Ebifulumiziddwa: 04.11.2018
Now that we had our luggage, we headed to the nearest bar. After all, it was almost eleven o'clock and one must follow the rules.
Then we took the bus to the hostel.. It's worth going a few more meters. Because the tourist bus would have cost 20,000 dong and the regular one only 10,000 dong. Here I should mention that you can become a millionaire in Vietnam in no time, as 27,000 dong is just one Euro. That's something to consider.
Upon arriving at the hostel, the first priority was to find something to eat. Because the airplane food was terrible. During lunch, we also had our first proper shower. Within 5 minutes, it was pouring rain, but then it stopped. After all, it is still the rainy season.
After lunch, we went to the room and took a nap. In the afternoon, there was a city tour. We saw the main post office, the Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon, and the Reunification Palace. As we were heading back to the hostel, we realized that the hostel was on THE party street of Saigon..... Oh well, then we had to go for a drink.... 😁
On Sunday, we went on a tour to the Cu Chi Tunnels. These are remnants of the Vietnam War and are very impressive. It's crazy how small and narrow the tunnels were and still are. After the tour, we were taken back to the hostel. But we still wanted to get bus tickets for the next journey, as we were heading to Mekong Delta tomorrow. More precisely, to Can Tho. I read on a blog that getting the tickets or getting there is quite a procedure. But of course, that can't happen to us 😜
When we arrived at the bus ticket shop, we were told that the tickets are not available here anymore today, but it wouldn't be a problem 3km away at the next shop. So off we went, but with these temperatures and humidity, 3 km feels like an eternity, and then there is the brutal traffic. I thought I had seen everything in Thailand, but Vietnam is a thousand times worse.. Traffic lights, pah, why bother with just colorful lights when it's more like 'left and right are yours and in the middle is mine'. Well, we finally arrived, and the ticket seller spoke English poorly, but we managed with hand and foot signals. At least we theoretically have a ticket that will take us to Can Tho tomorrow at 10 a.m.
Since we were starving, we went to the nearest street food vendor. Again, we had to communicate with hands and feet as the language, and we had no idea what we would get except something with chicken. But we thought it would be fine, and it was soooooooooo delicious. We also had a soup and a mixture of salt, pepper, and lime juice. Just amazing, and it didn't even cost 4 Euro.. For both of us.
In the evening, we went to the Bitex Tower to enjoy a unique view over the roofs of Saigon. We booked the Heineken Tour right away, because that's a safe choice 😜
This means that we get admission to the 58th floor and additionally to the Heineken Area on the 70th floor. There, we received some information about beer, including a 4D presentation which was really cool. After that, we got 3 free drinks... And all that for 8 Euro.. You can do that... You have to 😉 and the best part was....
Unknowingly, we sat down at a table, and after a few minutes, we realized that we took the seats of two people, but we just thought 'gone away, place taken'. They approached us, even though their English was very poor. In the end, it turned out that they were from Vietnam, and they even gave us a free drink. I have to say, we had already done a good deed that day. So, the saying is true... Do a good deed every day and you will receive a free beer... Something like that at least 😜😅
Sorry, the pictures are a bit mixed up... this internet thing won't catch on anyway...