VN>PH: Saigon To Singapore

Homeward bound! My route today was SGN-SIN-KUL (Saigon to Singapore to Kuala Lumpur) instead of what I incorrectly mentioned when I left Tacloban na SGN-KUL-SIN ang pauwi ko. Sorry na tao lang po.

Ayan, the red arrows from Saigon to Cebu were my actual flight routes per booking. Mali yung yellow. And as said earlier, the route is like so because, it was cheaper and convenient, than all other routes.

As always, let's start from the very beginning!

From Ho Chi Minh City Center To The Airport
This was the dashboard of the taxi that I took from InterContinental Saigon to the airport.

I must say Vietnam is more advanced than the Philippines gadget-wise when it comes to taxi services. Look at the rightmost gadget, it's a POS. They accept plastic money (credit card) for payment. Eh tayo?

Naku, hindi bale na! Kung sa department store at restaurant nga me credit card fraud, sa taxi pa kaya?

This ride (7 or 8kms) took only 17 minutes. Maaga pa kasi. When I arrived, it was more than 20minutes!

Oh that garden-like area is the middle of a rotunda called Turtle Lake with a fountain in the middle of a pond. It was a 'go to' park of years ago, although a lot of youngsters still visit it during the evenings!

They like having pictorials amid the flowers at those stairs that lead to 'nowhere'. So many street food hawkers come alive starting in the afternoons. But, if you must go there, be careful crossing that road.

You won't imagine the park looking so serene like that from late afternoons until midnight!

And by the way, I was hoping the cab would turn left, but we turned right, circled it halfway and went onwards, so di ko nakita yung bubuyog! There is a Jollibee about a block away to the left (Pasteur St.)!

It's actually nice roaming around this city during early mornings when the roads are not yet that busy!

And like many older cities in the world, they also have a lot of one-way streets to ease traffic.

At ito, harapan ng isang hospital nila, parang sa atin din ang 'feel' di ba?

Some of their bridges also have those medieval-era-looking fancy old lamp posts. Parang sa atin din!

My driver informed me, that this is considered 'still very light traffic' [photo taken at 7:06AM].

And of course, the road approaching the airport was still also very light.

Hey, those highway signages taught me something new: 'Ga Dến' is arrivals, and 'Ga Di' is departures!

Departure From Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport
Approaching the departure area curbside. Doesn't it look familiar? Parang sa atin lang di ba?

But no discrimination on taxicabs. Pwede rin sila sa kanan. Unlike at our airports: colonial mentality!

Kung tutuusin, if you ask traffic officers sa airport, mas madaming pasaway na private vehicle drivers!

And as I lined up to enter the departure area, I caught a shot of the taxicab that brought me here!

Click the photo and zoom it for a better view, you'll notice the driver wears a white long sleeved shirt for a uniform, at naka-korbata pa! I didn't ask, but they're probably a different group of taxis na naka-pila outside InterCon Hotel. That driver was presentable enough. Mala-limousine chauffeur! Sosyalin!

And when I entered to find my check-in counter... boom pak! ang haba ng pila lumiliko pa!

Yes, that is VietJet Air, a low cost (budget) airline of Vietnam since 2011. It is bigger than Cebu Pacific. I heard that it has an all-Airbus A320 fleet, but that they have ordered lots of Boeing 737s for the future.

They do have web check-in pero mukhang trial lang, kasi you still have to go to the check-in counter!

Anyway, all the lining-up at check-in and immigration took me an hour and 20 minutes, and I was in!

Aw, the style of this airport is one straight line (like Manila's Terminal 3), so that if your assigned gate is at the end, there'll be a long walk. Their 'walkalators' are functioning well though. Unlike at our T3!

Anyway, I walked to both ends to see and experience everything. It feels like you're at Taoyuan Airport (Taipei) - there are so many stores and other services like massage, lounges and 'paid' sleeping areas.

The boarding gates and/or their corresponding holding/waiting areas are a level down via escalators or stairs - elevators are only for PWDs. And there are also stores there. Pati yata groceries meron dito!

Of course you will readily understand from this picture as to what I was looking for, right?

There are two smoking lounges inside this airport. One is near Gate 19 and the other is near Gate 16.

They also have 'bus gates' (10, 11, 12) and those are two floors down to the ground/tarmac level.

No one likes bus gates except the budget airlines. They are so incovenient for us passengers. Bakit pa maglalakad eh meron namang aerobridges, di ba? At least here in Saigon, bus gates aren't as crowded as at Manila's Terminal 3 (Gates 131 to 134) or Cebu's Terminal 1 (Gate 25A and 25B) na mala-palengke.

Alright, pushback!

The VietJet Flight To Singapore
I could barely understand the onboard announcements, so I busied myself watching the outside!

Many planes departed in succession. Take off was smooth but a bit hazy as it was still early morning.

I was very much engrossed at watching Saigon from above, since it has improved quite a lot from the 1990s. When I say 'improved', I mean 'urbanized', kasi grabe ang pagka-barriotic nito from the late 80s to the 90s. I think I was last here 1993. Ngayon, parang mas progressive na sya kaysa sa Metro Manila.

Oist children, did you know that Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City is not the national capital of Vietnam? Oo, it is Hanoi up in the north. Kumbaga sa atin parang Davao ito, nasa south. But subalit however, Saigon is Vietnam's commercial center - banking & finance, media, technology, education and transportation.

Mas mainit din ang Saigon (South Vietnam) so the beaches are better than in the cold south!

I have a video of the takeoff. I will put that here soon!

Anyway, after an hour and 55 minutes of flying, we arrived in Singapore. We were "ahead of schedule". Per ticket booking schedule, we were to depart from Saigon at 9AM (which we did) and were to arrive in Singapore at 12:05NN as the usual flying time is 2hrs and 5 mins! Paano nangyari yan? Time Zones!

Makabuang na gani ang mathematics, nilanding pa gyud 11:55AM. Samoka!

Landing approach into Changi. Yes, that is a man-made island, and yes that is already Singapore.

That's Pulau Tikong (Tikong Island). It's been growing ever since, thanks to extensive land reclamation by their Singapore government. Ikaw man kasi ang maging yayamaning bansa pero walang lupa, diba?

Mapipilitan ka gumawa ng isla! And they are good at it.

Pulau Tikong though (somebody told me), is off limits to the public since it is used and occupied only by the Singapore Army. Tutal, according to legends and fables, me mga engkanto daw dyan. Haunted!

That's part of Changi Beach Park, seen as we were landing unto Changi Airport's Runway 20R.

Those are (I think) the Cargo and Airfreight Terminals of Changi.

Sayang I was on the left side of the plane. Views on the right flank would have been lovelier. The main strip of Changi Beach Park is on that side. Plus restaurants, their yacht/sailing clubs and nice houses.

And, touch down Singapore! That glistening shimmering durian-style roof is The Jewel of Changi.

But since I was only on a quick transit at this airport, let us continue that story in the next blog entry.

We'll fly to Kuala Lumpur, stay overnight at a hotel, then back to Cebu and Tacloban.

Abangan...