Saigon again

My United Airlines flight was scheduled to leave Ho Chi Minh super early (read 5 am) and I could only arrive the night before from Bangkok. Unlike my earlier pass through, I was not hassled by customs. Last time both the passport control and baggage screening employees asked for some bribes. Given the timing and context, I gave them 100,000 dong ($5 US equivalent) and it seemed to make them happy. This time around I tried to look non-Vietnamese and spoke English only.

Escaping the airport people did not save me from the people outside the airport. Being so used to having family picking me up at the airport, my one time coming through on my own led me to make a bad call to go with a driver to take me to Sheraton Ho Chi Minh hotel. No taxi fare should be more than 200,000 Dong into the city. Anyone saying that it should be more is pulling your leg. 


Got to the Sheraton Saigon and hung out with some cousins during the night. Nice hotel, the room was fairly large and the shower had three heads. Pretty neat feature for a somewhat dated hotel. The decor made me think of the soap series "Dallas" for some reason. Hopefully, my cousins enjoyed the room longer than I did since I left super early to the airport. :) I will say that the staff at the Sheraton was very accommodating. I was given stuff by my grandmother to bring back to the States for family. Unfortunately, she gave me so much that I would need seperate luggage to bring it onto the plane. At midnight, I was not about to run around trying to find a suitcase so I called Guest Services and requested a box and tape. The housekeeping staff probably thought I was crazy but they brought me a big enough box and tape. The man was even nice enough to round up old newspapers so I could pad the box. Now that's customer service! 

Since I was out in the city in search of tape due to the amount of stuff I was tasked to bring back (I felt bad asking for another roll), I got hungry and my cousin took me to a Korean restaurant near the hotel. Skeptical, I went in hoping for the best. I would say that Koreans would not be impressed with this establishment but my stomach was full. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New Orleans

Image
I'm back again for a conference. Flew out on United Airlines and was able to snag a first class seat on the way out. Luckily, the Hilton New Orleans St. Charles Avenue was able to accommodate an early check-in. The room was just the same as last time. They are renovating the executive lounge which made the perk inaccessible. I was given breakfast coupons for Luke in exchange. I tried the Southern Breakfast sans meat. I found the biscuit slightly salty but I'm prone to being salt sensitive. Not a good thing when it comes to Southern cooking. For lunch, went out to Ruby Slipper Café and ordered the Catfish St. Peter and a double Bellini. The meal was tasty and the service was quick and friendly. Did some antique and second hand clothing shopping before getting dessert at Sucre . The dessert shop sells gelato, baked goods, and chocolate. The gelato was ok but the smore's skillet was super tasty. Ruby Slipper Café Catfish St. Peter Sucre S'mores skillet and a ban
Read more

Salt Lake and Park City

Image
Flew to Salt Lake City Airport for the holiday weekend on United . No new snow systems so I was not in a rush to get on the mountain and opted to bounce around the city before heading up to Park City. Although I could have opted for a cheaper rental, I stuck with the Toyota Tacoma from Avis . Lodging After landing, I checked into the Fairfield Inn & Suites Salt Lake City South . Normally, not a leisure destination but I thought it would be a good location to meet with friends who live south of the city. They ended up being unavailable that day and my companion's former colleagues weren't available (headquarters was just another 10 minutes south).  The next day, I checked into the Doubletree Park City - The Yarrow . Originally, the weekend was really expensive due to the holidays but the prices did drop to under $200 when I was checking in. I was behind a gentleman who inquired about booking two rooms last minute and he was quoted about $200 for two nights. With the continu
Read more

Park City

I joined family to a snowboard trip to Park City and hopped onto a Delta flight to get into Salt Lake City International Airport . As mentioned in prior posts, the Delta gates are in the best locations in the airport. Despite that, I still had to lug my snowboard bag across a really long way (in my opinion).  I had a rental with Hertz last minute. There are close check in gates from the car rental parking garage and the airport front counters; however, the timing of my flights were outside their hours and so I was stuck lugging 70 lbs to the regular counter. I was really sad about it as I walked past the empty counters. Delta fail. My family has a timeshare with Club Wyndham Park Ciry  and they booked a three bedroom apartment. Even though we weren’t an 8 person group, it was nice to have the space because of all the snowboard gear. Note that the hotel does not shovel snow off balconies so you will need to do so if you want to hang outside. The hotel is conveniently located at the Can
Read more