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Ho Chi Minh Shopping Finds

March 5, 2012

Ho Chi Minh is a lovely place to shop. If find the items I bought much cheaper than Jakarta as well. Sharing with you photos of my shopping loot. This is one of the many reasons we are broke and staying home a lot these days. Heehee!

Bến Thành Market

I scored some awesome buys in from this famous Market. The cool thing is that the vendors here speak better English than our hotel staff so it’s very convenient for tourists!

Here you can find all sorts of lacquered items for the home. I fell in love with lacquered trays decorated with gold leaf and these lacquered mother of pearl chopsticks rest (100,000 for set of 10).

I also got underwear garment bags for traveling for myself and to gift to my friends. These are very popular and range in price depending on the quality. Bargain hard as they will start with 80k each in the Bến Thành. They eventually gave it for 30,000 for 10 pcs.

I also found underwear garment bags at a quaint souvenir shop called Du Du, right beside Cincinati Leather Boutique. They  sold it at a fixed price (333k for 11pcs) – it came out almost the same price as in Bến Thành, but with better quality and colors.

Du Du Souvenir Shop

8am 9 pm everyday 78 Dong Khoi St., District 1 HCMC, Vietnam
84 8 3827 6128 | anh.chichigroup@gmail.com

SIDESTORY: I first receive this underwear garment bag for my very “proper” bridal shower hosted by MIL. The shower theme was travel and one of my bestfriends, Sarah, just came from Vietnam and gifted me with this pair pictured below. It’s the cutest! And I have been using it ever since! I super loved it so I wanted to give the same thing to friends who travel a lot.  

L’Usine Gift Shop

My favorite restaurant in HCMC is L’Usine, where we had brunch everyday of our trip. Not only was the food amazing and great value and the ambiance amazing, but the gift shop in the back is totally my kind of shop – curated, well designed items in a chic setting! Below are a few of my finds.

I got this classic blue and white cotton scarf (center). The chic and nautical look will never go out of style.Umbra Clipper Coat Hooks-1

This unique and delicate nickel-free chain and crochet necklace is made by children in a shelter. They sell them to raise funds.  And these Wetter Wonton bamboo tweezers and spoons. I’ve been searching for bamboo tongs for a while now – they are perfect for cooking Kway Teow and many other dishes. So much easier to wield than the metal tongs. (And it doesn’t damage your food like the metal ones too!) The small bamboo spoons I stick into jars of sugar, non-dairy creamer, etc. for easy serving ware.

Vietnamese Silk Scarves

And the SILK in Vietnam is just gorgeous and the prices unbeatable! vietnamese silk

We found this store called CREATIONS and got such a great deal on 100% silk scarves and shawls! According to their website the company has been awarded by the HCMC Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and are even appreciated by world leaders. It’s too bad they don’t have their complete collection of products on their website. The ones featured are not as fresh and modern as the display in their store.

Creations Silk Boutique

105 Dong Khoi St., Dist 1, HCMC | 45 Dong Khoi St., Dist 1, HCMC
(848) 3822 5964 or 3829 5429 | creations@creations.vn
Other store locations Indochina | TMsilk

HCMC Supermarket Finds

Because we do not know where to get Vietnamese food supplies in Jakarta, we also mad a trip to the supermarket for pho noodles, instant pho, Vietnamese coffee and a Vietnamese coffee filter.

o-VIETNAMESE-COFFEE-facebook

It was interesting to note that we could find Filipino products (i.e. Tanduay, Vino Kulafu)  in HCMC supermarkets and convenience stores.

How to make Vietnamese Iced Coffee using Vietnamese coffee filter here.

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Welcome

Hello! I’m Ayessa, trailing spouse to a diplomat, mama to DiploBaby and DiploDog and founder of Declutter MNL. I love talking about how to achieve a minimaluxe lifestyle one step at a time.

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GOOD TO KNOW GUIDE

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM @UNDIPLOMATICWIFE

HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport? We are very lucky th HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport?

We are very lucky that the Geneva Airport is very near because it is located 4 km northwest of the city centre. It takes us less than 15mins by car & is easier to get to than airports outside the city.

BUT also means that many of the Geneva residents suffer from AIRCRAFT NOISE POLLUTION. 

In some parts of Geneva, like Vernier, Meyrin, Bellevue, Versoix, etc will have the airplane pass on top of you or very near you. This is something to consider when you are MOVING TO GENEVA & looking for a home.

When we were in @bioparcgeneve recently, it felt like airplane after airplane was going overhead every few mins. The poor animals were screaming each time.

A  report by the European Environment Agency(EEA) in 2017 said that 12% or 73,500 Geneva residents have their hearing disturbed by aircraft noise. Probably the figures have risen with the natural increase population & travel?

“The EEA describes noise as a pervasive pollutant that directly affects the health and well-being of humans and wildlife. Populations exposed to high noise levels can exhibit stress reactions, sleep-stage changes, and clinical symptoms like hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. All of these can contribute to premature mortality. The World Health Organization (WHO) reckons that humans exposed to noise levels above 40 decibels at night experience adverse health effects.

Across Europe it is estimated that noise contributed to at least 900,000 additional cases of hypertension in 2011.” - @le_news_ch 

DID YOU KNOW that owners of homes affected by the noise can request for soundproofing to be paid for by GVA? 

Check if your home meets the conditions for FREE SOUNDPROOFING c/o Genève Aéroport here:

https://www.gva.ch/en/Site/Geneve-Aeroport/Questions-Reponses-FAQ/Bruit#

SAVE or SHARE this now with someone you know who might be moving to Geneva or is already suffering from aircraft #noisepollution. 

#UDWinGeneva #UDWgenevagoodtoknow #expatingeneva #diplofamily #expatlife #genevaswitzerland #expatingeneva #filipinoingeneva #pinoyingeneva #movingtogeneva #movingtoswitzerland #movingtogeneva #genevaexpats #switzerlandexpatlife #geneva #genevaswitzerland
MERCADONA HAUL Whenever we go to Spain, we love t MERCADONA HAUL

Whenever we go to Spain, we love to go to @mercadona. It might be small but has a good affordable selection. It’s my thrifty Spanish MIL’s favorite.

We were so lucky that we had a @mercadona right beside our hotel Marina Badalona. Very convenient.
Our favorite things to bring home are:

☕️ frozen porras (bigger than churros)

🐑 baby lamb chops (the only lamb I eat coz it’s not malangsa & all you need to do is fry till crispy in olive oil with S&P) it’s called Chuletas Cabrito but TD calls it lechal 

🐽 chicharon or crispy pork rinds

🥔 Homemade potato chips. The best potato chips for me are from Spain. I don’t know how it’s so much yummier! The olive oil???

🎣 canned Sardines & tuna for me and Yaya B

TIPS:

🧊 For frozen items, we usually ask the hotel before we buy if they can put it in their freezer until we fly.

✍️ I usually bring different sizes ZIPLOCK BAGS, MASKING TAPE & MARKER when we travel so we can put everything in, label with our name and room number.

📸 then I take a photo so we can just show it to the staff and they can easily find it in their freezer.

✈️ When it’s time to pack, I placed our beach towels around the frozen packages coz I know they will SWEAT & I don’t want our other things to get wet 💦 

What  grocery do you usually like to shop for when in Spain? Where do you buy them?

#udwinbarcelona #udwinbadalona #udwtraveldiaries #udwtraveltips #udwtraveltip #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW C FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW Calisthenics Park 

📍Chem. des Tuileries 140, 1293 Bellevue

After the lovely BIOPARC we headed across to this chill park with ample PARKING that had so many things for kids & anyone who wants to move & work out:

⚽️ The kids wanted to kick around a football so we borrowed a ball from @boxup.app (they also have pumps, 🏓, 🏐, 🏀, etc) just download the app & turn on your Bluetooth & follow instructions! Return after 3hrs.

👟 Outdoor gym - this was a huge hit with the kids

⚽️ football - this too!

🏀 basketball court

🏓 Ping-pong 

🏐 Beach volleyball court

🤸🏻 Monkey bars

🛝 small playground

Thanks for the wonderful afternoon guys @lidia_otilia_botezatu! 
How lucky are we to have these beautiful, clean open spaces. And the free rental gear is AMAZING! so convenient.

This is in Geneva, about 15mins drive from where we live.

SAVE THIS on your list of PARKS to visit!

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. It’s not as close as the bioparc but bring earplugs/earphones if you are sensitive.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
BIOPARC GENÈVE Yesterday was a holiday in Switze BIOPARC GENÈVE

Yesterday was a holiday in Switzerland (except for Geneva). It was raining & miserable so I wanted to take @diplobaby out for a few hours. Thankfully midafternoon it stopped raining.

We met with our friends @lidia_otilia_botezatu in @bioparcgeneve and had a lovely time in this volunteer run zoo.

TIPS💡

🆓 It’s free for families on your FIRST visit!

🦢 you walk inside animal enclosures so wear shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty/stepping on poop. We wore boots & happy we did

🅿️ there’s parking inside on wood chips, if it’s full there’s another pavement parking (free up to 4hrs) across the roundabout 

🦔 Do not feed or touch the animals no matter how cute they are

🗺️ There are 2 routes (purple & blue) and 1-1.5hrs #diplshould be enough 

❎ Park closes at 4pm

SAVE THIS NOW if your looking for a fun & not too you can do in well und2hrs. It’s nice that you can go inside unlike most zoos so it’s quite unique.

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. @diplobaby who is super noise sensitive did not mind as much as I thought he would because he was so entertained by the animals.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
MARINA BADALONA HOTEL At first we were going to MARINA BADALONA HOTEL 

At first we were going to stay in the heart of Barcelona, where we stayed 8 years ago (I didn’t even know that @diplobaby was already in my tummy at 2 weeks old) but the “hotel” is now expensive with no amenities & small rooms. So TD found a hotel in #badalona - a 20min taxi ride from Barcelona city center - that was so fabulous & slightly less expensive.

SAVE THIS NOW for future trips to Barcelona

WHY I LOVED marinabadalona
🤍 All white interiors was so beautiful & calming
🤍 Gorgeous view of the Marina 
🤍 Everything was so aesthetic, even where you tap your card to enter the room
🤍 Massive bed
🤍 Electric curtains
🤍 Lots of closet space & hangers
🤍 2 TVs
🤍 Refrigerator
🤍 White/cream Nespresso & kettle
🤍 Architecture & interior design is sooooo me!
🤍 Small rooftop pool with unbelievable views (need to do a separate post)
🤍 5min walk to the beach
🤍 Gorg esplanade
🤍 Yummy restos beside
🤍 Mercadona right beside - so convenient!

FEW RECOS FOR IMPROVEMENT:
✌️ Loved the textured wall paper, but it’s difficult to keep clean inside the bathroom
✌️ The bathroom surface area was a bit small & our stuff kept falling off the sink
✌️ Not a single chair in the family room so when we had room service we had to eat standing
✌️ No salt & pepper with room service so we called to ask & were told we would be charged for them taking it up. After TD clarified that there was no S&P with our meal, they said they would bring it up. The person brought a small bowl of of salt & pepper combined. The salt was for DiploBaby’s salmon, but he can’t eat pepper, I wanted both for my pesto. Had to run down in my slippers & the resto staff were very apologetic coz who serves a mixed S&P ever? They gave me individually packaged ones which I really appreciated.
✌️ Since the hotel has a pool & is by the beach, I wish there was a place to hang & dry swim suits. Our suits & watershoes did not dry in the tub.

All in all the value we got from staying in this hotel was so high compared to a more expensive hotel in Barcelona. No hotel stay is perfect.

Now, would I stay there again? YES PLEASE! Would you?

#udwinbarcelona #udwinbadalona #udwtraveldiaries
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