Arrival in Saigon

Our last day in Phu Quoc was spent relaxing by the pool. We were going to rent a motorbike for the day and explore the island. But common sense prevailed after reading up about it - no international driving licence, roads peeter out to dirt tracks etc. etc. We also have a pretty full-on schedule arranged for our next destination, Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon as the Saigonese insist on calling it.

We had an early start for our morning flight to Ho Chi Minh City. No upgrade at this hotel as we had already booked Club class anyway. However, when we got into the room, there was the obligatory cake, fruit, flowers, rose petals and most importantly a chilled bottle of fizz! Result!

We popped the fizz immediately and had a glass to revive us after our journey. We then embarked on one of my self guided walking tours of the main city sights. We visited Notre Dame Cathedral which is closed and covered in scaffolding for restoration. We then went to The General Post Office, a handsome French Colonial building. Despite the fact that it seems full of gift shops an counters, it is still a working post office, and still furnished with it's mahogany phone booths from a bygone era (some of which have been repurposed to house ATMs), used by the world's press during the war to phone their stories into their newspapers.

Then onto the Municipal Theatre, also known as the Opera House, which was once the heart of French high society. (No, I don't know why there is a a bicycle festooned with wicker fish traps either! Ed.)

The People's Committee Building (City Hall) stands behind the statue of Ho Chi Minh.

We had to do a slight detour as Simon wanted to see the building where the helicopter landed for the airlift at the fall of Saigon.

Photograph by Hubert van Es (copyright unknown)

We needed to be back at the hotel late afternoon so we could be ready for our Vespa Foodie Tour - which will be subject to a blog entry all of its own.