Planning for a vacation part 3 ...

The flights from L.A.X airport to another country before a short hop to Tan Son Nhat airport in Sai Gon are super long, tense and nerve-racking. It takes at least twelve to fourteen hours non-stop in a very crowded cabin. The seats are really small and uncomfortable. The constant noises from those jet engines give you a huge headache.

The confined space surrounding a large number of people irritates me a whole lot more. The best way to accommodate this short coming is get semi-drunk and go to sleep. But sleeping in an airplane is always in a state of semi-consciousness. Your eyes were closed, your brain were shut down, but you were not in deep sleep.

The food is so terrible. On many occasions, I saw people brought with them instant noodles, cold cuts, home made sandwiches, and the likes instead of eating the food provided on an airplane.

If you sit next to the isles, you are asking for the constant prodding, touching, hitting, elbowing, and kneeing from people walking around. Worse yet, people on the inside seats will wake you up every single time they want to go to the lavatories. The seats are so narrow, and tightly packed sometimes they have to climb over you to get out. Good luck if you have an obese person(s) sit next to you. Having some kids constantly kicking on the back of your seat will make matter worse. You want to turn around and strangle the parents for not discipline their children.

The transfer flights would take anywhere from two to four hours depend what airline you book. Thai Airline is the longest because they have two stops. First you fly to Tokyo, takes twelve hours, from there you fly to Bangkok, another four and a half, then two hours from Bangkok to Tan Son Nhat for a total of almost twenty hours of flying.

Japan Airline is the next longest with twelve plus five for a total of seventeen hours.

Korea and Taiwan Airline are about the same with thirteen and a half plus three.

Hong Kong is probably the shortest with thirteen plus two and a half for a total of a little over fifteen hours of flying.

Fifteen years ago, it wasn't that bad because we were still young, but nowadays, it's getting harder and harder on our bodies for such extended and lengthy trips.

Getting through Vietnamese Airport Custom is another nightmare. The first few times we were so fed up with all the red tape and bureaucracy, that I vowed would never come back again. Bribery was everywhere, from the custom agents to baggage handlers, you could not go anywhere without folding a few dollars here and there. It was so rampage that they were so bold in asking for money to get any work done.

Things has changed for the last ten years, when the government could no longer ignore the complains from the tourists. They knew that if they did not clean this up, the tourists would never come back again.
Last year, we did not have to pay a single dollar for these agent. It took a surprising mere half an hour to get through. The airport and its workers look a lot more professional now. So if you go there, do not hand them  money in hope of getting through faster. They will not dare to ask for it, but if you put the money in there, they will not return it.

The weather in Sai Gon is almost always hot and humid. There are only two seasons in Viet Nam, rainy and sunny. From November to May, it's dry season. From June to October, it's rainy season. When it rains, it pours. It's very unpredictable. The sky was very sunny, and all of the sudden, it's pouring down like crazy non-stop for a few hours or a few days. Raining nonstop for a week in Viet Nam is a norm.

When my children were young and in school, we went to Viet Nam in the summer. It usually very very hot, it's suffocated, specially in Sai Gon with the population swelling up to over twelve million. With about billion of motorbikes spilling carbon dioxide caused you to gaff for air like fish out of the water. Beside, almost all Vietnamese men are heavy smokers. They are allowed to smoke in all public places. And most of young men are heavy drinkers as well. They work very hard between the early morning until five, when they stop working no matter what, and get ready for their ritual drinking binge every night.  

That's why a few day trip to Da Lat was a good, relax, and enjoyable time. The weather on these high mountains are always cool, fresh, and peaceful. That is one of the most beautiful and livable place in Viet Nam, in my opinion. At one time, I planned to go back there to retire, and Da Lat would be the place.

The good thing about Sai Gon is as any big city, you can find anything, and mostly the best from anywhere in the country. People are willing to pay top money for the best. That's why, you don't hafta go anywhere to find what you want. They are all brought here, the best of the best money can buy. I love to go from one restaurant to another. You can find all special dishes from anywhere in the country within fifteen minute distance. And boy, Vietnamese people enjoy eating. Food is in served every corner of the streets. They are so abundant. Fresh and exotic fruits are our favorites, some of which you can't find anywhere else in the world. Some of which, their names, you can't find in any English dictionary.

The same thing can be said about seafood. Viet Nam has more than twenty five hundred kilometer of coastline. The nearest distance from Pacific shoreline to Sai Gon is less than an hour away. Most of the restaurants in Sai Gon serve live seafood. They are as live as swimming in a tank, waiting to be plucked off and to be cooked your way, right in front of you for a fraction of the cost here with frozen ones.

You can find many different kinds of ethnic foods and price levels restaurants in Sai Gon and big citties. Some of them are as pricey as any famous and fancy restaurants you know of. In my opinion, those fancy-wanna-be luxury-looking restaurants are the copycats, they are not as good as the price tags they carried. The most authentic restaurants are the ones full with locals. If you want an easy taste for the foreigners, you can find one in the center of Sai Gon filled with foreigners.

If you come to Viet Nam from abroad, it's best to eat in those big restaurants with known signage. Nowadays, you can find any big franchise from Australia to America, from France to Italy. With these brands you don't have to worry about sanitary issues. Health codes in Viet Nam are non existence, so the best is to look for the restaurants with nice presentation and clean look.

Drinking is another issue when visiting Viet Nam. Always look for bottle drinks like water or ... beer. I skip those fancy-unknown-kind-of-exotic-fruit drinks. If you can't spell the name of the fruit, forget it. Same thing with the street vendors, many of them are pushing carts with cut and ready-to-eat fruits enclosed in a glass displays. Do not try it, because they had been prepared way ahead of time, and had been sitting in there under the scorching sun for who-knows-how-long already with the environment and temperature good for food-born bacterias. A trip to a hospital for any intestinal illness during vacation is no fun at all.

When I order drink, I'll never use their provided cups, glasses and ice. I always order the cold drink, and i drink it straight out from the cans or bottles. Most of the utensils are going through the cleaning process with contaminated water. The big restaurants in the cities are exception, because they are equipped with all of the necessities and requirements. The street vendors are a different story.