We fell asleep at 8:30 pm last night, which I thought was pretty a good time given I always struggle staying awake to a reasonable time when the time completely flips. We try our best to beat jet lag but man is it tough! I woke up around midnight for an hour and thankfully went back to sleep until almost 6am. Over 8 hours!
At 7 am (October 22, 2023) we finally got ready and headed to breakfast. We went to the main restaurant again- the Oriental Pearl. This time we requested a seat near the bar so we didn't have to walk very far for the delicious juices and because the cups are so small. We chilled at breakfast for quite some time before heading back to our room. Once we got back we did some tidying and packing. Hunter also did some flight research for our return trip.
Miso soup
Watermelon and Bánh Mì
The crazy looking fruit is called a rambutan
The inside is almost like a skinless grape
Waiting till our flight
Old photos in our room
Around 9am we headed up to the lounge with the laptop to have some drinks and work on my blog. Blogging is a ton of work, but I love being detailed so that in the future I can come back and remember things as vividly as possible. As I have been doing this for over 5 years, I've found many ways to make it easier on myself and have adapted to many technology changes as blogger updates. Most recently, I have found that writing throughout the day is vital, and adding the pictures and sending out the emails can come later. This allows me to enjoy my time on my trip otherwise I'd be spending 2-4 hours each evening editing everything and that's no fun! Anyways, as we walked into the lounge, the employees greeted us and immediately asked if we wanted Vietnamese iced coffees because we had ordered them yesterday - their attention to the details is impeccable!
Overlooking SGN
Once we finished up blogging around 11am, we headed back to the room to finish packing and get to the airport in time for our flight at 2pm. We bought tickets since it was only $20 more than flying standby - always check your options because you never know! While packing I was very grateful for the scale in our room to make sure all our pieces of luggage were the right weights as the limits tend to be smaller internationally than back home in the US and Canada. Thankfully I didn't have to repack anything! Checkout was easy and then we got a grab to the airport which was about 30 minutes and only $8!
Check-in at the airport was very smooth. We checked our carry-ons (with air tags! - highly recommend), were handed our boarding passes, and directed to security. Security was pretty painless, however, we did have to take out all electronics which for us was pretty significant: 3 laptops, 2 iPads, 3 phones, a battery pack, and the drone/controller/batteries!
Waiting in line to check in
See you later bags
After security, we went to find the priority pass lounge we had access to in the airport. It was a bit hidden, but we eventually found it and just in time to get some sugar into Hunter! We didn't have much time in the lounge, but at least we could have a drink and snack before boarding! The host staff were really nice and even found a space for us which was nice because it was packed.
Passion fruit
Surprised by some Christmas music
We left the lounge, stopped at the restroom, and then walked onto our plane! Having confirmed tickets is so freeing! Flight VN1825 seats 37E and G (they don't have the letter F oddly). The flight was super quick, less than 40 minutes!
Funny ad in the magazine in the seatback
Making sure our bags are where they need to be!
Safety Video.
And we are off!
Compact cabin that was reasonably full
Arrival, you can see our hotel from here
Another plane taking off as we taxied in
Once we arrived, I had arranged transportation for us in advance for $10, we picked up our luggage which arrived quickly on the belt and were on our way out of the airport. Our driver had a sign for us and met us very quickly. Unlike Bali, it was quite calm outside the airport! We got in the car and started heading to the hotel. It wasn't too long of a drive. The driver pointed out a few things for us, including a busy fish market!
The airport
Once we got near our hotel, we stopped at a small shop and got some coke lite (12 cans), oreos, and some random local chip stix thing to try. It was only $6! After our quick stop we then got to our hotel at 4:30 pm local time. We handed over our bags and then we were shown to the lobby for check in. This hotel has a fun university theme and the effort was apparent, but the execution was so-so. Upon checking in, we were told that the only room available for us was a 3rd story non elevator suite which is fine, but not ideal for 5 full nights. They asked us if this is okay, and we asked if there was somewhere else available. They said they had nothing available, but we could maybe try to change rooms tomorrow if they had a cancellation. This hotel's cancellation policy is 7 days out, so that seemed highly unlikely. We asked if they could upgrade us into a villa, but they said no. Eventually, the evening manager came over, but he was not very helpful either and due to the language barrier, just kept repeating we can maybe try to change rooms tomorrow. Eventually, he went to make phone calls, but it seemed like we were out of luck - it was this or nothing. We finally relented and said we would take the room without the elevator and after an hour-long check-in process, we were shown to our room. The manager escorted us to our room, but only dropped off our luggage, showed us a master switch which did nothing when he pushed it, and then left. It was quite the experience and definitely not our typical JW Marriott high-end hotel experience. When rooms retail for $1000+ a night, a level of service is expected, and unfortunately for our arrival, that experience was lacking. You win some, you lose some.
Spotted the entrance of the hotel area
Fun props in the lobby
Welcome drink - these always taste amazing
One of the many colorful buildings on "campus"
Since we weren't shown around at all, we explored our incredibly whimsical turquoise suite on our own and enjoyed the cute touches. We also just caught the end of sunset, which happens quite early here around 5:45 pm. Please enjoy the video tour below and photos!
Celebrating achievements!
View from our window
The huge balcony
Come along on the tour!
After we put our bags in the bathroom closet area and drinks in the fridge, we sat on the balcony for a while and then went inside to the cooler room - it's quite hot and humid here! We did a little rearranging of furniture so we could sit/lay closer and then put on some TV while we discussed our dinner plans. We found the room service menu, checked the prices at the restaurants confirming they were the same, and then ordered some tasty dishes of fried Phu Quoc seafood spring rolls, clay pot simmered Phu Quoc cobia with pork belly, and seafood fried rice. We also ordered drinking ice for our coke lights! They told us the food would be ready in a maximum of 45 minutes, which was pretty quick! Thankfully it arrived even quicker since we were hungry.
Dessert - it was a green pandan cake with chocolate fondant
After dinner we watch some of our favorite series to watch while we travel - jetlagged! I was struggling to stay awake, but then I got a call on my work phone at 8pm which woke me up. My restroom was leaking again!!! I quickly made additional calls and had my contractors on it, working to clean up the mess and figure out what the heck was going on!
Since I was now awake, I decided to shower before bed, and just as I got out, I got the best phone call ever!!! Brittny and Bill welcomed baby Gunner to the world and I got to say hello! He is such a cutie!! I cannot wait until I get to go home and see him.
Little leg wrinkles!
After that amazing news, I had a few more work communications and then started drifting to sleep. I kept my phone on volume in case they needed to reach me (joys of construction, but I truly love it), and to sleep I went.
My sleep. was a bit broken as I tried to keep up with any texts and emails, but overall it was fine
Date: October 22, 2023
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