Singapore on a budget

If you're going to Singapore on a budget, consider booking a room at Hangout@Mt. Emily. You can book directly with the hostel or enjoy relatively lower room rates if you book your room through the Lonely Planet's Haystack booking facility. That's what I did in April 2007 while on a short trip to have my laptops fixed. I had not stayed in hostels before so I was anxious about the quality of the accommodation. I relied on travelers' reviews in the web. But what I found exceeded my expectations for the low room rate. The double room I got neither had a window nor TV but it didn't diminish its value. It is a no-frills hotel but it offers efficient facilities such as a token-operated laundry room with a washer, dryer, iron and ironing board, free 24-hr broadband internet facility, free coffee, a vending machine for soya milk, softdrinks and chocolate bars. The bedroom was ultra clean and being an obsessive-compulsive person, I was quite pleased. Double rooms come with a free buffet American breakfast consisting of croissants, a wide range of coffees from a vending machine, milk, fruit juice, sausages and muesli.

There are function rooms for large groups to have a meeting or a workshop and an entertainment room equipped with a wide-screen TV and bean bags. It is in this room where the internet facilities, free coffee and vending machine are located.

Hang-out is built on a hill near Mt. Emily park which means that you have to do a bit of walking. There are two concrete steps that lead to the Peace Centre and the Little India mrt station. I had no problem at all walking down the concrete steps to get to the money changer and Cold Storage at the Peace Centre nor walking up the hill from Little India mrt station.

From the Little India mrt station, one finds an Old Chang Kee that sells curry puffs and other local snacks and a Chinese restaurant at the corner of Niven St. I stopped at this Chinese resto to have chicken rice for dinner for only S$3. Not bad at all.

Noodles - pho bo

Pho shops are aplenty in Saigon. There's Pho 24, Pho 2000, and many roadside stalls. Pho 2000 was where US President Clinton dined, as the framed photos on the wall show. But the most popular among the locals and tourists alike is Pho Hoa on Pasteur St. (address: 260C Pasteur St.). On each visit to HCMC, I always order pho bo tai to get a bowl of steaming white noodles with raw beef. The idea is to let the steaming soup cook the raw beef. On the table you will find plates of blanched bean sprouts, basil leaves and many other leafy veggies, sliced chilis and lemons and a cluster of stainless steel containers of chili paste, fish sauce and soy bean paste. Add bean sprouts and the the fresh leafy veggies. Stir in a spoon or so of the orange chili paste and the dark-brown soy bean paste, according to your taste. Squeeze a lemon slice and The soybean paste mixed with the beef broth gives it a truly unique flavor. It is absolutely delicious. Remember to use chopsticks. A large bowl of pho costs VND30,000 (USD1.90 or P84).

After your meal at Pho Hoa, be careful when choosing the taxi to flag down. Walk a few meters away from Pho Hoa and call a "company" taxi. These are the yellow, white or green cabs with their company name displayed on top or on the body, such as the yellow Vina taxi, blue and white Vinasun, and white and green Mai Linh Deluxe. The bantam no-name taxis which have altered meters are often parked right in front of Pho Hoa and other tourist establishments. It can rip you off three times what it will cost you in a "company taxi". I've been traveling to HCMC perhaps more than 50 times over the the last 17 years but it was only last year that I learned from a Rex Hotel porter about "company" taxis.