Saigon : Awesome City of Free WIFI !!!

I wish I could spend more extra days in this city. I love Saigon Ho Chi Minh.. not because it made me feels like home, but it is better than my home city cuz it provides a FREE WIFI's EVERYWHERE!!! I declared Ho Chi Minh city as an AWESOME WIFI CITY! It's free, it's fast and it is everywhere!!!! Unlike KL, everything is locked and password required and if it is not, the access point can't be defined - forever!

If it was not because of the diarrhea, I might able to visit few places like Chu Chi Tunnel created by Viet Kong during the Vietnam war, experience cruising the Saigon river by hydrofoil to Vung Tau and Hard Rock cafe Saigon (although I remember HRC wasnt included inside UNESCO heritage recognition). What a waste.

We arrived to Ho Chi Minh (HCM) at 9.30pm, with full body sore due to 7 hours bumpy journey from Da Lat. We quickly find a cab to bring us to District 1 with a hope to find a good hotel with bath tub and good food. I cant be a good backpacker, even though I've tried. Blame it on my small bones which unable to deal with a cheap mattress. Hmm.

The city is divided by 10 districts ( I think so, because I only able to find 10 districts in the map) and of course, whatever marked as numero uno, is the best. Look at the map below, the one circled in red is District 1. If you are too lazy to google or do some researches about the city, just get a nice illustrated map, and try to find spot where lots of landmarks on it, i.e shopping mall, museum, parks and other famous buildings, and you're done :)

-->Oppss, not done yet. You need to figure out which hotel is affordable though. We are very lucky cuz we able to find a 3 stars hotel among the 5 stars, offering good bed, service, view and location.

-->RiverSide Hotel. It located in between luxury Renaissance and Majestic hotel, facing the Saigon River!

-->With USD55 per night with breakfast, this floating restaurant just right across the street as well as a walkable distance to all the hot spots in the city!Thanks to Riverside Hotel, or else I cant imagine myself settled in B&B. I love Riverside Hotel!

-->This is all I wanted for my sore body!!!! Latex matress! Heaven!! heavennn!!!

-->It is a very cosy property with a bath tub, big TV and free press on service. Their full body massage is very cheap too. USD10 for 60 minutes. I almost got myself a manwhore massseur service in here until I screamed  "NO! I want a lady masseuse! Send me a girl!". I told my girlfriend about the incident and she said " wow.. If I were there, I'd love to try that". Hah.

-->So that night we were just walked around not more than 500 meter radius around our hotel and found a nice Japanese restaurant called "Miso" (miso soup, remember?). This -->restaurant only can be found in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Saigon. They still open at 11pm and we were the only customers who chose sushi over a supper.


Next day we strolled around the city right after brunch, started to fully utilized the map at our hands like a real tourist. So we head to the one of a "must see" spot - Saigon city hall

-->Ho Chi Minh City Hall or Hôtel de Ville de Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Head office - 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. -->Illuminated at night, the building is not opened to the public or for tourists. (source: wikipedia)

-->So, if you wonder how is uncle Ho looks a like, just take a look at the black statue right across the city hall. The city, Ho Chi Minh actually was named after his. I still preferred Saigon, sound very vietnamese and very the city. It doesnt sound grand when the city named after a man.. just imagine Kuala Lumpur change to Abu Bakar or New York to Will Smith or something... right?

-->The former capital of South Vietnam, Saigon, was renamed Hồ Chí Minh City on 1 May 1975 shortly after its capture which officially ended the war.
Hồ Chí Minh's embalmed body is on display in a granite mausoleum modeled after Lenin's Tomb in Moscow. This is similar to other Communist leaders who have been similarly displayed before and since, including Mao Zedong, Kim Il-Sung, and for a time, Joseph Stalin, but the "honor" violated Hồ's last wishes (as well as the three leaders mentioned above). Several months before his death, he wished to be cremated and his ashes buried in three urns on three different hilltops of Vietnam (the North, Central and South areas).He wrote, "Not only is cremation good from the point of view of hygiene but also it saves farmland."
The Hồ Chí Minh Museum in Hanoi is dedicated to his life and work. (source: wikipedia)

-->This is a typical view of Saigon city, where 70% of its peoples use bike and bicycle as their main transportation. You can see bicycle at the roundabout, at the main road, at the traffic lights..everywhere

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Standard taxi in Saigon - Toyota Vios. So, it is good to be a Taxi driver in Saigon, at least you able to drive your gf / family around in auto Toyota Vios rather than bicycles and bikes.

-->It was very hard to spot a Mc Donalds in here. so we settled in some fast food restaurant a-la Mc Donalds but with cheaper price called Lotteria

-->My addiction to a latte is forever incurable. I started to get headache without a coffee. They do have Starbucks and Coffeebean. But why settles with ordinary when you can have something from heaven?

-->I saw this cute signage and I immediately "awwww" over its cuteness.

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I always love wings. Angel wings, fairy wings, chicken wings, sanitary pad with wings...

 awww...

-->I dont need to describe how the latte taste, it's already written "the world best coffee"

-->This one I got it from Lotteria. It was called "Squid balls in a coke"

-->Their fish burger tastes better than whatever fish burger we have in KL. And it came out exactly like what that had in menu pictures. Very juicy ok.

After our late lunch, we continued with our touristy mission

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and we arrived at Notre Dame Cathedral. I read somewhere stated that there was a mother mary statue which shed a blood tears in here, but it was kept away.

Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica is a cathedral located in the downtown of Saigon, Vietnam. Established by French colonists, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880. It has two bell towers, reaching a height of 58 meters (190 feet).

All the original building materials were imported from France. Tiles have been carved with the words Guichard Carvin, Marseille St André France (perhaps stating the locality where the tiles were produced). Some tiles are carved with the words "Wang-Tai Saigon". Many tiles have since been made in Saigon to replace the tiles that were damaged by the -->war. There are 56 glass squares supplied by the Lorin firm of Chartres province in France. The cathedral foundation was designed to bear ten times the weight of the cathedral. (Source: Wikipedia)

-->It was Sunday, so the church was full from morning until the evening. So we unable to walk in to see the interior of the building.was it resembles as those in real Notre Dame de Paris?

 Rear view of the cathedral.

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Next to it is a Saigon Central Post Office. It is a one huge post office and it is still operating. Well, I think all post offices in the world already has became some sort of museum after email/outlook/facebook/twitter has been introduced. There are ATMs, money changer and souvenir shops inside this building.

-->Saigon Central Post Office is a post office in the downtown Ho Chi Minh City, near Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, the city's main church. The building was constructed when Vietnam was part of French Indochina in the early 20th century. It has a Gothic architectural style. It was designed and constructed by the famous architect Gustave Eiffel in harmony with the surrounding area. Today, the building is a tourist attraction. (Source:Wikipedia

-->This is for coins collectors

-->Bought few Vietnamese ladies for my friends as a gift...

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We found this on our way back to the hotel. It's Saigon Opera House. We really want to go in but apparently there is a theater was on play. It is very beautiful and grand inside but too bad..

The Saigon Opera House (An opera house in Ho Chi Minh City) is an example of French Colonial architecture in Vietnam. Built in 1897 by French architect Ferret Eugene, the 800 seat building was used as the home of the Lower House assembly of South Vietnam after 1956. It was not until 1975 that it was again used as a theatre, and restored in 1995. Saigon Opera House is a smaller counterpart of the Hanoi Opera House (built from 1901 to 1911, and shaped like the Opéra Garnier in Paris). The Saigon Opera House owes its specific characteristics to the work of architect Félix Olivier, while construction was under supervision of architects Ernest Guichard and Eugène Ferret in 1900. (Source:Wikipedia).

-->and oh, the trip wasnt complete if you didnt make your way to the shopping complex. Here you can expect whatever you may find in Starhill or Pavillion KL. They have all the branded boutique and stuff and oh.. since it is called "Diamond Plaza", the diamond counters are at the entrance of the building. I first thought this building contained only diamond shop and counters. Nah, this is not for a tourist on her last day in the city. I was drooling over Agatha's doggie earring, which costs around USD81 but I scared I will end up starve the next day. I only have enough money for a lunch/dinner plus taxi fare back to the airport tomorrow. Sad.

-->I find this statue kinda obscene.. like threesome or something like very sexual

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oh, they have LV store which is bigger than what we have in Pavillion too =) So this make Saigon is better than KL. (Free WiFi + bigger LV store)

-->On the next day, our legs were totally numb. We were too tired for another sight seeing and very homesick. I missed Nasi Lemak and curry mee.

We left the city around 5pm, for our flight scheduled at 7.30pm

-->Oh well, cut the story short, we finally able to get on plane at 9.30pm

-->Thanks to the Ho Chi Minh, an awesome city of Free Wifi, I managed to kill my time by reading to other people's blog and stuff

 Till then..ciao Saigon!

A BAD Breakup.

We know that when we loves someone, something or someplace, we are tend to do anything that we could to preserve it. We willing to go through any kind of hurdles, glued back to cover up the crack, shoved all in the bitterness down to our throat, wiped dry our tears so that by the time we turn our face to the loved ones still looks gorgeously strong and tell them everything is fine... Im not sure what all of you may called it.. but to me.. it is deep soul sacrifice.

And in my case, I mistakenly fell in love with a place, a company, a small organization in a small square feet office, which is very green, very far away to be in a successful list, not to mention KLSE 1st board lists nor the 2nd. It was a baby and very humble from the beginning, it even has no proper label filing systems when I was first joined in.

I was offered to manage their financial accounting, performing solo on company full set f accounting with below the average pay. I took it because of the 'maternal' instinct in me, I want to grow this "baby", with or without sufficient fund, because this baby has a good father, sisters, brothers and cousins around me. I felt contented in this small but safe environment and to me, 'happiness and open heart' are the most important key in whatever I do.


But as I mentioned, it was 'a mistake'. Once the father of this baby a.k.a BOSS, identifies my love and devotion towards his baby he starting to trick me and overloaded me with all the possible job that 5 men supposed to do;

# 1 -  Full set of Accounting
# 2  - Reservations - from calling the hotels for the availability up to the payment as well as manage the contract by ALL hotels in several states : KL, Malacca, Penang, Langkawi, Terengganu/Pahang, Sabah/Sarawak.
# 3 - Administration - from managing the stationary and filing up to liaising with authority
# 4 - Human Resource - Issuing the salaries and recruiting, interviewing new staffs
# 5 - Cleaning lady - from buying the sugar up to make sure pantry area is neat (I was once issued a warning letter by him and it costs me a cut off of  RM500 out from my yearly bonus just because there was a dirty cup inside the sink)
# 6 - A Dispatch - drove my car all the way to bank, to secure the rooms for fucking stupid last minutes booking by those low, stupid mentality Uzbekistan and Khazakhstan peoples who doesn't know how to find an electric kettle switch inside the room and doesn't know what is the difference of LUNCH and DINNER. Nah, I dont worry about this statement will provoke the population of those 2 stupid countries, because they can't even understand a word Im writing in here!  
#7 - Kindergarten teacher - handling the summer camp students activity and games in july/aug for full month - every year. 
# 8 - HIS OWN WORK - doing the PR and marketing with all Sales Manager, Assistant Directors and Directors of Sales from all hotels (because his head is getting way bigger than his cock head combined in 1000 - stating that he only wanted to meet General Managers and owners of the hotels ONLY) Manipulating and tricking hotelier to hosts us hundreds of FREE/COMPLIMENTARY rooms night for his Russian agents through out the year, while he still charging those agents for a payment. Not to mention all the complaint letters towards those famous hotel, straight to their GM's inbox. yep.. he turned me into a fairy bitch too.

I did fight for my rights. And this trickster manage to sweet talk me with 1001 promises and hope. Hey!! What to do? I am a human and human tends to succumb towards words by the DEVIL okay?????

....until HE ASSIGNED THE JOB #9. No, not a blow job. If its a blow job, I would walk off too. Not because he is not my boyfriend, but because I cant deal with sharpei look alike cock. I like it unskinned. The #9 job really made me walk out from that place, like a walk off from a bad toilet with a broken flush handle plus water and tissues were not provided after a big wet shit.. How is that sound like?

and after 1 day, he sms-ed me :

Normi, people of your position are not supposed to quit like that. You are not a dispatch or a cleaning lady. You are a contracted employee and supposed to give 1 month notice. Your feelings and business have nothing in common. Job has not been done and I have warned you about it before high season. There is still an outstanding debt from clients amounting to RM713,516 majority of which you were supposed to trace. Winners don't drop everything and run when they have difficulties, they challenge it! I practice our team as winning team and we are growing because of that. If you want to go, it is sad but you can, provided you give 1 month notice since you are a contracted staff!!

Oh, now he's talking about the outstanding of RM713,516. How about millions I've manage to track? How about the total hundreds of free complimentary room nights stay I manage to get for the company, which  valued more than his own savings? How about the deals and the PR, I manage to mend the relationships  between hoteliers and our company because they hated him very much in the past???

He always visit his beloved agents back in his home country, so? Just bring the list and knock their door for the payments can? Or he have better proposal for me? like send me to Russia and asking for the payments? yea.. I admit, I knew few russian words like ZAIBAL, PIZDIETS, IBIS, DURRAKH, SUKHA, MUDAKH, PIDARAS, TRAKH and IDZINAHUIT, I dont think that is enough for me to use for payment collections, do I? I think my boss already confuse about what's mine and what's his job here. Maybe because Im doing his job for too long. I only update, whatever I see inside the bank statement, I update. Whatever uncollected, none of my business. Is not me who doing the sales with his travel agents back in Russia. It's him and his communication manager. Since when I am responsible in collection? LOL.

So I replied him;

I was planning to give the company 5 months notice as well as providing a good replacement, closing company's financial accounting when you come back from MITT in June. Asked Anna and Karen, they knew about good deeds Im about to give to EA before I leave. But the way you throw things at me, worst than what you able to do to a dispatch or a cleaning lady. You gave me the title and responsibility only to charge me when Im fell behind it, but not what I am able to and had already accomplished. I even stayed till midnight on that day you disgraced my devotion towards my job, tracing and listing the uncollected payments while Vova left the office right on time. But hell, suddenly the conscience in me telling me this Michael Mitryakov wouldnt even care and recognize my dedications towards his company. I love the job, I love my fellow officemates, I love the challenges, i love the hurdles in completing my task, I love the hoteliers - they are the reasons why I stayed, encourage me to keep going on, but I HATE YOU. My hatred towards you has diminishes all the loves that I had for the company and things I mentioned before. This has nothing to do with winner or loser, winning or losing. Because I've lost my freedom and my dignity once I stepped under your wing, learning  how to manipulate peoples and things just to have it all according to your ways. I didnt quit because I cant overcame the challenges, I didnt quit because  I cant traced the figures, I didnt quit because of workloads and responsibilites, i didnt quit because you holding my salary... IM QUITTING FROM YOU, MICHAEL.

I couldnt bring myself to split the whole picture. I love myself too much and I couldnt bear to see my gorgeous face and body split into pieces even though through the pictures.

..and finally I got back my wings, and refused to go back to that hell hole. Adios.

Peace.

Camwhore.

I think this isn't a strange thing among girls/ladies. Dont deny the fact that there is a narcissism and self worship inside every of us. Myself included. We get up early in the morning and the 1st thing that we looking for is a mirror. The bigger the mirror, the better.We check the reflection of ourselves every time we passing by a glassed wall/door/ or from tea inside our cup!. 99.9% of girls mobile phone contains self portrait of pouting, grinning, smirking, squinting, stick out tongue pose are among prominent scene =)

 

Im very proud cuz still able to look good in my camwhoring process even minus the foundation and lippy gloss. It took out at least 3 years of maturity looks from my face.

Is it a healthy or bad habit? Its yours to judge. But to me it is good to have an abundant sense of self-loving, it prevents you from hurting yourself and low self esteem, in serious case, suicide :P .I encourage self worship among the ladies, love yourself and the whole world will loves you!

...ah, like I care if the whole world doesnt loves me. Im scorpio!! - self contained and self-centered, never care what people think as long as I know what Im doing.

So girls, let's bring the every whore inside of you out! (men are invited too!)

Smell the roses while you still can...

Getting up close and personal with nature.

We are all so blessed to be able to sit tightly and browsing through pictures and blogs, whimpering about boyfriend/girlfriend, slow internet connection and low traffic's website. It brings me down to my knees when knowing how unfortunate of some people living in deficient environment as Haiti.  Already, there is 70% unemployment and most of them survive on only under $2 US dollars a day and now being tested by our mother nature, leaving them to survive from the scratch.

Lets do what we can help to make world is a better place to live in (whether it is too late, is not a question now), maybe we unable to turn Haiti's catastrophe into a heavenly state, but at least give them a chance to sense back a better life like we do. Click HERE to see a list of organizations that are helping in relief efforts. 

May God bless.