1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #444 - Viet street food : Part 2, HCMC

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #444

- Viet street food : Part 2, HCMC

(We thought we had already tasted Vietnam's best street food in our previous trips here, including those we had in Hoi An and Danang, but hey, there are more! First, this BBQ pork noodles right inside the Benh Thanh market - it was surprisingly delicious, with freshly-wrapped spring rolls that you can have as a side order. And then, we chanced upon this Broken Rice Com Tam outlet just 50metres away from Ben Thanh. Their 7-in-1 meat dish was creatively put together, but in our 2nd visit, their fish dish was just as yummilicious. And for 3 mornings/lunches in a row, we dived into our fave 'bun-moc' from Thanh Mai - discovered from our 1st visit - with much delight!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #443 - Ben Thanh Market Part2, HCMC

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #443

- Ben Thanh Market - Part2, HCMC

(When we were here last year, we didn't know there was an F1 race right next to our hotel. It starts every evening at 7pm - when all the stalls rush out from the backlane into the main road beside this huge Ben Thanh Market to set up shop for the evening. It is quite a spectacle - those on motorbikes are the most skilful, being able to push our their stall using their legs - yes, while riding their bikes! This ritual has become a tourist favourite. If not for the cop that stands there at 6.30pm to stop any nonsense from happening, like rushing out before the stipulated time, who knows what chaos this corner of the city would turn into every night)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #442 - Vietnam Golf and Country Club, HCMC

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #442

- Vietnam Golf and Country, HCMC

(Our golfing experiences have now included the Vietnam Golf and Country Club. This mature golf course is just 45min from the city centre by taxi, which is one of the closest in HCMC. We love the generous fairways, while the well-kept greens did not disappoint. It was a delight for me for another reason - I hit all 14 fairways for the first time. And on day 2, I nearly did it again, with 12 out of 14. Hubby awarded me a mini-Claret Jug to remember this rare occasion. Will I return to VGCC? Of course!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #441 - Bo-Kaap, Capetown

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #441

- Bo-Kaap, Capetown

(What a delightfully colourful little corner of Capetown called Bo-Kaap this is! It is also an area filled with history - this is Cape Malay town - yes, Muslim Malays from the Malay Achipelago, who were brought here as slaves by the Dutch colonialists in the 1600s. We didn't even know of them, till now - in fact, there are over 50,000 of them here in Capetown! What a discovery for us. Fashion photographers love this place because of these colourful houses. And they were friendly enough to not only take a selfie with us but also invited us in to one of their restaurants, which was closed for a private event, and gladly served us a brunch meal. Plus, their Vin Diesel look-alike was more than happy to serve a mean chicken tikka + chips takeaway, with a huge smile)

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #440 - Table Mountain, Capetown

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #440

- Table Mountain, Capetown

 

(With an online ticket on our phone and queuing on the speedier line, we hopped onto the cable car with ease and in 3-min, we were up on the Table Mountain, unlike the 1st time here when high winds called off the ascent. So is this mountain as attractive as it is made out to be and thus deservedly awarded the accolade as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World? We think so - the views from up here, 1085m high, are wonderful. Our cool morning turned positively cold as the winds turned the morning into nippy, windy 12C walk - we were again underdressed. We topped off the morning with a nice lunch at the restaurant. And oh, is the Table-top flat? Yes, sandstone-flat, as the 4th photo below shows. Check out the timelapse vdo of the mountain below, from our hotel balcony - nice!)