Today was my last full day in Ho Chi Minh City. There wasn’t much else left in my itinerary that I wanted to see. All except a visit to the Saigon Skydeck at Bitexco Financial Tower. At 262 m (860 ft), 68 storeys tall, I thought Bitexco Financial Tower was the tallest building in Vietnam but currently that title is held by another skyscraper in Ho Chi Minh City, the 461.2 m (1,513 ft) tall Vincom Landmark 81.
Bitexco Financial Tower is 68 floors high, and with a giant A on top, it will resemble the Avengers HQ 🙂
This is the entrance to the observation deck
I paid 200,000 VND (₹650/$8.50/€7.5) for the standard ticket
I had come one evening to Bitexco tower a few days before and this is what the main lobby looks like
The observation deck is on the 49th floor
I planned to shoot a lot of photos for a timelapse video and so I set up my camera and tripod at various positions.
Upon returning to Ho Chi Minh City and checking in to Kim Dung hotel, I stepped out for lunch. I was in the mood for some Pho again. Pho is (currently) the most hyped Vietnamese dish (by foreigners). It’s basically a noodle soup, mostly served with cuts of beef.
I checked Google Maps for Pho shops around me and decided to dine at this place
The bill came to 63,000 VND (₹207/$2.7/€2.4) but the pho actually costs 55k VND. They charged extra for the quay — which are fried breadsticks you see on the plate above the pho.
The waiter kept a plate of quay on my table and I figured it was part of the sides, like the veggies, and was included in the price of the pho. Well, the waiter didn’t tell me that the quay is ‘optional’. If you eat it, you pay for it. Maybe locals knew that but I didn’t. Oh well.
I walked past a local school and for some reason, there were hens in cages outside
I made a quick visit to Tan Dinh market
Tan Dinh is less touristy compared to the more popular Ben Thanh Market
But many of the shops here at Tan Dinh market also sell a lot of the same merchandise
Just with fewer shops
I was only interested in buying cashewnuts and some Macadamia nuts
Prices were slightly lower than Ben Thanh market but with some shops, you would have to negotiate harder. I decided to buy on the day I would be leaving Vietnam.
After waking up very early for the sunrise tour of Mui Ne’s sand dunes, and then visiting a fishing harbour and the Fairy Stream, I was dropped back at my hotel by noon.
After unloading my camera gear and washing up, I stepped out to have an early lunch as I barely had much for breakfast.
I sat down at a seafood restaurant just across from my hotel
It was one of those places where fresh seafood was on display, customers pick what they want, and ask the restaurant to cook it the way you want.
I had a slow, heavy meal of grilled prawns, fries, a small plate of cheese oysters and a beer
For 500gms of prawns, 1 x cheese oyster, 1 Saigon beer, and plate of french fries, I paid 230,000 VND (₹750/$10/€9).
I ate a hearty meal to the soothing sound of waves crashing. It was a relaxing lunch and I began to feel sleepy. I went back to my room, slept well, and only got up in the evening. There wasn’t much to do as this would be my last night in Mui Ne. So I stepped out to get a massage. I wanted to try a Vietnamese massage.
I got one at a spa nearby and it was great! The masseuse massaged me from head to toe and cost just 100,000 VND (₹320/$4.4/€3.9) for an hour.
I had a light dinner and tried a fish-shaped ice cream for dessert.
Taiyaki is a traditional Japanese fish-shaped cake. But this is an ice cream version of it; with red-bean paste filling. It was… okay.
After doing some work, I went to sleep.
Date: 30 October 2019
I woke up early (again) and checked out of my room. It was time to leave Mui Ne and head back to Ho Chi Minh City.
