We had our company outing last week in beautiful Vietnam. I’m sharing some pics with you!
Stories behind the Pics
Pic 1: Upon arrival at the hotel, we were welcomed with sampaguita garlands. Their sampaguita flowers looked prettier and smelled more fragrant than ours!
Pic 2: Not much of a view ‘no? Most of the sites look quite rural. It made the place all the more charming.
Pic 3: We stayed at Grand Hotel Saigon (not in the pic) which was situated in the middle of the city. We could walk to anywhere we wanted! Here’s one of the streets. Simple lang ‘no? Most of the shops were very quaint; there were a lot of small stores that sold beautiful lacquerware, silk, clothing and gorgeous bags. There were a lot of art galleries. Parang kung ano dinami ng mga barberya natin sa Pilipinas, ganun ang dami ng art galleries nila.
Pic 4-6: Taken at the War Remnants Museum. I could not look at all the photographs displayed in the museum. There were pictures of the victims, the soldiers, almost everything about the war. The atmosphere was quite sad and heavy. Upon going back to our bus though, our tour guide told us, “What do the Vietnamese feel towards American people? Nothing. What’s past is past. Now we Vietnamese are about moving forward. We cannot improve if we dwell in the past. So if we are asked what we feel about them before, nothing. We are focused on the future.”
Pic 7-8: Notre Dame Cathedral. Ang isa sa mga natitirang French-inspired structures. Maganda rin. Natuwa ako kasi may Mama Mary sa tapat eh 
Pic 9: There were soooo many bicycles and motorcycles. They call all their motorcycles “Hondas” — very much like some of us call gas as “Gasul” or softdrinks as “Coke” (or taking pictures as “Kodak,” the list goes on and on!). I was very much amused with the motorcycle traffic but it freaked me out at the same time. The motorcyclists don’t give way to pedestrians even if you’re on the pedestrian lane!
Pic 10: On our way to Cuchi Tunnels. Multiply this by 1000 and you’ll get a fair picture of what we saw on our way to the Cuchi Tunnels from Saigon. Beautiful fields.
Pic 11: Squeezing into one of the tunnels! We tried out 3 different kinds of tunnels — one was 150m long and super small and dark. Good adventure! The Vietnamese hid in these tunnels to protect themselves from the American soldiers.
Pic 12: One of my favorite “pasalubongs” – a pair of beautiful cranes. They’re now settled on top of our living room chest (and yes, that’s a little bit of the controversial window blinds you see there.)
I already miss the beautiful bags…
Our Vietnam trip was very educational. I wasn’t able to take a lot of pictures because I didn’t want to take my camera out much and I was too busy oohing and aahing at the sites! We were made aware that there were also some pickpockets so we had to be extra cautious.
While the city’s a bit quiet and still looks pretty rural, they are gaining an edge over Pinoys. I was a bit sad for our country when we were in Vietnam. Even if the feel of the place was a bit slow, you could feel the sense of purpose each one had. I hardly saw any “tambays.” Busy busy busy!
The people are friendly. The girls were better-looking than the guys, heehee. What I initially disliked about their culture was their tendency to be very tactile! One of my officemates was walking in the market when someone placed a hand on her waist. Turns out if was just someone pushing her aside gently so they could pass through. No excuse me’s here, just pushing you to the side gently with their hands. Akala mo chinachancingan ka na yun pala nag-e-excuse me pala at di siya makadaan. Pati yun mga vendors hahawakan ka sa braso mo, tapos hihilahin ka patungo sa stalls nila. One of my officemates encountered a streetkid who hugged his leg and wouldn’t let go of him. Nakakabigla lang kasi naiinvade ang concept ko of personal space! Pero I’m sure natural lang yun sa kanila.
At ang pagkain? Okay na ang Pho Hoa restaurant dito. Promise! Kuha na nila yun lasa. Ang hahanap-hanapin ko na pagkain ay ang Bread ng Vietnam. One of the first things the French taught the Vietnamese daw was to bake really good bread. And masarap nga naman talaga ang tinapay nila. They serve it with almost everything, even their Pho. Yum.
And their coffee? Yum! I think that with the right marketing/planning, their Vietnamese coffee can still become bigger. It was so good! Strong but suave.
The shopping in Vietnam was pretty good! I loved their bags, shoes and slippers. They’re crafted very well and the designs are fresh and all are so pretty! Note however that “loved” does not translate to “bought a lot” haha!
Wishful Thinking
I wish I had taken more pics, I wish I had bought more bags, I wish I had bought Vietnamese lacquerware! But I’m thankful for this Vietnam experience. Nakakamiss din magtravel and it’s amazing how new places really make you feel that there’s so much more in this world you can learn about.
Of course, all these observations are based on a 2-3 day trip to Saigon. I would love to see what the rest of Vietnam has to offer. I shall now place “Return to Vietnam” on my life’s Things to Do list!
Hi! I'm Toni Tiu,
and I've been blogging at
at Wifely Steps since 2003. This started as a blog to help newly weds adjust to married life. It has evolved into a home and parenting blog. I write about things close to my heart -- good eats, good reads, family, marriage, and the little things that make everyday happy.
Meeyagirl
March 2, 2006 at 3:16 pm (18 years ago)hi toni! i’m glad you had a great experience in nam despite the wishful thinking part, hehe. yung friend ko kasi opposite ang experience when she went there. she was hustled and overcharged everywhere daw so she didn’t have time to enjoy the sights as much as she would’ve liked 😛 pero in both your cases, i agree that vietnam deserves a 2nd visit. it’s one of the places that i’d like to visit, too (especially when you said ganda ng bags dun, hehe)
Junnie
March 2, 2006 at 3:21 pm (18 years ago)wowowee. travel pics! let me head down to Flick after reading your travelogues
galing. galing. one of our dream places to visit – is ‘Nam.
sha
March 2, 2006 at 6:19 pm (18 years ago)wow wowwwwww
more pics please you know me naman
good you had a great time
paz
March 2, 2006 at 10:42 pm (18 years ago)love the shots! welcome back, toni!
ces
March 2, 2006 at 11:17 pm (18 years ago)wow! great company outing..vietnammmm! good to know you had a good time!:)
ela
March 2, 2006 at 11:52 pm (18 years ago)uy saya naman sa company nyo, out of the country ang outings!
great pics too! glad you enjoyed!
annabanana
March 3, 2006 at 7:37 am (18 years ago)tones,
kaya pala tahimik dito…you were in vietnam pala! i must admit this is my first time to read your blog in taglish…ang saya ng pictures!
jey
March 3, 2006 at 7:49 am (18 years ago)wow! vietnam! i’m happy that you enjoyed your trip.=)
evi
March 3, 2006 at 8:23 am (18 years ago)your company must be doing really well in terms of revenue. hehe… imagine they can afford a company outing in vietnam! lucky you.
tintin
March 3, 2006 at 8:49 am (18 years ago)hi toni. yay! new post. i missed reading your entries. welcome back!
jen
March 3, 2006 at 8:51 am (18 years ago)company outing in vietnam? may opening ba kayo? hehehe
Vietnam is one of the countries in my To Visit list. I’m hoping to hit most of East Asia before I turn 30. 😀
BabyPink
March 3, 2006 at 11:23 am (18 years ago)wow! you were in vietnam pala? saya!:)
i so remember that church and, of course, hio chi mihn’s statue in the middle of the city. at saka ‘yung mga “honda” na halos masagasaan ka na! we rode “hondas” the whole time we were with our foster families din. kakatuwa kasi ang gagaling nilang mag-motor. sobrang bilib ako sa mga street children nila kasi sila ang sonbrang magagaling mag-inggles. i befriended a little 6-year-old street child at sobrang she helped me in buying things and she did all the haggling for me.:)
did you eat sa parang turo-turo lang? parang i liked the pho sa mga ganun better than the “sosyal” ones.:) at napansin mo ba na walang matabang babae sa kanila? kasi naman hindi pwede sa chubby ang kanilang aoidai. hehehe:)
buti may pictures ka kasi ako, wala. i didn’t have a digicam noon eh. naubusan ako ng film tapos ewan ko ba kung bakit hindi ako nakabili ng bagong film. hay! hehehe:)
kwento kapag nagkita tayo, ha.:)
Jher
March 3, 2006 at 12:47 pm (18 years ago)toni – inggit ako. pwede bang mag apply sa company mo? kahit assistant mo lang okay na ako, basta kasama rin ako sa outing. LOL. love the pics! miss ko na magbyahe!
mare
March 3, 2006 at 2:00 pm (18 years ago)Toni – love those cranes. Beautiful pictures!
Jeanny
March 3, 2006 at 4:11 pm (18 years ago)welcome back toni. 😀
sarap sa naman dyan out of the country ang outing, yehehey..
Daphne
March 3, 2006 at 4:59 pm (18 years ago)great pictures! Bongga naman company mo … sa Vietnam pa ang outing!
Toni
March 4, 2006 at 5:44 pm (18 years ago)Meeyagirl : Whew swerte pala kami’t maganda naman ang experience namin. Siguro natakot ang mga vendors sa dami namin kaya di kami maovercharge. And yes bag lady, ganda ng bags!
Junnie : Konti palang travel pix dyan sa Flickr. Padala ko link sa ofoto!
sha : Will share my ofoto album w/ ya…
paz : Thanks!! Now to catch up on your blogs!
ces : It was amazing. Wish we had more time!
ela : Bonggacious ‘no? Hehe. Swerte nga namin eh!
annabanana : Baka may maoffend na Vietnamese pagnabasa nila in English yun iba eh heehee.
jey : Yeah I really did! I wanna go back nga!
evi : Hard work lang katapat niyan!
tintin : Awww thanks dear!
jen : Matagal pa naman bago ka mag-30 diba? Kahit matagal pa, gawin mo na ngayon!!
BabyPink : Awww I wish I had known that; would’ve befriended a little kid too. Actually meron isang bata pero di ko na sya nakita ulit! Sayang.
Jher : O game apply na 😀
mare : Thanks! I love the cranes too!
Jeanny : Sana next year ulit!
Daphne : Bonggacious!
leah
March 5, 2006 at 8:44 am (18 years ago)if you enjoyed Saigon, you’d probably marvel at Hanoi. it’s more “french” and less busy, and not as hot and humid.
your pictures are pretty!
Toni
March 6, 2006 at 5:29 pm (18 years ago)leah: Talaga? Gusto ko yan!!! Sige will include Hanoi in my dreams na hehe.
Sidney
March 7, 2006 at 3:14 pm (18 years ago)Wow! A company outing in Vietnam ! Not your average company…
Nice you enjoyed the trip !
aleth
March 8, 2006 at 5:32 pm (18 years ago)waaahhh!!! daya talaga! di ko kita pics… puro “x” lang… why i still don’t know… puro kasi blockage dito eh!!!
Toni
March 8, 2006 at 5:57 pm (18 years ago)sidney: Yup! It was a welcome surprise!
aleth: Ay sayang naman!
eye
March 10, 2006 at 9:09 am (18 years ago)squeezing into the tunnels sounds interesting, i wonder if americans often get stuck in there haha! biking around vietnam (and cambodia also) would be fun, i think it’s a common mode of transportation there kaya konti lang ang obese sa kanila… 😀
Inti Raymi
August 10, 2023 at 1:50 pm (9 months ago)Wow! A company outing in Vietnam ! Not your average company…
Nice you enjoyed the trip !
keta korea
September 17, 2023 at 9:03 pm (8 months ago)See how fast kids can grab snack wrappers and empty cups and put them one by one in the trash can. It’s a fun way for them to use up some of their extra energy after sitting in the car.
taxi Hersham
November 17, 2023 at 9:53 pm (6 months ago)she was hustled and overcharged everywhere so she didn’t have time to enjoy the sights as much as she would’ve liked pero in both your cases, I agree that Vietnam deserves a 2nd visit.