Day 33 of Andy and Suez's Great Adventure
Trip Start
Aug 09, 2010
1
36
156
Trip End
Dec 23, 2010
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Saturday, September 11, 2010
I'm starting to get a bit parnaoid here, Suez is getting the days to talk about where loads things are happening and I get days of chilling out or travelling with precious little to say!!
We were up at 6 today to pack and grab some breakfast before we headed to the jetty to catch the 7.30 staff boat back to the mainland to then get our car transfer to KK airport. All went off without a hitch. When we were having breakfast Suez got chatting to Flo, who had served us pretty much every day for beakfast, lunch and dinner, and was pretty heavily pregnant. Turns out that she's only 26 and this is going to be her fourth child! She looked absolutely amazing and we couldn't believe how much she was working, on her feet most of the time as well.
So, we received a cheery goodbye from the staff at the jetty, got the boat back to the mainland, eventually got our car to the airport and then hopped on the plane to Singapore. It was a bit weird flying back into a city we'd already spent a bit of time in, almost like flying home. Starting out the plane window and seeing the Singapore Flyer and various other landmarks that we recognised I think that we both felt like pretty seasoned travellers!
We were fyling out of Terminal 2, meaning that we completed the set of all 3 Changi termnials, and grabbed a Burger King for lunch as we were both starving and needed something familiar that we knew we'd enjoy. After that we did a bit of hanging about, then a bit more, then hung out at the gate for another bit. I had definitel;y had enough of airports at this stage and the 5 and a bit hour wait was dragging a little.
Eventually we boarded the flight to Ho Chi Minh and we were on our way. The flight was with Singapore Airlines and was pretty good, decent food (BBQ pork) though nothing award winning and pretty comfortable. It was only a 2 hour flight so pretty quickly we were on the descent into Vietnam!
Vietnam
Immigration and bag collection taken care of we headed out of the arrivals hall and changed some money so that we had some Dong on us. We then went looking for our transfer, and there he was, exactly as expected. This transfer lark is a brilliant idea and every one has worked just about spot on so far. There were due to be another two people joining us in the mini-van, but after waiting for another 30-40 minutes they hadn't shown up so off we went into the Ho Chi Minh night.
As soon as you hit the streets what is apparent is the number of motorbikes and mopeds that are on the road. We thought that Delhi was chaotic (and it is) but Ho Chi Minh is something else. The mopeds buzz about everywhere like a swarm of angry bees darting in and out of traffic and plowing through red lights without a by your leave. It really is a sight to behold.
The streets are like a maze and the mini-van was taking lefts and rights leading us further into the labyrinth until we were convinced that we were just staying in a hotel on wheels and we weren't being dropped off anywhere! But no, the Hotel Sen appeared on our left and we jumped out into the stifling late evening air. Thankfully the driver helped us cross the road, which to the uninitiated is a truly bewildering and terrifying experience, dodging the bikes, cars and buses and we checked in.
The room is nice and airy and comfy with a wee telly and a wee mini bar. It's also right on a major crossroads and this highlighted those major differences that we keep encountering on our travels. Last night we were being lulled to sleep by the waves lapping against our private stairs to the sea, tonight we were sleeping right next to Knockhill on Superbikes weekend. It sums up how far we are travelling and the different experiences that we are going through already and is absolutely fantastic!
Tomorrow we have the day pretty much to ourselves before we meet up with the group in the evening. It promises to be another exciting day!
Andy and Suez xx
