I have set out on this tour with Sekhar and three of his colleagues and with 4 of them around I know I will be taken good care of J. They all had solid fun on the plane teasing one another and the airhostess had great fun too joining in the band wagon. Sometimes I even complained that they were not allowing others to sleep. At the end of the flight she even came by to say her goodbye’s to them. The Bangkok airport was flooded with Orchids, such a treat with so many of them everywhere.
By now those of you who know me, knows that –I SHOP. S was hurrying me that we may miss the connecting flight. But I had to click my shots and also pick up few things - right ? and here they are J.
The view from the plane as we approached Ho-chi-minh city (Saigon) was amazing with meandering river systems that formed the delta (we will be seeing this later in the trip). At the airport there was this sweet little guy who received and escorted us to the hotel. The first impression on the way was it felt like home, so much in common with India – the traffic, the chaos, the horns, the air smell, the countless no of people on the 2 wheelers, Shops with the painted name boards, people sipping tea by the road side, the pan dabba sorts and so on. I am not sure but I am excited to see what will unfold in the coming days.
The room is located on the riverside of the hotel, with views of river Saigon – Ohhhhhhhh I am looking forward to the rest of my days in Vietnam, that has already started good.
After a quick shower we set out for dinner and Ragnar located the restaurant using the GPS from his phone. I am already so much enticed by the food , I can come back to Vietnam just for it. Sekhar, who travels a lot across the world vouches for Vietnam offering a gastronomic delight without burning a hole in the pocket, and I second it without a wink.
The 21st floor – the club level has all that you need to pamper yourself and with the expansive views of river Saigon. I am looking forward for a dip in the pool in the morning and some good hot stone massage J. Good night and have a nice weekend.
Wonderful!! What an exciting start to summer. Thanks for taking us along to Vietnam. I loved the ice cream in the coconut!! It must have been really tasty. Can you keep an eye open for vegetarian food also? Is it impossible for vegetarians or can we get enough to get by and go sight-seeing? I hope you picked up the three elephants. They are the cutest elephants!! Have a great vacation. Looking forward to your pictures.
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Second Mytri...what a wounderful way to start Summer....enjoy the trip...keep sending us pics...
ReplyDeleteHey Shanthi, I live in Hanoi. Any plans for coming up here too? Where else are you travelling in Nam? And, vegeterian food is not that much of a problem. There may be just two items on the menu, and more often than not, it will be delicious.
ReplyDeleteSHWETA!!! I just looked at your blog. It is wonderful. I read the Hoi An post. Wonderful, the roadside restaurants with the lanterns, what fun. Thanks for letting me know that I can dream of a visit to Vietnam at some point. Now I will go back to your blog.
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beautiful comeback...loved those gorgeous orchids shanthi...very nice place and wish to go there...thx 4r sharing ths wit us....
ReplyDeleteHey my3 yes it is wonderful here. Veg food is not a problem. You will enjoy sure plan a trip.
ReplyDelete@shweta - hi oh i would have loved to come to hanoi but bad luck not this time. Currently we are in dalat and will be here a couple of days and then nha trang and to melkong delta.
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ReplyDelete@My3 - yes I ordered the coconut as I was excited to see how it was served :-). This is a very tender coconut, outer green peeled and then served with coconut ice cream. The best part was to scoop the tender coconut meat along with the ice cream. That was yummalicious :-)
ReplyDeleteDalat is so beautiful ! We were there in April & it was so gorgeous. Make sure to go tandem biking around the lake. Restuarants recommended on tripadvisor are really good esp Cafe de la Poste..Lovely french touch all over the town. The cable car ride is also fun. Enjoy Vietnam & hope to see you up here sometime soon..
ReplyDeleteMy3 - Thank you : )
Hey Shweta - tomorrow the director of the national park here has arranged a local trip here - to a clean green tea plantation, to the flower gardens and to the mangroves. Sure I will try the things suggested by you. We want more vietnamese food :-).
ReplyDeleteMytri - we need to travel to Vietnam together...:-)
ReplyDeleteRoad trip, road trip road trip!!!!!!! Oh the yelaneeru used for ice-cream. Yummmmmm and I am not even a sweet person! Mangaloreans use the tender coconut to make sweets and payasa. Agreed Anpu. Loved picture 1. The black tubes with the purple orchids. Wonderful colors.
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Wow Shanti, thanks for this amazing visual trip with you...looking forward to more:):)
ReplyDeleteThere are some exotic flowers at the flower garden. And the decor is totally, and little OTT Vietnamese. But its gorgeous nonetheless. And do visit the Dalat Railway Station.. Its the cutest. As for Vietnamese food, try Pho (noodle soup). The fresh rice paper spring rolls are delicious too. And if you are a non vegeterian, bun cha is also a local delicacy..
ReplyDelete@Anpu - sure you should travel to this part of the world
ReplyDelete@Kala - Yes I will and am unable to upload the pics. Will be able to do so tomorrow
@Shweta - Thank you!! Yes we have seen them . Lovely isn't it. We were in this cloud evergreen forest and saw some new species that have not yet been named. Sounds exotic right :-)and a snake in the forest tooo.
Have a wonderful trip!!
ReplyDeleteoh my gosh.. so gorgeous!! I love the pics.. and the little baby elephants.. Hope you are missing me?? *smiles*
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely time Shanthi..
This was wonderful Shanthi- I got to see the whole of Vietnam thanks to you :) Now I can put it further down on my list :) :)
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