Ho chi Minh city

We landed in Ho Chi Minh city at about 3pm their time. It was hot and dry once we were away from the cool air-conditioned airport. Unlike my previous journeys, this is a rough trip- we didn't have a guide nor an air conditioned coach waiting for us. Warned about not carrying heavy luggage, all of us had only a small cabin bag with us. (We were supposed/expected to buy extra luggage here!) Right after we exited the airport pulling our bags with us we rushed for the bus which was waiting for passengers at the roadside. It wasn't air-conditioned as the windows were open. We boarded the bus and stored our luggage at the front but as other passengers kept coming, we decided to keep them with us.
Ho chi Minh  city is fairly big - sprawling rather. We passed old fashioned buildings that must have existed before the Vietnamese war as well as new ones - all modern and shiny.Some parts are quite beautiful and elegant looking, with lots of trees lining the roads. In fact one boulevard reminded me very much of Paris with it's green trees lining the avenues,old statues decorating these places and European looking houses. We passed a building with such beautiful architecture I craned my neck to see further. It was the Opera House! It must have been beautiful at one time - rather like a grand old dame who was once upon a time a beauty in her day! She stood alone in her white finery - beautiful pillars on either side and a facade that had a lot of carvings.  Just in front of the Opera House there was an avenue of green plants with a large fountain in the middle.

Once we were checked in at the small hotel (The Ava) our tour leader told us she would take us to a place where they sell baju kurong. It was a boutique, but they also made clothes to order and most were for Malaysian markets! They were ready made traditional dress that Malays in Malaysia wear and these are actually very expensive in Kuala Lumpur but here in Ho Chi Minh they cost only 1/3 of their price! Imagine one beautiful kurong which would be about RM500-RM600 in KL was only RM92 here! I bought two only although I would have loved to get more. Alas, I didn't really wear these beautiful dresses for every day. I'm more of a jeans and T shirt sort of person and only wear the kurong during official functions.

The beautiful Opera House

a street scene in Ho Chi Minh city

Traffic in this city is quite horrendous. Motor bikes are kings of the road and if you are timid, you'll never get across the road! They are everywhere - left, right and centre. There are fewer private cars though - much of the traffic seems to be vans, taxis and motor bikes. However we did see a number of the super rich in their huge luxury cars at traffic light junctions. Much of our stay here was spent shopping - we went to the Ben Thanh Market which sold everything - from electronic goods to fresh flowers!

Recent reads

Jill Mansell is one of my favourite chick Lit writers and I try to read her books as soon as they come out. However due to my recent absorption in all things Regency I haven't read her later books. But I managed to catch up with her when I found her in the National Library - yes, surprise, surprise! So she made a good Romance Challenge number two for me.

This one Rumour Has It  was first published in 2009 by Headline Review and has a pretty cover to boot! Very chic, I'd say. The first lines are:

" How weird that you could push open the front door and know in an instant that something was wrong.

Tilly stopped in the doorway, her hand fumbling for the light switch. Back from work at six o'clock on a cold Thursday evening in February,there was no reason to believe anything should be different.

But it was, she could feel it. She could tell.

Flick went the light switch, on came the light. So much for spooky sixth sense; the reason opening the door had felt different was because the hall carpet was gone."

Tilly Cole has just been dumped by her live in boyfriend of two years. Surprised  and rather fed up, she decides to leave her job and make a fresh start in the small town of Roxborough, as Max Dineen's girl Friday. Max is hot and every woman's idea of the perfect man. Tilly however isn't interested in her boss, in fact she's not interested in any male as yet and is quite happy working as Max's assistant. But she meets Jack Lucas, Max's friend and partner and  wham - all her innerds are shivering with lust and longing. Jack is irresistible ... and it looks like he too is attracted to Tilly. Then Tilly hears the rumour of his wicked reputation and alarm bells ring. She refuses to be just another notch on Jack's bedpost.

Should she just ignore the rumours and go for him (or better still allow him to go for her) or should she avoid him, which is nearly impossible ? Things come to a head when Jack confesses his attraction for her. How long can Tilly pretend to be mature about it all and stop running from the one man she could really love? But where there's a rumour, usually there's some truth too. Or is that wrong?

I find this book hilarious and unputdownable! Tilly is a down to earth, briskly  independent,funny and romantic  heroine while Jack is the typical handsome "rake" who is often misjudged. A lovely book for an afternoon read.

Rating: 4 star

Romance Reading Challenge

 I don't normally take part in challenges - reading or otherwise but this year I thought I'd join Naida's Romance Reading Challenge.  You can read about it here at Naida's blog - TheBookworm07.blogspot.com I read a lot but I don't often bother to write reviews of the books I've read. Too lazy guess! Last week   I read two books - A Summer to Remember and Then Comes Seduction, both by Mary Balogh, a recent favourite of mine.

 A summer to remember is a sequel to One Night for Love. The story begins with Kit Butler, a young dandy  who has just heard that his father wants him to marry and is planning to marry him off to their neighbour's daughter, Freya, his one time love. But Freya had chosen his elder brother, who had since died, and now Kit refuses to marry her!

Kit decides that the beautiful and very elegant Miss Edgeworth would do wonderfully for his bride but Lauren thinks otherwise. She would play the part of his betroth though, if he on his part would give her "a summer to remember."  

But both are caught in their own web - Kit is physically attracted to the beautiful Lauren and she falls in love with him without realising it! Will they succumb to their attraction and forget about their pretend engagement or will they make it real? 

A really wonderful and romantic read and one I'd recommend to lovers of historical fiction.
I'd give this book a 4 star rating - really loved it.