Arriving in Ho Chi Minh City 到越南达胡志明市

2024年4月23日 星期二，新加坡越南之行第四天

Tuesday, April 23, 2024, the fourth day of the Singapore-Vietnam trip

今天飞往越南的胡志明市，这是一个我从未踏足的地方，PJG曾在2003年访问过越南的首都河内市。飞机在下午1点多起飞，我俩在新加坡机场的一个Hawker Centre吃了午餐。用餐经历非常便利，扫码点餐，手机信用卡进行支付，屏幕上显示叫号，用餐后还有两个机器人帮忙回收使用过的餐具。

Today, we flew to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, a place I have never set foot in before. PJG had visited Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, in 2003. The plane took off at around 1 pm, and we had lunch at a Hawker Centre in the Singapore Airport.

The dining experience was very convenient – we scanned a QR code to order, paid with a mobile credit card, and the screen displayed our order number when it was ready. After the meal, two robots even helped collect the used tableware!

左边的是我的云吞面，右边的是PJG的大杂烩面，里面有猪肝，鸡肉，猪肉，鱼丸等 – On the left is my wonton noodles, and on the right is PJG’s assorted noodles, which included pig liver, chicken, pork, fish balls, etc. PJG said his mother used to make him eat Liver when he was little.

左边是点餐后的叫号屏幕，右边是收集餐具的窗口，这里还有分清真和非清真 – On the left is the order number screen after placing an order, and on the right is the tableware collection window, which is also divided into halal and non-halal sections.

两小时的飞行非常顺利。过海关时队伍排得很长，但海关人员只检查了我们的护照和签证，并没有进行拍照或指纹采集。出了机场，我们本打算乘坐大巴前往酒店，但被扑面而来的热气所击败，最终决定叫了一辆Grab。车程大约30分钟，车费为116,000越南盾，包括过路费、外币交易费和折扣，折合大约5美元，非常便宜。

The two-hour flight was very smooth. When going through customs, the queue was very long, but the customs officers only checked our passports and visas, without taking photos or collecting fingerprints. After leaving the airport, we had originally planned to take a bus to the hotel, but we were defeated by the heat that hit us in the face, and decided to call a Grab. The journey took about 30 minutes, and the fare was 116,000 Vietnamese Dong, including tolls, foreign transaction fees, and discounts, which is equivalent to less than 5 US dollars, very cheap.

坐在车里，看着道路两旁充满陌生文字的标志，内心总是感到一阵激动。我热爱旅行，正是因为喜欢这种不确定性，一开始对一切都一无所知，却能在探索中不断学习和发现新事物的获得感。来到越南，更是有一种特别的情绪，因为这里和中国一样，都是由共产党统治的国家。应该能看到一些共同点，也好奇两国的不同之处。总的来说，胡志明市的第一印象？无尽的摩托车海洋！每次过马路，犹如一场赤身肉搏的大战。

Sitting in the car, looking at the signs with unfamiliar writing on the street signs, I always feel a rush of excitement in my heart. I love traveling precisely because I like this uncertainty – at first, I know nothing about everything, but I can gain a sense of learning and discovering new things through exploration. Coming to Vietnam, there is an even more emotional reaction because, like China, it is a country ruled by the Communist Party. I expect I will see some commonalities and am also curious about the differences between the two countries. Overall, my first impression of Ho Chi Minh City? An endless ocean of motorcycles! Every time we cross the road, it’s like a fierce battle of bare-handed combat.

在谷歌地图上找到了附近的一家海鲜餐厅，我们在那里享受了一顿美味的晚餐。这是一家非常地道的小店，我们点了三种壳类海鲜和一盘海鲜炒饭。海鲜的味道非常新鲜独特，总共花费了395,000越南盾，约合15美元。越南的物价真是让人喜欢！

We found a seafood restaurant nearby on Google Maps, where we enjoyed a delicious dinner. It was a very authentic small restaurant, and we ordered three types of shellfish and a plate of seafood fried rice. The seafood tasted very fresh and unique, and it cost a total of 395,000 Vietnamese Dong, which is about 15 US dollars. The prices in Vietnam are really awesome!

Dinner at the “ốc Po” restaurant … Oc is snail and Po is the owners last name.

吃完晚饭后，我们步行回到了酒店附近的本义美食街。在那里，我们观看了一场乐队表演，并享用了一瓶啤酒。我还没提到这里的啤酒有多便宜吧？一瓶450毫升的西贡啤酒仅售20,000越南盾，大约0.80美元！

After dinner, we walked to Ben Thanh Street Food Market near our hotel. There, we watched a band performance and enjoyed a bottle of beer. Have I mentioned how cheap the beer is here? A 450ml bottle of Saigon Beer sells for only 20,000 Vietnamese Dong, about 80 cents!

旅行的一天画上了句号。这里同样气温很高，不过湿度似乎没有那么重，希望接下来的几天能有更舒适的气候，让旅程更加愉快。

The day of travel has come to an end. It is similarly hot here, but the humidity doesn’t seem to be as heavy. I hope that in the next few days, there will be more comfortable weather to make the trip even more enjoyable.