We decided that we would get the bus and the train to the airport this morning as it would be cheaper than taking a Grab. It turns out it was less than half the price of a Grab.

I was sad that the bus wasn’t a rickety one, as I wanted Addy to experience that. Oh well. We showed the conductor where we needed to get off and paid our fare. The traffic wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be for 07:45. We got off the bus and headed for the train station to get the train to the airport. That was a 25-minute journey and it takes you right to the airport.

Addy’s motion sickness was in play and he was feeling sick. We found where our check-in desk was and went there to get our boarding pass and our carry-on bag was checked to make sure it fit the dimensions. We got burned in Manila and didn’t want that to happen again. They were within the limits thankfully.

We headed to security and Addy got selected for extra screening. There was nothing they found that had been flagged, so they sent us on our way. We then went to immigration and it was really quick to get through.

Manila could learn a thing or two from immigration here.

We headed to get some food and then to the gate. Our plane was pulling up to the gate as we got there. We just sat and played the waiting game. It was nice to just sit and chill.

The flight itself was uneventful and I slept for a little of it as I was super tired from all the early mornings so far.

We got to Ho Chi Minh and then had to get a bus to immigration. This part was not fun. The stories I have seen about immigration here are all true. It took 50 minutes to get across the border. The guy checking our queue was doing 1 traveller whilst the others were checking 3-4 passengers in that time.

Addy was happy to get his passport stamped. I was too, though more concerned that I have very little space left! It may cause problems for the rest of my travel this year.

We went outside and waited for the bus. As we were waiting, we saw a group of photographers taking pictures of this guy walking. It would appear we got here the same day as a celebrity. Who that was, though, we will never know. Picture below in case you know.

We then got the bus from the airport to near the hotel. The drivers here are like those in India in that they drive by their horn. It’s so loud all the time. The weather was a warm 35 degrees and we were happy to be at the hotel.

Our hotel is situated on a walking street called Bùi Viện Street. It seems to be a lively place with lots of food places and shops.

We checked in and Addy had a rest for a couple of hours to recover from the travel. Before that, though, we were given our room key and the room we went to wasn’t cleaned and I was about to take some pictures and the receptionist came up to say they had given us the wrong key. They gave us a key for 205 instead of 305.

By the time he woke up, I told him I was bored to tears and that we needed to go out. We did that and we were met with a massive rain shower. We decided we were hungry enough to go out anyway. The rain on the roads gave the bright lights a good reflection.

We had our food and headed back to the hostel via a couple of souvenir stores so I could get a magnet and not have to worry about it for the rest of the trip. We also have to be up early tomorrow for another tour, so we need some good sleep.

  • Day 1

    Ho Chi Minh City Population

    • Pre 2025 9,000,000
    • Post 2025 14,000,000

    Today was the day we chose to do a tour of the Mekong Delta area. This place is around 55.00 mi | 88.51 km from Ho Chi Minh – closer to the centre of the city than any other tours we’ve done so far.

    We got picked up from our hotel and the bus was already nice and cold. I loved it. I’m not sure Addy did, though. It made for a pleasant journey.

    This guide was pretty good as he gave us all the information before we got to the places. This meant we didn’t have to stand in the 32-degree heat listening. It made it so much more pleasant.

    He gives us some facts about Ho Chi Minh, too. He said that before 2005, the population was 9 million. In 2025, they incorporated some surrounding towns into Ho Chi Minh and this boosted the population to 14 million.

    He also told us that the Mekong River runs through the following countries

    • China
    • Myanmar
    • Laos
    • Thailand
    • Cambodia
    • Vietnam

    Once it gets to Vietnam, it then flows out into the East Vietnam Sea. The river itself is a little over 3,050.00 mi | 4,908.49 km long.

    The Mekong Delta provides water for a lot of farmers for their rice fields. It’s also important for transporting goods from the 4 main islands in the delta.

    The islands are as follows:

    • Dragon Island
    • Phoenix Island
    • Turtle Island
    • Unicorn Island

    Our first stop was the Vinh Trang Pagoda. On this site, there are numerous statues of Buddha. The most notable of these is the laughing Buddha. Then there is Buddha in the state of nirvana.

    We were here for around 30 minutes and we enjoyed walking around and seeing what the place had to offer.

    From here, we made our way to the Bén Tàu pier to get the boat to the islands. The largest of these is Unicorn Island, and that is where our island part of the tour started.

    We were told it would consist of the following:

    • Honey Tea Tasting
    • Snake Petting
    • Rice Workshop
    • Traditional Music Listening
    • Coconut Candy Workshop

    I wasn’t really interested in the tea tasting or snake petting. I knew it was going to just be a big sales pitch. I wasn’t wrong. Addy said the tea was ok. He wasn’t fond of the snakes either. We stayed at the back. I was unimpressed with the guide, though, as he saw some people who didn’t like the snake and took the snake to them anyway. This caused them to scream and run away. Talk about not reading the room properly.

    We left here and then went to the next demonstration which was cooking rice in sand. It’s pretty cool how they do it. The sand keeps the heat and the rice pops in the sand. The sand and rice are then put into a box and the sand is sifted away. The rice and husks then get sifted through another screen and the husks drop out and the puffed rice is all that is left.

    It was pretty cool to see the process.

    We were then shown how to make rice paper and it’s intricate as you need to be so delicate with it so it doesn’t break. We also got a demonstration of this.

    From here, we went to sample tropical fruits and listen to local music. I didn’t have the fruit and wasn’t too bothered about the music.

    From here, we got in another boat and headed to another part of the island where we saw them prepare coconut candy. They showed us how the fruit is removed from the outer shell, then ground down and the meat and the milk are separated. They use the milk to make other products. They gave us a taste of the coconut before it was made into the candy and it tasted like the nougat we have in the UK.

    From here, we got on a small boat that took us to the restaurant for lunch. The boat ride was pretty cool. I didn’t get the front seat, so I could only get pictures and videos zoomed in (so I didn’t get views spoiled by the people at the front).

    We got to the restaurant and we first looked in a snake pit (YUCK) and then looked at the crocodile enclosure. They were charging ₫1,000.00 to bait the crocodiles.

    We then went and had lunch. I didn’t like anything there and they didn’t take into account what I put in the dietary requirements section. Oh well. I just ordered off the menu. I just had beef and noodles. It was ok. Nothing to write home about, though.

    Once lunch was done, we got into a Sampan and had a ride along the river. It took around 15 minutes for this. It was pretty cool, though. It was nice and peaceful riding along the river. We had a woman who was rowing for us. She did really well, too.

    Once we got back, there was the option to ride a bike or just to rest. Addy and I opted to rest and just sat in the hammocks there. This was my first time in a hammock and Addy was surprised. He was loving being in it, though.

    We left here and took a TukTuk (they like to jokingly call them the Lambo-not-ghini’s) back to the boat to head across the river to get the bus back to the city.



    Today has been a really good day and Addy enjoyed it too. He also got to see a friend he hadn’t seen since 2014 and this was a bonus for him. We met his friend at a cafe called Gem Cafe and it turned out to be a little upmarket for us. After we had a drink, we decided to get food from McDonald’s and we walked there. I showed them how to cross the road here. You just have to be assertive and start walking; otherwise, you’ll wait there all day for the drivers and riders to stop. I’m sure they both thought I was crazy, too!

We didn’t have to get up too early to leave here, as our flight was in the evening. We had an easy morning and checked out of the hotel at 11:00 and then went for the bus. The bus to the airport was a little over 35 minutes.

We got to the hotel and found the check-in desks. They had just opened and we were the first to check in. We had to have a document check before we could get our boarding passes. We got them and went to find some food.

We walked past the immigration desks and only 1 person was crossing the border. We were shocked at how empty it was.

We went upstairs and found some food for Addy. He was desperate for rice. He always is. When we were done, we went to pay and saw a ₫6,000.00 charge on the receipt. I asked what it was and it was for a napkin. FOR A NAPKIN. We gave the napkin back and had them take the charge off.

We went back to the ground floor and went to BK for me. Once we were done there, we decided just to go through immigration and the queues were massive. It took us almost an hour here to get across the border. Thankfully, security was faster. They were making us take our shoes off, too and that was such a pain.

We went through and found our gate and then just sat there until it was time to board. I was glad this was a direct flight to Bangkok.

We arrived in Bangkok around 19:10 (almost 30 minutes late) and then went to get the shuttle train to go to immigration. There was a queue at the border here and it was about 40 minutes. In the queue, a guy behind me kept pushing into me and I had to turn around and ask him, “What’s your problem?” He nervously laughed and then stayed back.

We crossed the border at 20:10 and then went downstairs to get something to eat and drink before going on the train to the city. We walked to the bus stop and waited for the bus. We waited about 20 minutes and as soon as I had booked a Grab, the bus came. I cancelled the Grab and we got the bus. It was a rickety one and I wanted Addy to experience this type.

We got off the bus by the hotel and went to get our laundry, as we needed to do some before we headed back to Davao. By the time we got to the hotel, it was 22:15 and we were both super tired and super hungry.

We went and did the laundry and that took us until 23:30. We decided to head to McDonald’s and get some food and take it back to the hotel. We did just that.

Addy had his food and I packed my stuff – I had a big case as well as my trolley bag. We finally got to sleep around 01:00 and we had to be up at 06:15. We were both so tired.

We got a Grab to the airport. The driver told us we needed to pay the tolls and I said it would be included in the fare from Grab and he just took us there without using the toll roads.

We got to the airport and headed for the check-in desks. Once we were at the front of the queue, we were worried because we had seen them weigh carry-on bags. Thankfully, we were fine. We were kept there a little longer than usual because the check-in agent wasn’t sure about my passport being OK to travel. They asked if I had another one and I said no.

They went off for a few minutes and came back. They said I needed a blank page for Filipino immigration and I said that wasn’t the case. I showed her the pages where they stamped over other stamps and across multiple pages. She took a picture of it and gave me my passport back, along with our boarding passes.

We headed to security and it was really quick. The same with immigration. They allowed us to use the eGates this time round. Stamp space saved. Yay for me. No exit stamp, though, so no yay for me.

We went to our gate and then went to get some food. By the time we were done, it was almost time to board. We got to the gate and we were the first to board. It felt good. We settled in for the flight back to Manila.

We had a few hours once we arrived in Manila. Addy got across the border faster than me. The immigration guard said I was running out of pages on my passport (I just thought to myself, no, it’s space I am running out of). I said I would get it renewed once I got home.

By the time I was across, my bag was already out and Addy was with it. We dropped it off with the Cebu Pacific agents and then we went to get some food at Wendy’s and then headed upstairs. We did a little recon to see if the security zealots were pulling people out of the queue. It seems they were. We walked a different way and managed to get into the security queue without them pulling us out.

We went to where our gate was and got some drinks and snacks from the 7-Eleven there and waited for our flight. They changed the gate twice on us. We had to go downstairs to board – this meant getting a bus to the terminal instead of using the jet bridge. Oh well.

We landed in Davao and waited for the bags. We then just got a Grab to the hotel and we were happy to be somewhere with a comfortable bed – or I was, since the other hotel beds had firm mattresses.

The next couple of days were just spent working and waiting for our flight back to Manila, ready for Jakarta.

View all of my Ho Chi Minh media here

View all of my Mekong Delta media here

 

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