Notices
General Trip Reports Reports that don't fit in to the other categories

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Old 4 May 20, 03:02 PM  
Link to this Post
#1
DisneyDaffodil
Imagineer
 
DisneyDaffodil's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 15
Location: South Wales
Walking Street and River Dining Cruise ~ Day Nine ~ Vietnam July 2019

Index

Today was our final full day in Vietnam and I felt sad as I knew it was going to be difficult to say goodbye to Ian that night. We all woke up at 8:15am. Despite feeling sad, I was determined to make the most of our last day here. We went down to breakfast and all had our usual foods including peanut butter for me!

Ian was travelling to Japan the next day, so he wanted to spend the morning packing, which left us to our own devices. We’d booked a night-time dinner cruise for that evening, that would take us along the river for the three of us, plus Ian and Claudia. We agreed to meet with them later and spend the morning ourselves at Walking Street.
We thought it was a little early to go to Walking Street, as I wanted to visit the building of shops that we had been to earlier in the trip and they wouldn’t have opened yet, so we decided to sit around the pool area on the rooftop for a while. It was a beautiful morning and we enjoyed taking photos and admiring the view. There was even a little butterfly that landed on me.




We easily ordered a Grab from our hotel to the City Hall at the top of Walking Street. We stopped here to take some more photos, as it’s such a beautiful building.



We then wandered further down Walking Street. We stopped in a shop called MiniSo that sold lots of cute homewares and stationery. I bought a cute pink stapler to take to uni with me for around £1, that came with three packs of staples too. I’d been looking for a pink stapler at home and they’d all been a lot more expensive, so I was very happy (probably too excited about a stapler).
We wandered around Walking Street a little more, taking photos, including of the Bitexco Tower that we had been up the day before.


We then went to the building that we had visited on one of our first days in Ho Chi Minh at the beginning of our trip. I had really enjoyed looking around here the first time and had regretted not buying anything in the shop on the bottom floor, so wanted to go back. I remembered a handbag shaped like a rabbit’s ears with a carrot attached to it that I’d really liked. When we visited this time it wasn’t where it had been on the original trip and I was sure they must have sold it, as they only sold one of each item in the store. However, I went to try on a few shirts in here and when I came out of the changing room I saw the bag directly outside the changing rooms. The shop assistant here saw how I excited I was about the bag and was very helpful. I ended up buying the bag and a light blue shirt with carrot print over it and a white rabbit in the front pocket. These cost around £28 for the both, which I was really happy with as they were such unique pieces that I love. I wore the shirt later in the day, so you’ll see photos of it there. Rob also bought a hat in this shop, which had the Mercedes logo on it for £3 (not that he has a Mercedes but he’s got the hat ready, just in case )
We spent a very long time in here, as Georgia looked at every item in here and tried on quite a few. The salesperson was the most friendly, helpful person and even offered Rob a chair as he was waiting so long for Georgia. After leaving the shop, we were all very hot and tired. We didn’t really have any more plans for the morning, so decided we’d soon head back to our hotel and spend some time at the pool. However, as we were sitting and resting on Walking Street, we noticed an ice cream parlour across the road and we all decided this would be a great place to go.
This ice cream parlour was called Snowee and was decorated so prettily. The floor and walls had pink tiles and all of the shelves were gold and the chairs looked like antlers. It was so pretty and I loved the design of everything.


The ice creams here were delicious. I had strawberry, which is always my favourite flavour and this was a very good strawberry flavour.

Rob had vanilla, which looked very creamy and tasty.

And I had matcha, which is a flavour I’d never tried before but really liked.

These ice creams were around £1.75 a scoop but if you bought two scoops, you got the third free at a certain time of day, which just so happened to be when we were there, so we only paid £3.50 for the three ice creams.
After we finished with our ice cream, we decided to head back to our hotel. Unfortunately I couldn’t get any internet here so couldn’t order a Grab, so we had to try and get a taxi, which was surprisingly difficult to find. This was the only internet issue we had all trip. We managed to find a taxi eventually, but the taxi driver spoke very limited English, so it was hard to explain which hotel we wanted to go to. He started driving and when our internet started working again, I was able to show him where it was. When we arrived back at the hotel, we tried to pay for the taxi but he was asking for a smaller note so he could give us change more easily. However, I tried to offer it but nobody in the taxi could understand each other so it took a while before I gave him the note and he was able to work out the change. It was all very confusing and awkward, but it worked itself out. I’d recommend Grab though, as you get to avoid this awkward part of getting a taxi
Back at the hotel we spent some time packing and then headed up to the pool to relax for a while. We’ve only had a few city breaks in the past but really enjoyed having this rooftop pool here and would try and find hotels with it for future city breaks.

We arranged to meet Ian at around 3:30pm at a café nearby, so changed and headed out. This café was just down the road. It was quiet in here, from what we remember we were the only customers, but it was really nicely decorated (sort of like a cool ‘hipster’ Western café, my favourite places ) I had a latte while Rob, Ian and Georgia had the iced coffees. We really enjoyed sitting here and we spent a lot of time this evening sitting, talking, laughing and enjoying our time with Ian.




From the coffee shop we moved across the road to a craft beer bar. We sat outside and watched Vietnamese football on the tv. There was music playing from inside the bar, which we could hear outside and many of the beers on the menu weren’t available, so we had to choose from the few beers that they did have. Ian was quite disappointed as he likes trying different craft beers.

While we sat out here (under a cover) the rain started. I enjoyed watching the traffic and people rushing to escape the rain. We hoped the rain would stop for our evening cruise.

After a couple of drinks here we headed to the Street Food Market to meet Claudia, who had been working.

We had only had breakfast and an ice cream this day, so were starting to feel peckish so were more than happy to have a snack now, before our meal on the cruise that evening. We ordered a plate of seafood balls. This was a plate of four bread crumbed mash potato balls with seafood in the centre. I tried a bite of one of them but didn’t like it at all so decided to wait until we were on the cruise that evening to eat. We ate these, but wouldn’t really recommend them as they weren’t particularly tasty compared to a lot of the food we’d ate in the Street Food Market. We also had more beers here (we couldn’t resist when they were that cheap)

And hooray, here I am to save the trip report. I went to the toilet and took more photos! Here’s Ariel, Elsa and Cinderella (the thrilling content you signed up for when you started reading this trip report)



We had agreed to meet the tour guide in the reception of our hotel at 6pm, so we headed back here around this time. She arrived not long after and introduced herself to us before leading us to the mini bus that was waiting for us. She was very friendly and spoke excellent English. We had booked this excursion through Viator a few days before. It had cost us about £31 per person.
The coach picked up one other passenger at her hotel. She was an elderly Australian lady who instantly attached herself to our group for the evening. She was friendly but also a little too friendly and talkative for me. It was nice for her to sit with us on the cruise, as she would have been alone otherwise, but I personally found it a little awkward, as I just find new people hard work. I normally wouldn’t have minded having the lady with us but I did feel that it was our last evening with Ian but it wasn’t really a problem for any of us. She did invite us to stay at her house in Australia about 50 times and try telling me and Dad all about her deceased husband. We do look back at our evening with her in amusement and I hope she enjoyed having some company for the evening.
The boat we went on was called the Indochina Queen. It had two decks with dining halls set up in and was elaborately decorated. We hadn’t been expecting this sort of boat when we booked the tour but were very pleased.



The five of us and our new friend were shown to a table in the middle of the first deck. All food on the boat was included but we had to pay extra for drinks. As we had paid for the boat for everyone, Ian covered the cost of our drinks. Throughout the cruise along the river there was music playing and live entertainment of traditional Vietnamese dancers.


Not long after we got on the cruise, my camera completely stopped working. There was an issue with the SD card (that has happened a few times since and I think is due to overheating) so my photos that evening aren’t great as they’re mostly from my phone. I was able to get it to start working towards the end of the cruise to take some nice photos of the river, which you’ll see later. I was very worried about it for a lot of the evening because I love my camera and was worried that I may have lost the photos from earlier in the trip that were on the SD card but as you can tell by the fact they’re in this trip report, I hadn’t.
We were served five different courses of food throughout the cruise. The first was spring rolls and soup. I liked the spring roll but didn’t like try the soup as it was fish. We enjoyed the soup and spring rolls. The food on this cruise was nice, but as it was a set menu nothing was outstanding.


Our next course was red snapper. This was brought to and filleted at the table and served fresh. I think I tried a little bit but I don’t like fish so don’t have anything to say about this either. I didn’t really like a lot of the food on this cruise because it had a very fish-based menu but I picked at what I did like. This was the best course of the meal as the fish was very fresh and every bone had been taken out of it.

The next course was chicken and strange rice balls (which I remember tasting slightly sweet, which was disgusting) I finally managed to eat something other than a vegetable spring roll and ate some of the chicken. This was nice but it was just chicken haha.

The final savoury course was a plate of stir fried noodles. These were also quite tasty although I’d say they could have had a little more flavour to them, as they were slightly bland. The vegetables in the stir fry were nice though and I did eat more of this than anything.

For dessert we each had a crepe. These were crepes and tasted like crepes. Mum’s insisting we say more: ‘They were nice and well cooked but slightly on the small size’

Overall I would say that the amount of food and how well cooked it was, was worth the money (plus the cruise itself which we’ll talk more about next) but it’s not food to write home about and we had much better meals throughout the trip.
Being on the cruise allowed us to spend a lot of time sitting and chatting with Ian and Claudia, while we ate and listened to the music. We all also spent a lot of time on the outside decks of the boat, looking at the cityscape passing by. It was beautiful at night, as all the passing boats and skyline was lit up. I was so happy that my camera started to work while I was out there, as it was so fun to take photos of. If you hadn’t noticed in the earlier photos, you can see the rabbit shirt I bought earlier in the day here.








I thought this cruise was a wonderful way to end the trip, although it did make me a little sad as I knew after this evening I wouldn’t see Ian for a quite a long time again.
The cruise ended around 9:30pm. Claudia had to be up early for work the next day, so decided to catch a Grab back to her apartment. We all hugged and said our goodbyes. It was so lovely to meet her on this trip and really enjoyed her company.

The tour guide directed us all back to the mini bus we had caught, which took us and our Australian best friend back to our respective hotels. Ian decided to stay with us so we could all go for a drink at the Street Food Market. We spent quite a while here, chatting and we were all emotional about leaving. We gave him final big hugs and said goodbye before heading back to our hotel for the night, all while I had tears in my eyes (She was crying openly, not just tears in her eyes).

I didn’t want to interrupt the emotional paragraph above to tell you that I took final photos of the bathrooms in the Street Food Market (it felt inappropriate) so I’ll insert the photos here instead

I took photos going into the hotel of the breakfast/restaurant area and we spent a little time chatting in our room before heading to bed.



In the next report we make the long journey from Ho Chi Minh back to the UK.
DisneyDaffodil is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 4 May 20, 05:30 PM  
Link to this Post
#2
justacey
Apprentice Imagineer
 
justacey's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 09
I feel like I've been with you on your holiday so even I'm sad that this is your last day
justacey is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 4 May 20, 05:59 PM  
Link to this Post
#3
DisneyDaffodil
Thread Starter
Imagineer
 
DisneyDaffodil's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 15
Location: South Wales
Mobile

Originally Posted by justacey View Post
I feel like I've been with you on your holiday so even I'm sad that this is your last day
Thank you for reading. This was a very emotional day, and I even found it very sad today writing up this last day. The cruise was a lovely, restful way to end the trip and I remember looking back at the city from the boat and thinking how lucky Ian was to be living in such a beautiful country. Of course we miss him so much, particularly at the moment, but it’s good to know he’s having a great life.

I know I was so nervous before we went and I was very grateful for your help when I was planning the trip, I didn’t imagine I would enjoy it as much as I did, and neither did Georgia (or Rob actually)
DisneyDaffodil is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 4 May 20, 07:31 PM  
Link to this Post
#4
Melbatb
Imagineer
 
Melbatb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 13
What a bittersweet day! Always difficult to say goodbye when you know it will be a while before you see them again. The evening cruise was a great way to spend the last evening.

I love Georgia’s shirt! A good choice!
__________________

Index of my trip reports
2016 Quebec - Kuala Lumpar - New York City 2017 Dubai - Eurocamps France - Ontario and Quebec - So-Cal 2018 Montreal - Bangkok - New England 2019 Argentina - Quebec City - Hong Kong - 2020 Switzerland 2022 Arizona - Costa Med Cruise - Oslo 2023 Hong Kong - Gothenburg
Melbatb is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 4 May 20, 08:29 PM  
Link to this Post
#5
DisneyDaffodil
Thread Starter
Imagineer
 
DisneyDaffodil's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 15
Location: South Wales
Mobile

Originally Posted by Melbatb View Post
What a bittersweet day! Always difficult to say goodbye when you know it will be a while before you see them again. The evening cruise was a great way to spend the last evening.

I love Georgia’s shirt! A good choice!
It was very hard saying goodbye but we were so pleased to have been able to visit Ian and to see how happy he was with Claudia living there.

The shirt is so pretty and well made and quite unique too. We wanted to take a photo of the bag she bought too as that’s really unusual and sweet but she’s left it in her student accommodation and she’s home due to lockdown so she hasn’t got it here 😔
DisneyDaffodil is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 8 May 20, 08:18 AM  
Link to this Post
#6
CrispyA
Imagineer
 
Join Date: Oct 11
Love Georgia’s shirt! I felt emotional reading about your goodbyes - must have been really hard
CrispyA is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 8 May 20, 09:32 AM  
Link to this Post
#7
DisneyDaffodil
Thread Starter
Imagineer
 
DisneyDaffodil's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 15
Location: South Wales
Mobile

Originally Posted by CrispyA View Post
Love Georgia’s shirt! I felt emotional reading about your goodbyes - must have been really hard
It was hard writing this day as I can still feel how sad I was, and it’s especially difficult now as we can’t get to see our other son who lives 50 miles away either 😢

We did enjoy the day though and definitely loved the holiday. It was lovely to see Ian and to see how happy he is with Claudia and meet his other friends and understand why he wishes to stay there and live as he’s so settled and living a good life. That’s all we all want for our children I guess 😀
DisneyDaffodil is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 9 May 20, 06:04 PM  
Link to this Post
#8
Goldia
VIP Dibber
 
Goldia's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 16

Goldia's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 5
Restaurant Reviews: 43
The cruise sounds like it was the perfect ending to your trip. It must have been difficult saying goodbye at the end of the evening. But it does seem that your son has a good life in Vietnam and he has really enjoyed showing off his adopted country to you all, which must mean that he loves living there.
__________________
Abby
New pre trip report - Summer 2024

Link to all my completed trip reports
2017: NYC and Orlando. Salzburg. Boston.
2018: Orlando. Berlin.
2019: DLP. Orlando. Washington DC.
2020: DLP.
2021: Jamaica. Rome.
2022: Orlando.
2023: Orlando. Niagara and Toronto.
Goldia is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 9 May 20, 11:08 PM  
Link to this Post
#9
DisneyDaffodil
Thread Starter
Imagineer
 
DisneyDaffodil's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 15
Location: South Wales
Mobile

Originally Posted by Goldia View Post
The cruise sounds like it was the perfect ending to your trip. It must have been difficult saying goodbye at the end of the evening. But it does seem that your son has a good life in Vietnam and he has really enjoyed showing off his adopted country to you all, which must mean that he loves living there.
The cruise was very relaxing, with nice food, music (Ian and Claudia even danced a little too) and those beautiful views.

Ian is very happy there, which makes us happy too. Obviously at the moment, it’s even more difficult to be apart, but we chat often and it does help that we have seen him there recently so we know how contented he is with his life.
DisneyDaffodil is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 21 May 20, 02:59 PM  
Link to this Post
#10
Gr8WideSomewher
Excited about Disney
 
Gr8WideSomewher's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 16
Mobile

Aw what a lovely last day you had 😊 Georgia's pictures were great. Thanks for writing this trippie - I've been reading it on my lunch breaks and it's really made them special!
Gr8WideSomewher is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 03:23 PM.


Powered by vBulletin - Copyright © 2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
DIBB Savings
AttractionTickets.com

Get £10 off each Disney Ticket with the code ATDIBB10

Get up to £50 off per room at Disney or Universal with the code DIBBHOTELS


theDIBB Blog
Disney announced that a new nighttime show, “Disney Dreams That Soar,” will run nightly at... Read More »
Walt Disney World Resort guests can get ready to have a “glowing’’ good time when... Read More »
Aquatica Orlando announce the grand opening of its newest attraction, Tassie’s Underwater Twist, on 15... Read More »


theDIBB Menu


Exchange Rates
US Dollar Rates
ASDA  $1.2347
CaxtonFX  $1.2332
Covent Garden FX  $1.2452
FAIRFX  $1.2350
John Lewis  $1.2380
M&S  $1.2178
Sainsburys  $1.2337
TESCO  $1.2343
Travelex  $1.2353
Updated: 14:00 28/03/2024
Euro Rates
ASDA  €1.1426
CaxtonFX  €1.1404
Covent Garden FX  €1.1505
FAIRFX  €1.1432
John Lewis  €1.1457
M&S  €1.1263
Sainsburys  €1.1419
TESCO  €1.1425
Travelex  €1.1435
Updated: 14:00 28/03/2024

DIBB Premium Membership
Did you know you can help support theDIBB with Premium Membership?

Check out this link for more information and benefits, such as...

"No adverts on theDIBB Forums"

Upgrade Now



X