Trip Report--a different approach to Vietnam--Day 1 Saigon
Jan 27th, 2007, 07:41 AM
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Trip Report--a different approach to Vietnam--Day 1 Saigon
This day of my trip report is the only one that will be similar to the experiences of most Fodor's posters on Vietnam. All of our other experiences were very different from the typical trip. I'll be breaking this up into multi posts because I don't know how much I can fit in one post and because I haven't finished writing it up yet.
Tickets at $1300 per person certainly weren’t cheap, but then again seemed fairly reasonable for peak season. Minneapolis to Chicago, Chicago to Seoul and Seoul to Saigon on Korean Air, which we thought was nicer than many of the other airlines we’ve taken. Twenty-six hours total flying time stuck in sardine class actually wasn’t as bad as we’d anticipated. Luckily for us on the way from Chicago to Seoul, the flight was only about 80% full so we were able to make a seat change before takeoff, and we each had a vacant seat next to us.
We landed in Saigon late on New Year’s Eve, hot and fatigued. There was so much chaos after we cleared immigration and emerged into the crowds that we were glad we had asked our hotel (the Indochine) to send a car for us. This was the first time in our lives when anyone has ever been waiting for us holding a sign up with our names on it. The convenience was well-worth the extra $5 it cost us over just trying to hail a cab. It all went off without a hitch too. I’d heard of so many problems with hotels not honoring reservations or following through with airport pick-ups that I probably drove the place nuts when I reconfirmed 2 or 3 times by e-mail.
It was hot! We were glad to get into the air-conditioned cab and head to our hotel for a shower and a good night’s rest. Traffic was unbelieveably congested, and we couldn’t believe the number of people out and about. We were certain that it was because it was approaching midnight on New Year’s Eve and everyone was out celebrating. We were wrong! This was just ordinary traffic with ordinary numbers of people about.
We had requested a front-facing deluxe room with a balcony, and that’s what was waiting for us. The room itself was a tad tired, but what do you expect for $30? Note to those staying at the Indochine though—the breakfasts are absolutely awful. The great location, however, more than made up for this. After showering we were both able to get a good night’s sleep even though day and night were totally reversed for our internal timeclocks.
In the morning we set out to walk around Saigon. We had a very general idea of where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do but no true agenda. The one thing on our to-do list was to go to the market to try to find some silk sleep sacks. The Ben Thanh market was where we headed for this errand. The market itself is huge with very narrow aisles, and it seemed easy to get lost in. We hadn’t seen sleep sacks anywhere in the market when I finally gave in and responded to one of the vendors who asked me what I was looking for. She didn’t have any herself, but within 2 minutes her helper had returned from another stall somewhere with the sacks. She wanted $58 for 2. We finally settled on $15 for 2, which certainly wasn’t a steal especially as we later, to our dismay, discovered that these things come in lengths and ours were a bit too short for us even though we’re not particularly tall.
We meandered for hours walking by many of the usual must-sees, and, in fact, we walked so much I got blisters and heat rash. We were both quite swollen too and don't know if it was residual from the flight or if was all the walking in the heat. We spent an hour or two in the botanical garden and zoo where we were the only westerners. This wasn’t a particularly impressive place, and quite schlocky in some ways, but it was interesting to see all the families there celebrating New Year’s Day. We also walked through some very, very poor neighborhoods trying to find the Jade Emperor's Pagoda. When we finally found it we were surprised that it was down a residential alleyway smack in the middle of housing. I guess pagodas just aren’t our cup of tea, and we probably wouldn’t walk this far out of our way in the future just to track one down.
For dinner we tried to get into an atmospheric place we’d read about called the Temple Club. No luck without a reservation. Instead we walked about 6 blocks to a superb restaurant we read about in our guidebook called Ngon. $12 total for dinner for two consisting of a shrimp & lotus root salad, shrimp cooked in a Vietnamese sauce, and minced fried shrimp wrapped around a piece of sugar cane and then rolled with sprouts & veggies in rice paper. The price also included 3 beers. Less than 24 hours in Vietnam, and we’d thrown out all of our former intentions about exercising caution and avoiding fresh veggies and salad ingredients. The only rule we did faithfully abide by during our trip was to drink only bottled water and to avoid ice.
For us, one day in crazy Saigon was enough. Day 2 would be the start of our Mekong Delta bike trip, which was the real reason for our time in the south.
Tickets at $1300 per person certainly weren’t cheap, but then again seemed fairly reasonable for peak season. Minneapolis to Chicago, Chicago to Seoul and Seoul to Saigon on Korean Air, which we thought was nicer than many of the other airlines we’ve taken. Twenty-six hours total flying time stuck in sardine class actually wasn’t as bad as we’d anticipated. Luckily for us on the way from Chicago to Seoul, the flight was only about 80% full so we were able to make a seat change before takeoff, and we each had a vacant seat next to us.
We landed in Saigon late on New Year’s Eve, hot and fatigued. There was so much chaos after we cleared immigration and emerged into the crowds that we were glad we had asked our hotel (the Indochine) to send a car for us. This was the first time in our lives when anyone has ever been waiting for us holding a sign up with our names on it. The convenience was well-worth the extra $5 it cost us over just trying to hail a cab. It all went off without a hitch too. I’d heard of so many problems with hotels not honoring reservations or following through with airport pick-ups that I probably drove the place nuts when I reconfirmed 2 or 3 times by e-mail.
It was hot! We were glad to get into the air-conditioned cab and head to our hotel for a shower and a good night’s rest. Traffic was unbelieveably congested, and we couldn’t believe the number of people out and about. We were certain that it was because it was approaching midnight on New Year’s Eve and everyone was out celebrating. We were wrong! This was just ordinary traffic with ordinary numbers of people about.
We had requested a front-facing deluxe room with a balcony, and that’s what was waiting for us. The room itself was a tad tired, but what do you expect for $30? Note to those staying at the Indochine though—the breakfasts are absolutely awful. The great location, however, more than made up for this. After showering we were both able to get a good night’s sleep even though day and night were totally reversed for our internal timeclocks.
In the morning we set out to walk around Saigon. We had a very general idea of where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do but no true agenda. The one thing on our to-do list was to go to the market to try to find some silk sleep sacks. The Ben Thanh market was where we headed for this errand. The market itself is huge with very narrow aisles, and it seemed easy to get lost in. We hadn’t seen sleep sacks anywhere in the market when I finally gave in and responded to one of the vendors who asked me what I was looking for. She didn’t have any herself, but within 2 minutes her helper had returned from another stall somewhere with the sacks. She wanted $58 for 2. We finally settled on $15 for 2, which certainly wasn’t a steal especially as we later, to our dismay, discovered that these things come in lengths and ours were a bit too short for us even though we’re not particularly tall.
We meandered for hours walking by many of the usual must-sees, and, in fact, we walked so much I got blisters and heat rash. We were both quite swollen too and don't know if it was residual from the flight or if was all the walking in the heat. We spent an hour or two in the botanical garden and zoo where we were the only westerners. This wasn’t a particularly impressive place, and quite schlocky in some ways, but it was interesting to see all the families there celebrating New Year’s Day. We also walked through some very, very poor neighborhoods trying to find the Jade Emperor's Pagoda. When we finally found it we were surprised that it was down a residential alleyway smack in the middle of housing. I guess pagodas just aren’t our cup of tea, and we probably wouldn’t walk this far out of our way in the future just to track one down.
For dinner we tried to get into an atmospheric place we’d read about called the Temple Club. No luck without a reservation. Instead we walked about 6 blocks to a superb restaurant we read about in our guidebook called Ngon. $12 total for dinner for two consisting of a shrimp & lotus root salad, shrimp cooked in a Vietnamese sauce, and minced fried shrimp wrapped around a piece of sugar cane and then rolled with sprouts & veggies in rice paper. The price also included 3 beers. Less than 24 hours in Vietnam, and we’d thrown out all of our former intentions about exercising caution and avoiding fresh veggies and salad ingredients. The only rule we did faithfully abide by during our trip was to drink only bottled water and to avoid ice.
For us, one day in crazy Saigon was enough. Day 2 would be the start of our Mekong Delta bike trip, which was the real reason for our time in the south.
Jan 27th, 2007, 08:07 AM
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Julies-
Looking forward to more.
I encourage you to post your entire trip on one thread (albeit in multiple posts) so that it's all kept in one place. It makes it easier on people to follow along and for those searching out info later.
Looking forward to more.
I encourage you to post your entire trip on one thread (albeit in multiple posts) so that it's all kept in one place. It makes it easier on people to follow along and for those searching out info later.
Jan 27th, 2007, 08:29 AM
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Julie, I agree with Kristina, please put all of the sections of your trip report on the same thread. Also, if you hit return twice at the end of a paragraph, it will separate the paragraphs and make your report easier to read.
One other suggestion... you report title is perfect - "a different approach to Vietnam" but in the tone of your first paragraph makes it sound like you are doing things non one else has done, or that no one else on Fodors has done, or that everyone who posts on Fodors does the same types of trips. It's that tone that tends to alientate people. From what I remember of your itinerary and your brief reports, you chose an off-the-track trip, but of the type that off the beaten path travelers often choose in VN. I hope you will take my comment in the spirit in which it is meant - a gentle suggestion that may help you avoid the reactions you got to your posts comparing Eurpoe and Asia.
One other suggestion... you report title is perfect - "a different approach to Vietnam" but in the tone of your first paragraph makes it sound like you are doing things non one else has done, or that no one else on Fodors has done, or that everyone who posts on Fodors does the same types of trips. It's that tone that tends to alientate people. From what I remember of your itinerary and your brief reports, you chose an off-the-track trip, but of the type that off the beaten path travelers often choose in VN. I hope you will take my comment in the spirit in which it is meant - a gentle suggestion that may help you avoid the reactions you got to your posts comparing Eurpoe and Asia.
Jan 27th, 2007, 08:36 AM
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The reason we like the entire trip report on one thread as that when we find it of great value, we like to print out the report in one fell swoop. We are lazy. Putting it in separate posts means we have to scoot around and print several times. You've started your report promptly, no penalty.
Jan 27th, 2007, 09:31 AM
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Thanks all. I guess some of you must have read my question in a separate thread on how to get separate paragraphs because nothing I did here seeemed to work.
I guess I'll just keep putting it in here although now that I titled it Day 1 Saigon this may be a bit confusing. What would you think if I just started a new thread for all the remaining parts and lumped them together?
Kathie--
Perhaps your gentle criticism is correct. But, from all of the research I did here, no one else has done a trip that was remotely similar. First we cycled the Mekong Delta for 5 days, then we trekked in the Bac Ha area and did a homestay(something possibly another person may have done), and our final loop was with an agency whose itineraries and goals are extremely unique; I couldn't find anything remotely similar with any other agency or group. This is why I am referring to a different approach.
For those who are reading this far, we didn't go to Hoi An or Hue, we didn't go to Dalat or the Central Highlands, we didn't go to Sapa, we didn't go to the beach, and we didn't visit any resorts (I take that back. We spent a brief overnight in one). And, other than brief mention in Saigon and Hanoi, there won't really be any restaurant or hotel reviews.
I guess I'll just keep putting it in here although now that I titled it Day 1 Saigon this may be a bit confusing. What would you think if I just started a new thread for all the remaining parts and lumped them together?
Kathie--
Perhaps your gentle criticism is correct. But, from all of the research I did here, no one else has done a trip that was remotely similar. First we cycled the Mekong Delta for 5 days, then we trekked in the Bac Ha area and did a homestay(something possibly another person may have done), and our final loop was with an agency whose itineraries and goals are extremely unique; I couldn't find anything remotely similar with any other agency or group. This is why I am referring to a different approach.
For those who are reading this far, we didn't go to Hoi An or Hue, we didn't go to Dalat or the Central Highlands, we didn't go to Sapa, we didn't go to the beach, and we didn't visit any resorts (I take that back. We spent a brief overnight in one). And, other than brief mention in Saigon and Hanoi, there won't really be any restaurant or hotel reviews.
