Ho Chi Minh City Work Trip On SQ184/SQ183

[SQ22]

I have just returned from a work trip to Ho Chi Minh City. This was my third trip overseas this year, however this was the first time I had taken Singapore Airlines in six years. Lovely experience... Please enjoy.


Checked in and all ready to go!


I did not waste time in heading for the Wellness Oasis Lounge in Terminal 1. Entry was granted with the production of my ANZ Credit Card.


Simple fare. Nothing fantastic. Good enough for a quick meal if you are taking a budget carrier. I last came to this lounge in January before my Jetstar flight to KUL. This time I made sure I spent time at the fish spa.


Every visitor is given 20 minutes at the fish spa. it was my first time experiencing this. Interesting, if a little itchy at times.


Hurried back to Terminal 2 by Skytrain to board my flight. I was booked on SQ184, a thrice-weekly midday flight.


I never fail to take a beautiful shot like this. My first time on a Singapore Airlines Airbus 330. The aircraft serving this route today was 9V-STM. I couldn't wait to board my flight!


A quick shot out of the aerobridge. I had missed this on 3K555 SIN-SGN three weeks before so I made sure I did it this time.


The flight was not at all full! I was to be told by a steward later that the Economy Class was 69/255 full. Not that I was complaining! I had plenty of space to myself. Though I had chosen Seat 60H, I gladly switched to the window seat next door to prepare for some beautiful shots mid-flight.


The Inflight Entertainment System. I regretted leaving my powerbank in my check-in lugguage as that meant I had no USB cable with which to charge my phone (I actually missed several beautiful shots during final approach and landing). I was to learn later that the USB port was meant for us to work on our files stored on the USB thumbdrive.


I recall a fellow SQTalker mentioning this new offering a while back. Well, sure it doesn't look as professional as the headset, but at least this is for us to keep. And the snug-fitting earpads are much better than the sponge-type headset of days past.

[SQ22]

Ho Chi Minh City Work Trip On SQ184/SQ183


Cattle class seats. What more can I say?


Heading out to Runway 02C. For some unknown reason, my flight was delayed by about 10 minutes. By the time we reached the runway, a convoy of five aircraft of different shapes, sizes and colours had amassed themselves behind us. One elderly man sitting on the port side had a field day taking photographs out of his window.


My humble Economy Class meal. I had ordered Special Meal - Seafood. I was waiting in anticipation to see what I would be served...


Main course was deep-fried fish. It tasted like processed meat, not unlike the frozen fillets you buy from the supermarket. Can't say I enjoyed it very much. I told myself to cancel my Special Meal order for the return flight (I actually forgot to).


Banana cake. This one was not too bad. I actually enjoyed this more than the fish.


A must-order for my on every flight: Singapore Sling. I know this drink is easy to make at home, but I still want to have it each time I fly on Singapore Airlines!


About an hour into the flight, cruising over the South China Sea. I love this photo, with the dark blue sky above and the light blue sea below. The fluffy clouds complete the picture.


Entering Vietnamese airspace. We were to make a sharp right turn over My Tho, fly past Ho Chi Minh City, then hug the coastline in a northerly direction before turning back left to land on Runway 25L. I actually had some awesome views as the aircraft banked right and the horizon rose high up in the background, but silly me had used up all my battery power and my phone was flat.


Thanks to a friend's connection, I was able to stay at Pullman Saigon Centre. This marked a departure from my previous trips to Saigon after I left the corporate world, during which I had to make do with 0-star to 2-star hotels.


Front desk on the ground floor.

[SQ22]

Ho Chi Minh City Work Trip On SQ184/SQ183


The lobby lounge. Not a bad place to be in if you want a quick drink in a quiet environment.


Same place from the other direction.


The Executive Lounge on Level 30. Open to guests who stay in the suites and club floors. This was the meeting room.


The Executive Lounge. Open area with sofas and a little pantry.


Cobalt Restaurant & Bar on the other side of the same floor. There is a long wall of wines, with more choices than you can ever finish in your lifetime.


Bluish counter in the restaurant.


Bar counter at the the rooftop bar, accessible via a flight of stairs. I like bars with bluish lighting like this one.


My Deluxe Room on Level 19. Nice corner unit with tastefully-designed layout. A mini corridor leading away from the main door meant that guests had privacy from prying eyes in the common corridor outside.


This thing was lovely... But for some strange reason, the hotel had installed huge ceiling-mounted partitions around the tub. I had to be very careful when I got out to avoid getting hit by the bottom edges and corners.


Flat-screen TV for all the entertainment you need. I did not use it.

[GLAM82]

I stayed at the Pullman Saigon Ctr recently as well.

Loved the cheap prices at the Spa and also the Health Ctr building directly opposite.

Can't wait to visit HCM again.

[SQ22]

Ho Chi Minh City Work Trip On SQ184/SQ183


Coffee machine included in every room (I presume) of Pullman Saigon Centre. An interesting addition to the wide range of facilities provided.


Cobigelon bath accessrories from New York. The bathroom had a Hansgrohe two-in-one shower: A rain shower as well a hand-held one.


Chill Bar at AB Tower on Le Lai Street. I make sure I come here on each trip to enjoy the beautiful scenary and nice drinks. From this rooftop bar, you have a great view of the city and you can see landmarks like Pullman Saigon Centre as well as Bitexco Financial Tower.


My cocktail for the night. Can't remember what it's called now but it was something fruity.


Good morning Vietnam! Morning view of the surroundings from my Level 19 room. It was going to be a hot day!


Cha gio, or fried spring rolls, at a cafe along Bui Vien Street in the backpackers' district. This was to be accompanied by pho hai san (seafood rice noodles) as well as ca phe sua da (iced Vietnamese coffee).


My ca phe sua da. A must-have on every trip to Vietnam!


Busy Bui Vien Street with morning "rush hour traffic".


For dinner I went to Sorae Sushi, a Japanese resturant on Level 24 of AB Tower. Yes I went back to AB Tower tonight. The food here is very good. This place is considered high-end by Vietnamese standards but you pay the price you would pay in a midrange family restaurant in Singapore. This is salmon sushi.


Chicken sausage with cheese.

[SQ22]

Ho Chi Minh City Work Trip On SQ184/SQ183


Soft shell crab salad. Apart from these three items, there was also zaru soba and another main item, plus two cans of Sapporo beers in the order for the night. All these for only VND1,030,000, equivalent to SGD67. Using a Citibank card gave a 10% discount, bringing the eventual bill to only VND927,000 or SGD60. Good food in a high-end place with a fantastic view at Singapore's mass-market prices.


Lunch of grilled pork chop with rice the next day. Mind you, I was at a staff canteen in an industrial park in Binh Duong Province, more than an hour's drive away from the city, but the quality was very good.


After a quick visit to the industrial park, I was whisked to Tan Son Nhat International Airport for my 4:15pm flight on SQ183. I rested for about 45 minutes in the Apricot Lounge. This was a simple lounge, nothing fanciful but functional.


However, as with most airport lounges (Oasis Wellness Lounge in Changi excluded), this lounge boasted a good view of the tarmac. My aircraft could be seen waiting in the background.


Simple selection of food and drinks in this lounge. There were pho, fried noodles and instant noodles, as well as snacks and fruits.


Cha gio or fried spring rolls, rice with fried egg and another dish of noodles with ham. I prefer the spring rolls from Bui Vien Street.


The aircraft that would bring me back to Singapore. SQ183 was operated today by 9V-STE. From the seat map during online check-in, I could see the flight would be full. I was to realise that not only was the full 99% full, I would be seated next to a burly man. So poor me was squashed between a big guy and the window. Never mind... I told myself to make it big in my career so I could afford Business Class seats in future.


My favourite view of the beloved aircraft of my beloved airline.


As mentioned earlier, I had forgotten to cancel my Special Meal - Seafood order. I was hoping NOT to get the dreaded fish fillet again.


Tadah!! I got something totally different this time. Fresh, succelent prawns and prawn balls, along with fried noodles. Ah... at least this was something to lift me from my misery of being on a very full flight.

[SQ22]

Ho Chi Minh City Work Trip On SQ184/SQ183


I had booked myself in a starboard side window seat as I remembered seeing (and missing, due to a flat phone battery) beautiful night views of ships and the Batam Ferry Terminal, along with their twinkling lights, on Jetstar earlier this month. I was suspecting that I might not be able to catch them this time as my flight would land at 7:25pm Singapore time. Too early for any night scene. Nevertheless, I tried to catch the twilight views.


Setting sun over the wing as the aircraft banked right on its U-turn over Batam. Return flights from SGN at this time of the year tended to land in a northerly direction in SIN.


Straightened out and on our final approach to Changi.


The NSRCC Golf Course, as seen during our approach to Runway 02L. I think the big guy to my left could see me incessantly taking photographs out of the window. I was hoping he would not chide me for leaving my phone on during landing, albeit in flight mode (I'm not sure if we were actually required to turn all electronic devices off during takeoff and landing).


While waiting to get out of Seat 60K, I spyed on the next few aircraft landing on 02L. First there was Finnair AY81 (A340) from HEL. Then there was a Singapore Airlines A380. I'm not sure but it could have been SQ861 from HKG. There were a couple other smaller aircraft, including a Jetstar A320.


I stayed long enough to see cargo being offloaded from the aircraft belly underneath me.

That's all for my short Ho Chi Minh City work trip. Hope you guys enjoyed it. I will post a longer TR after my Perth holiday in June!

[yflyer]

Thanks for posting, SQ22! I enjoyed reading this...

I've been to Hanoi a couple of times for work, but never HCM City. Chill Bar looks great!

[GLAM82]

Your TR made me want to visit HCM again so badly I made a booking for next week.

[SQ22]

Thanks for posting, SQ22! I enjoyed reading this...

I've been to Hanoi a couple of times for work, but never HCM City. Chill Bar looks great!

Thanks for your kind comments, Bro yflyer. Let's see if we could do a trip together to SGN. Shall bring you to Chill Bar and a couple of other rooftop bars!

By the way, you should really change your nick to jflyer!

[SQ22]

Your TR made me want to visit HCM again so badly I made a booking for next week.

Hahaha... Wow I didn't know my words on SQTalk were so influential. Back in January Bro yflyer visited Sky Bar at Traders Hotel in KUL upon my recommendation. Lol...

[GLAM82]

Haha, I always trust the recommendations on SQTalk.

Several of the restaurant recommendations I have gone to have also been good.

[SQ22]

I just updated the photo of my iced Vietnamese coffee in Post #5. It used to show cha gio, the spring rolls. Correct now. Doesn't the iced coffee make your mouth water?

[GLAM82]

I tried Pho Le the last time and it was soooo good.

This trip will try to find another Pho place.