Lounging ALL the way to Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh and Danang

[Flyfrequently]

Wrapping up Tuesday:
A brief stop in the Lounge for a taste of afternoon tea and a lemonade

Mulling over whether to do the panoramic night bus.
As rain was forecast and both feeling pretty reflective about our outing today at War Remnants Museum, opted for Club Millésime and overdue Messenger contact with the family.
(posted in the Travel Mistake thread about Surfer Flyfrequently missing her connecting flight yesterday. She is heading to a surf comp, so felt obliged to check in - all good eventually, Virgin stumped up for a night at Moxy)



Time to wind down in Club Millésime for the evening.
They have changed how they do things since June, no two substantial items from their Menu, just "buffet-style".

Pumpkin soup, penne pasta, and a very mini quiche.
Staff are very attentive

 

[Flyfrequently]

Wednesday :
Our usual practice when we arrive at a new destination is to get the Hop on Hop off bus on day 1, do the loop and get our bearings.
Pre trip, I bookmark a few places of interest and then make a plan.
With Grab being so cheap, we ditched the idea of the Bus from a cost and convenience point of view.
Now with our list of things to do, Wednesday was sorted, though I did delegate the task to Mr Flyfrequently of researching Google Maps to work out where to first, last and in-between.

I love flowers and markets, so off to the Flower Markets we go.
It is just a small laneway with a few shops and displays.


If you were expecting something like the Melbourne Wholesale Flower Market you would be extremely disappointed!!
But it was lovely to have the scent of fresh flowers in the air otherwise filled with exhaust fumes.

About 2 minutes after I took this photo, a very strong gust of wind blew their display over, I did feel sorry for the staff as they scrambled to salvage their orders.
Of course, the wind dropped and the heavens opened and where was my trusty Reject Shop poncho?

back at the hotel - oh well, it's only water!!!

Next stop, Saigon Skydeck

Another Grab and 10 minutes later at our destination. This was one of our favourite moments as we approached the ticket desk, the attendant proactively said " 2 Seniors"?
Went to produce ID and he smiled, shook his head and said no, not necessary. Tickets were ~$10 saving of $5 each.

Great views of HCMC

And for one who doesn't do heights at all well, this was ok.
The staff were very engaging and happy to point out the landmarks.
Got sucked in to buying the greenscreen photo but at less than $10, was worth it considering we saved on our admission - and a lovely reminder of our Senior moment.


Next Grab to Majestic Hotel overlooking Saigon River.
The hotel is stunning inside and reflects it's 100 year history and charm.

Hotel Majestic (Saigon) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Raining again, so ditched the Ben Thanh Markets for an afternoon at the Reunification Palace, the site of the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975 marking the end of the Vietnam War.


The rooftop features a Huey helicopter as a reminder of the final evacuations.

Booked a Grab back to the hotel even though it is only 900 metres away. Reckon it was the best ~ 2 bucks we spent all day.
After a quick refresh, headed to the Lounge and then downstairs to dinner at ST25 by Koto (know one, teach one) for some Vietnamese soul food, similar to Miss Mi Melbourne.
One of the chefs, Tommy Pham is from Sydney and was on Masterschef a few years ago

After a relaxing and enjoyable dinner, up to the rooftop area and check out the Saigon Skydeck at night.

 

[Flyfrequently]

Following on from #15 post, my thoughts on Vietnam Airlines

Our second flight on VN both in J, row 1 SGN -DAD A321 - Friday.
First flight was HKG -SGN on Monday, 2.5 hours - international.

Staff were excellent.
A cold towel offered immediately then PDB, choice of sparkling wine, water, juice.


After meeting/greeting all pax, she came back to take our meal order for the dinner service, Asian beef with rice or Western chicken with potatoes and advised that dinner would be served as soon as the seatbelt sign is turned off.
True to her word, our table was set with a white cloth and offered a top up.
Shortly thereafter, the tray arrives, bread, salad, fruit and another offer of top up.

No water given.
Meals were tasty, tray table cleared promptly and asked if we would like anything else. All good.
Also asked us what our plans were for Vietnam, I mentioned we were flying to Danang later in the week, she advised no wine on domestic flights only beer.

About 30 minutes prior to descent, CSM came over and asked what we thought of the flight and service as VN is trying to capture more of the HKG market.
CX has more flights currently I believe.
Gave my compliments though did say, it would be nice to be served a glass of water on the tray. His response was the tray is quite crowded - fair point.
Well, 15 minutes prior to descent as seatbelt sign was switched on, he came around with a tray with 8 - 10 glasses of water offering to J pax - very impressive!

Flight SGN-DAD - domestic
Boarding is orderly and on time, pushback one minute tardy, it will be a 65 minute flight.
Same excellent service.
Cold towel given, PDB water and juice only offered.
Meal orders taken,, a light snack either Vietnamese pork and noodles
or Western Canapes
I had tray envy, the pork apparently was delicious!
A quick flight, just on an hour from pushback, CSM came around with bottles of water for J pax.
I asked if this is something they usually do on such a short flight.
"No" was the reply, "we have just started doing it".
Kudos to VN all round. Not sure about Y, but very happy with the service - and our bag was first off the carousel.

 

[Flyfrequently]

Thursday:
With rain forecast today I made sure I packed the ponchos!
Slow start to the morning for no particular reason.
Teen grandson was very impressed by our Saigon Skydeck photos and suggested we might like to try the views from Landmark 81.
Didn't do any reading about it, just hopped in a Grab and off we went.
It is located in a shopping mall with a hotel and residential apartments.
Rocked up to the ticket desk, asked for 2 senior tickets, show ID.
Ok, I have my driver's license with me, photographed, all good, half price ~$9
Mr Flyfrequently, of course no ID with him and she wouldn't budge!
That will be ~$18 thank you, no cash, only card. This is the first place we have used a card.

Actually found this building underwhelming and a tad too high for me, I clung to the walls as we walked around.
Same views as Saigon Skydeck just higher and interestingly barely a soul there.


Nice ponytail eh?!


Mr Flyfrequently was going to go out on the open deck till they brought out this massive harness - said he couldn't be bothered but methinks he was being kind to me!

Next stop : Ben Thahn Markets. We made it there just as the rain came and managed to don our ponchos in the Grab much to the delight of the driver!


Didn't buy anything but it was a brief respite from the weather.
Saigon Central Post Office was next on the list for is it's Gothic, Renaissance and French influences, built in the late 19th century.


It houses a few vendors selling inexpensive souvenirs and postcards. It is a tourist attraction but you can also buy stamps and post letters and parcels.


~50 cents for the postcard and ~$1.90 for the stamps sent to Missy and Teen grandson.

The Post Office is next door to the Saigon Notre Dame Basilica, currently undergoing renovations and restoration.

Back to Sofitel for our final evening and another delicious dinner at ST25 by Koto.

 

[Flyfrequently]

For our last night in HCMC, we enjoyed another dinner at ST25 by Koto.

We had been given drink vouchers for Sofitel's hidden bar "Ministry" on the 3rd floor. A Speakeasy - type joint adjacent to the "House of Barbaard" their barber shop which is open from 9am-1am
Stock pic

No way could could I entice Mr Flyfrequently in there!

Complimentary coughtail was a Whisky Sour

This framed artwork was on the wall, I have seen it before but cannot remember- any thoughts?


Back to the Lounge for cheese and crackers before taking in the fresh evening air from the rooftop at Sofitel.

Time to pack for our next stop - Danang.

 

[RB001]

This framed artwork was on the wall, I have seen it before but cannot remember- any thoughts?

Discussing the Divine Comedy with Dante, artists: Dai Dudu, Li Tiezi, and Zhang An, 2006.

Below is a neat detailed look - hover over the subjects for ID, particularly the less obvious ones. (Obviously easiest on a PC, but as usual - YMMV)

https://cliptank.com/PeopleofInfluencePainting.htm