A Picture of the Street on the River Bank
This is a hotel with no international stars on it, and I have no idea if it's got a domestic star or not. Anyway I accidentally checked into it without reservation and pre-trip research.
After alighting from the domestic inter-city public bus, I hopped onto a cab (a black Mai Linh limousine type) and was driven to Ninh Kieu III which I saw on the internet before departing Ho Chi Minh City. Reviewed as modern and clean it was, the lobby did not look welcoming. It is cold and has a "metallic" feel because of a large elevator (lift) that is visible near the check-in.
I asked the receptionist for a room, and she came back with a question of whether I had advanced booking. I said "No" and she said, "No more rooms". So off I went to Ninh Kieu II and then to Ninh Kieu I. I didn't like the look of Ninh Kieu I and went to the hotel beside it. Garden Hotel? Can't recall, but it was fully booked as well. I was left with no choice and checked into Ninh Kieu I which had a room for me.
There was a heater, phone, and a tiled toilet with lights which were working in the room. All these for 280,000 dong and breakfast. I didn't think I would sleep with the very hard bed. But later on I realized that there was something that made me lose my sleep- an annoying mozzie which refused to leave the room. So I kept the dim lights over my head on for fear it would come too near.
When I saw the first ray of sunlight, I packed everything and went out for breakfast at the motel's restaurant across. It was packed with guests from the sister hotels of Ninh Kieu which belongs to the commercial arm of the military, I suppose.
I went around the long table which was overloaded with food: sweet potatoes (yum!), banana, papaya, apple (didn't look too good), baguette, etc. They were not displayed very appealingly but I was happy that it had warm soy milk. That is great in Vietnam. I hesitated to try the snails with noodle (bun oc)because I could imagine what went into the lakes but I wasn't disappointed. Could it be the veg condiments in it that made it so good?
At the end of my breakfast I was quite pleased that I checked into this small place for a night. The laundry staff were pleasant as well. Although I'd expected it to be noisy, it wasn't. The three-star hotel nearby which I later checked into was noisy, indeed, with domestic travellers arriving late in the night.
I found the grilled fish and the restaurant beside that three-star hotel rather unforgettable, though. I remember this restaurant well because it wasn't my first time there. I went there three years ago, and was surprised to find "farm rats" on its menu alongside snake and other animals. Now it's got a "new" variety of fish which I didn't notice before. It's the
basa fish.
Gee...what is the
basa? I was curious how it would look like but surely grilled fish must be good, I thought. I waited for 30 minutes accompanied by the local Viet
kung fu drama serial on TV. Gosh! What a long wait...I was going to give up when the lady manager smiled and said, "It'd be out soon". Really? OK...Waited another five minutes before the fish appeared. Big it was!
It was fleshy rather than crispy and didn't taste bland or bitter like fishes in rivers. It is from the sea I was told. I think I would like to try it again the next time I go to Can Tho. Being on the Mekong delta, the city offers a great variety of fruit, veg, and seafood.
I'd recommend papaya at Saigon-Can Tho Hotel's restaurant. I was craving for some local deep fried tofu (not silken type)in fact, and walked into this hotel by chance. Instead of finding my favourite tofu, I ordered three glasses of papaya juice at one shot. The girl Trang did the papaya shakes superbly... I may try to stay in that hotel in my next chance for those papaya, nice service staff, and the hotel's good location.
