We took a different bus company (Sinh tourist was sold out), Phuong Trang, the orange bus company. For $1 more per person they picked us up from our hostel, which we later realized was because the bus station was far outside of Da Lat. We wouldn't have been able to reach it otherwise. At the bus station we learned that Phuong Trang is in conjunction with Futa bus lines. They had a nice bus station and offered tea before getting on the bus. They had staff who spoke enough English to direct us to the proper bus.
We had first floor seats, but at the back of the bus. The back row was 5 sleeper seats across. I had to keep a seat belt on to keep from shooting down the aisle. We didn't sit up in our seats for fear of decapitation had there been an accident.
However-we really enjoyed this bus line. At each stop they set out a bucket of flip flops so we didn't have to keep putting our shoes on & off. Futa also had really large blankets. They provided great coverage-that's probably why we slept so great.
There were multiple down pours on the road to Saigon. We slept for most of the 8 hour bus ride & caught up on blog posts when we were awake. We arrived into Saigon and drove an hour into the city before reaching a bus station. We were disappointed as where we were & were we were told the bus would drop us off were about 45 minutes apart. The bus station we were told we would drop off at was only 2 km from the hostel-we were let off much farther.
I heard another couple speaking Engligh & asked if they wanted to share a taxi. The ride was 200k dong-$9!! Thankfully we split the cost, but that was the cost of a bus ticket from Da Lat to Saigon. The hostel in Da Lat was right-book with their private company that drops off in the tourist part of Saigon. We saved zero dollars by booking ourselves. I am continually thankful for the comraderie among fellow tourists.
We checking into our hostel-it was recommeded by fellow traveler at our Da Lat hostel (we gained great traveling insights at family dinners) as its on the tourist strip but off a back alley so it's more quiet-my kind of hostel. The hostel then told us the air con in our room was broken and we would be spending the night at another place, her sister's hotel. It was two buildings away and it certainly is more hotel than hostel. Chris said he'd looked at the hotel but it was more expensive & didn't include breakfast. We got the nicer rooms (included a free towel) and breakfast at our bargain price.
Our room is on the 5th floor. We take an elevator to the 4th and walk up skinny little steps around the elevator shaft to the 5th floor. It's a good thing we are skinny & have small packs. Had we brought rolling luggage we'd be carrying it up. Our room does have some weird aspects (aside from the two twins rather than a double): there is a window in the bathroom that opens to the 4th floor hallway & there is a window in the bedroom that opens & goes all the way to the ground floor. And there are no sheets-again. There is a fitted sheet on the mattress and a blanket, but no sheet. This has been a recurring theme since Hue. I'm glad we brought travel blankets.
We set out at 5pm to see the city. Saigon is huge and busy busy busy. As we walked in Friday night rush hour, we frequently had to share the side walks with motor bikes-either because they wanted to go opposite traffic on a one way street or because they could bypass the stopped traffic at the light by using the sidewalk. The walk felt rather chaotic-but fascinating. I am often content to just watch Vietnamese traffic.
We saw some familiar sights (did not partake) and I finally got a picture with Pasteur street!!
We made our way to Notre Dame cathedral. It was closed & in my disappointment, Chris offered, "you've seen one Catholic Church, you've seen them all." This was my response to seeing outlying tombs in Hue & temples in Hoi An-we really are growing more similar.
Across the street from Notre Dame is the post office which was designed by Eiffel. Seeing the Eiffel Tower is on my bucket list, but I'm saving it for a group tour when they can transport my walker for me. The post office was worth the walk-they've converted the phone booth stalls into ATM kiosks.
Our guide books are from 2014 & we know from experience, that restaurants often no longer exist (or have gained in popularity and thus are beyond our $10 per person per day food budget). As we walked to Notre Dame we noticed our choice for dinner no longer existed and so we went to Quan An Ngon for dinner.
The building was reminiscent of Hoi An with the dark wool, ceiling and mother of pearl inlays. This restaurant is set up with multiple food stall on the first floor, but to be tourist friendly you can order off a menu. I had cao lau again and this was every bit as lovely as the dish Chris had at Ms Vy's in Hoi An (maybe even better and certainly cheaper). Chris had pork rolls.
Although we had an easy day by touring standards, we both were tired & had head aches. The pollution/ exhaust is palatable in Saigon. I'm sure my carbon monoxide levels are higher than they should be. Chris even jokes about wanting his own fabric face mask. Would that come out of the "experience" budget?
We enjoyed the sights (not the smells) as we walked back to the hotel. We saw people doing exercises in the park, the streets were lit up, and we were passed by several runners. Tomorrow will be one busy day, as we have one day to see Saigon.
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