Haven't been overseas this year and went on United Airlines to Saigon. Visiting family in the north and south parts of the country. For this trip, started off by staying at the Westin Los Angeles Airport for a park and fly rate. I hit platinum status with a double SPG EQS promotion. I was curious what platinum status will get me with SPG. After checking in, I didn't see anything different than before but the front desk didn't know I was platinum. I'm not sure if that changes anything. Will have to see on the next stay.
I was on the upgrade list for a few months on United and they finally confirmed my upgrade a week before. I sat in a newly minted Boeing 787 in business/first class on my way to Saigon. It is a fancier plane with the window tinting instead of shades, accessible size toilets with hands free fixtures, and mood LED lighting. I'm not sure if I like the window tinting feature as the sun can still hit you in the eye. Food was fairly decent and since I was laying over in Japan, the menu was very Japanese oriented. The restrooms in the plane were very spacious. It was designed with ADA parameters but I liked the extra space.
 |
| Tinted windows to block out UV, it still doesn't completely block out the sun if it is right in your eye though |
 |
| The fact that I can take a picture of the restroom already says how big this space is in the Boeing 787 |
In Narita, I was thinking the global first class lounge would be open to me but it turns out I need a true First Class ticket for the United Lounge. Had I thought about it more, I should have gone straight to the ANA gates and hang out in the ANA lounge rather than the United one. Since my connecting flight to Saigon was on ANA. It is unlikely I will fly ANA through Tokyo and missed my opportunity.
I forgot how tight economy seats can be and missed the United plane configuration. At Tan Son Nhat International Airport, I was once again flagged by custom agents for my luggage and was questioned. Eventually, they let me through after I told them I could leave the stuff with them and I didn't have any cash on me.
Since I had some stuff for family, took a taxi during my layover to Hanoi to a relative's house to kill some time and reshuffle my belongings. The local airline, Vietnam Airlines, was too expensive for me and I opted to fly Jetstar. I have flown with them before when I went to Kuala Lumpur. As a low cost airline, you have to pay for everything and I opted to pay the luggage fees, seat assignments, and even water on the planes. I actually found the airline food fairly tasty. Jetstar's taxi service from Noi Ban International Airport to the city is a good deal. After taking the taxi, paid 20% more than Jetstar price. Who knew it would be a bargain?!
Checked into the Hilton Hanoi hotel. For a long time, this property was the only Hilton in the country. It appears that the owners bought another property and developed a Hilton Garden Inn nearby. I decided to stick with the Hilton for the lounge access on this trip. In the end, I did enjoy the breakfast buffet and evening lounge access. Interestingly, the hotel had excellent exchange rates for USD. I'm not sure about other currencies but I was getting near currency market rates for the $100 bills I was handing over. Also, I was charged in USD for the hotel and it ended up being a slightly better exchange rate than charging in local currency. It is not usually the practice that the USD charge is better than the local currency but Vietnam tends to break the mold on some travel practices.
On the first day of arrival, visited family in the afternoon and dived into bed. The next day, ventured around the old quarter in Hanoi and reminded myself of the local Vietnamese life. The city has changed since I last visited, busier and bustling with activity. Spent some time window shopping and sipping coffee during the day before calling it quits. Later that afternoon, went to the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel for the afternoon tea which is chocolate themed. I'm not a huge fan of chocolate so I wasn't sure what to expect. My companion was disappointed that for $35 there wasn't enough chocolate. I thought there were a lot of chocolate but I wouldn't come back.
 |
| Vietnam Military Museum - B52 |
 |
| Vietnam Military Museum |
 |
| Vietnam Military Museum |
 |
| Vietnam Military Museum |
The next day, went over to the natural museum and war remnants museum. The Vietnam Natural Museum could be passed but the Vietnam Military History Museum is pretty cool. A large collection of captured fighter planes and tanks makes it fairly memorable. For dinner, I tried Nha Hang Ngon at 26 Trần Hưng Đạo, Phan Chu Trinh, Hoan Kiem District, Hà Nội, Vietnam which is supposed to be the direct competitor to Quan An Ngon. I was not impressed and don't recommend but if you do go, the bun cha Hanoi is done well.
The next day was a travel day to Saigon. It was a leisurely check out from the Hilton and arrived at the airport 90 minutes early. Since it was a low cost carrier, I wanted to make sure we got in on time to check luggage. True to form, the queue was all jacked up. People lined up in the exit lanes and the entrance lanes were completely empty.
Landed back into Saigon and headed to the Novotel Saigon Centre. I had previously booked this hotel for family and they liked the hotel. With no Hilton and the Sheraton over $200 USD per night, I decided veering away was a better idea. I just can't justify that kind of pricing in Vietnam.
The Novotel is the smaller version of the Sofitel and reminded me of the Nikko chain. The rooms were nicely decorated but smaller than in Hanoi. The location is great, a tourist can easily walk to all the city downtown highlights or take a quick cab. Breakfast was not as good as the Hilton but they have great doughnuts.
Being familiar with Saigon, the need to do anything specific in the city wasn't a priority for me. On the first night, took it easy and visited Propoganda Saigon at 21 Han Thuyen, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City District 1, Vietnam. Upscale Vietnamese food, you can tell the owner is European and training the staff on western concepts of customer service. The food was pricier but was also good.
 |
| Churros? I didn't even know Vietnamese people even know what Mexican food is all about |
The next day, went out to do some souvenir shopping and see the city streets. Walked around and saw the western influences coming into the country. The first McDonald's opened next to Ben Thanh Market and a number of Starbucks existed throughout the city.
 |
| Cu Chi Tunnels - Tank |
 |
| Cu Chi Tunnels - Traps |
 |
| Cu Chi Tunnels - Kitchen |
After lamenting the inevitable, went out to the Cu Chi Tunnels the next day. Booked the tour with
Sinh Tourist. It was a pretty good deal to get private van out to Cu Chi Tunnels. We did a stop over at a temple that I would say is forgettable. I have heard about the tunnels but have never made it out there in my previous visits to Vietnam. I found the area interesting despite the Communist propaganda. A word to tourists, the souvenir shops sells planes, tanks, etc. out of ammunition shells. Cool looking but it will not be allowed on the plane. The airport folks pulled me out of customs to yank it out of the luggage. We tried explaining that it isn't hazardous but they didn't care. If you do want the item, it is better to mail it to yourself. For dinner that night, went out to Quan An Ngon at
138 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street | District 1, Ho Chi Minh City 70000, Vietnam which was a 10 minute walk from the hotel.
Spent the last day in Saigon relaxing in the city, revisited Quan An Ngon for lunch and visited family for dinner. Afterwards, prepared to head out for home and checked out of the Novotel.
Comments