So here I am in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The hotel charges $0.85US cents per minute for ADSL Internet so I better be quick to write everything!!!
2 days later...
Thanks to Raymond, he told me that there are many insecure Internet networks around here, so I took out my wireless adapter, inserted it into the network slot and here I am! Surfing insecurely on a really weak Internet connection! But who cares, it's free :)
The flight to Vietnam was on Jetstar (Let's fly Jetstar!). Firstly, the flight was delayed because the ticket machine, YES, THE TICKET MACHINE WAS BROKEN! Typical Jetstar. So they had to manually punch in all the numbers for tickets and look at everyone's passport. This took a very long time, and was longer because of the unprepared Vietnamese people who had no idea what was going on. Anyway, we finally got on board and prepared ourselves for the flight. It was pretty much full (and loud) but everyone got settled in. They went through the usual security measures, and I heard something that I had not heard before. The voiceover said, "You are not permitted to sleep on the floor". Damn, I always wanted to sleep on the floor of the aircraft. So then we left Sydney 30 minutes after the official time.
On board, they gave us a kit full of goodies. You had to pay extra, but I reckon it was worth it. (Photos to come later, Internet is dodgy to upload) Inside there was a blanket, toothbrush, socks, eyeshade, earplugs for sleeping, air pillow and a few small other things. By the way, this was economy class.
The Jetstar system works that you only pay for what you need. Thus, the majority of passengers didn't pay for a lot. My family also paid for four entertainment packages, which again, not many people purchased. This resulted in many passengers watching YOUR screen. TV/Movies/Music (no games) were limited, and I had gone through everything I wanted to watch. I hope they have something new in the New Year. Food was okay. It was annoying because the people who hadn't paid for the food made the process a bit longer. The choices were rice and chicken, and noodle and something else. Servings were quite small (again, Jetstar.) and came with salad, bread roll, chocolate piece and orange juice. I'll take pictures of food for the next flights I take. The second meal was either a quiche or a meat pie. Again, nothing too special here.
Arrived in Vietnam around 8PM, (the pilot managed to catch up on time after the delay "magically") and got in the hotel pretty soon after that. Next to our hotel is Pho 24 (Vietnamese Rice Noodle Restaurant) and we ate there for dinner.
The next day we just walked around - nothing too special. Everyone was getting in the mood for Christmas and the streets were very busy. The night of Christmas Eve was more crowded as usual in Vietnam. People walking around, selling balloons, and singing songs. It took very long to get across to the next block, but everyone seemed very happy.
The streets were full of people eating and drinking, and litter was everywhere. The next day (today), the streets were incredibly clean. No rubbish whatsoever, and the streets were washed clear. Amazing eh?
Anyway, I wish you all a Merry Ho Ho Christmas (oh yeah that reminds me, the Asian/Vietnamese Santa(s) are very "not as fat" and usually don't smile a lot. At one time last night, I saw five of them at once - FIVE! Doesn't that make the kids wonder if it's Santa Claus or Santa Clauses?) I hope you receive many presents and are enjoying the festivities. I'm off to Taiwan tomorrow, and if I find an insecure Internet connection, I'll blog there :) Adios amigos!
|
|
|
