From Samui to Phuket to Ho Chi Minh

Finally arrived in Vietnam! The journey took us from Ko Phangan to the ferry, which took us to Samui. From here we went straight to the airport, which is a culinary highlight by the way. A small buffet with lots of delicious things is available for free to all passengers, really cool. From coffee, tea, juices to club sandwiches and delicious pastries, sticky rice in banana leaves, everything was there. Banana chips, popcorn, cake....all you can eat :-).

After the flight on a propeller plane (one of us was afraid), we landed in Phuket after about an hour and were then taken to our hotel by a very nice pick up organized by the accommodation. It was located 200 meters from the airport. Well, it was hot and included in the price ;-). At first glance, our hotel was really good. We were happy and after a quick refreshment, we went out to find something to eat. We found a small street kitchen near a hostel. The nice "cook" fulfilled every wish for us. Full and satisfied, we laid down in bed shortly afterwards. After a short nap, we were awakened by loud scratching and squeaking, which sounded like a very big animal. More or less startled, we didn't know whether we wanted to open the door to the bathroom or not. Because that's where the noises were coming from. We decided against it and quickly left the room and reported the "incident" at the reception.

A very nice, very petite, small Thai woman took care of the matter. It was probably a '?' in the gap between the suspended ceiling in the bathroom. That was it for her. Somehow, we were not quite satisfied. We then slept with the lights on...well, we tried ;-).

The next day we continued to Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh. Not as relaxed at the airport as we were used to, we were thoroughly checked. We even had to present proof that we would leave again. By the way, we spent the waiting time for our flight in Phuket with what felt like thousands of Chinese, Russians, Kyrgyz and Indians. Very entertaining and enlightening experience. Where the Indian shares a seat in the waiting area with two others, the Russian passenger needs three seats for himself and his luggage alone. Further insights are not empirical and will be shared in personal conversation, who knows who is reading all this ;-).

Now the airline comes into play: Vietjetair. The first flight in Asia without food and drinks. But with high entertainment value, uniformed flight attendants in the best socialist young pioneer fashion were selling merchandise to the wealthy Chinese customers. The procedure was accompanied by traditional Vietnamese music and Celine Dion.

Finally arrived, we had a long passport control at the airport with a very thorough and curious officer. After he questioned Rainer about the reason, duration and documents for re-entry, he settled for asking me about my age. He commented with a wrinkled nose and an intrigued look between Rainer and me. Relieved, we were allowed to enter and took a taxi to the hotel. That took a while due to the enormous traffic, it's really crazy here. At this point, we hadn't eaten anything yet, because we were counting on the food on the plane. So after arriving at the hotel and a quick room change, because a smoking room is not an option, we went out to eat at 7:00 pm, completely sweaty and tired. At a very stylish and glamorous rooftop bar. The only guests wearing flip flops. The food, the wine, the service, and the view were wonderful and it was worth it.

Today, after an Asian breakfast at the hotel, which was really good, we went on a sightseeing tour. We saw a market, the opera house, the Reunification Palace, the post office designed by Mr. Eiffel, the Bitexco Tower, Notre Dame, the Ho Chi Minh monument, and the War Museum...and so much more. Photos will follow soon.

From tomorrow on, we will be on a boat on the Mekong River for three days and in the Mekong Delta, probably cut off from the internet. More will follow in a few days.