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. 

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