Land, Sea or by Air?

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the geography of Vietnam (like I was) , Ho Chi Minh City is pretty far from Hanoi.  I thought it would be a hop, skip and jump in a bus or train but in fact it is 3 day train trip.

Most people will tell you that the best parts of Vietnam are in between the 2 large cities in the north and the south.  Taking the train over a few days is probably the best way to explore Vietnam but a 2 hour flight is a lot easier, or is it?

Booking the Ticket

When booking a domestic flight in Vietnam the usual suspect websites such as Expedia, Kayak an Orbitz do absolutely no good.  You have a choice between Vietnam Airlines, Indochina Airlines and Jetstar Pacific which is the cheapest and offers almost 10 flights a day.  The price for a one way ticket to Hanoi from Saigon was around 880,000 Vietnamese Dong($50USD).

Saigon, we have a Problem

As we boarded the relic of an airplane I noticed what I thought were patches on the side of the plane.  It reminded me of when I used to patch up the inner tubes of my bicycles when I was a kid.  My friend argued that it was a compartment or hatch but I think this old plane was patched up like a sinking ship (see for yourself below).

Patch or Hatch? You be the Judge

Just as the plane finished boarding the pilot who happened to be from New Zeleand announced over the intercom in English before Vietnamese, “This plane’s wing is broken and it cannot fly.”  After the collective groan as they made the announcement in Vietnamese everyone got off the plane and went back to the terminal.

At the terminal I noticed there were at least 4 Jetstar pacific flights that were canceled.  I took it in stride as I wouldn’t want to be flying a plane with a defective wing so we waited.  Less than 2 hours later after a bunch of junk food consumption we boarded an equally old, but working aircraft.

Definition of Budget Airline

If you want an inch of spare legroom or a free meal on your 2 hour flight to somewhere in Vietnam Jetstar Pacific is not going to help you.  If you want the new LCD screen on the back of the seat in front of you with video games, internet and movies Jetstar Pacific is not your airline.

If you do want to spend around $50USD one way and don’t mind being herded around like cattle in a smoke smelling aluminum tube with a bunch of people with hacking coughs Jetstar Pacific is right up your alley.

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