Backpacking Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 2013 - Day Tour

Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh; formerly named Saigon (Vietnamese: Sài Gòn; French: Saïgon), is the largest city in Vietnam. Under the name Saigon, it was the capital of the French colony of Cochinchina and later of the independent republic of South Vietnam from 1955–75. -Wikipedia

Language: You can communicate in english, it has become a second de facto language in Saigon. Vietnamese is there official language. 

Currency: 1 Php = 480 VND (Vietnamese Dong), 1 USD = 21000 VND at the time of writing.

Hostel/Lodging: Average Cost is around  7-10 USD per night

Top Places to Visit

1. Saigon Square

This historic area is bordered by City Hall, the beautiful Rex Hotel and numerous French and Vietnamese restaurants.

Entrance Fee: No

Ho Chi Minh Square, Saigon, Vietnam.[click to enlarge] 

Saigon-Siem Reap- Bangkok- Pattaya City in 6 Days Backpacking Tour

Few months ago, i was blogging about my long route to several countries in IndoChina. However, that was a bit off the chart. I had several personal issues that need further assessment, and this plan needs a great revision. The original idea was to backpack Saigon-Phnom Phen-Siem Reap- Bangkok - Vientiane. Financially, this original plan was far too expensive and money isn't coming in pretty badly.

Aside from that, my passport is about to expire 2 months prior to departure which gives me just a few weeks to processed the whole thing. My departure flight from Bangkok is a little bit hazy. In short, I'm planning for a trip which i am bit hesitant to undertake.

So cutting the trip for a maximum of 6 days excluding my 1 day stay at Manila is important. The new route is to fly from MLA- HCMC, roadtrip from HCMC to Siem Reap, bypassing Phnom Phen, then another road trip from Siem Reap to Bangkok, and Bangkok to Pattaya City and vice versa.

Anyway, all went will :), So here is a short recap of my 6 days backpacking trip.

Day 1: Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)

Ho Chi Minh Square, Saigon, Vietnam.[click to enlarge]

12:20am : Arrival time at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport

9:00am-9pm : Day tour (Ho Chi Minh Tourist Spots)

Reunification Palace, Ben Than Market, Poo 2000, Saigon Square, Water Puppetry, War Remnants Museum, Japanese Restaurant, Saigon Central Post Office, Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, Ticket bookings.

Day 2: Saigon- Siem Reap

Bus departure, putting off the luggage,Sintourist Cafe, Phnom Phen, Cambodia.

6:00am- Bus departure from Saigon
9:00am - Vietnam-Cambodian Border Immigration
9:40am - Bus stop, breakfast at the Cambodia border
12:30pm - Arrival at Phnom Phen , Booked ticket bound for Siem Reap, Lunch at Sintourist
2:00pm - Bus departure to Siem Reap
8:00pm- Arrival at Siem Reap and check in hotel

Day 3: Siem Reap City, Cambodia

The Bayon Temple, Ankor, Siem Reap, Cambodia

6:00am- Swimming at the pool
8:00am - Day tour; Hindu temples and Angkor Wat
1:00pm - Lunch at Neary Angkor Wat Restaurant
2:00pm- Visiting South Gate temples, Bayon etc.
4:30pm- Siem Reap City Tour; Kings Palace, Parks, Angkor National Museum, Night Market, Dinner at KFC
7:30pm - Siem Reap Temple Club; Dining and Watching Cultural Show with Apsara Dance
9:30pm- Citywalk from Pub Street to Hotel.

Day 4: Siem Reap to Bangkok, Thailand

Wat Pho Temple, Bangkok. Thailand.

DFA Passport Renewal in Southern Philippines 2013

My scheduled flight was on October, and my passport is about to expire. One of the ruling is that you need to renew your passport 6 months prior to your departure. Its a pain in the ass when the immigration pull you off because you are carrying an expiring passport. To avoid this unfortunate event prior to your departure i list here the things and requirements needed for you to be able to renew your expiring passport and travel smoothly without the immigration hassle.

My Old Passport(left), New passport(right) sent via LBC

Here are the general requirements according to DFA's website: http://bit.ly/DFAPassportRenewal

FOR RENEWAL OF PHILIPPINES PASSPORT APPLICANTS 

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

• Personal appearance         
• Confirmed appointment         
• Duly accomplished application form – may be downloaded from the DFA website, www.dfa.gov.ph
• No need to submit a passport size photo
• Most recent expiring or expired passport
• Valid picture IDs and supporting documents to prove identity. (Please refer to List of Acceptable IDs and List of Supporting Documents)

Those the things needed in DFA Metro Manila. The situation in Mindanao and Cebu is a bit different. Here are requirements at DFA Cagayan De Oro:

1. Personal appearance
2. 2 Valid ID's
3. Old/expiring passport
4. Renewal Application form(to be fill in)
5. Photocopy of your old/expiring passport
6. Payment PhP 1280 (10 days rush), PhP 950 (20 days)

Process:

1. Pull in line as much as 3AM! (YEAH HEARED IT RIGHT!)
2. Make sure you have all the requirements i stated above.
3. Wait for 7:30AM until the guards will release the forms.
4. Fill up the forms, make sure you reviewed the ones important ei Old Passport Numbers.
5. At exactly 8:00 AM, the first batch will be called! 
6. Remember, if you were able to get there first, you should be on the first 50 customers
7. Second batch, if you are unlucky, would be called around 11am!(i was unlucky!)
8. Your names are to be called by the security guards.
9. Relax and find a seat.
10. Listen to the speaker when your name is called, jump up! hahahaha Finally!
11. You will present the requirements stated above. 
12. If your passport is about to expire 6 months, then most probably the teller wont cancel your passport until you receive the new one. 
13. Pay at the cashiers window for passport renewal, you will be ask if are you gonna pay for a regular or rush, Php 950 and PhP 1280.00.. Of course i choose PhP 1280 for 10 working days. 
14. Get your receipt as well as the requirements being assessed and present those at the ID Validation cubicle.
15. Finally,Wait for your name to be called for picture taking and review of information. 

While waiting for my name to be called, DFA Cagayan De Oro City.

South East Asia Backpacking Tours Plan

Ho Chi Minh City, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Bangkok, Vientiane, Hanoi in 15 days.

Ok, so this is my route on my upcoming journey to Mainland Asia. What do you think about this? Click the image to get a closer look of the map.

Itinerary:

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)  -2 nights and  3 days
Phnom Penh - 1 night and 1 day
Siem Reap - 1 night and 1 day
Bangkok - 2 nights and 3 days
Vientianne - 1 night and 1 day
Hanoi - 2 nights and 3 days.

Exclusion - 3 days on travel (bus/train)

Total Travel Days - 15

Estimated Daily Budget - (to be determined)
Hotels - 400 PhP per night (cheapest)

Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2013