Day 1 in Saigon ~ City Tour

After a tiring Seoul Trip, we figured our next out of country escapade should be somewhere less stressful and a bit laid-back...

Vietnam was an easy choice since my husband and I have always wanted to see Vietnam.  It was a toss though between Saigon and Hanoa, but believing the country's capital would be a better introduction to Vietnam's culture and people ~ we eventually decided on Saigon.

WELCOME TO SAIGON ~ ARRIVAL

We flew from Manila to Saigon via Philippine Airlines.  We left Manila at around 7am and arrived in Saigon 830am local time (Travel time is 2 1/2 hours, but Manila is 1 hour ahead of Saigon).

We exchanged $100 at a forex counter, we found right outside immigration.  

TIP: The rate at the airport was quite reasonable  (and in fact almost  the same as the exchange rates at forex establishments in District 1, however we find withdrawing money via ATM the easiest ~ costed only VND 22,000 for a VND2,000,000 withdrawal).

We pre-booked local SIM cards and transfer to Hotel Majestic via Klook.  If you haven't tried out using Klook yet, I highly recommend it. Klook is an efficient attractions/tours booking site and you get to earn rewards from bookings and referrals which gives you savings on future travels.

Click here for Klook booking discount for first time users: Klook Discount Code.

It took as about an hour to clear immigration, get VND, pick up our local SIMS and find our transfers. 

We reached Hotel Majestic at 10am and was allowed to check in at 11am.  While waiting we wandered around the hotel's vicinity ~ we found lots of souvenir shops, coffee shops, restaurants and forex establishments (We like our hotel's location ~ check here for the link of a separate review I did on Hotel Majestic Saigon).

LUNCH AT PHO 24

With plenty of time left, entered one of the many restaurants hops away from our hotel ~ Pho24. 

Pho24 sells traditional Vietnamese soup "Pho".  

We ordered beef pho and side dishes ~ fried and fresh spring rolls (can't decide which one to order, so we got one of each).  Our meal with drinks was about VND225,000 (roughly PHP500+).

Sauces if you can't decide if you want your pho "hot" or "really hot"!

SAIGON CITY (WALKING) TOUR

We returned to the Hotel Majestic after our early lunch to rest and freshen a bit, before our scheduled afternoon Saigon City Tour with Saigon Hotpot. 

Saigon Hotpot is a non-profit organization, offering FREE guided tours of Saigon.  If your are interested in locally guided experience of Saigon ~ check them via their website: Saigon Hotpot.

Our tour ambassador (TA), Ms. Thuong arrived promptly  at the hotel lobby, where we requested to be picked-up for our afternoon walking tour of Saigon.  

Our first stop was the grand Notre Dame Cathedral.

The Notre Dame is one the Catholic's main stronghold in a mostly Buddhist country. Unfortunately the Cathedral was closed for renovation when we visited, so we were not able to get in. 

Central Post Office

The Central Post Office of French design and architecture was designed by Marie-Alfred Foulhoux (not Gustave Eiffel as your might see or read from many online articles) was built in the late 1800.   It is important to note, that this is a working post office.  One can actually send postcards to any part of the globe from here.  I see tourists buying some and sending it friends back home.

Independence Palace (a.k.a. Reunification Palace)

The Independence Palace is the seat of power in Saigon before the Communist take over in 1975.   They say that the first Communist tank that arrived in Saigon crashed through the palace gates. 

The palace interiors carries Chinese influence ~ from the colors to the design which mostly submits to Feng Shui fundamentals.

War Remnant Museum

This museum documents the brutal effects of war.   

Most of the exhibits and pictures here are quite appalling and my heart goes to the helpless children and civilian casualties of the war.

Vietnam lost 3M of its citizens from the war (among them 2M are civilians); 2M people were injured and 300,000 were missing in action.

The tour left us tired and hungry, so we took a cab to our next stop ~ The Saigon Skydeck. We got our Skydeck (with Heineken) entrance ticket from Klook.


BANH MI STOP OVER

Our TA offered us a taste of "Banh Mi" Vietnamese Sandwich and brought us to a local food court just across the Skydeck.

Huge Bahn Mi paired with strawberry shake :P

SAIGON SKYDECK

Our last stop was just across the street the "Saigon Skydeck". 

 We got combo tickets which included a side trip to the World of Heineken.  
It was a relaxing way to cap our Day 1 in Saigon ~ cold beer on hand with the best view of the city!

Although Heineken is not a Vietnamese beer (which actually originated from the Netherlands), the brand has been dominating the Vietnamese market.

My husband trying his hands on beer crafting :P

There are also interactive games to try...

This one reads "NO TO DRINKING AND DRIVING"!  

Yes you guessed right, this driver crashed his drive...

In the company of our sweet TA :P

The package includes take home Heineken beers with personalized message.  
Mine reads "Pretty in SGN" (I know right?). 

Day 2 in Saigon is up next ~ A VIP Day Tour of Cu Chi Tunnel and Mekong Delta.

Hotel Majestic Saigon ~ An Elegant Dame of Saigon

THE HOTEL

The Hotel Majestic Saigon is one of the oldest hotels in the city of Saigon. It was built in 1925 and is one of the city's land mark hotels.  

The façade and interiors are of French Colonial Architecture.

The lobby is grand and elegant. 

The high ceiling is adorned with exquisite chandeliers ~ just lovely to look at. 

Though I find it cute and adorable, the elevators (they have 2 identical elevators) at the Old Wing were puny ~ can only fit 4 people max at a time. 

Though we arrived at 10am (which was too early for the 2pm check-in), we were accommodated for an earlier check-in at 11am. 

With an hour to spare we left our bags and explored the restaurants and coffee shops around Hotel Majestic.  We were happy to see, there are plenty of food options to try.  

Our room was ready by the time we got back...

OUR ROOM

We booked a Colonial Suite via Agoda.  The room is spacious at 60sqm. A sliding door divides the bedroom from the seating/work area. 

Housekeeping was very generous with the toiletries ~ however they weren't ones I would take home. 

I love the wooden and antique furniture, parquet flooring and the elegantly marbled floor and walls of the bathroom and vanity sink.

The antique phone in the picture below is an actual working phone (right next to a high tech master room control for everything inside our bedroom #cool). 

I enjoyed the deep bath tub, but it could be full work out for an elderly person to get in to.  It would been nice if there were bubble bath soap and bath salts included in the toiletries.  

We were celebrating our anniversary and were pleasantly surprised with a welcome card and cake.

We were assigned at the 5th floor which is the same floor as the Breeze Skybar where they serve breakfast and was open 24 hours.  

I was sceptic that it might be too much noise for us to relax, but aside from the very few instances of loud bangs on the floor which could be accidentally dropped utensils from the kitchen, everything went well.

Our room view was not that great either. We got a view of the pool and a glimpse of Saigon Skydeck and Bui Vien Walking Street. 

I think a view of the Saigon River on the other side would have been romantic.

LOCATION

The hotel located in District 1 and was a perfect base for our 3 days stay in Saigon. It was just a short walk to many of the city's attractions.  

Will do a separate post on our Day 1 in Saigon with help from our friends from Saigon Hotpot.

BREAKFAST AT BREEZE SKY BAR

The set looks very appetizing, but quite mediocre and mostly repetitive.  In our 3 days stay having breakfast at Sky Bar the only ones I liked was the coffee and congee. The Japanese dim sum was a huge let down.  

It would have been nice too, I they offer more Vietnamese cuisine in their menu.

The saving grace of this restaurant, 

I think is the view of the Saigon River outside.

VERDICT

Despite the average breakfast and poor room location that we got,

We still LOVE the Hotel Majestic!

Hotel Majestic is a wonderful sight to look at, especially when it is all lit up at night.  As we walk the hotel's lobby, I imagine how grand it must have been during its heyday and feel enliven. We were truly enthralled with the hotel's rich history and glorious past.

Being guests here made us feel as special as the hotel itself!

For inquiries and reservations you may visit Hotel Majestic's webpage: majesticsaigon.com

• Address: 
• 1 Dong Khoi Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
• Tel: (84-28) 3829 5517
• Fax: (84-28) 3829 5510