The Last Day and Final Thoughts

Our last night in Saigon needed to be special, so we made a reservation for our evening meal at the Biotex Financial Tower, the largest building in Saigon.

We expected the views at night to be stunning and we weren't disappointed!  The building which looked massive from our hotel window was dwarfed by the tower.

The bar was really modern, with great views behind, this city looks amazing at night!

The restaurant had a central kitchen area so you could watch them cooking your meal.  It was all very calm and quiet - head chef was certainly no Gordon Ramsey!

Once again, we had a fabulous meal and a great evening!

Just a couple of random pictures to show you from the last few days:-

There is a replica cathedral of The Notre Dame here in Saigon. It's not as large as the original, but impressive all the same. Unfortunately, it was closed when we went so we couldn't go inside, but I love this picture Paul took.

We get fresh fruit in our room daily, and I'm not sure what this is, but it was delicious!

The orchid arrangements are absolutely stunning - this colossal one is in the hotel reception area.

As in most tourist places, there are lots of street sellers.  We must have spent at least half an hour with this girl whilst we were in a cafe on the riverfront.  She was determined to sell Paul some sunglasses, but he kept trying to sell her his own instead.  She thought it was hilarious! When we went back down to the river the next day for our speed boat trip, she was already there at 7am.  She greeted us like long-lost friends.  And yes - he ended up giving in and buying some sunglasses!

Some of the funniest moments?

Paul Halder shaking the concierge's hand instead of giving him his suitcase.

After we had been taking the mickey out of Paul Halder after visiting the Buddha temples, we absolutely fell about laughing when we were sat in a cafe (the same time as the girl was negotiating the sunglasses sale) and a little street urchin, no more than 8 years old, just walked up, rubbed Paul's belly and smiled!

When we were on the foodie tour and they had to double up on Paul Halder's plastic chairs so he didn't break them!

Then the classic this morning!  Louise texted to see if I had any Diocalm as she had an upset tummy this morning.  I texted back to say I was the same so it must have been the octopus starter we had eaten the night before.  I took a tablet myself and gave a couple to Louise at breakfast.
We went out for a couple of hours and I felt worse, so went back to my room.  I thought I'd maybe take another tablet - that's when I discovered I'd given us both laxative tablets instead!  No worries - we only have a 14 hour flight later today!!

And the best bits about this holiday?

Undoubtedly, the wonderful people.  The poorest seem to be the most gracious and friendly, but we loved them all.  

The scenery has been some of the most amazing we have ever seen, especially Halong Bay and the night skyline here in Saigon.

The standard of accommodation and food has been exceptional wherever we have been.

The scooter tour and the girls was the best organised tour we have ever had.

And the traffic - it is amazing!  They have their own crazy system where everyone breaks the rules but nobody seems to care.  There is no road rage, just a general acceptance that people will cut in front of you and come the wrong way up your road.  It is their system and it works!  There are no traffic jams as everyone just fills the smallest gaps and the traffic keeps going.  Ironic then, that in the whole two weeks, the only accident we saw was the one I was involved in!