HCMC II Day 1: Silverland Ben Thanh

In Jan this year, the Hubby spontaneously suggested a short trip over the Vesak Day long weekend. We considered Hat Yai and Kuching but the air tickets were too expensive! I then proposed Ho Chi Minh City (also known as Saigon to the locals), as I had an enjoyable experience the last time I visited and majority of the family have not been to Vietnam. We found reasonable tickets via Singapore Airlines at $304 per adult and $240 per child! 😀 

After the kids returned from school that Friday, we took two taxis to Changi Airport Terminal 2 to catch our 5.15pm flight.

Mini 'Gardens by the Bay' at Terminal 2 Transit

Super excited to board our plane

Our plane eventually departed at 5.30pm and we had a simple dinner onboard

The flight was only about 2 hours, which meant the crew had to prepare for landing while they collected our trays! We arrived safely at Tan Son Nhat International Airport Terminal 2 at 6.30pm (Vietnam is 1 hour behind Singapore).

By the time we cleared customs, it was 7.30pm. We collected our luggage and headed to the Taxi Stand.

Airport Taxi Stand

I had intended to take only the Vinasun taxis as I had done in my previous trip or Grab. However, the Hubby was approached by a man wearing an orange colour shirt and out of convenience accepted his offer of a taxi, not realising that it was an unfamiliar company.

Our driver dropped us at Ben Thanh instead of the entrance of our hotel as he claimed that he was not able to drive to the entrance (utter nonsense!). The journey was only about 30 minutes but we were charged an exorbitant VND700k! It was the worse taxi service I've ever experienced and vowed never to be taken advantage of again!

We dragged our luggage on a 3-minute walk to Silverland Ben Thanh as I fumed about the terrible taxi experience! 😡 My mood improved immediately when I saw our hotel. It was very aesthetic!

The beautiful lobby of our hotel

Outdoor cafe seating area

The hotel used to be called Silverland Central when I last visited and has since been renovated in 2023. The hotel had won awards for its architectural design!

One of the tables at the lobby

Complimentary welcome fruits

Complimentary welcome drinks and snacks (which were super tasty!)

We had booked two Sense City Family Rooms at S$183 per room per night. Each room accommodates 3 adults and includes complimentary afternoon tea.

There was only one family room on each floor so we had to split up. It was quite inconvenient accessing each other's rooms but we addressed it by requesting for more room cards.

Corridor to our room

One queen bed and one single bed

TV, side table and sofa

Tea and coffee

Fridge

Bathroom

Bathtub with working jets!

View from our room window

It was 8pm by the time we had unpacked and we were famished! Fortunately, there's no lack of good food in the area as our hotel was conveniently located near Ben Thanh Market! It was one of the reasons for choosing this hotel!

The Hubby scanned the streets and spotted Ancua Saigon. It was the word "seafood" that probably caught his attention! 🤭

Ancua Saigon restaurant
(Address: 196 Lê Thánh Tôn, Phường Bến Thành, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam)

Live seafood in tanks, including super large clams!

Clockwise from left: The menu; fried tang hoon; egg fried rice

Super large and fresh clams! Very juicy! 😁

Cheese-baked giant prawns

Plain giant prawns

The restaurant was running a promotion and gave us complimentary bahn mi and crab meat dip with minimum spend.

The crab meat dip was super incredible! We wanted to buy another serving but they do not sell it!

It was a great first meal in Saigon for the family! Looking forward to more awesome food to come!

Continue to >> Ho Chi Minh City II Day 2: Saigon Center & Ben Thanh Market

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