Travel Log: Saigon (March 23 - 25, 2007)

Note: This post is part of a series regarding a recent trip.  Please read this preface to the series prior to this post for context.

We headed back to Saigon and it was a blast.  It almost seemed like "coming home" after having been away for almost two weeks.  This time we changed the pattern a little and stayed at the Sheraton Saigon which was far and away the most lavish hotel we had been to... because of some of my Starwood Hotels points that I had collected staying at Sheratons, Ws and Westins in the U.S. and Canada we were able to get an executive room and access to all the private lounges at the top of the tower during our stay.  It was wonderful... as a matter of fact we even went so far as to get a "lover's massage" at the Spa at the Sheraton.  It was a four and a half hour luxurious treatment.  Heck, I even got my first pedicure (and likely my last).

So we saw more of Saigon that we hadn't seen before, not the least of which was the only two Irish Pubs I could find (in the whole country!!).  I first found O'Brian's Factory, which was a small, quaint little pub that served Guinness (from the can, but oh well...) as well as a number of my favourite Irish Whisky and Scotch Whisky (Lagavulin, Macallan, Glenmorangie and so many others).  The waitress (on the right) was cute as a button and served the Guinness with great gusto.

The second Irish Pub we just tripped over as well.  Sheridan's is located only a few blocks from O'Brian's, but the cool part was that we walked into a completely packed pub (granted it was only about 700 square feet) singing and dancing along to a genuine 7-piece Irish band complete with tin whistle, accordion, Irish pipes, mandolin, a bass fiddle and a couple guitars.

... okay it wasn't exactly a "genuine" Irish band:  It was comprised exclusively of Vietnamese players, but if I was blind I would have sword I was in a pub in the middle of Cork County in the Old Country.  Anyway, they were great.

I also got the opportunity to experience the local "Cyclos" in a unique way.  Ever since our first day in Saigon I wanted to tour the city with a Cyclo (the men that have passenger carts welded on the front of a bicycle frame, and peddle tourists around the city).  Well, we got to ... it was great actually.  They (one for me, and one for Thuy) showed us all around "District 1".  Anyway, before long I talked my driver into letting me peddle around the city, and he obliged (probably thankful for not having to cycle my 250lbs around).  I got a ton of strange looks from the locals, but most of them thought it was pretty fun (were they laughing with me or at me?).

The weather here was great... hot and humid.  Who would have thought that I would have missed it?  Hanoi was cool and damp for the most part, but the sheer heat of Saigon was welcome by this time, and it was very sunny.  I was actually getting accustom to the climate, and I was as surprised by that as anyone.

By this time, I was thinking that I really could live here.  At least for a short-term stint: say 6 months to a couple years, and as such I spent a little time looking at serviced apartments in the city.  There are a lot to choose from, and many are quite beautiful, full-service facilities.  Some were even villas right on some local golf courses (complete with resident club memberships).  These are some of the ones I looked at:

• Nguyen du Park Villas - http://www.ndparkvillas.com.vn/
• Vietnam Golf & Country Club: http://www.vietnamgolfcc.com/villa/en/albatross.html
• Chesterton: http://www.chesterton.com.vn/)

Another interesting experience was a great little restaurant that was featured in the Lonely Planet.  It was a great little grill place, and I was able to sample crocodile for the first time.  I wasn't up for the "field rat" or snake that night, but in a (very) small way kind of regret not taking the opportunity.  It wouldn't be the weirdest thing I've ever eaten.

Speaking of the Lonely Planet... almost every "white" tourist had a copy of their Vietnam destination briefing, which is great, but the funny thing is that many of these "off-the-beaten-trail" places that are featured in the book will see white tourists by the truckload coming into the restaurant (or bar, or store, or ... whatever) with not only their book in hand, but their finger in the same page referencing that restaurant (or bar, ...).  I guess we're all a form of lemming after all...

Anyway... that basically concludes our trip to Vietnam (and Cambodia).  Such a wonderful experience.

To facilitate navigation this is a summary of posts in this series:

• Vinh Long (February 28 - March 4, 2007) - (Link) - (Photos)
• Saigon (March 5 - 6, 2007) - (Link) - (Photos)
• Nha Trang (March 7 - 9, 2007) - (Link) - (Photos)
• Siem Reap, Cambodia (March 10 - 13, 2007) - (Link) - (Photos from Siem Reap and Angkor Wat)
• Hoi An (March 13 - 18, 2007) - (Link) - (Photos)
• Ha Long Bay and Hanoi (March 19 - 23, 2007) - (Link) - (Photos from Ha Long Bay)
• Saigon (March 23 - 25, 2007) - (Link) - (Photos)