Such Amazing Grace: So Long, Hanoi. Hello, Saigon (Day 6)

Grace and I were up and ready by 9:00 and instead of breakfast, she wanted to do some last minute shopping. We went back to get another backpack and a quick snack at the convenience market across from our hotel. We settled our bill, said goodbye to Gam, and headed for the airport. Our flight was delayed but we had free wi-fi so the time passed quickly. The flight to Saigon was a bit over 2 hours but seemed like a snap compared to the long flight we took to get here. Of course we were served a meal - Asian airlines treat you very well. Soon we were landing in Saigon, Grace’s hometown. She kept saying she wanted to go back to Hanoi, and she knew she was not going to like Saigon. We gathered our bags and made our way to the taxi stand and soon were on our way to our hotel.

Can I just say – OH! The heat! It is so hot and humid here, it is stifling. Phoenix hot and Florida humid. ALL.YEAR.LONG. And the construction here is unbelievable. So much going on - even a new city is being built.

We checked into the Hoang Hai Long Hotel. It is very beautiful. It is in District 1, near the Ben Thanh Market. We saw some familiar sites in the surrounding area – Circle K, Dunkin Donuts and Carl’s Jr.!! That is just crazy to me.

We headed out to check out the area, but it was already getting dark, so we stopped at Circle K for some drinks and snacks and headed back to our hotel. We settled in to our small room, where it seems our suitcases have exploded!! It will be great to unload the nearly 100 pairs of flip flops we brought so I can actually organize our things. I also will give some gifts to Thuy and her family, so that will free up some space, too. Of course, we'll be filling up what space we have with lots of souvenirs and gifts.

We turned in pretty early after showers and snacks. We’ll have another exciting day tomorrow.