Flying from Phuket to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Date: 23 October 2019

After spending just two nights and one full day (where I saw Rang Hill viewpoint and Old Town), it was time for me to leave Phuket.

The Village island resort villa kitchen — Goodbye kitchen… I barely used

The Village Island resort villa pool — Goodbye pool… I could not even dip into

I had a sumptuous breakfast, checked out of The Village, Coconut Island and reserved a spot on the transfer boat to leave the resort.

I was so lucky that I got a bright and sunny day yesterday and I could make the most of it

I hired a taxi (cost me 600 Thai baht) to take me to Phuket International Airport.

Phuket airport boarding terminal — From Phuket, I would be flying to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam

Vietjet Phuket airport Thailand — This would be my first VietJet flight. VietJet is Vietnam’s largest airline company, a budget airline that too

Flying out of Phuket island — Goodbye beautiful waters of Phuket

Phuket islands aerial view — Phang Nga bay?

Phuket shoreline aerial photograph — I was now leaving Thailand’s shores

I chose to only visit Ho Chi Minh City and a seaside town called Mui Ne on this first trip to Vietnam. It’s not like I didn’t want to explore north Vietnam. It’s just that the places I wished to see in the north (Ha Long Bay, Sa Pa, Ninh Binh, etc.) and center (Da Nang), I rather go and see when I have a drone (which I now possess). Those places, I have visioned how I would like to capture the visuals so I’ll reserve those destinations for future visits (whenever they may happen).

Vietnam fields aerial view — An hour or so later, I figured we were flying over Vietnam

Brown river HCMC Vietnam — Just one of the many rivers that flow through the Mekong Delta

River flowing through Ho Chi Minh — I’m guessing this brown haze… is pollution?

Factories Ho Chi Minh City — Vietnam’s economy is booming after all

Ho Chi Minh City highway aerial — Ho Chi Minh City is the former capital of Vietnam. After US forces lost control of South Vietnam and it united under the Communist North, Hanoi was declared the capital of the country.

Golf course Ho Chi Minh City — Ho Chi Minh City used to be called Saigon

Aerial view Ho Chi Minh City — Ho Chi Minh City is the most populous city in Vietnam

Raining aerial view Ho Chi Minh City — Probably because it remains the commercial capital of Vietnam and a major business hub (and thus more jobs)

A sped up video capturing my landing

Tan Son Nhat International Airport (code: SGN) is the official name of Ho Chi Minh City’s airport and is the busiest airport in Vietnam. The airport gets its name from the erstwhile Tân Sơn Nhứt Airfield, built by the French colonialists back in the 1930s.

I did not take many photos from inside the airport because: a) there signs saying photography was strictly prohibited near the immigration and visa on arrival counters; b) there was nothing much to take — the airport is far from fancy. I hear Hanoi’s newer international terminal is better looking.

Anyway, when it came time for the visa approval, this is how it works for Indians.

Two weeks prior to my departure, I had applied for my Vietnam visa online as Indian citizens are eligible for e-Visa and Visa On Arrival (many other nations are too). An e-visa of Vietnam is valid for 30 days with single entry and costs US$40 paid at the time of application. I applied for Visa on Arrival, which offers 1 month single entry and costs US$8 at the time of online application with the balance US$25 to be paid to the immigration officials at the visa on arrival counter upon arriving at Vietnam’s international airports.

I used this online agent and got my visa pre-approved in less than two days. The agent then sent me the pre-approved name list and a form I had to fill out. I printed everything out and carried the requested passport size photos to be attached to the form. I presented the forms and passport at the visa on arrival counter and was asked to sit. This was past 3pm and yet there weren’t many officials manning the counter. They call out your name one by one and when it’s your turn, you show up at the counter, pay the $25 in cash and get stamped. It took a while for my name to be called because there weren’t many officials working despite a growing crowd at the counter.

Anyway, I got everything done, passed through immigration and collected my bags after an hour or so after landing. I purchased a local SIM from the airport itself and ignored the many taxi companies offering rides to hotels. I heard their prices and then checked Grab (ride hailing app similar to Uber). Grab was WAY cheaper.

Ho Chi Minh City airport arrivals area — This was from outside the airport. It was bustling!

Outside Tan Son Nhat international airport — The Grab app shows you the designated pick-up spot at the airport arrivals area

Inside taxi Ho Chi Minh City — A nice Toyota Fortuner SUV was my ride. 90,000 VND (₹290/$3.81/€3.4) for Grab taxi from airport. I was quoted 220,000 VND by limousine/taxi counters inside airport.

First thing I noticed whilst on the roads — many shop boards still use the name Saigon, not Ho Chi Minh City. Also, it’s not one word. It’s Sài Gòn. The name originated as the area was famous for firewood trade (or at least that’s what one of the guides told me).

I would be staying Dinh Phat Hotel in District 1. Ho Chi Minh City is divided into Districts 1 to 24. Watch this video from Vietcetera that explains the city’s district layout:

I chose to stay at Dinh Phat because initially, like many foreign tourists do, I was thinking of staying near Bui Vien street — a bustling area chock-full of hostels, hotels, international eateries, clubs and bars catering to foreigners. But reading through many reviews of hotels and hostels, and people complaining of noise, I chose to stay away from there.

save image — Not too far though. Dinh Phat hotel is the purple marker in the above map. Green is Bui Vien street and all the markers in red are all the attractions I planned on visiting while in Sai Gon.

As usual, I chose a place to stay keeping in mind cost but also factoring in proximity to attractions and walking distance to everything I needed.

Staying at Dinh Phat Hotel for 5 nights would cost me 3,105,000 VND (₹10K/$131/€120) and I made the reservation using Booking.com.

Dinh Phat hotel room — My room was comfortable enough for one person and the toilet was clean. The WiFi wasn’t great but the 4G (Viettel is the provider’s name) on my phone was pretty good.

I freshened up and went back down to the reception area to convert more US dollars to Vietnamese đồng (yes, that is the currency’s name). The hotel gave a better exchange rate than what I got from the airport exchange counters.

Vietnam currency — After Cambodia, Vietnam is the second country I visited where the currency notes have a lot of zeroes. I guess only Indonesia and South Korea is left where I can carry a bunch of notes and feel like a “million bucks”

By the way, 200,000 VND is just ₹650/$8.4/€7.7.

The man featured on the currency of Vietnam is Hồ Chí Minh — who led Vietnamese independence movement and established the Communist-ruled Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) in 1945 by defeating the French colonialists in 1954.

I spent the rest of the night doing some work and planning my sightseeing for the next few days. So here begins my Vietnam series — the 11th country I have traveled to. There’s going to be multiple posts in this series, from 9 days spent in the country and a few videos travelogues as well. Got a lot of content to work on, so please look forward to it!

Next post(s) in this series:

Vietnam: Ben Thanh Market and Mariamman Hindu Temple, Ho Chi Minh City

Vietnam: Independence Palace and Norodom Palace Exhibit

Vietnam: War Remnants Museum, Ho Chi Minh City

Vietnam: Bui Vien Street — Ho Chi Minh City’s nightlife area (for tourists)

Vietnam: Vinh Trang Pagoda in Mỹ Tho

Vietnam: Bến Tre canal boat ride, Tien River (part of Mekong Delta tour)

Vietnam: Coconut sweet making factory, Bến Tre

Vietnam: Cao Dai temple in Tây Ninh

Vietnam: Cu Chi Tunnels, a must do attraction from Ho Chi Minh City

Vietnam: Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica, Ho Chi Minh City Central Post Office

Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City’s Book Street, Opera House