Monday, August 28th, 2023
We were on our way to the airport by 7:30 AM. We needed to leave early because of the rush hour traffic.
We arrived with plenty of time to check-in and go through security which was very thorough. We had a long line to wait in to get through customs.
Our flight left on time and we landed in Ho Chi Minh city at 1:13 PM. It was hot and very humid. We were told that in Vietnam they had two types of weather hot and hotter!
We transferred from the airport to the Sheraton in Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon. The locals still call it Saigon and only write Ho Chi Minh City on all documents and papers of official capacity.
Traffic was heavy in Saigon and there were PLENTY of motorbikes!
The rest of the day was free for us. We went walking on the Nguyen Hue walking street. We left our hotel and this street wasn’t very far away but we had to cross some streets which was an experience in and of itself. Even at a crosswalk you had to look both ways and cross slowly because the cars and the motorbikes might or might not stop for you. But we successfully made it to the walking street which was one of Saigon’s main streets. In 2015 it became a wide pedestrian street and it ran from the People’s Committee building with a Ho Chi Minh statue down to the Saigon River. It was a popular place for locals in the evening.
From our hotel room we could see Nguyen Hue pedestrian street.
When we returned to our hotel we decided to have Pho soup with chicken. Dave also had spring rolls. It was a delicious meal.
We ended the evening with a glass of wine at the hotel’s Wine Bar on the 23rd floor. The views were awesome.
Our guide had told us that Vietnam wine wasn’t good so we had an Italian white wine and they served it in a frosted wine glass! Delicious!
Tomorrow we will tour and learn about Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon.