This is the flight report of my family trip to Ho Chi Minh City also known as Saigon. I went there with my mum, my elder brother, his wife and their 3 daughters.
Airport Experience
My mum & I took a Grab from our house to KLIA2. We reached the airport about 4 hours before our flight time. We would meet with my elder brother and his family at the airport later.
The airport terminal seemed pretty busy as many Malaysian and expats living in the country took the advantage of the long weekend public holiday (Monday, 21st of Jan was a nationwide public holiday in Malaysia).
Upon our arrival, my mum decided to have her lunch at "Bibik Heritage Restaurant". While she was taking the order, I went to the currency exchange to change some money into USD & Vietnamese Dong. I bumped into this open-air spotting area while walking towards the currency exchange counter.
AK's & Indigo's planes.
After the quick spotting, I returned back to my mum and we went to KFC where I had my lunch (I didnt eat anything in Bibik Heritage Restaurant). Finished eating, we found any available seat to wait for my elder and his family to arrive. While waiting, I went to the 2nd floor of the terminal and found this "World Game Museum".
View of the airport terminal from the 2nd floor.
Not long after, my elder brother and his family arrived in KLIA2 from Muar, Johor. We then proceeded to the customs and entered the airside area. Once we already in the airside, we dropped by at Starbucks to drink some Coffees.
After that, we continued walking towards our gate, P1. Before we reached there, we had to undergoes another security check.
Once we entered the boarding gate, we sat there until our aircraft arrived and boarding announcement was called.
Boarding Experience
Our actual departure time was slightly delayed due to the late arrival of our aircraft.
Passengers were called to board the aircraft based on their zones, but not many of them obeyed the instruction.
Finding our seats.
My seat 17A. My mum together with my elder brother and his family were sitting 1 row ahead of my seat.
The view from my seat. I really love A320's sharklet. It looks so sleek & sexy!
In-Flight Experience
The usual contents of the seat pocket.
Boarding still going on. There were 4 cabin crew on duty (the standard number of cabin crew in every AK's flight).
After the boarding process completed, our aircraft finally being pushed back and prepared for takeoff. The cabin crew performed the safety demo while our aircraft moving to the runway.
Passing through the KLIA2 terminal and its iconic skybridge.
Today we will be departed from runway 33.
Waiting for another AK's plane to land before our turn for takeoff.
Our plane finally took-off and made a sharp left turn.
We were flying through the beautiful evening sunlight during the cruising altitude.
15 minutes later, the crew started to distribute the pre-book meals to passengers who purchased them online. My elder brother got me the Roast Chicken with Pesto Sauce and a cup of Hot Coffee.
Unfolded the meal. The Chicken, Veges and Mashed Potato tasted just fine, but the Pesto Sauce was quite salty.
The crew then performed the regular buy-on-board service followed by inflight sales of gifts and merchandises.
The crew came once again to collect trash and the cabin was dimmed to let passengers to have some rest. Soon, the cockpit crew announced that we will land in Ho Chi Minh City shortly. Cabin crew did another trash collection and prepared the cabin for landing.
Safely landed in Tan Son Nhat International Airport.
Passing the A320 aircraft of latest Vietnamese LCC, Bamboo Airways.
Royal Brunei's A320 with special livery.
All passengers really cannot wait to leave the aircraft.
1 last look to our aircraft. Thanks for the ride!
It took a while for us to reach to the baggage collection area due to the long queue in passport control.
We took a Vinasun Taxi (a reliable taxi company) from the airport to our hotel.
Attractions in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Here is the bonus part of some attractions that we visited in Saigon. It was my very first time in Vietnam and I can say that it was exceeded my expectations and I quite liked it.
Saigon's street scenes
Motorcycle is the main mode of transport here.
Some of the cities finest architectures
Central Post Office
Notre-Dame Cathedral
City Hall
War Remnants Museum
Ben Thanh Market
Book Street
Saigon's night scenes:
Night Market
Watching the traditional Water Puppet Show
We also managed to visit some of the famous attractions located outside of the city such as:
Cu Chi Tunnel
Mekong Delta
We stayed at "Silverland Central Hotel" which conveniently located at "Muslim Shopping Street" and near the Ben Thanh Market.
The hotel's lobby.
Our room.
This street is known as "Muslim Shopping Street" as there are many Muslim shops, street vendors and Halal eateries operating here. It is also referred as "Malaysia Street" as there are many Malaysian Muslim travelers coming here for shopping and dining.
The street was still busy and happening even when it was already late at night.
