• How To Find Cheap Flights
  • Southeast Asia Railways

Nomadic Notes

Travel blog and weekly travel newsletter

  • Blog
  • Newsletter
  • Travel Booking Sites
  • Travel Gear
  • Travel Insurance

Where I’m At: June, 2017 – Saigon edition

June 1, 2017 By James Clark 3 Comments

Where I’m At: June, 2017 – Saigon edition

[Where I’m At; a monthly update of what I’ve been up to, site news, and where I’m going next.]

Where I’ve Been

Greetings from Saigon! After starting the month in Mui Ne, last month was split between Saigon and a Singapore/Malaysia trip.

Singapore

Pagoda Street Market

My Singapore/Malaysia trip revolved around meeting my dad in Kuala Lumpur. Rather than flying directly to KL, I went to Singapore first. I have some friends who have recently moved to Singapore, so it was a good excuse to visit. I visited some new sights, including the Singapore Botanical Gardens – a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Botanical Gardens

Another reason to visit Singapore is to eat. When I come to Singapore I usually eat what I can’t get in Saigon; cheap Indian food, and chicken and rice. There are some Singapore-style chicken and rice places in Saigon, but they are not the same, like Vietnamese food is not the same outside of Vietnam.

My first meal back in Singapore was chicken and rice, which I was dreaming of on the flight there. I also got to try the Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle – the street food stall with a Michelin star.

This place has become so popular they have opened a restaurant to cater for the crowds. The restaurant resembles a fast food chain, where you queue and get a number. I’m not an expert in chicken and rice so I couldn’t tell you if it was the best, or even Michelin-worthy. I can say it was great, and I am happy for their success. They are also opening a store in Taiwan.

Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle

Singapore is famous for being expensive, but the food prices at hawker centres are reasonably priced. In my wanders I found the ice cream sandwich guy who has been selling ice cream for years for $1 SGD. The ice cream is a slab that is served in an actual piece of bread, making it a literal sandwich. Or you can get it with the wafer as shown here.

Ice Cream Sandwich

Kuala Lumpur

I met my dad in KL, who was stopping over on the way back to Australia from London. I’ve met him in London a few times now but I couldn’t make the dates happen for this year, so KL was a good alternative. I’ve now met my dad in six countries outside of Australia (UK, Portugal, France, Switzerland, China (Hong Kong), Malaysia).

KL is one of those places where I have lost count how many times I’ve been. I first visited in 2006, and have since visited a few times a year, most of the time on the way to somewhere else. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to say I’ve been over 20 times. At some point early on I stopped doing the touristy things, so this trip was a good excuse to see the things I haven’t done in KL.

The obvious tourist attraction is the Petronas Twin Towers. I still think it is one of the most beautiful skyscrapers in the world. Being twin towers it has the benefit of giving you the mirror opposite of the same building you are in, as well as the view from 370 metres above ground.

Petronas and KL Tower

Another interesting thing to do in KL is the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park, which is the largest free-flight walk-in aviary in the world. This is walking distance from the old city KL train station, and it’s a large swathe of green space in the middle of the city.

Kuala Lumpur Bird Park

Penang

Rather than flying straight back to Saigon from KL, I got the train to Butterworth and spent a week in Penang. Georgetown is one of my regular haunts, and there is now a direct AirAsia flight from Penang to Saigon, so that was a good enough reason to go back.

Georgetown is so delightful. I don’t think I would ever tire of looking at all the old windows, doors, and tiles.

A post shared by James Clark ✈️ (@nomadicnotes) on May 19, 2017 at 11:39pm PDT

I have a list of favourite places to eat here, so I plan my trip to make sure I can eat at as many places as I can. It gets blazing hot here in the middle of the day, so I find a routine of wandering around in the morning and late afternoon, and work during the day.

ICYMI – Last months posts

In March I returned to Melbourne and felt the reverse culture shock feels – A bemused Melburnian returns to Melbourne after two years absence

On a recent trip to Hong Kong I popped over the frontier to visit some friends in Shenzhen. I didn’t enjoy it my first time around, so I was happy to give Shenzhen a second chance.

I have been visiting KL for over a decade now, and over the last year there have been some noticeable changes. Here are my observations on the regeneration of Kuala Lumpur Old City.

The regeneration of the Chinatown/Heritage Quarter of Kuala Lumpur

And not a new post, but an update on the best cafes in Georgetown, Penang.

Filed Under: Where I'm At

Comments

  1. Alex Steven says

    June 10, 2017 at 9:28 am

    Amazingly narrated. I am a foodie myself and I love the cuisine of Singapore, the food served there is really yum and affordable. Good Luck for your future trips.

    Reply
  2. Ronnie Walter says

    June 12, 2017 at 6:47 am

    That was some really interesting and useful piece of information.I have plans to visit Saigon sometimes later this year. Thanks for sharing your experience mate.

    Reply
  3. Jimmy says

    June 17, 2017 at 10:18 am

    you missed 2 interesting places in Malaysia – Melaka and Ipoh.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Welcome to Nomadic Notes

James Clark from Nomadic Notes

Hi, I’m James Clark, and I've been travelling the world since 2003 while running a location independent travel business. Nomadic Notes is a travel blog featuring travel guides and notes from my travels.

I’m currently based in Vietnam, writing about transport and infrastructure in Southeast Asia.

More about me and Nomadic Notes.

Weekly Travel Newsletter

Sign up for the free weekly newsletter for the latest posts, and a roundup of best travel reads from around the web.

Follow Nomadic Notes

Recent Posts

  • Where I’m At: March 2021 – Con Dao edition
  • Notes on Phan Rang–Thap Cham
  • Where I’m At: February 2021 – Saigon edition
  • Da Lat – Trai Mat Railway – A restored heritage railway in Vietnam
  • Notes on Da Lat – The cool mountain city in the Central Highlands of Vietnam
  • Notes on Nha Trang – pandemic edition
  • Where I’m At: January 2021 – Saigon edition
  • Notes on Lao Cai – The provincial capital on the Vietnam-China border
  • Where I’m At: December 2020 – Tam Ky edition
  • Notes on Sapa – Visiting a tourist town without tourists (2020 pandemic edition)
Top 200 Travel Books
Southeast Asia current and proposed railways
How to find cheap flights
Best new banks for travellers, expats, and nomads

European Travel

Eurail Pass Travel Guide

Featured Travel Sites

Living In Asia

About Nomadic Notes

About
Advertise
Contact
Contribute
Press/Media Mentions
Where I've Been

Digital Nomad Resources

Digital Nomad Resources
Long-term Travel

Travel Resources

Travel Gear
Travel Guides

Travel Blog Resources

Travel Blog Directory
How to start a travel blog

Where To Stay In…

Bangkok
Chiang Mai
Da Nang
Ho Chi Minh City
Hong Kong
Jakarta
Kuala Lumpur
Macau
Penang
Singapore

Search Nomadic Notes

Copyright © 2021 Nomadic Notes · Site Map | Privacy · Log in