Earlier in the year, I heard of crazy fares to Vietnam on
United Airlines and was able to book a flight for $550. Incredibly cheap, I decided that I would go for a long weekend given that I wasn't sure of my availability to take a long trip so far in advance. I did a layover in
Hong Kong International Airport. I had a few hours to kill and did some souvenir shopping and freshened up at the United Club Lounge before heading to
Ton Son Nhat Airport. I don't know if it was the lateness of the day but I got zonked again with the taxi driver. I need to pay attention to the 000s. Instead of 160000 VN Dong, I made it 1600000. The cab driver just took the money and ran. Why would he return it if I'm not paying attention? Luckily, it was a $60 USD mistake. I checked into the
Le Meridien Saigon and the hotel staff was nice enough to accommodate my rate even though I was a day early. Technically I arrived same day but it was 1 am instead of 1 pm. :) Made my day given the taxi debacle just prior.
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| Le Meridien Club Lounge |
The hotel had a soft opening a few months back and was nice enough to give me a suite. On this occasion, I was also upgraded but not on the early night. So I was able to stay in a regular room and a suite on this trip. The regular room is nice and spacious. The club lounge was open this time. Good thing since the hotel is having its grand opening in a week. The breakfast buffet was almost the same foods as the hotel restaurant, Latest Recipe. The only difference I could tell was the banh mi sandwich station and the gelato was not available upstairs. Not enough of a difference for me to forgo free breakfast.
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| Le Meridien Bedroom (Corner Suite) |
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| Le Meridien Living Room (Corner Suite) |
After breakfast on the first day, wandered over to
Vincom Center in search of Goute crackers. It was so tasty when I had them in Hanoi I wanted to grab some while in town. I had seen on Tripadvisor there was a supermarket and figured that a high end mall with a supermarket will likely carry this product. I've not seen Goute crackers in the typical small grocers on the street.
After a brisk but humid walk, went back to the hotel and swam a few laps in the indoor/outdoor pool. As typical in Asian countries, no one wants the pool in full sun. The indoor pool was nice and the unheated pool made me feel like the weather was less humid.
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| Afternoon Tea in the Le Meridien Club Lounge |
Enjoyed afternoon tea at the club lounge and enjoyed the scones and tea before it changed to cocktail/happy hour. The foods were tasty and the service was quick. No complaints here! It was also nice that some of the staff remembered me even though I was only here for one night last time. They also surprised me with a birthday cake in the morning since they knew I was in town for fun.
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| View from Saigon Skydeck |
The next day, I pretty much followed the same itinerary. Had breakfast, walked out, swam in the pool and had afternoon tea/happy hour. This time, I went out to the
Saigon Skydeck at Bitexco Financial Tower. There are a couple of options to see the city skyline. You can go to the Skydeck and pay the admission fee to use the telescopes and see some videos or you can go eat at the café which is above the Skydeck or have drinks at the Helipad bar above the café. Overall, it is a better "deal" to go to the bar. The cost of admission to the Skydeck is almost the same as the cost of one cocktail. It also lets you sit down and view the skyline at leisure. I enjoyed my French 52 before heading down. If you are interested in the café or bar, you do have to go inside the Bitexco Financial Tower and head up one floor on the escalator to be escorted to the café or bar. Otherwise, you buy your Skydeck tickets through the ticket office on the ground floor outside the building. Since this was also my last night in Saigon, headed out to dinner at
Quan Bui after enjoying the happy hour at the club lounge.
There are three locations throughout District 1. The number of higher end eateries is increasing every time I visit. The menu is extensive and I enjoyed the comfort dishes like Thit Kho and Bo Xao. I did try a sauté honey chicken that was really tasty. I did like you can get brown rice or garlic rice too. Not super cheap like street food but still fairly reasonable by Western standards.
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| Breakfast of champions at the ANA Lounge in Narita International |
The next day, my itinerary was going to be the same before heading back home. Breakfast, walk to a Starbucks to buy mooncakes, swim, afternoon tea, and visit family before going to the airport. On this return flight, I will have almost 8 hour layover during the day. The
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport hotel offers day rates of $50 USD. Although I enjoyed my karaage and curry breakfast at the ANA Lounge in
Narita International Airport, it was nice to relax in a private room, work out, take a few laps in at the pool, shower, and rest. The hotel is about 20 minutes from the airport and it was easy to navigate back through security. I was able to get some ramen and curry before jumping onto the plane. After being in the ANA Lounge, I don't see a reason to hang out at the United Club in Narita.
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ANA curry and ramen from the noodle bar in ANA Lounge Narita International
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