We had our final Korean meal in the airport because Ryan (as I have learned today, sitting at my gate 2.5 hours early for my flight!) LOVES to get to the airport with plenty of time to spare. I had one of my favorite Korean soups, Dwen-Jong- cheegay, and Ryan had a cheeseburger. Old dog. We also might have had a wee bit too much Soju, but it pretty much put me right to sleep on the flight. It was about 5 hours, and then we had to go through customs and get a taxi to our hotel in Vietnam.
Now, taxis in Vietnam, as we have been warned, are not always how you might say...trustworthy. We did much searching previously on our iPhones about which taxis to take, and they do pretty much harass you as soon as you step outside into the heat with your bags. They know your going somewhere and they assume you need them to rip you off as soon as possible. We had to tell several men no, right from the start, even as we were consulting our notes. We found a supposedly reputable one, but as soon as we got to our hotel, he didn't give us the right change. Annoying, but it was late, and we were tired, so we let him have the $6 extra or whatever it was. He must have smiled as he drove away. I hope he bought his kid diapers or something! Or maybe he needed a new conical hat. They really wear those hear, like for real, all around the streets. Maybe he bought is baby a conical hat. Now that would be worth it!
Anyways, the hotel was very very nice. I've also realized that when I leave Ryan in charge of finding a hotel, he might pack as if he's slummin' it, but he wants to sleep like a king. I cannot say I mind, in the end, but it's a long way from my hostel days! The Equatorial Hotel was impressive with chandeliers, a huge pool, spa, and very comfortable beds. After the Love Motel fiasco, I tell myself we deserved it!
Ryan was up and at 'em Saturday morning, but that might have been due to the fact that he didn't set his watch 2 hours back. Once we got ourselves up, we had some breakfast downstairs, then caught the shuttle downtown to the main tourist areas of Saigon. It was a little scary at first, which is probably why we found an outdoor Vietnamese coffee place, plopped down and consulted maps and free wifi for our routes, landmarks and destinations for the day. After a Tropical Tea and some banana cake, we set out for the main market in the town Ben Thahn Market. It's incredibly popular, and is a covered space, not unlike a farmers market in the states but 1000 times more cramped, crowded and full of junk you want to take home, but have to bargain for. We braved it, while all the Vietnamese ladies touched my arm and asked me if I wanted a handbag, a t-shirt(good quality, good for tourist), or a kitschy keychain. Why yes, I would love a vietnamese table runner, but I don't think it will fit in my backpack. Oh, you lowered the price? I just dont know...wait, you see me walk away and lower the price again? Well, ok, we'll see if I can squish it in between my toiletry bag and my rain poncho.
And on this went, with the food section, housewares, and more keychains and coin purses than you could possibly imagine. Oh, and conical hats. People love those things!
After the market, we made an attempt to walk to a sort of hidden train ticket vendor so that we could get our train tickets for the next leg of our journey through Vietnam. We searched for the place to sell us the train tickets to Nha Trang, but we couldn't find it and ended up taking the LONG way around the Reunification Palace. They had an English tour starting in a few minutes so we joined up. Basically it is a government building that was a big part of the planning for the Vietnam War. It had been redone in the 70s due to previous bombing, so it's this giant retro style building with a really weird mix of 70s and Asian style furniture. The basement is a different story, where you can still see the maps from the war in the walls, and it looks like they all just got up and left their desks in 1975, which they did I guess when the gates we stormed by northern tanks (that are still sitting outside). Kinda creepy, kinda cool. I'd recommend it.
The day was complete when we booked a couples massage at the hotel which was so incredibly relaxing that I almost fell asleep a few times. Ryan loved it too. Haha, I've made him in to a total spa convert! I will dream about that massage for years to come!!
I was the one to wake up early this morning, so I grabbed the leather journal my mom got me for my birthday and headed down to the pool. It was expertly designed. The breeze rippled on the water and the palm trees swayed around it. I found a big cushioned lounge chair to write and then had a swim. So calming!
After we stored our bags for the day and checked out, we went back to town in search of train tickets downtown again. It was noon, and they close for lunch until 1:30, which seems the custom in Vietnam. Ok, so we found a nice little place near the backpacking district where we could sit at a table on the sidewalk. It was lovely, the food seemed very fresh and delicious, and it was nice out until the amazing downpour that ensued right as we were paying the bill. Another Saigon beer it is! It lasted only 10 minutes, which Ryan has dubbed Disney rain. We found a ticket place next, and booked for Wednesday up to Nha Trang (beach- here we come!!).
The War Remnants Museum was next, which I don't feel like I want to talk about much because it just reaffirmed I hate war, war is dumb, especially senseless ones, it had lots of planes and tanks and countless pictures that I probably didn't need to see. I left feeling like I should apologize to everyone. Ryan didn't like it that much either, but for different reasons I suppose.
So, with having seen and enjoyed most of our time in Ho Chi Min City/Saigon, we are now waiting for a plane to Cambodia to relish in the magnitudes of the temples of Angkor Wat! More from Cambodia later!
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