We land into Saigon at 5.53pm on Christmas Eve 2024. A
mere 43 minutes since leaving Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Talk about nice and quick.
Ooh my goodness me, the lines at immigration are ridiculous! Thank goodness our
gate was right here, otherwise we would be further back in the line.
In the end I leave Mum and Dad and go through the APEC lane and down to get the
bags. Hopefully by the time the bags arrive Mum and Dad will also be through.
Time will tell!
It’s going to be a race to see who arrives first….what a joke but not a funny
one! Even with having to go back and fill out arrival forms at Phnom Penh that
airport was so much more efficient.
And this is why I hate checking in luggage. Still waiting for our bags.
Honestly it’s so poor.
After a good 20 minutes waiting for the bags I go upstairs to see if I can see
Mum and Dad. Bingo. They are getting close…..back waiting for the bags.
Mum wins the race!! Followed quickly by Dad. They go off to the bathroom and I
walk around the baggage carousel and locate our bags just hanging out. Who
knows how long they have been here but it works out well.
Ordering a Grab is easy and thankfully it doesn’t take too long to arrive.
Although I do have a heart attack as the app says the journey has started but
we weren’t with the driver yet! We do not need a repeat of what happened in
Hong Kong (the driver did the journey without us).
As we exit Saigon airport the motorbikes are everywhere. Goodbye tuk tuks,
hello motorbikes.
Traffic is full on – as expected in a city of at least 9.5 million.
Checking into the hotel is nice and easy. They find us rooms on the same floor
which is great.
We decide to eat in the hotel – super easy and means we don’t need to research
where to go.
We stick with the tradition (only started last year….) of terrine on Christmas
Eve. And a few other random things. All tasty.
Christmas Day I wake at 6.20am thinking it’s after 8am, nope. Not today!
We have video calls to Richard and family before Dad and I go out for a walk. So much to look at on our walk! We come across a food market on the pavement.
Breakfast is better than I expected – the major win is having Vietnamese coffee!
Mid-morning we get a Grab to district 1 for coffee. On my most recent trip here I was given a few recommendations of places so we decide to try one out.
We wander to the Cathedral, which unfortunately is closed. Then along to a shopping center. Stopping along the way in the shade to enjoy the breeze. It’s hot!!!
Getting a Grab is semi easy, then when the driver arrives we have “fun” trying to convivence him we are his ride.
Back to the room for cards and a video call with Hannah and the girls. We do have to move to my room when housekeeping comes and awhile later back to Mum and Dad’s room when they come to my room.
Mid-afternoon Dad and I brave the heat and go off in search for the laundromat I’d researched for tomorrow. Walking through the alleyways we are definitely seeing everyday life!!!
I manage to exchange some money too on the way back to the hotel which is great.
We have a couple of hours at the hotel out of the heat.
I had prebooked our Christmas Dinner at the Hotel Des Arts Saigon Hotel.
It was absolutely delicious! It’s a seafood Christmas buffet with soooo many options for both savoury and sweet.
It had been a very very different Christmas Day, but a lovely day all the same.
Boxing Day 2024 I wake before 7am again. Dad and I go out for a walk, this time in a different direction than yesterday.
After breakfast we head to the laundry place, drop our washing and continue walking to near the Ben Thanh market. On one of our previous trips we had enjoyed coffee while watching everyday life.
We walk through the same park Dad and I had been in earlier, trying where possible to be in the shade as it’s hot.
It appears that particular place is no longer, no worries it’s very easy to find somewhere else.
We have a good hour sitting in the shade drinking our coffee, playing cards and watching the world go by.
Aaah it’s bliss to walk back into the nicely air conditioned hotel!!!
We have a couple of hours at the hotel relaxing, playing cards and Yahtzee.
For dinner I had booked Anan, it’s a restaurant I’ve been too on a couple of previous trips.
It doesn’t disappoint but its pricey when you convert to NZD.
We order a Grab to the laundry place. Strangely someone gets in our car but when it reaches us she gets out. Very odd!
Our laundry is ready when we arrive. We walk back towards the hotel. Stopping at a place for a beer, until I see they don’t sell Vietnamese beer. No thanks!
Back to the hotel we go. I pick up a beer at the local supermarket before playing more cards.
Friday 27 December Dad and I go out for a walk before returning for breakfast. Followed by showering, packing up then checking-out. Thankfully they had space for our bags for a few hours.
I had researched some options for coffee earlier so once we are all checked out I order a Grab. Within minutes we are off into the mad Saigon traffic!
Coffee shop located. Coffee ordered and the cards come out.
We wander around the streets close by before ordering a Grab from the place where we had coffee yesterday.
Back to the hotel for a good hour (and a small bite to eat) before heading off to Can Tho. Goodbye Saigon, we'll be back in a few days.
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