Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon

Visit to Saigon

Danny and I spent 3 nights in Saigon because of a complication with our visa so we needed to leave Thailand and then come back for a stamp in our passport. 

We chose Saigon because I had been before and enjoyed it. We stayed at the same hotel - Saigon Prince Hotel. Our room was not as big or posh as the one I stayed in before and I noticed some areas were a bit worn (closed during Covid), but overall it is a very nice hotel. The breakfast buffet had a huge variety of dishes and was very good. The location was perfect as it's in the main district on the main street. 

The 9th annual Ao Dai festival began on the day we arrived and was just across the street from us. Ao Dai is the traditional Vietnam silk dress/trousers. 

Traffic and crossing the street is mind-boggling! Traffic OMG

The population of Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City is 9 million. There are about 7 million motorbikes/cycles.

The currency is hard to get your head around! 1 million VND is about $42 or £35. You can get an entire meal for 2 for 160,000 or a million. We had 2 lattes at the airport for 278,000. 

The Vietnamese love US dollars. And at some places you can purchase in $$. We did so at the Hop on Hop off double deck bus tours. At the airport all the gift shops have prices in $$. 

We ate at a corner street market several times. A very popular and busy place which also has some seating inside so we can sit on plastic stools at the tables and eat. Delicious! And very cheap. 

The traditional dish in Vietnam is called Pho. It's a bit different in the north and south. We both enjoyed it - a rice noodle soup in herbs, onions, your choice of meat. In some areas the word Pho is pronounced differently. But in Saigon and the south it is pronounced 'fuh'. This is the tshirt I bought in one of the huge markets: 

Yummy treat watching the action on the
busy street and park

Found a craft brewpub

View from the Skydeck near our hotel

From Skydeck. Our hotel is in the lower left.

(not my photo) the light-coloured building in the forefront is ours. Boulevard below where events take place. The festival had tents and chairs directly in front of our hotel. River in the upper left. 

Thailand 2022/23 continued....

 Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand

Sister-in-law Janette and I left our husbands on the island and took a girls' trip to see many ancient temples and do lots of shopping. 

We had a direct flight from our island to Chiang Mai but had to transfer through Bangkok on the way back. We were very impressed with the efficiency of Chiang Mai Airport. We picked up our one suitcase at baggage (to put the shopping we intended to buy), walked directly to a taxi counter and booked a taxi. We were directed to a nearby door and handed the form to a lady who told us our taxi was number 29. About 2 minutes later our taxi pulled up. The price was 150 baht to our hotel. About $4. 

We loved our hotel! Green Tiger House It is an eco-friendly, vegan hotel and restaurant. Very clean and comfortable, efficient staff, and delicious all you can eat vegan breakfast. My favourite was the fresh fruit and strawberry coconut yogurt. The yogurt was homemade strawberry jam cooked together with maple syrup (for 2 hours) then later added to homemade coconut yogurt. Mmmm....

We stayed for 4 nights. The hotel is in the Old City which is about 1 mile square and has the most ancient temples. Very easy to walk around the entire Old City. 

Tourism in Chiang Mai and nearby

Temple built in 1545

Yet another indulgence

Incredible strawberry coconut yogurt

Temple built in the 14th century

Another warm winter in Thailand

We are staying in the same house we have stayed in for 7 winters (the first winter it was a smaller house). We are staying for 4 months as we did last year. Our belongings which have grown over the years are kept in huge crates for us at no charge. We are now up to 6 crates, 2 fans wrapped in bin bags, 2 bicycles, and some kayak paddles. This year will have the addition of a big box with our own tv.

For the first month or so that we were here, one or both of us had a virus resulting in lots of chesty coughs (not Covid). So activities were limited. 

This year we have developed a routine which suits us well. We eat dinner mainly at 4 restaurants, one of which is our favourite as they have the best homemade Thai food and we love the owner and her staff. They feel like family. We've been going to this restaurant since coming here in 2014. 

We get up early every morning (5:50). Danny rides his bike for an hour in the cool of dawn. I go to a huge and well-equipped gym every morning except Sunday. Koh Fit gym.

Sunday I accompany Danny to catholic mass. It's a lovely new church with friendly people, an amazing choir, and many tourists from various countries.

Monday is one of the days the cleaners come to do the housework. We don't like to be underfoot while they are here so this is one of the days we do the shopping, stopping first for a cappuccino at a nice little cafe.  Mid-afternoon we catch a songtaew (a vehicle with 2 rows of seats in the back) to Lamai Beach. We walk along the beach and stop at Black Pearl Bar and Restaurant. I normally have a cocktail (Mai Tai etc) and then a bottle of beer. Danny has beer. We never drive the car when we're going to be drinking alcohol. We eat dinner at our favourite restaurant Koh Kaew. 

An occasional treat - normally eat a Thai dish with tons of veggies

watermelon smoothie

Wednesday mid-afternoon we ride our bikes to one our favourite beach bars and have a couple of beers whilst enjoying the breezes. 

Thursday morning we get blissful massages at the same place we have been going to since 2015. Afterward we have lunch at a very healthy, creative cafe Sweet Sisters Cafe. 

Fish cakes and salad and tamarind sauce

For dinner we have non-Thai food. I have a chicken burger topped with homemade coleslaw and tartar sauce and fries at Yousaby.

Friday is the other day of the week that the cleaners come and we go for cappuccinos and shopping. 

Saturday mid-afternoon we ride our bikes to our other favourite beach bar for a couple of beers. Cold beer tastes best on a beach in the shade with sea breezes!

We have a smart tv and keep up on US and UK politics since we are able to get many of the channels we want. Also have Netflix and Prime so we are never short of something to watch. My Kindle is loaded with books so I'm never short of something to read. Danny also reads and studies the Thai language. We have two verandas on our bungalow so they have lovely places to sit and read. 

The pool is a few steps from our bungalow, and the beach is just across the road. 

Other things we do but haven't yet this year is take a longtail boat trip to various small islands, sometimes going on a snorkel trip. 

Danny's brother and his wife are coming this year in February for 3+ weeks and will stay near our house and we are really looking forward to this! Sis in law and I are going to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand for 4 nights and leaving the boys here. Chiang Mai is an ancient city with more than 300 Buddhist temples. We will be staying in the old city which is the most historic and interesting part of the city. It also has the most important temples. Great shopping there as well! Chiang Mai tourism

Trip to Dublin Sept 5-8, 2022

Solo trip to Dublin (museums must be seen at one's own pace!)

1 hour and 15 minute flight from Glasgow to Dublin, then a 1 hour bus trip into the city centre arriving mid afternoon.

I planned everything ahead of time, even the restaurants and pubs. And I also pre-booked timed tickets for the Book of Kells, the EPIC Emigration Museum, and Dublin Castle.

Tom, Dick and Harriet's Guest House

Good location for walking to every place I wanted to visit. Clean and comfy and a good price because I booked far ahead. But I got stuck in a room facing a busy road so it was noisy almost all night.

Day 2

Trinity College Book of Kells

The Book of Kells (c. 800 CE) is an illuminated manuscript of the four gospels of the Christian New Testament

The book gets its name from the monastery of Kells, County Meath, Ireland. The book is believed to have been brought to Kells following a Viking raid on the monastery on the island of Iona, Scotland, in 806.

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The tour was informative and impressive. However, at least 200 people were booked for the 8:30 tour (and I'm guessing for all tours). It was hard to move around or see anything with all the people crowded in. 

Photos of the actual book were not allowed. 

National Museum of Ireland - Archaeology

Special temporary exhibits I especially wanted to see:

Glendalough where St Kevin lived in the 5th century (I've been there 3 times)

Colmcille (St Columba) Sacred Objects of a saint - 1500 years of devotion. He was based on the Isle of Iona in Scotland where I've visited many times.

Fascinating museum which just seems to go on and on. I kept discovering more rooms and exhibits around every corner and up every staircase. 

Just a few of the items in the museum:

The Archaeology Museum is right next door to Parliament

Irish Famine Exhibition

The Irish potato famine (1845-1852) was the most catastrophic even in Ireland's turbulent history. It is also regarded as being one of the worst famines in history (deaths as a proportion to population). The use of the word 'famine' in this context is controversial, for Ireland at the time was part of the richest empire in the world (the British Empire). There was sufficient food in the country throughout the famine years, yet over a million people died from starvation and disease, and millions more were forced to flee. 

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The exhibition was not huge but was worth a visit.

The exhibition is in St Stephen's Green shopping mall:

Until 1663, St Stephens Green Park was a marshy common at the edge of the city, and it often served as a venue for public executions and witch burnings.

St Patricks Cathedral

Built between 1220 and 1260.

Too crowded with tourists but a lovely building. 

Molly Malone statue

According to the lyrics of the undeniably catchy tune – also known as Cockles and Mussels – Molly was a young and beautiful fishmonger who sold her yield from a cart on the streets of Dublin. The song’s final verse states that after she died of a fever, she began haunting the city.

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Yes, her boobs are all shiny because frequently tourists pose for photos with their hands on one or both.  There were crowds around this statue all waiting to have their photo taken with her. While there it started pouring rain so I popped into O'Reilly's pub for a Guinness. There were 3 young Japanese boys ordering beer, two of which had never had beer before. I advised them. 😊

Day 3

EPIC Irish Emigration Museum

Over the centuries more than 10 million people emigrated from Ireland – at EPIC you can find out why they left, where they went and how they shaped the world. The museum was founded on the belief that emigration is one of the most interesting ways to fully understand a country. As you uncover the stories of our emigrants, you’ll realise that emigration is not about what people leave behind, but what they bring with them.

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Fascinating museum! Sections on sports, politics, entertainment, etc and the influence the Irish have had around the world. At least 70 milion people outside of Ireland have some Irish heritage.

I had submitted my gggrandfather's name and info to the museum website. I did a search on his name but this is what came up:

GPO (General Post Office) Museum

The museum is an immersive and interactive experience telling the story of the 1916 Easter Rising and modern Irish history. 

The GPO was the communications hub of Ireland and headquarters of the men and women who took part in the 1916 Easter Rising. The historic and tumultuous Easter Rising set into motion an unstoppable chain of events which would ultimately lead to the creation of the Irish Republic.

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Interesting history and included a film. 

Dublin Castle

Constructed in the early thirteenth century on the site of a Viking settlement, Dublin Castle served for centuries as the headquarters of English, and later British, administration in Ireland. In 1922, following Ireland’s independence, Dublin Castle was handed over to the new Irish government. It is now a major government complex and a key tourist attraction. 

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Except for the room where James Connolly was laid up with his injured foot, I saw nothing showing the history of the rebellion. It was basically a palace of the type I've seen dozens of times before. 

Famine memorial statues on the River Liffey