AB4110 (Etihad), from AUH to SGN

As this is my first trip to Asia (I don’t count in those family trips to Turkey when I was younger) it feels strange to arrive in the evening (07:00 pm) after a long-haul. Normally I would now need to kill almost an entire day. This time I am glad that I can go to bed in a bit. Just collecting our luggage, finding our pre-booked transfer to the hotel and that’s it. Piece of cake!

After a 30 minutes drive our chauffeur drops us at our Hotel for the next couple of days, Liberty Centrail Saigon City Point in District 1. It’s a neat hotel with good rates, so should you ever wonder where to stay when in HCMC this is definitely a good recommendation. What always seems strange to Europeans is the obligatory telephone right next to the toilet, which seems very common in Asian countries. Another thing you should be prepared for in this hotel is the glass wall between the bathroom and the bed. There was a shutter though I was not able to cover all of the wall from floor to ceiling, it was simply too short. Oh well…

We picked a very central location and after a quick shower we’re ready to go out and explore the city, grab something to eat and see what’s going on.

We find a cozy little garden restaurant that is about a 5 minutes walk away from the hotel. The cool thing is that the actual barbecue happens in the middle of the table and you get the ingredients you pick from the menu all raw. Waiters will flip over the octopus, rice rolls, scampis or whatever you have ordered for you! I also found my one and only holiday drink already: freshly squeezed passion fruit juice.

//Hotel: Liberty Central Saigon City Point

//Restaurant: Barbecue Garden