Vietnam Travails - 2

Read Part -1 first. 

Day 1: Saigon (also known as Ho Chi Minh City)

Getting out of Saigon airport gave very similar feels to getting out of Dadar Railway Station. You are suddenly accosted by multiple cries of "Taxi! Taxi!" as multiple cab operators try to convince you that they are the Krishna to your Arjuna. They even throw a Bhagavad Gita lesson in for free "Just get into the cab (apna karm karo), don't worry about fare (phal ki chinta mat karo)..."

But we had a pre-booked cab from the hotel. All that meant was that we overpaid, but without the added bonus of feeling that we were being ripped off. Tip for folks going to Vietnam. Grab App is your saviour. Works like Uber, fares are reasonable and except for the airport ride where you are likely to have luggage, you can even hop on as a pillion rider on a scooter (which incidentally is the fastest and coolest way to commute in the city).

Since we had only one day in Saigon, and didn't want to tire ourselves with day trips as soon as we landed, we avoided the usual Mekong Delta tours. Also avoided the Tunnel tours since one of us is claustrophobic and I won't say who. How do you kill time in a city when you avoid the usual tours that it has to offer?

We had heard a lot about shopping in Vietnam - stuff is cheap, you get to bargain (so that you come away thinking you are smart even if you have overpaid), and for once, Anusha was happy that instead of making a face, I agreed to shop. Off to Ben Thanh market we went, and it is like a large-ish version of Crawford Market and Fashion Street (btw, I have got into this habit of translating everything I encounter abroad into its Indian equivalent - a sure sign of becoming a middle aged Indian unkil!).

For once, I succumbed to the touristy shtick of shopping - bought of bagful of clothes, and judging by the size of the smile the shopkeeper lady gave us as she saw us off, I am sure we had been the proverbial Santa to her kids for Christmas. We got the prices down by about 30% or so, but later learnt that one typically has to start bargaining at 70% lower and settle at about 50% of whatever they quote. 

Had lunch at a cafe right next to the market and I had my first bowl of Phở pronounced (Fuh). Probably because the dish makes you fuh-get all your troubles. Vietnam doesn't hate us after all. Any country that can feed you such a warm broth packed with flavours cannot hate you. I also had my first (of many) cup of salted iced coffee. Salt coffee sounds weird, like someone put salt into coffee instead of sugar but served it anyway. But it is a classic case of don't judge a dish by its name. A delightful combination of condensed milk, salt, ice and coffee - I am a big, big, fan of this coffee. Whoever mistakenly put salt instead of sugar and created this wonderful concoction, I doff my Vietnamese cone shaped hat to you ma'am!

We had booked a free walking tour (I usually find these to be the best way to get to know a city, as the guides are usually enthu volunteers who are eager to show you the usual sights and sounds of their city). Our guide Dong (or Vera) was a super enthu lady. English was clearly not her first language, but her enthusiasm for the city and its history more than made up for it. She even taught us a song (which goes Vietnaaaaaaaam... Hooo Chiiii Minh, and is quite the ear-worm! 10 days later and I still startle Anusha by suddenly belting out my besura version of Vietnaaaaaaaaam... Hoooo Chiiiii Minhhhhh!). 

The city apparently has a crazy 'walking street' which comes alive at night. I might have enthusiastically gone to if I were 10 years younger and single. But given we had come off a tiring airport drama and a not-so-comfortable flight and still walked around for most of the day, we decided to call it a day once the tour ended. Went to a vegan restaurant but they served 'fake meat' (soya and tofu but with the texture of meat). Never understood the appeal of this 'fake meat' vegan thing. The vegetarians do not like it because they think they are being fed something strange, and the meat-eaters do not like it because, well, it is not meat! Anyways, one of the few unsatisfying meals of the trip, and glad I ticked that Murphy checklist off on the first day itself. That, and the coconut coffee which wasn't much to my liking. I am firmly in the salt coffee camp!

We had a morning flight to Hanoi the next day at 10.00 am. And VietJet, true to form, delayed that flight by an hour. But it was ok, gave us an extra hour's sleep and also tied in nicely with the check-in time for our hotel in Hanoi.