My recent trip to Vietnam

I was in Ho Chin Minh city for three days .  HCM city was formerly saigon.  I was not aware of the workers unrest when I touched down in the city.  Everything was normal and smooth and there was no so much people at the airport.

I stay in a smalll hotel but it was clean and tidy.  It was filled with pictures and design was from the 18th century and was mainly gold in color.  The rate of US$60 per day.  Initially, it was recommended by our member to stay there in a group but it ended with only a few of us.  The hotel rate of US$60 is inclusive of the breakfast.

Along the street was a lot of food joints , spa , massage and drinking pubs.  The local food was good but a bit pricey and it ranges from US$30 to US$50 a meal and the portion is only average.

I had a meeting Hyatt Hotel and before that , I checked the room rate which was about US$396 per night while Sheraton Hotel which was a short distance away , it was about US$300 per day.  These was the type  of rooms I was stay in East Africa  ie ranging from US$200 per night to US$300 per night. But , it was a bit wasteful as I was involved with meeting for most of the day. A small working class hotel will do and it was just for sleeping.  In East Africa, we only sleep for 7 hours each day and I feel abit guilty to waste such money.


On the 2nd day, there was news that the trouble in vietnam have escalated and some of the seminar and meeting participants could not go back to their factories and choose to stay in the nearby hotel.  But the bad news continued to flow in  and each hour the workers situation became worse with looting, rioting and burning.  Some people have been killed or many were wounded.

At night, we ponder whether to take an early flight back on the third day and upon checking, there was an earlier flight on the third day. There was a  flux of foreign investors running away from the country.  On the third day, when we reach the airport, it was crowded with many chinese owners or business men fleeding from the trouble industrial zones. A few of the seminar and meeting participants also flew out on the same day as us.

It was very tiring on the third day as I was lack of sleep because of the trouble brewing in the country and I was almost completely flat on  reaching Penang. Home sweet home , Penang.

It was a relief and I could return to my normal life.

Namaste.