We left the apartment in Nha Trang on February 17 & took a flight to Ho Chi Min City (HCMC), formerly known as Saigon. Cost $107 each, Vietnam Airlines as they allow 12 kg carryon, included in the price. It was strange as there are no rules for liquids on domestic flights so size didn’t matter & no need to separate into a ziplock bag, but we did need to remove shoes thru security.
Our hotel, We Home Nguyen Trai, for 6 nights was down an alley (common) & through an ice cream shop to get to the tiniest elevator we’ve ever seen. But it was clean & well equipped with a big fridge, microwave & a kitchenette on the balcony, & close to restaurants & a big local market.
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| Balcony kitchen |
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| View from the balcony |
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Traffic circle near our hotel |
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| Tiniest elevator we’ve seen |
We visited the War Remnants Museum, mainly about the Vietnamese war & the American involvement - the part about chemical warfare was awful, the photos made me cry. But worth visiting.
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| Tiger cages, where prisoners were kept |
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| Results of chemical warfare on the trees |
I went into the Independence Palace, left as it was in 1975 when the tanks rolled in thru the gates to end the war, a step back in time.
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| Office with old telephones |
Checked out the Ben Thanh Market, another huge market selling anything & everthing. Good for a quick meal & people watching. And later some tasty colored sticky rice.
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| The ever present security guards |
We are always on the lookout for inexpensive ways to tour & see the sights - we rode the Water Bus up & down the river to see the huge buildings ($4 total cost), and later took the double decker sightseeing bus to see the city at night.
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| On the Water bus |
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| 81 story building! |
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| Lots of floating plants & garbage |
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| An apartment building turned into cafes & shops |
We walked over 18,000 steps that day as we also visited the Central Post Office (& mailed postcards), admired the scaffolding covered Notre Dame Cathedral, checked out a local fancy air conditioned mall for lunch, took photos of the Opera House & City Hall. Most of the sights in District 1 in our first day!
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| Opera House |
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| Opera House |
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| Post Office |
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| Inside the post office, an old phone booth |
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| Notre Dame Cathedral |
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| 10 eggs, $1.58 |
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| Lots of cute kids helmets but unfortunately not many wear one |
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| We walked thru the “party street”, not our scene |
We booked a day trip to see the Mekong Delta area, another long, touristy day but still fun!
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| Making coconut candy |
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| Coconut candy |
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| Snake wine |
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| Lamborghini tuk-tuk thru town |
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| One of several boat rides |
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| Making Vietnamese “pancakes” |
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| We were well fed |
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| Pit of crocs |
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| Breadfruit |
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| Crossing the Mekong River |
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| Musical entertainment |
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| Me & Happy Buddha |
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| Robin & Lady Buddha |
We managed to listen to the Canada/US 4 Nation Hockey final where Canada won in overtime - a much needed boost in this chaotic time of another Trump presidency & his attacks on Canada!
We were finding the heat hard to manage - hi temps of 31-34C! Glad for efficient air conditioning. We happily found a small alley with a tiny cafe selling 450 ml bottles of Saigon beer for less than a dollar! And a self serve laundry next door. We also found a few good spots to eat, some Vietnamese, some Western food, but again getting tired of restaurant food.
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| Beer spot |
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| And we found a 7-11 |
We headed to the airport again February 23 to fly to the island of Phu Quoc off the south east coast of Vietnam, but closer to Cambodia. While waiting for our flight Robin decided he needed a hamburger & there was a McDonald’s - first time this trip - & the burger & fried chicken were very tasty! I treated myself to 20 minutes in one of those massaging chairs for $2.23. Well worth it!
We arrived after less than an hour in flight to a private car pickup with our names on a sign - first time for us! Off to Hai Au Beachhouse for a week.
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| Flying out of HCMC |
Still Living the Dream!
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