Mar 2006

My Vietnam Airline flight arrived to Tan Son Nhat (SGN) on time and in one piece. The flight from Phnom Penh (PNH) was quite pleasant and short (~ 45 minutes in the air) and the view of the countryside from the air was a nice bonus. The airport was smaller than what I had envisioned. Going through custom at SGN wasn't as bad as I had expected. The custom officer gave me a short stare then stamped off my passport. Next stop was the baggage area. It felt like a regional airport in the States. There were some small but modern mall-like shops oddly located by the baggage carousel area (arrival). Some shops sold appliances like washing machine and refrigerators (It would be a trick to haul a refigerator on the plane as a carry-on item).

As I emerged from the arrival gate, I felt like I was showered with friendly smiles from a mob of people lining the hall way, eagerly waiting for arriving passengers. But I quickly realized those nice smiles weren't meant for me (but it's nice to feel welcomed any way ). When I successfully punched my way through the crowd, I received a personal greeting from a cheerful taxi driver. After a short negotiation (mostly in sign language) he persuaded me to let him take me to my hotel. On the way, the driver even gave me a quick tour of the city and before dropping me off the Caravelle Hotel. The hotel located right in the heart of HCM City facing the historical opera house (once housed the congress of former South VN). It's a nice hotel with tons of staff eagerly waiting to help. One thing I most appreciated was the in-room internet access (broadband). After a shower and short nap, I headed straight to my first meeting, which lasted into the late afternoon.

To have a (quick) cultural experience, I decided to skip the dinner option at the hotel and headed out for some “real” Vietnamese cuisine. Following the complicated directions given by the hotel concierge, I finally ended up at a popular food court, where a wide variety of regional traditional Vietnamese dishes were in competition. After a short survey of the selections, I ordered my food using my exclusive point-n-smile technique (I simply point at the food and smile). After a rather delicious and very inexpensive dinner, I took the long way back to the hotel, looping around the Notre Dame Cathedral and skirting Van Hoa Park (former South VN presidential palace). It's hard to imagine at this very same spot, a major event took place a few decades ago that changed everything about Vietnam and the life of the people who had lived (and died) in it.

Can't wait to come back to this place for more of those tastety traditional Vietnamese dishes.

The historic Cathedral in Saigon, viewed from the Caravelle Hotel's rooftop terrace.

Walking around this part of the city late in the evening on the nearly-empty and not-so-well-lid sidewalks was a small adventure by itself. I was a little lost on my way back to the hotel but got put back on track by a couple of French travellers. About half way back to the hotel, it started to rain - hard. So, soaking wet I was by the time I reached the shining hotel lobby full of expensive-looking people (my umbrella was nicely packed in my suitcase! go figure!).

Ahhh... my bed was quite comfy and that translated into a very good night's sleep, with or without chocolate on the pillow.

The next morning started around 5:30AM. Breakfast at 6:30AM followed by my first meeting at 8:00AM . Thanks to the early morning hours, my presentation went rather smoothly with virtually no interruption or question as most attendees were likely still half-way unconscious (or could it could be my boring presentation that put them back to sleep?). My last conference ended just a little over 3 hours before my flight out to Narita (Tokyo). So as you may guess, things were a bit rushy in my “final hours” in VN. I didn’t get a chance to shop for souvenirs or to say good-bye to everyone on staff at the HCMC field office. Though, I was given a quick mini-tour of the city by My Le, a pleasant local staff member, as she drove me to the airport.

Saigon is waking up to another beautiful day.

Consumable goodies in my hotel room.

By the time I was told to buckle up for the four-hour-flight to Narita (Tokyo), I had officially been in Vietnam for exactly 28 hours and 12 minutes. What a waste of a visa that was supposed to keep me legal in VN for six months! (I may be back again within the 6-month period though. I wonder how much it cost my boss for the visa). Hopefully I’ll get to have more personal time the next time I land in Vietnam.

___
Chao tam biet
("see you later" in Vietnamese)