Vietnam – A weekend on the Mekong Eyes

It was chaotic, to say the least. A woman who had an ‘official tourist helper’ badge on, took me to a hotel I asked about – something cheap and cheerful. She then asked me for money for doing so. Brilliant. I fell straight into the trap. I didn’t have any loose dong about my person to give her. She screamed in my face, called me all the names under the sun, then walked off to find another victim. It left me a little shaken, and I hoped she wouldn’t be waiting outside the hotel late at night for me. This was the kind of person I met a lot on my last trip to Vietnam, but it was a surprise as this kind of person doesn’t exist, or at least doesn’t outwardly show their disdain for foreigners, when you are out of the budget backpacker circles. Welcome to backpacker life in Saigon.

We found a clean looking hotel with no windows down this little alley that seemed bursting with local life. Small shops everywhere, people in the streets, women cooking from big pots in the road, chickens running amok, motorbikes….authentic enough. The room was windowless, which was probably a good thing, and it was fine for a night. We went out that evening to a few bars. In one bar we were sat looking up at a skyscraper on the other side of the road, and saw what looked to be disco lights from the top of the building. Could there be a cool rooftop bar here? 15 minutes later we were in it, Chill Skybar, atop the AB Tower on the 25th floor. It was a brilliant bar, full of the beautiful people. The outdoor area had a circular bar and looked over the city. It was intoxicating at street level, so this made for a nice change. It was a cool spot.

We wandered back around the hotel area, and had a sheesha and beer outside the popular Buffalo Bar. It was a lot of fun sat here people watching. So much life out there on the streets….then it was time for bed – we had to catch the boat to Vung Tao in the morning for some beach time.