Across the Pond to Vietnam

It’s a grueling journey to Southeast Asia but I have to admit, flying premium economy on EVA Airlines was a real joy.  The leg space was as much as we had on first class on Delta going to California.  A bottle of water, a pillow and a furry blanket were waiting for us in our seats.  EVA also gives you a cosmetic case with an eye mask, toothbrush and toothpaste, and other incidentals.

We arrived in Ho Chi Min City on time as scheduled.  We found a cab that took us to our hotel, the Reverie Saigon.  It is probably the best hotel I’ve ever stayed in.  The lobby was colorful and orchids were everywhere.

And our room was a suite with a beautiful tub with tv and a heated toilet with a built in bidet.

We were on the 27th floor and had a beautiful view of the river.

After we settled in, we went for a walk down by the river where we had some refreshments and watched the boats go by.

We even went for a dip in the hot tub before going to dinner.

We met for a delicious breakfast in the hotel early the first morning.  They served many different types of fruit plus eggs, omelets and pancakes to order.

We had a briefing with our tour directorvthan met in the lobby for a walking tour of the city.  There were some very interesting buildings.  We walked past the opera house.

 

The traffic is horrific in Saigon.  By the way, many people still call the city Saigon even though it was changed to Ho Chi Min City but on official documents it is always Ho Chi Min City.  We also went by the post office.

This building is where the helicopters flew the last Americans out of Saigon in April 1975.

And we had some beverages at the rooftop bar at the Rex Hotel which once was referred to the place where they held the 5:00 follies which was the military briefings during the Vietnam conflict.

We visited the Vietnam War Museum which definitely had a different slant on the war than we had.

It was difficult to go through this museum and realize the effects our actions had on the Vietnamese people.  Although they portrayed this with a definite bias, I did not see any ill will towards Americans.

We attended a Vietnamese cooking school where we learned how to make summer rolls and another few tempting choices.

Keith ended up winning a prize for best summer roll and he let it go to his head.  Now we have to call him Chef Keith.

In the evening the group went to dinner at the Ly Club.  It was a lovely time although we had been quite full from lunch.

Saigon is a city steeped in history, not only theirs, but ours.  Fascinating.