Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Vietnam

Spent 4 nights in Saigon with my sis and brother in law (Danny's brother).  Loved it!

Our hotel:  http://www.saigonprincehotel.com/

Day 1: Arrived early evening.  View from the plane leaving Koh Samui.

Day 2:  Hop on hop off bus - museums, Independence Palace, etc.

Inside Independence Palace

Mummy

Bright coloured lights all over the city

Day 3:  Mekong Delta all day tour - chocolate factory, bees and honey factory, coconut candy factory, a stop for traditional music and fruits and tea and a taste of cobra whisky. Boat trip on the Mekong River then short trip on a canoe.  Walk in villages. Big lunch of tilapia, shrimp soup, catfish, etc. Final stop at a pagoda. 

Cacao beans

Chocolate factory

Souvenir which was taken by security in Bangkok Airport

Cobra whisky

Coconut candy factory

Tilapia

Mekong River

Budai - called Laughing Buddha but is a Chinese God, not a Buddha

Day 4: wandered around the markets and shops.  Went up to the Skydeck which overlooks the city - 48th floor.  Windows were dirty so photos aren't great. Cocktails on the 50th floor made a clear photo though.

For those who want to be fasionable whilst being paranoid about catching coronavirus

The dragons bring luck to businesses in the new year

Snorkel trip

Finally went on a snorkel trip.  This one was different from previous as it was 6 hours and with a group.  Lunch and other activities were included. One couple was Russian with hardly any English but we managed to communicate anyway.  The other two were women from Switzerland who were speaking French.  One had very good English. 

First stop was to snorkel and, unfortunately the water was still murky and we didn't see a lot of fish. 

Then on to what used to be our favourite little island which has gorgeous beaches and had a wee hut for a bar and a few chairs and tables.  Now it is completely overrun with tourists, a bigger bar, a restaurant, and the beaches are covered in lounge chairs and tables and chairs. Sigh. 

Next was to a bigger nearby island which we've been to before - Koh Taen.  We were served a nice lunch, then had a choice of bicycles (except they were out of commision), kayaking (Danny did that), hanging out on the beach (I did that).  Then we all went on a golf cart tour of the island and up to the top of a mountain to see a Big Buddha.