Saigon Side Trip Having booked for a month in the Land of Smile we decided on a 3 night side trip to Vietnam after ruling out Macau as to expensive. It was a real problem trying to avoid places that were suffering heavy rains (mainly South of Thailand).
An early start was called for and the minibus picked me up on time. Already on board were Gary, Noi, sister in law Pa and Shaun. The driver tried his best to fly the expressway to the airport as the others tried to sleep. I felt I needed to watch this exhibition of rubber burning. At the airport we were flagged down by the Police and relieved of 300 baht for having a Thai drive a minibus with Falangs on board!
No problems at the Airport - a quick visit to the Lounge and the Duty Free. Gary had to nearly drag Noi out of there to get the plane.
A pleasant flight and an hour later we were pushing our passports and visa applications through the window. There were a few mutters from others as to the time taken. We had to pay extra for a late application for visa in Thailand before we could get the tickets. Noi and Pa just walked in without visas.
Outside we battered for a minibus to take us to the New World Hotel. We settled in and had a couple of beers at the pool side. Later we saw the Tour Desk and booked a City Tour for the next day and a golf trip to Song Be (116 dollars each for 3 persons) the following day.
That night we set off walking to find a Vietnamese Restaurant. We were also dodging motor bikes. 8 million population 4 million bikes - all on the road you want to cross! Sadly fatigue set in for some of our gang and we went into a hotel for directions to a good non hotel restaurant. Two minutes later we were in a good place where the food was great. I am however still waiting for my starter! Gary and the ladies went back to the hotel to enjoy the Filipina group whilst Shaun and myself went exploring the nightlife.
The next morning at breakfast there was the best breakfast buffet I have ever seen. I’ve seen a few. Porridge, an Omelette Chef who di a fine line in steak and eggs and real honey comb for the sweet toothed members (Pa!)
Because we were a private group we negotiated a 10 am start to the tour. This made things a little rushed around the Unification Palace and then the War Museum as the Museum closed at Noon.
We also took in a Temple, Cathedral (shut) the Post Office and other legacies of the French Occupation. A really good way to see a snippet of what Saigon has to offer.
That night we took a taxi to a recommended restaurant and the driver deducted some cash as he drove passed it once and had to come round again. The cost was well under 1 UKP! We had to wait a little time to be seated but it was good food. The best way to describe the service was organised chaos. A waitress tried to talk to Noi but when she was advised she was Thai she said ‘I know’ ‘ She is brown with no nose’ She redeemed herself by quickly adding ‘but very beautiful’. I had said I wanted egg and chips and I was overcome when my starter arrived. Fillet steak egg and chips with bread and less than a quid! The total bill for four including drinks was less than 16UKP.
That night Gary and Noi went off to enjoy the Hotel Band whilst I took Shaun to a Cowboy Bar which had another Filipino band! They attempted to burst our eardrums whilst we chatted with some very attractive waitresses. Shaun ended up in the hotel casino and won his trip money on the roulette. Lucky bugger.
It was a rather quiet group of golfers that set off to Song Be but we came round at the course. Gary set off with 3 pars and a birdie. We had a drinks break and let some jogging golfers through. A big mistake as Gary launched his tee shot at the next hole (par 3) over the wall!
It was rather strange to have Vietnamese caddies as they did not understand the club requests in Thai. We soon got the hang of speaking English to them. No cash was exchanged on the course, you showed your locker key and paid at the end of the round.
During the day Noi and Pa went shopping. That night Noi told us how much she paid the rickshaw/bicycle driver. I think she started his retirement fund. I would have pedalled the damn thing for that much cash!
That night Pa and Noi were going through withdrawal symptoms for Thai food so the Concierge Desk booked us into the best Thai restaurant in town. Another good choice. Noi also got a takeaway for the waitress in the hotel bar. I thought my food would again be forgotten as course after course came out. Last one my Pad Thai noodles.
That night we again went to the Cowboy Bar and had a good time. Gary Noi and Pa went back to the hotel and I stopped on with Shaun. My waitress from the night before jumped ship and latched on to Shaun swearing eternal love if he ever came back to Saigon. Sadly for him he went back to the Casino and lost a chunk of his previous winnings.
The next morning we had good fun watching the porters try to put our baggage and 3 golf bags in a taxi., fully expecting five of us to sit in the 4 seater taxi as well! This went on for a few minutes, luggage in and out of the taxi seats folded down and back up. To solve the problem Gary and me got in another taxi and drove in comfort on the spacious leather seats to the airport for the princely sum of 100,000 dong! We stood outside arrivals waiting for the others for sometime, Gary convinced they were far behind. It was only when I went inside did I see them at check in waiting for us!
A good Lounge saw Noi and Pa tuck in to the food again! No problems with the flight and only problems with the waiting taxi with confusion over the signs and floors.
All in all a good side trip perhaps a couple of days more would give time to see the Viet Tunnels and other things out of town.
My thanks go to Gary, Noi, Pa and Shaun for a great trip made even better with their companionship.
Jim
