How It All Began
I have always enjoyed cycling, but particularly more so in the last 10 years. That was when I first bought a foldable bicycle and started cycling around Singapore, exploring the different neighbourhoods on pavements before there were even park connectors (PCN). I then upgraded to a hybrid bicycle and did longer rides of about 70km, mostly around the eastern half of Singapore island. When work became too stressful, I gathered some friends and colleagues and we cycled quite regularly, at least once a month, mostly at night and during the weekends.
About four years ago, I mooted an idea to my buddies for a long cycling trip in Taiwan to celebrate our 40th birthdays in 2022. We were all excited about the idea and were seriously contemplating it. Alas, COVID-19 happened and the past two years (2020 and 2021) were fraught with great uncertainty about the pandemic and economic situation. As my 40th birthday came and went, international borders were still mostly closed. After Singapore reopened our borders in late April, and eventually Taiwan following suit in mid-October 2022, our interest in the cycling trip diminished as there were still too many unknowns and it was hard for my buddies to take long leave at short notice.
In mid-September 2022, I decided that I should still go ahead to fulfil my wish of completing an overseas cycling trip before the end of the year, as a belated celebration for my 40th birthday. I contacted my good friend, UJ, to ask if there were slots for the Vietnam Cambodia Cycling trip from 25 November to 5 December 2022. As it turned out, slots were still available so I signed up for it immediately.
My friendship with UJ and his wife, GJ, started in October 2018 when I hosted them for a running experience in Singapore. Since then, we have kept in touch and met up several times over the years whenever they visited Singapore. They have also graciously invited me many times to visit their home in Pune, India, and to join them on one of their overseas cycling trips. However, the timing wasn’t right, until now.
UJ and GJ started Lifecycle Rides (click here) about 10 years ago. Over the past decade, Lifecycle Rides has organised more than 20 cycling journeys within India and across Asia, visiting over 25 states in India and riding across Southeast Asian countries like Thailand and Cambodia.
Earlier this year, UJ and GJ had actually asked me to join them for their Ladakh Lakes & Peaks trip in August 2022, but I declined because I thought it would be very challenging and physically demanding. It involved cycling on the world’s highest motorable road – Khardung La, which has an elevation of 5,602m. Having previously experienced that kind of high altitude in Tibet, I knew it would be very tough for me physically and I wasn’t ready for it. Hence, I considered the much easier alternative, which was Vietnam and Cambodia. I had visited these two countries before so I knew what kind of terrain to expect, which was mainly flat and low altitude. I thought it would be a good introduction to an organised overseas group cycling trip.
The 11 day/10 night Vietnam Cambodia Cycling package cost US$1,675 (S$2,395) and it included accommodation, most meals, transport, a cycling jersey, bicycle (mountain bike), support van backup, local guide and entrance tickets to the Angkor Wat temples and other places of interest. Effectively, everything was included except for airfare, airport transfers and tips. It was great because it meant that we didn’t have to worry about the logistics and could focus fully on the cycling experience. The total cycling distance was projected to be about 360km over seven cycling days.
Here’s the planned itinerary:
| Day 1: 25 Nov 2022 Arrival at Ho Chi Minh City Meals: Not included |
| Day 2: 26 Nov 2022 Bike preparation Meals: Breakfast only |
| Day 3: 27 Nov 2022 Ho Chi Minh City – Mytho – Tra Vinh (Cycling): 50+ km Meals: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner |
| Day 4: 28 Nov 2022 Tra Vinh – Can Tho (Cycling): 80+ km Meals: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner |
| Day 5: 29 Nov 2022 Can Tho – Chau Doc (Cycling): 50+ km Meals: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner |
| Day 6: 30 Nov 2022 Chau Doc – Phnom Penh (Cycling): 57km Meals: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner |
| Day 7: 1 Dec 2022 Phnom Penh (City tour): By van Meals: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner |
| Day 8: 2 Dec 2022 Phnom Penh – Siem Reap: By speedboat Meals: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner |
| Day 9: 3 Dec 2022 Siem Reap – Beng Mealea Temple (Cycling): 70 – 100km Meals: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner |
| Day 10: 4 Dec 2022 Siem Reap – Angkor Complex (Cycling): 30km Meals: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner |
| Day 11: 5 Dec 2022 Siem Reap – Airport: End of tour Meals: Breakfast only |
For my outbound flight to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), I booked Bamboo Airways because it was the cheapest option. I had never heard of Bamboo Airways before, but decided to give it a try. For my one-way ticket, I paid only S$87.40, including baggage allowance of 20kg. What a steal!
For the return flight from Siem Reap, the Singapore Airlines direct flight was very expensive so I ruled that out. I initially booked an AirAsia flight for S$440.83, including 20kg checked baggage. There was a 2 hour-25 minutes layover in Kuala Lumpur, but it was the most economical/best option available at the time.
However, two days after my booking, I received an email from AirAsia informing that my flight had been “rescheduled due to operational reasons” and it was now scheduled to depart Siem Reap at 8:30am instead of 3:05pm, which was much more unfavourable because it meant I had to reach the airport at 6:30am. I decided to cancel the AirAsia flight and booked a ticket on Vietnam Airlines instead, with a 2 hour-30 minutes layover in Ho Chi Minh City. It cost S$327.10, cheaper than the AirAsia flight. To date, I have yet to receive my refund from AirAsia (not my favourite airline, for sure).
With my flights booked, I was ready to go!
(Exchange rate: 10,000 Vietnamese dong = S$0.578)
VCC 2022: Day 1 – Singapore / Ho Chi Minh City
25 November 2022, Friday
Every time I travel overseas, mum and dad are always there to send me off at the airport. This time was no exception. Mum actually wasn’t feeling too well that morning but she insisted on coming along (love ya, mum!). When we arrived at Changi Airport Terminal 4 around 11:45am, there weren’t many people yet so it didn’t take long for me to check in my luggage and get my boarding pass.
For this trip, I brought along my trusty Osprey backpack, the same one I used for my first ever backpacking trip 10 years ago – an incredible 30-day trek around Asia to celebrate my 30th birthday. That remains as one of my favourite trips till this day. Using the Osprey felt like coming full circle, as it invoked the same sense of adventure as a decade ago, giving me a feeling that wonderful things were yet to come. My check-in Osprey bag tipped the scales at 10.9kg, a decent weight for an 11-day trip. I bade farewell to mum and dad at 12:15pm and entered the departure hall alone. I always feel a little sad when I do so without them by my side.
In its previous incarnation as the Budget Terminal, I had used it once before but this was my first time taking a flight out of Terminal 4. The current T4 started operations on 31 October 2017 but it was only for a short while because it was closed for two years from May 2020 onwards due to the COVID-19 pandemic. T4 only reopened recently in September 2022.
As I walked through the departure hall, I was very impressed by the beautiful décor and furnishing. Everything looked as good as new, since it was barely used. The huge TWG Tea boutique was lavishly decked out with rows and rows of tins covering its three walls. There was a Heritage Zone, which contained a row of full-sized shophouses of different styles, inspired by the colourful Peranakan shophouses around Singapore.
Not all the shops and facilities were open yet though. The row of local brand shops on the ground floor of the shophouses were all shut, a reminder that we were still in the midst of recovering from the pandemic. I went to the International Food Hall on the second floor and had a bowl of ramen for my lunch.
After lunch, I still had plenty of time so I explored the rest of the transit area. There was a huge crimson red structure called the Chandelier near the boarding gates at Level 1 (which were not open). The Chandelier is a five storey playground standing at 16 metres and 10 metres wide featuring climbing nets and a fireman’s pole that allows players to slide down. To access the Chandelier from Level 2, you can either take the escalator, stairs or a metal slide. Of course, I chose the slide!
Pre-Covid, you will need to scan your boarding pass before you are allowed to enter the gantry to access the slide. But as the airport was still not operating at full capacity at the moment, the gantry was wide open and I could walk right through it. I sat gingerly at the top of the slide for a few seconds, then pushed myself off. I swooshed down rather quickly. It was unexpectedly fast, and very fun! I enjoyed it so much that I went for another round. I didn’t climb the Chandelier though.
At 2:05pm, I boarded my Bamboo Airways flight QH308 for the short flight to HCMC. Unsurprisingly, the flight was full, as the whole world seemed to be travelling these days. As always, I chose a window seat and settled down comfortably. I was pleasantly surprised when they served me a full meal on board – beef with rice and vegetables, and a small fresh fruit platter. The food was decent and I finished everything despite having my lunch not long ago. Bamboo Airways is not too shabby at all!
After flying for about 1 hour 40 minutes, I touched down at Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport at 3:32pm local time (Vietnam is one hour behind Singapore time). We hopped on a shuttle bus to take us to the terminal building for immigration clearance. 14 counters were open but the queue moved quite slowly, and there were no automated counters even for the locals. After about 22 minutes, I cleared immigration at 4:25pm.
I had done my research beforehand so I knew that there was a public bus I could take to Ben Thanh Market, which was within walking distance to my hotel. I was expecting a regular 40-seater bus but was surprised when I saw the small, orange 11-seater minivan for service 109. When I boarded, there was only one other passenger, a young female Caucasian solo backpacker. I bought my ticket from the attendant on board and paid by credit card since I didn’t have any small change with me. The ticket cost 15,000 dong (S$0.87).
The minivan was fully air-conditioned, clean, quiet and comfortable. My only minor gripe was that the windows were covered with stickers so it was hard to look at the view outside. Service 109 departs at 20-minute intervals and we left the airport at 4:45pm sharp. Along the way, we picked up another two passengers (both locals).
At that hour, traffic was heavy but moving steadily. While waiting in line to clear immigration earlier, I checked that the fare to take a Grab car to my hotel was 124,000 dong (S$7.17), more than eight times the bus fare. With the traffic situation, it wouldn’t have been faster or more comfortable to take the Grab car or a taxi, so I felt very pleased that I chose the minivan instead.
If you are a first-time visitor to Ho Chi Minh City or Vietnam, it can be quite overwhelming to see so many motorbikes or scooters on the road. This is really a land where two-wheelers outnumber four-wheelers. It is also not uncommon to see scooters hop off the road and ride up the pavement to take a shortcut. The roadside kerbs seem to encourage this, as they are angled at 45 degrees instead of 90 degrees like in Singapore.
It takes real skill to drive in Vietnam, because lane markings are fluid and seldom adhered to. It’s like a game of Dodge ‘Em, where you have to navigate your way through a treacherous sea of scooters and cars without colliding into each other. However, it is an organised chaos. Despite the number of vehicles on the road and seemingly haphazard manner in which they drive, you only hear the honk occasionally, unlike in Sri Lanka or India, where the honking is incessant.
It also never ceases to amaze me how many people are on the move at any one time. Where are they going? Why is it there is always somewhere they need to go? Don’t they stay put at one place for just a little while? Maybe that is why you don’t see many obese people in Vietnam because they are constantly on the move.
The closer we got to the city centre, the slower we moved. It got me thinking, how can we solve this traffic situation? A metro system is probably the best solution. In fact, HCMC is in the midst of building an extensive metro system with six lines, with construction having begun in 2012. However, works on only two of the lines have started, with repeated delays pushing the completion of Line 1 to late 2023. It made me appreciate even more how Singapore has built a very comprehensive MRT system within a short period of time, coupled with good urban planning.
After an hour’s ride, I alighted at the bus stop near Ben Thanh Market at 5:51pm. The sky was already dark by then. I walked a short distance and reached Avanti Hotel seven minutes later. As I reached the hotel entrance, I bumped into UJ and GJ, who had just returned from shopping. What perfect timing! The hotel staff informed me that they had run out of rooms so I had to stay at their sister hotel, Avanti Boutique Hotel, instead. Aside from me, everyone else in the cycling group was staying at Avanti Hotel.
Avanti Boutique Hotel was located just one minute walk away. My room had twin beds and it was decently furnished and clean, but had no windows. It was more than good enough for me, because the last time I visited HCMC in 2018, I had stayed in a mixed dormitory room that cost only S$7.68 a night.
After a quick wash up, I decided to have dinner at the Pho 2000 restaurant located at the ground floor of my hotel because there wasn’t much time before our briefing session at 7pm. I ordered the Pho Tái & Chín (well done beef & beef tenderloin) noodle soup, which cost 89,000 dong (S$5.14) for a regular size bowl. I also ordered a can of Saigon lager beer for 30,000 dong (S$1.73) – it was the same price as a soft drink, so why not!
The beef pho was very good and the regular size bowl was just the right portion for me. Unbeknownst to me at the time, Pho 2000 is famous for being the restaurant where former US president Bill Clinton had his first bowl of pho when he visited HCMC on 19 November 2000. However, the restaurant that president Clinton patronised was at its old location in another building nearby. As a reference to its famous customer, the tagline for the Pho 2000 today is “Pho for the president”.
After a satisfying dinner, I walked over to Avanti Hotel for the briefing session. Even though I meet a lot of different people from different parts of the world every day in my line of work, I naturally still felt a little apprehensive because I assumed that everyone else knew each other, and I was the “odd one out” since I was the only Chinese among the group of Indians. There wasn’t a proper room or sitting area in the lobby so we pulled together all the chairs we could find to form a circle. I chose an empty seat next to UJ, and waited for the rest of the group to filter in.
UJ kicked off the briefing by assigning each of us a number (I was number 8), and explaining that we will do two roll calls a day to account for our attendance. I was expecting the group to be 30-strong, but eventually there were only 22 of us, excluding the guides and support staff. The youngest participant is 11 years old; the oldest is 64. We then did a round of self-introductions, in the order of our roll call numbers.
It was fascinating to hear about each other’s stories and how they got connected to the group. As it turned out, not everyone knew each other. Some were old-timers who had joined Lifecycle Rides’ previous trips; some were new to the group, just like me. However, everyone was connected in one way or another, mostly with UJ and GJ as the common denominator. Many of them live, or used to live, in Pune. Some have moved to the United States for many years since, or are currently based in Australia. Everyone came from diverse backgrounds but seemed to be very established in their own fields.
GJ then spoke about Lifecycle Rides and their tagline – Cycles. Cycling. And Beyond. “Cycles” because Lifecycle Rides first started years ago by assembling and selling bicycles; “Cycling” because they offer the most unforgettable cycling tours across Indian and Asian destinations; “And Beyond” because it is more than just riding, but creating a lifetime of memories and making new friends.
UJ then introduced us to our local guides – Linh and Mr Hun, who provided more details and information about the next 10 days and answered any questions we had about the trip. UJ and GJ then handed out our personalised cycling jerseys. I was very happy to be given one; it felt like I was officially inducted into the group. When the briefing ended at 8:30pm, any reservations I had were dispelled, as it was clear that this was a group of genuine and like-minded people who love to cycle and have fun. I was itching to get started already. Alas, we would only start cycling on Sunday, not tomorrow.
For the rest of the night, I roamed around the streets to get a taste of HCMC at night. Since my last visit, the immediate area surrounding Ben Thanh Market has changed a lot with the construction of the metro. The huge roundabout in front of the market has disappeared, and Lê Lợi, the main thoroughfare from Ben Thanh Market leading to the Opera House, is now clear of construction and hoardings. My first destination was Saigon Centre, a large and modern shopping mall with Takashimaya as its anchor tenant.
I then hopped across the street to Lê Lợi, where there was a food festival being held to celebrate the 55th anniversary of ASEAN. The theme of the festival was Unity in Diversity and it featured dishes from the different ASEAN countries. Singapore was represented by nasi briyani, cereal prawn, chicken rice and zi char dishes, fish head curry and black pepper crab. I wondered why black pepper was chosen instead of chilli crab.
As I wasn’t very hungry, I just tried one item – Bánh hạt dẻ, or chestnut cake. I had never seen this before so I bought one piece for 15,000 dong (S$0.87) to try. Apparently, it is a popular Vietnamese snack originating from the mountainous Sapa region. It is a bit like our local dao sar biah, but instead of mung bean, the filling is lightly sweetened ground chestnuts, enclosed within a golden brown and flaky pastry shell. It wasn’t very sweet, nice if you’re looking for something small to snack on.
With the hoardings removed, Lê Lợi street is now very wide and pleasant to walk on. The pedestrian streets leading to the Opera House and City Hall were particularly vibrant, with a large lotus water fountain at the cross junction being the focal point. I gave in to temptation and bought an ice-cream for 20,000 dong (S$1.16), savouring it while seated at one of the ubiquitous, colourful small plastic stools.
I then popped in to Parkson Saigon Tourist Plaza to window shop at the Muji and Uniqlo stores there. This Uniqlo outlet opened in December 2019 and it was the first flagship store in Vietnam. It was really huge, occupying three levels.
I then went to Vincom Center, located directly across the road from Parkson Saigon Tourist Plaza. Vincom Center is HCMC’s biggest shopping mall, containing a host of international fashion brands and restaurants. It was super crowded as it was a Friday evening and it coincided with the Black Friday Sales, so all the retail stores were doing brisk business. Even when I left at 10pm, the stream of shoppers was still neverending. I reached my hotel at 10:20pm and called it a night. And that’s the end of Day 1!
Here’s a short video montage of the highlights from Day 1, enjoy!