Leaving Singapore

Up at 8 this morning -almost a lie-in!. As I planned to take public transport back to the Airport the hotel staff suggested I leave at 9am for a 1:30pm flight. I walked out of the hotel and across the road and asked a lady at the bus stop for the best bus to the Metro Station. Luck was with me as she was also going to use the same line as I needed to get to the Airport. So she made sure I got off at the right stop which was about 10 mins form the Hotel. It was still quiet as it was Saturday and not much traffic on the roads. and then we descended down into the fantastic Metro system and boarded the train towards the Airport. The lady left after about 5 stops and and I thanked her for her help. Everyone is very friendly here and I was a bit sad I had only had a short but enjoyable visit. On arriving at the airport I stopped for a coffee and some breakfast as I had got there for 10am and couldn't check in till 11:30 then I went and got a access for the Free Wifi at the Airport. Internet access is completely free all over the Airport and you can use Wifi or any of the hundreds of terminals set up everywhere to access the Net. What a brilliant idea! I checked in wit no problems and I think I was the 2nd to do so – (Phil Rowe would be proud of me) and then went through to the Departure area, I found a quite cafe area and bought a drink and settled down to do some more internet time then made my way to the Gate. Here you get a second hand baggage scan and body check at the Gate and having passed through om I sat down to wait for boarding. It was here I decided to put my phones on 'flight mode' for the plane and then we boarded on time and set off for Vietnam. It was about halfway to Vietnam when I thought I would change the time zones on my phones only to realise my old PDA had gone AWOL. I searched all my bags and pockets but I couldn't find it. I informed the Stewardess who advised me to contact the Lost & Found desk at arrivals. Slightly annoyed I waited for us to land at Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) The flight was good and the food fine on the flight and we were soon touching down. Thinking back I can only think I must have left my old phone on the seat next to me when we boarded. I still have my new one but my O2 sim was in my old phone. Immigration took ages at Saigon and they really studied the passports and visas but I got in ok and went to the Airline desk once I got my bag off the belt. The Desk too a report of my lost phone and gave me a card to call them later as they would have to check with Singapore airport. Leaving the arrivals hall I found the ATM's to get some money out, but I had no idea of the exchange rate so I sneaked back in to the arrivals areas and asked at a Bank Money Changer booth, It turned out it was 28,500 Dong to the pound so I went back to the ATM and withdrew 2 million!!! Dong. At last I'm a multi-millionaire! sort of. My joy was not long lived as the machine payed out just 4 notes; 500,000 each. Hmm small change for a taxi was going to be a problem. I then fought my way back through the taxi touts to the official taxi rank and negotiated a ride into town for $10US (luckily I had some US Dollars as well which are used as a second currency here) That meant the taxi ride as only 180,000 – about ｣6 for a 40 minute drive. The traffic in Saigon is very similar to India – a slightly chaotic but a lot more motorbikes – thousands of them inf act. Saigon as a city was developed by the French and the Architecture in the central districts.. I checked in to the hotel and went for a walk around town. Just next to the Hotel was the central market and I walked through just as it was starting to pack up for the night. I walked around a couple of streets then cam back around to the market building which had now closed but all around it a load of street restaurants had appeared. Feeling a little peckish I found the busiest one and was led to a long table and sat between a load of locals. The man to my right spoke very good English and explained them menu to me and I had some excellent prawn and pork dishes with noodles and a couple of beers for less than 4 pounds, a lot cheaper than Singapore!

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