Boats, Buses, and Costs

Jen and I decided to see as much of Saigon as we could the past two days. We would prefer to venture out into the country, but it has been important to stay in Saigon to potentially help with voyage planning.

Yesterday we took a water taxi up the Saigon River. A few people recommended it as a way to see more of the city from the water. We started on one end if the route, rode it the far end of the route (about an hour), then took it back to where we started. For less than $3 we took a 2-hour round-trip boat ride up and down the Saigon river (yes, less than $3 for BOTH of us! More about costs below...)

What I found most interesting is the vegetation that is floating throughout the river. It's a type of invasive plant that lives on the water. The boats seem to just go through it, but it can pile up in some places and cause problems. Based on our research, there are some uses being developed for this plant, but it appears to mostly be a nuisance.

After the morning boat ride, we looked for the best Vietnamese Pho we could find. Near the hotel we found a restaurant that is Michelin recognized for past three years that specialized in Pho. It was a phenomenal meal.

Walking back we passed a Belgium brewery pub and decided to give it a try. Although in Vietnam, this company had bought a brewery in Belgium, shipped it to Vietnam, and hired a Belgian brew master to produce authentic Belgium beer. Jen and I each got a flight so together we sampled eight of them! Surprisingly, Jen and I discovered that Saigon is an incredible selection of good restaurants and bars. We have not had a bad meal yet.

Today is our last day exploring, so we got tickets for a Hop On / Hop Off bus so we could ride throughout the city and get off where we wanted. We focused on visiting Buddhist temples, browsing in markets, and eating Chinese food. The bus tour including multiple stops in "Chinatown" so we headed there.

We visited three different Buddhist temples and admired the architecture. We also browsed through a huge market in Chinatown. Although we didn't buy anything (except a vegetable peeler we will need on the boat), it would have been a great place to buy almost anything. We were fascinated by all the different types of foods you could buy.

We then sought out a dimsum restaurant for lunch. We ordered 4 different dimsum platters and a couple refreshments. We had our fill and the total bill was less than $10. We then headed back to hotel to cool off after a very hot day today.

The costs here are incredibly affordable. Here are some of the items we've bought to give you an idea of how far your travel dollars can go:

• Hotel room: $60 / night
• Lunch for two including drinks $10-15
• Cross-city Taxi ride (like Uber), 4-5 miles: $6
• Latte: $2.50 (Starbucks is $3)
• Ballcap: $9
• Heineken out of hotel room fridge: $2

We found that prices are no more than half of what we would pay in the US. However, some prices are not as cheap if they are catering to "westerners" or some tourists...

• Nice steak restaurant ($45 / person)
• Hop On Hop Off bus ($21 / person)
• American goods (about same price as US)

So if you eat and shop like a local, Vietnam is incredibly affordable. And the service is very, very good. Hospitality staff here are wonderful.

This will be it for experiencing Saigon. Starting tomorrow (Wed) we will start provisioning (buying food and supplies) for a couple weeks at sea. Thursday we do a test sail and move onto the boat, and Friday we're underway!

Thanks for all the comments and well wishes! We are getting antsy to get our sailing started!