Miss Saigon? Nope its Ho Chi-Minh City now.

Ho Chi Minh City, formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam.  Under the name Saigon, it was the capital of the French colony of Cochinchina and later of the indepedent sate of South Vietnam from 1955 to 1975. In 1976, Saigon was officially renamed Hồ Chí Minh City after Hồ Chí Minh.

The French Quarter section of Saigon's downtown business centre and the waterfront is the the area around Dong Khoi street. It was in the is section of the city that earnt Saigon the distinction of being the Paris of the Orient.  

The Rex Hotel has played an important part of Vietnam history since its construction in 1950s. Orginally built by French colonial developers, it quickly became  popular with  American troops during the Vietnam War when its conference room hosted  daily press briefings to foreign correspondents, or “five o’clock follies”, as they were called. The rooftop bar was a well known hangout spot for military officals and war correspondents.

Its D for Departure

It has finally arrived. I am leaving Melbourne today to start my three week trip in Vietnam. And its 5 am and I still haven't finished packing. Flight goes at 11 am. It will be my first time travelling on Singapore Airlines, but I have heard that they are a really good airline to fly with. On Thursday, when I completed the online check-in process, I disovered that 

for the first flight - Melbourne to Singapore I had been allocated seat 31K. I didn't know at first where abouts that was on the plane. All I did know was from past experiences in flying was that the letter K represented a  window seat. Normally I like to have an seat in the asisle as sometimes flying makes my ankles swell up more than normal and it is good to be able to get up easily without having to wait until people wake up or climb over them.

To check which are the good seats and seats to avoid on any plane with any airline there is this wonderful website called Seat Guru which provides information on:

• Detailed seatmap graphics
• In-depth comments about seats with limited recline, reduced legroom, and misaligned windows
• Color-coding to help identify superior and substandard seats
• In-seat power port locations
• Galley, lavatory, exit row, and closet locations

After checking the seat maps I discover that 31K is in fact a window seat with extra leg room. Yes. Yes. Yes. Very happy camper. No Flyer!!!

So have a great weekend. Next stop. Ho Chi Minh City also referred to as Saigon.

Sarah

 The alternative to a holdiay is to stay home and tip every third person you see. - Anonymous

 

The Beginning . . .

Last year, when I travelled to the United Kingdom, I had this grand plan of capturing my travel adventures into a journal.  It lasted about four days.  So this year, I have decided to join the world of blogging. ....

I always wanted to try my hand at blogging. Now, with my upcoming trip to Vietnam in March I have something to blog about - my travel adventures.!!  When I turned 40 in 2009, I made a decision that I would attempt to travel at least twice a year (internationally) with my primary goal  of seeing as much as the world as possible over the next 25-30 years. Since then I have visited India, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

I am in countdown mode. 30 days until I leave on for Vietnam for a three week tour travelling with Intrepid. I have previously used Intrepid on my Rajasthan Adventure in India, January 2010 and had a  wonderful time with a  really good tour leader and a great bunch tour members (12 maximum), who all in their own unique way added to the experience of travelling through India for the first time. I even managed to avoid getting Delhi belly!

The Best of Vietnam tour starting from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) to Hanoi. It is a 20 day tour and its fully booked out. I have never been to Vietnam before and people who I have spoken to have all raved about Vietnam as a place, the food and the crazy motorbikes. I really looking forward to visiting Halong Bay - which literally means "Descending Dragon Bay". It is a UNESCO World Heritage listed site located in Quang Ninh province. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles of various sizes and shapes. Ever since seeing the breathtaking chase scene of the 1997 James Bond movie 'Tomorrow Never Dies'  I have always wanted to visit this majestic looking group of islands and I will soon have my the opportunity to see and take in all its beauty. I can't wait!

“People don’t take trips – trips take people.” – John Steinbeck

Sarah