi Quan Pagoda around here].




 Cho Lon is the Chinese section annexed to Saigon city and is a heavy populated area.

The Battle of Cholon way back in 1968 saw fierce fightings between the vietcongs and government forces especially near the Hong Bang Street area.

 The only modern high rise skyscraper seen across from Hai Truong Lan Ong Street(also known as The Medicine Street).






The Thuận Kiều Plaza.
The project was completed in 1998.
 The Thuận Kiều commercial center in District 5 along Hồng Bàng Street is a 33 storey apartment building complex .
There are three towers apartment blocks with lettable area and also for sale to foreigners.
The complex has been developed by Hong Kong's Kings Harmony International United and HCMC's District 5 Construction and Trading Co.

On the ground floors there are offices,shopping malls and restaurants.  
Quang Dai Minimart is on the second floor of Thuan Kieu Plaza,40%-50% of customers are foreigners, mostly from China and Hong Kong.
First floor Hai San Restaurant is popular with local businessmen and wedding parties. It serves excellent dim sum but you'll have to ignore the garish, stark interiors.
On the ground floor, Lau Ca Chinese Restaurant offers steamboat and seafood.








A Buddha gem pagoda tower.
Normally a pagoda tower is octagonal in shape and has eight levels depicting the Noble Eightfold Path which is one one of the teaching of Buddha.

  Chua Phuoc Long Buddhist Temple at Le Quang Sung Street which is north of Binh Tay Market,Cholon,District 5,Vietnam.










Co.op Mart at Le Quang Sung Street is one of the most popular supermarket chain whose brand name is synonymous with the Vietnamese people.

They have private home brand products produced from local factories that are quality compliance and are cheaper than other brand.
Stocks available ranges from processed food,homecare,household appliances and apparels,
The headoffice is at No:199-205, Nguyen Thai Hoc -Pham Ngu Lao,District 1.
Vietnam's domestic consumer market is very huge and there are still potentials to tap the rural lower budget consumers who are also brand conscious.







Walking through one of the side alleys off Hai Truong Lan Ong Street beside Ngo Doc Thanh street ,I stumbled into a wholesale market specialty in sewing and tailoring accessories for the domestic and export garments industries.

 The narrow alleys are quite similar to those at Yaowarat in Bangkok Chinatown.

Vietnam main zipper brand is the HKK.
 The pioneer in the field of zippers is Hoan My Company Limited whose headoffice is at No:455 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, Ward 5, Dist. 3, Ho Chi Minh City, VietNam while its factory is at Highway 13 Ap Tay,Vinh Phu Ward, Thuan An Dist.,Binh Duong Province, VietNam.

Most of the zippers on the apparels which you are wearing is from the YKK brand from Japan which is the world's largest zipper manufacturer. The initials YKK stand for (Yoshida Kōgyō Kabushikigaisha), Yoshida Manufacturing Corporation.





 A small little wholesale shop selling domestic sewing thread.
Each small cops of spun polyester sewing thread contains 250 metres in length and it comes in a box of 10 cops.

They are either the 2-ply(40s/2) or 3-ply(60s/3) twisted polyester yarn. The colour trend now seems to be those of pastel and luminous match. There are close to 500 colour range in the shade card and only the most popular trending colours have higher stocks level.

You'll be surprised that a small shop like this can churn in a substantial annual turnover.







COATS brand sewing thread is a global and well established sewing thread company.
The new logo is after the merging of J& P Coats and Astra Sewing Company way back in 1996 both from England,Great Britain.
I was a marketing executive of this company for nearly 13 years till the merging of the whole entity.

Coats Phong Phu Ltd located at Tang Nhon Phu B ward, District 9, Ho Chi Minh City is a joint venture between Coats Holdings Ltd. and Phong Phu Textile Company (Vietnam). It was established on July 25th, 1989.







In the Asia Pacific region,most of the spun polyester thread are wound onto a plastic cops compared to the western counterparts who are used to the spool type.

 The Anchor brand cotton ball thread comes in size 2(thicker),size 8 and size 10.
The cone shape thread are the industrial 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres.
Most of the nylon thread used mostly by the shoes ,belts and bags industry are being supplied by the company's factory in Germany.
As for cotton thread,the main source is from India which is one of the major cotton producers in the world.
The world's cotton price has short up to its high @ 214 cents per pound on February 2011 from a low of 48 cents per pound in February 2009.The latest price is 110 cents per pound,a double digit increase and thus will affect the prices of apparels and garments.

Fu Huang Sern Temple in Cholon Chinatown.

Located off the main street of Hai Tuong Lan Ong,the Fu Huang Sern chinese temple is a place of worship to the majority Hokkien speaking people in the Cholon community.

It is being managed by the Fujian Erfu Huay Kuan.(Fujian Erfu Association) The temple has fine craftmanship with most materials shipped from the ancestral homeland and the design is a replica model of the oldest Kaiyuan Temple in the West Street of Quanzhou,Fujian Province built in the year 686AD.

A pair of lion sculpture is standing guard outside. Similar temple structures can be seen at the oldest Thian Hock Keng Temple in Singapore,Long Shan Tang Temple and Keng Hock Keong Temple both in Yangon Chinatown.

The two large lanterns hanging near the temple's entrance have symbolic meaning.
The written characters have Chinese proverbs inscribed while the larger characters will identify the place or events name.

The bigger characters says it's Hokkien God or "pinyin:Fu Huang Sern"
In the case of a Chinese funeral,a white lantern with the maiden name of the deceased being inscribed on it. Weddings and other important ceremonies also have lanterns to brighten up the atmosphere.

The bronze vases and the ritual wine container [fāngyí (方彝)] in the middle  doesn't look like a josstick urn.

There were written inscription cast on the vessel and on top of the cover is a little dragon that looks like a tiger.

Nickname "Xianzhang" or Bi'an,it is one of the nine sons of a dragon according to Chinese legend.He's very powerful and interested in prisons and judicial cases.

You'll noticed this kind of settings in almost all temples where a judicial table will be in front of the main altar.




 "Fujian De Yong" the signcraft at the entrance. Chinese text writing during ancient time starts from the right.
Traditionally, Chinese is written in vertical columns from top to bottom; the first column is on the right side of the page, and the text runs toward the left.

 Text written in Classical Chinese also uses little or no punctuation. With modernisation,the text layout has now followed the western style.

 Simplified Chinese is standard in the People's Republic of China, Singapore, and Malaysia.
Traditional Chinese is retained in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau and overseas Chinese communities.

 The main hall altar with the patron deity Fazhugong or Zhanggong shengju.
A kind of idol worship that has been passed down from generations.
 A notable sight in Hokkien households is the display of three or more generations of ancestral tablets at the family altar, besides other deities.




 "City God" or Cheng Huang (城隍) taking care of the fortunes of the city.

Quan Cong also known as Guan Yu,a general in the Three Kingdoms of Chinese history.

That is the period of anarchy during the Six Dynasties
The last dynasty of China was the Qing Dynasty also known as the Manchu Dynasty ruling from 1644 to 1912.

  Portrait of Huangdi,the Yellow Emperor who founded the Chinese civilization.
He's the great inventor of carts,boats and clothings.

 That fantastic beast animal with him was Bai Ze,which provided him with guidance on the forms and habits of all types of supernatural creatures in the world and how to overcome their attacks.

Legend has it that the dragon has nine sons, but none has grown into a dragon, with each having his own appearance.

 Bixi :-look like a turtle and is fond of carrying heavy loads.
Chiwen:- looks somewhat like a lizard without a tail. He likes to gaze around in precarious areas.
 Pulao:- shaped like a dragon, but smaller in size and like to roar.
 Taotie:- looks like a wolf and is extremely fond of eating.
 Qiuniu:- looks like a small yellow dragon with scales and loves music.
Yazi:- stares at things with angry eyes and he's fond of bloody killings.
 Suanni:- was originally the alias of the lion, so he looks like a lion. He likes smoke and fire and is fond of sitting.
Jiaotu:- is like a mussel or a snail that's tight-lipped by nature.

Images of a Buddhist monk with the peasants.

God of Wealth has a big tummy.

The God of Wealth is a Chinese deity who can bless one with luck, wealth and economic opportunities.

 This is my first time seeing a Monkey God.

Recalling the movie "Sun Wukong" which detailed his adventures.
An outcast from Taoist heaven, the Monkey God was redeemed and gained Buddhist immortality by escorting Tang Xuan Zang on his pilgrimage to the West to obtain the teachings of Lord Buddha.

The Ming Dynasty novel Journey to the West have detailed history of his existence.





  Scene of Chinese New Year celebration.
The lion dance and the laughing Buddha buddy seen here with children playing musical instruments.

 The Chinese New Year celebration last for 15 days but in most countries, the first and usually the second day of Chinese New Year is designated as public holidays.
 The eve will be reunion dinner while the 15th day is the yuanxiao.





The Tiger being King of the Jungle.
 In a Chinese horoscope,Tiger Years are third in the cycle and recur every twelfth year.

The characteristics of the Tiger are tempered by one of the five Chinese elements of Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth. Tigers, born under the third Animal sign of the Chinese Zodiac, have the ability to lift the spirits of even the most depressed or lonesome individual they meet.

 Once a Tiger has committed himself to you after marriage, he can tend to want to dominate or lead you.
Tigers love excitement and need someone who can keep up with all they want to do and see.
On the other hand,tigers can be quite impulsive spenders because they know they can always make more.