November 30th
Up at 05:00 to have a shower before catching a cab to the airport, the airline had moved up the flight time so we had no say in the matter and were at the airport, checked in and waiting by 07:15…the hotel had prepared us some breakfast takeaway so we will not be flying on an empty stomach. In Vietnam, there are several discount airlines and today we have the pleasure of flying Jetstar Pacific for 1700 kilometres> CAD 117 for us both, not bad although when they say no service they are not kidding !!!!
It seems that virtually 100% of flights are delayed primarily due to the massive increase in flights and the lagging pace of infrastructure development….however (maybe because of the early departure) we depart/arrive on time …
At 10:20 we land in HCMC, collect our luggage and head for arrivals where Annie guards the luggage ….
…….while I search for our driver who is leaning against a column sign board in hand…I guess waiting for us to find him. The airport taxi scene is a zoo, to say the least…a workaround is to have the hotel you are staying at send a car …no hassles, scams etc. and about Cad 2/3 more, well worth it.
We are staying at Ma Maison Boutique which is located outside the main tourist zone….this is where the “funny” part came in. We had checked Google Maps when planning our stay and felt that a 20-minute walk to some of the main attractions was fine. The agenda after check-in was to visit some landmarks, churches and pagodas which we coined the Pagoda Tour…as we marched away from the hotel, our physical location on our phone indicated the first site to be further than we thought….odd…we checked again…same result….it is very hot & humid, we are a tad hungry and a meltdown is in the offing. We retreat to the hotel and rethink the issue….the owners then explained that Google had positioned the hotel (you pay Google for the privilege) in several places, all incorrectly, and although they claim to have complained bitterly the location remains incorrect…….well mystery solved and as they say, “shit happens” !!
Time for a change of plan, we have a quick very local lunch, very close to the hotel, quite good > I had a sort of ravioli with seafood > then the hotel gets us a Grab and we are downtown in about 15 minutes to start an abbreviated tour:
The Independence Palace, also known as the Reunification Palace, is an iconic landmark in Ho Chi Minh City. The Independence Palace was the home and workplace of the South Vietnam President during the Vietnam War. It was also the site of the end of the Vietnam War during the Fall of Saigon in April 1975, when a North Vietnamese Army Tank barged through the front gates. Lots of photo taking in the boardroom where the U.S./South Vietnam forces surrendered, and the Vietnam War (or American War as it is referred to here) came to an end…
We then made our way down the French-inspired avenues to the Notre Dame Cathedral constructed between 1863 and 1880, by French colonists. Currently closed due to ongoing renovations…
Next up is the Central Post Office, built between 1886 and 1891 by renowned architect Gustave Eiffel, the building’s vaulted roof and arched windows are reminiscent of early European railway stations. An enormous picture of Ho Chi Minh overlooks the proceedings. Things are largely as they once were with looping arches, polished marble floors and old telephone boxes serving as a reminder of the importance the post office played before the days of email and mobile phones. Suffice it to say that tourists are “selfying” in every square inch of the building….
While not what we had intended to do this day, we did end up seeing a number of the “required” tourist sites. As a reward and since resto alternatives seem limited where we are staying, we had dinner at the Nha Hang Ngon restaurant. Quite a venue for tourists and better-off Vietnamese, it was very nice and we had a bottle of ice cold white Vietnamese wine …not bad….and the “splurge” was rather modest 620m Dong (36 CAD).
Tomorrow we hope to start afresh !!