Reluctantly I checked out of Zest Resort & Spa after a blissful 3 nights but our next stop, Ho Chi Minh, was calling. To travel the 900-odd km south by train we first had to get a taxi transfer 30km north to Da Nang train station which took just under an hour. With our train being delayed it was almost 4 hours after we left Hoi An that we travelled back past it on the SE1 train. We settled in with our upper bunk mates (an elderly Vietnamese couple) for the 18-hour trip. Once again the romantic ideal of train travel was quickly dashed with the grubbiness of everything on the train. Murray scoped out the dining car but found it uninspiring so pot noodles seemed a safe bet to purchase from the food sellers that trundle up and down the carriages. By 7 pm I was pretty knackered and settled on my bed listening to a crime podcast waiting for sleep to take me. Vietnam Rail had other ideas though, blasting music at volume through the train to announce an upcoming station.
(I draw the line at putting on communal jandals to use the bathroom)
Some essentials for overnight train travel in Vietnam:
Slip-on shoes – for ease of getting in and out of your bed quickly without your feet having to touch the floor
Bottled water for hydration
An eye mask – to keep out the lights that randomly flood the cabins and from any annoying cabin mates who turn on their reading light and leave it on all night (I’m looking at you, Vietnamese lady)
Snacks – you never know what’s going to be on offer or if it’s worth risking eating it
Toilet paper – there was none supplied
Hand sanitiser – soap was hit and miss
Wet wipes – to wipe your cabin table and anything else you might want to touch. Also to freshen up in the morning
Wear a bra with no underwire and clothes that double as pyjamas – comfort is key
Cash – to buy coffee or beer on the train
Book, podcasts or Netflix downloads to pass the time in the middle of the night
There was plenty to look at out the window before it got dark as we trundled through villages and the countryside. It was interesting how randomly graves were plonked along the way. While there were cemeteries as we know them there were often singular graves in the middle of nowhere or in the middle of a field (when you miss Grandma but also really need to grow corn).
At one point a mozzie buzzed past me on the window. My lightning reflexes smashed it flat. I felt immediately concerned that I might have offended any Buddhists around, but my mind was eased when ‘nek minute’ my room was bashing bugs left right and centre.
We rolled into Saigon Station just before 7 am. We paused in the station to look at the Grab app (Vietnam’s version of Uber) to see the cost to get to our hotel, La Vela Saigon. The first two drivers who approached offered to take us for 200,000. When I showed them the app saying the cost would be 39000, they dropped to 150000. The last time we arrived at Saigon station, in 2012, we were scammed by a taxi driver. We didn’t know until Murray’s cousin met the taxi at an inner-city hotel. Once she heard how much the driver wanted to charge us for the short trip Jeanette reared up to her full 5 feet, gave the driver a good telling off and saved us a couple of hundred thousand Dong. The Grab app makes it much easier not to get ripped off. Everywhere else in Vietnam, we’ve used the app to negotiate with taxi drivers and paid usually about 10000 (.80c) over the app price in cash. The Saigon station drivers though weren’t budging so I deployed my angry finger and pressed my phone to summon a Grab car. It arrived within 1 minute and we were safely deposited at our hotel for 38400 Dong just after 7am.
Unfortunately, check-in wasn’t until 3 pm. Fortunately, the receptionist said they would try their best to get us in earlier and to check back at 11 am, they also gave us access to the rooftop pool area. After a quick search of our luggage for our bathing attire we made our way to the top of the building. At $230 NZ per night, this is the most expensive hotel we’ve stayed at in Vietnam but the pool alone makes it worthwhile. The infinity pool stretches along one side of the building with the water’s edge dropping away to reveal a panoramic view of the city. Funnily enough, there weren’t many other takers at 7.30 am so we secured prime real estate, two comfortable sun loungers right on the water’s edge. After a few hours sunning, snoozing and swimming the weather started to change, and threatening clouds gathered overhead. We got changed and checked in with reception, but no luck, check back at 12. We ventured out to hunt for some brunch and tried the traditional noodle house just across the road. Unfortunately, the English translation on the menu wasn’t enough to reassure me that I wasn’t going to poison myself with some kind of shellfish hiding in a dish and, thanks to Google translate, I asked if there were any vegetarian options but was told no. Off to Highlands Coffee, we went. We’ve found these nearly everywhere we’ve been in Vietnam, the Vietnamese version of Starbucks.
After a shopping trip to Saigon Centre and Saigon Square, we indulged in the hotel’s Dim Sum buffet. This involved ordering as many dim sum dishes off the menu as you could eat in two hours. We started with numbers 1, 3, 10, 13, 15, 20, 21, 26, 50 and 55, having not done this before we had no idea if we were being complete gluttons or if that level of ordering for two people was socially acceptable. We soon ploughed through the lot and ordered more. We rolled back to our sumptuous room, which is so automated we can’t work out how to turn anything on, for a blissful sleep.
After probably the best breakfast buffet we’ve seen anywhere we hit the streets for a 20-minute walk to the War Remnants museum. While we did intend on visiting our first plan was to get our new favourite thing to do, a Hop on Hop off Bus, and see the sights of Ho Chi Minh from the upper level. Traffic was hectic and it was nearly two hours later when we disembarked back at the museum and paid our 40000 Dong each to enter.
Well worth a visit but immensely sobering and sombre the museum contains exhibits relating to the First Indochina War and the Vietnam War and was formerly known as the Museum of Chinese and American War Crimes. Some of the photographic displays particularly are extremely graphic and left us both feeling very sad about how cruel humans can be to each other.
We dealt with the heavy feeling the museum left us with in different ways. I shopped my feelings away at the Ben Thanh market and Murray drank beer with 3 random French men he happened across. What I particularly liked about the Ben Thanh market is that around the inner walls, there are stalls that display a sign saying ‘fixed price’. Bartering, and not knowing if you’re being ripped off, can be exhausting so just looking at price tags and arguing with yourself if you should buy something or not was much more what I’m used to. After picking up a few items that I’ll probably regret later I got a quick manicure before finding Murray and getting a grab to La Vela. Even though there was a late afternoon thunderstorm rolling around us and rain falling intermittently we decided a swim was a great option, what we didn’t expect was that the hotel would be trying to start a dance party at 4 pm and there were two DJ’s, a scantily clad man and woman trying to get people dancing and loud doof-doof music.
After a big day, we spent our last night in Vietnam with a room service pizza and an early night. Tomorrow we arrive in Sydney and our travel takes on a different pace. Thanks, Vietnam, you’ve been un-pho-gettable.
Enjoy the blog? You can read my books for free on Amazon Kindle Unlimted – click HERE to read.
Gillian Scott Creative 