#45: On to the final stop in Vietnam

02/29/2020

Happy leap day everyone!

How time flies! Today we are heading to our final stop in Vietnam, before going south to Thailand. Our destination is Ho Chi Minh City, or as it is more commonly known here, Saigon. We will cover the approximately 170 km by bus, in about three hours. For this, we have booked a ticket with free pickup to the bus station at our hostel.

After a quick and affordable breakfast at the supermarket around the corner, we pack our remaining things and are ready in the lobby at 9 o'clock sharp. After a few minutes, the hotel staff load our backpacks onto a scooter and drive them to the front of the street, where the pickup will pick us up. We walk the few meters lightly packed with our small daypacks. Only after our luggage is safely stored in the minivan, the man from the hotel bids us farewell and we drive to the bus station.

After our last, quite adventurous bus ride in Vietnam, we are a bit nervous about what awaits us today. But when we arrive at our bus, we are pleasantly surprised. Today we are apparently not riding an old, rattling bus, but a so-called Sleeping Bus. We are very excited about that, as we were eager to try it out. Before boarding the bus, we have to take off our shoes and put them in a plastic bag. Then we can enter the bus and make ourselves comfortable in our seat cabins. The bus is very comfortable, each passenger has their own cabin equipped with a reclining chair, TV, and curtains. The ride is very pleasant and not as hair-raising as the last one.

After about half of the journey, we take a short break. To save us the trouble of digging out our shoes from the bags, putting them on, and then taking them off again, flip flops are provided. Very practical! The rest of the journey is pleasant and passes quickly. We are once again accompanied by Rufus, who keeps us up to date on the latest developments at Hogwarts.

Upon arrival in Saigon, we are besieged by taxi drivers who are not easy to dismiss. However, before booking any transportation to the hotel, we first want to find out where we actually are. After a short orientation, we realize that the bus station we are at is about 13 km away from our new hostel. Since we don't feel like taking a very long walk, fully loaded, in the blazing sun, we finally decide to take a taxi.

Arriving at the hostel, we check in and freshen up. The new hostel makes a solid impression, but it doesn't exactly blow us away either. After the last hostel (where we gave a 10 for the first time on booking.com), the greeting seems rather business-like to us. But that's not a big deal, as we will only be staying for two nights.

After a short break, we explore the immediate neighborhood in search of food. Our hostel is located in a very lively district. There are small bars, restaurants, and hostels everywhere. We find what we are looking for at the Central Market, eat, and then make our way back. As always, the move was exhausting and we go to bed early.