Zelma’s Trip

I got to the hotel and found out that they hadn’t got my online
reservation. I later discovered an email telling me that there were not
any vacancies. Anyway the email was a big stinking lie as I checked in.
I just forgot the name of the hotel but then remembered I’d “borrowed” one
of their pens so the name was the “Windsor Plaza Hotel”. I would have
“borrowed” more of their goodies (hey it’s the law in hotels) but
unfortunately I’m very conscious of the lack of space I have and the fact
I have to carry everything so ended up taking a pen and some cotton buds!
The point of booking it from England was so that I knew I had somewhere to
go which was okay, and to this end it sufficed. My room was huge and I
had lovely views over Saigon. Well, when I say lovely views, at the
height I was you could distinctly see a layer of smog. In fact the next
morning this all kind of clung to the window due to temperature
differences and it became hard to see out. I guess that’s why a lot of
locals wear face masks all the time.

When I got to my room (about 2pm) I decided to have a short nap before
heading out to get some food. I don’t think I realised how tired and jet
lagged I actually was. I woke up at eight o clock, decided I couldn’t be
bothered to go and get any food and went back to sleep. I then woke up at
about 3AM and decided to take the time to make plans for my time in Saigon
and my journey North to Hanoi. I dozed slightly, watched entertaining
television and decided I would wait for sunrise. Sunrise was a bit of a
disappointment as you don’t really see the sun rise as such in Saigon you
just see the sky turn a different shade of grey. I then went up to the
roof top pool and took some photos of the city (I will put these and other
pictures on the website when I find a connection which is quicker than me
running in ridiculous heels). The pool was quite nice and next to a gym
with two very fat Vietnamese men running on running machines. I couldn’t
help thinking that they would have been better exercising outside rather
than in a strange air-conditioned gym but then again I guess they may have
expired.

When the time came for breakfast I put my flip-flops on and left my room.
As I walked towards the lift four Vietnamese people from the room down the
corridor stared at my feet in horror. I remembered reading about feet in
my guide book and the fact that they are seen as dirty by the Vietnamese
people. As I was going to be in a place where people were eating I went
back to my room and changed into trainers. I then went down to the
restaurant for breakfast and realised that the vast majority of people
were wearing flip-flops or sandals. I thought this slightly odd for a
moment and then realised that the reason they were looking at my feet in
horror was not because they were morally impaired to have seen them but
because my tangerine fake tan was coming off in an abnormal fashion and
that they probably thought I had some weird from of leprosy!

Breakfast itself was very nice with a huge amount of choice. I opted for
some delicious local fruit, fruit juice and a yoghurt. Okay, I’ve just
realised that I’ve told you what I had for breakfast which may be
construed as slightly dull. The reason I mentioned it was more to try to
convey the fact that the local fruits here are amazing. There are a lot
of funky new fruits to try and the more known fruit, like pineapple,
bananas etc tastes infinitely nicer, probably as it hasn’t been frozen for
a couple of years before being consumed in England.

After breakfast I went and got my bag and checked out. I then attempted
to leave the hotel which took me about 30 minutes. The reception was not
on the gournd floor and every time that I asked someone where the exit was
I ended up on a different floor in a different place due to communication
dififculties. I eventually managed to escape the perilous hotel and got a
taxi.