Meet my Sg barkada: my dear sister Zarah, Candy, Lesley, Sunshine, Dian, Ate Vivi, Chelle, Elaine, Jen & Joan (photographer) . These are the people who makes my Sg life a bliss. Amidst loneliness, stress & problems, they are always a call or an sms away from making things better. So even after moving to different companies, we still try to meet each other regularly. Even if it's just to see a movie or have dinner at Lau Pa Sat, seeing my friends gives me the strength to move on.So when Jo proposed that we join the Vietnam trip that she planned for Jen's birthday as a surprise, we quickly agreed. I think we started planning the trip since July. Since most of us just changed employers, we had to save up & plan the trip way ahead of time. Of course without Jen's knowledge
On Aug 1 am i received an sms from Jo & Elaine that Jo & Jen have already booked the air ticket. She gave us the flight details & encouraged us to book the same flight. I sent a blast to the girls telling them that as long as 1 other person confirms, i would proceed to book the flight. Luckily Elaine confirmed, thus I booked the same flight for the both of us.
Unfortunately, as much as we want the gang to be complete, Ate Vivi was in transition at that time, Candy & Lesley were saving up for something bigger, Zar was still in Pinas & Chelle has already been there and was going back to Pinas on the same weekend.
Later in the day Sunshine & Dian confirmed so also booked the same flight for them. Joan later informed us that LA would also be joining us, along with Jen's Mom & Lola. Now the tickets are settled, now we need to find a hotel.
Jen actually wanted to stay at Lan Lan Hotel because it's very near the Ben Than Market. So we did a little research. The place did not get any good reviews from the sites that I frequently visit for reference. So I advised Joan to look for a different hotel. Of course we placed her in a difficult situation because she couldn't tell Jen the reason why they can't stay there. Eventually she managed to convince Jen to book a different hotel. Luckily Jo found Sophia Hotel online, so by Aug 31st our accommodation was settled.
It's usually a habit of mine to prepare a travel itinerary whenever I go. But unfortunately the transportation system in Vietnam is not as developed as the previous countries that we've been to. I've visited various sites for information on how to go to the key places, but the only option feasible was to take a cab, which would cost you around 5USD/trip. So we just printed the info sheet about the places that we want to visit & just see how we could get there once we're checked in.
Sept 19 4am: woke up, took a shower & went to the airport. i was the first one to arrive. i smsed the group already & everybody replied except for Sunshine ( as usual
). Elaine & Dian arrived next, with Elaine's bf Emerson who was automatically assigned to be the photographer. Shortly after that Sunshine arrived. After a few pictures, Dian & Elaine went to find an ATM to draw out money. When they returned they were already with Joan, LA & Jen (with a puzzeled look on her face)
Jen: "Ano ginagawa niyo dito?"
Ailene: "Aba ewan ko sa'yo, basta kami
pupunta kami sa Vietnam"
Jen: "Ha?"
Everybody: Surprise!
Happy Birthday Epang!
Even after we have checked in for the flight Jen still couldn't believe that we were joining them for the trip. It was really funny & exciting to surprise her like that. Good thing Dian brought her video cam & it was properly documented.
It was supposed to be a 2-hr flight, but since Vietnam was 1-hr behind from Singapore time it seemed like our travel time was just 1 hr and it also helped that we were sleeping the whole time =)
The Tan Son Nhat International Airport was reminiscent of our old NAIA. The immigration queue was moving quite slow, good thing they opened a few more counters upon our arrival. Jen, Jo & LA went to Baggage Claim Zone 3 to meet Tita Lu & Lola, while the rest of us went to the money changer & became instant millionaires (in VDN). Jen booked a van for 20USD to bring us to the hotel and after almost an hour drive, we reached The Sophia Hotel. We were greeted by the friendly staff & the uber efficient front desk personnel. Dian, Sunshine, Elaine & I were given Rm 606, while Jen, Jo, LA, Tita Lu & Lola were given Rm 406.
We reached there about lunch time so we were all famished. Chelle recommended that we look for Pho 2000 & try out the spring rolls. Luckily there was one just around the corner from our hotel. And Chelle was right, the spring rolls were the best! 
...to be continued
