Vietnam Travel Adventures: Ho Chi Minh DIY City Tour

   

     I was pretty honest when I said before that there was not much planning for our trip to Vietnam. Although we booked tickets way ahead, like more than 2 months before our trip, I just booked our tours quite late; 2 days before we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City.  It was so late that the Sinh Tourist Office had to send me a payment link for the Cu Chi Tunnel tour because it cannot be booked anymore via their website.  Oh well.  The beauty of taking tours - you can just sit back and relax after booking one.

     On the other hand, DIY tours are more flexible when it comes to time management.  You can take all the pictures you want; there's no need to rush, unless your travel companions are impatient.  Heehee.  However, DIY tours are quite taxing; you need to research, research and research.  And despite making all the preparations beforehand, you'll probably still end up asking locals for directions.  For  lazy people like me, DIY tours are a welcome challenge.  But, there are still times that I just get so busy with no time to spare for planning a tour.  And, that is what precisely happened in Vietnam!

Thoughts: Waiting for Flight from Taiwan to Manila, Stories and More

     I'm at the Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan waiting for my 1:25 a.m. flight back home.  I had a few stories to tell which I would like to share with you in the coming days.  For now, I'll tell the story of how I got into the airport.

     Before I left the hostel where I stayed, I asked the staff for a cab because I didn't want to endure a 10-minute walk carrying heavy luggage around.  But the staff gave me the directions going to the bus terminal, based on her advise since it'll be too short of a ride.  I asked her if the terminal is the same terminal from where I got off when I came to Taipei, and she said yes.  So I waited at the bus stop and guess what?  The terminal for the express bus is located at the new Taipei Bus Terminal.  Good thing that the bus driver I asked was nice that he took me to their station and helped me from carrying my luggage and buying the correct ticket.  Mr. bus driver was really so, so nice.  I was profusely thanking him for letting me hitch hike on his bus and for helping me find my way to the correct express bus to the airport.

Thoughts: My Travel Plans for Taiwan this Week

     Last week, I was so sure that I'll be visiting Sun Moon Lake and Alishan.  But after much thought and reading some information about some other places which are within reasonable distance from Taipei, I decided to ditch Alishan.  It broke my heart, really.  I so wanted to see Alishan.  Sadness.

      Instead, I decided to go to some other places that I've already visited, but not as thoroughly as I wanted to before, and a couple of new places.

     Here's an outline of my travel plans:

Thoughts: Taiwan's New Logo and Slogan

     I was mildly surprised when the Taiwan tourism website (http://eng.taiwan.net.tw/) showed an unfamiliar slogan and logo on its homepage.  I mean, the last time I looked at the website was around Chinese New Year, and when I checked on it today, lo and behold, there's a new logo and slogan!

     The former slogan for Taiwan's tourism is Taiwan Touch Your Heart, and the logo is all sorts of colorful.  Now, the new slogan is Taiwan the Heart of Asia, and the logo is now a representation of Taiwan: tea, Taipei 101, snacks, Lantern Festival, nature, etc., all packed in a heart-shaped design.  The colors are muted and in the tones of brown, orange, green and blue.  You get a very earthy feel from it.  

  

     These are the logo and the slogan.  I just lifted both from the Taiwan Tourism website and incorporated it on a single photo so you'd get a holistic idea.

     Here's a video of the move from the old, and new logo and slogan.  You can view this video as intro to the Taiwan tourism website.  Very kawaii!  I got this one from Youtube, though.

     So, don't be surprised if you see these new logo and slogan when you arrive in Taiwan.  And for those who will go to Taiwan, like me, be ready to explore the heart of Asia, Taiwan!

Thoughts: My Taiwan Visa Application for the Second Time

    

     For the second time, I applied for a Taiwan tourist visa at the TECO in RCBC Plaza, Makati City.  I arrived at the building around 8:30 am and the counter at the reception area for the TECO already had a queue!  I was number 17.  I needed no further instructions as I already know the process.  I signed up to get a number and waited for the TECO receptionist near the exit going to the smoking area of the RCBC Plaza to get my number.  After getting my number, I went to back to the reception and left my government-issued ID in exchange for a visitor's pass.  If you do not have one, they'll ask you to leave a valid ID plus your cellular phone.

     When I got to the 41st floor where the TECO is located, the counters are already serving applicant number 4.  So swift, right?  By the time my number was called, I've been sitting for around 15 to 20 minutes.  Then I was done.  All in about 30 to 40 minutes, including the waiting time at the lobby.

     Some observations to help you in your application:

     1.  The counters for visa processing are counters 1 to 5.  Your number will be called via the numbering system overhead indicating which counter you should go.

     2.  The visa processor will check if your documents are complete and they'll ask you to wait to be called for payment.  The visa processor would ask you if you want to have your application expedited or not.

     3.  Payment for the visa is over at counter 6.

     4.  It takes 3 working days for the visa to be processed. 

    

    
    

Vietnam Travel Adventures - Day 2: Cai Be and Vinh Long Mekong Boat Tour

     Once again, me and my friends took a tour with the Sinh Tourist.  Usually, the tours I get uses a van and there are either just us or some other people on board.  But the Sinh Tourist tours are different.  They use tour buses.

     We arrived at the office just when the bus was about to depart.  Heehee.  We were the last ones to board the bus and we were seated at the very rear because the bus was already packed.  Oh well.

Vietnam Travel Adventures - Day 1: Taking a Break, Dining and Night Market

     

     From the Cu Chi Tunnels, we came straight back to the Sinh Tourist office.  By then, we were already famished.  It was past 1:00 p.m. already.  We just picked out a place to eat near the area.  We would have wanted to have some Vietnamese food but we have not yet scoured the area, and all we saw were those western-styled restaurants since we're in the backpackers' area.  We picked the Buffalo, and dined al fresco.  Prices were reasonable considering the taste.  I got a lasagna, because I'm Garfield and I love lasagna, and my friends got some subway-like sandwich, similar to the ones sold by the street vendors in Ho Chi Minh, and some steak.  My lasagna was really yummy; the sauce was made of real tomatoes and it was served in a clay pot. Very cute.  It cost around VND 110,000 and I ordered some Vietnamese iced tea (iced loose leaf tea sans sugar), and paid 10% service charge.