Touched down at Tan Son Nhat International Airport international airport, the last time I was in HCM was about 1 year ago and that time I had to complete the arrival card, now no more. Hurahh.. clearing immigration was a breeze, all the counters were opened and the officers were very efficient . We could learn something from this !
As I was an unimportant person, there were no big car waiting to welcome me and I had to make my way to the ticket counter to get a taxi, the fare from the airport to the hotel ( which was about 30 mins away) was USD9.
A familiar sign from my window, Maybank …
The parking area…filled with motorbikes…
The wardrobe in my room, very oriental-ish hor…
The bed
Tea, coffee plus fruit basket 
As I was an unimportant person, there were no welcoming party and I had to ‘kautim’ dinner on my own.. Hurahhh.. I walked to the night market, which was at Ben Tharn ( HCM market) about 15 minute away…the best part about this was, it felt safe walking on the streets at night, the scary part was crossing the road which were busy with tens/ hundreds of motorbikes, the traffic rule is – just walk, don’t look, cross the road calmly and confidently..the motorbikes will somehow work their way around you
The infamous Ben Tharn market closes after 6 p.m…Sorry, no shopping today !
The natural choice for dinner… a bowl of pho ( beef noodles), I stepped into Pho 24…described by some as the McD of Pho.. i visited Pho 24 during my last trip too . I decided to be greedy and ordered the pho with the full works/ various part of the moo moo : soft tendon, tripe, meat balls, fillet, brisket..
First, they will bring the vegetables..onions, bean sprouts, basil and somewhatchamacallit green stuff
Then came the pho filled with goodies ..
Next is to drop the vegetables into the boiling soup, I ordered a ciku drink but they were out of ciku so I had soursop instead.
A satisfying meal..
After the meal, the unimportant person walked back to the hotel, weaving her way calmly and confidently amongst the motorbikes..( it was a big relief that I was back to the hotel in one piece…pheww..)
