I'd started off my first-ever trip to Vietnam by spending a few nights checking out the nightlife and learning to cook my favorite dish in Hanoi, then flew by seaplane to Ha Long Bay for an overnight cruise. Now it was time to head south to Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City, as it's called today, where I stayed at the Park Hyatt Saigon and got a rare chance to participate in a play at a local theater. Check out the video, below, to see how it went!
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My TPGtv crew and I stayed at the Park Hyatt Saigon, a category 4 property with rates starting at $202 or 15,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points per night in June.
I'd originally booked us three standard Park King rooms through the American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts site — just one of the many perks of having The Platinum Card from American Express — for about $250 per room per night. Thanks to a special promotion where Hyatt Gold Passport offered limited-time Diamond status matches to Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum members with at least 20 nights of stays last year, I was able to cash in one of my Hyatt Diamond Suite Upgrades and stay in a luxurious Park Suite King room instead — without the upgrade, this would have cost me $290 more per night! With my 30% Diamond bonus and a 1,000-point Diamond welcome amenity, I ended up earning a total of 13,744 Hyatt Gold Passport points for our entire stay.
I also got a chance to make my acting debut in a local Vietnamese-style folk opera production at the Kong Nhan Theatre. Wearing a traditional costume and face paint really helped me get into character, plus, I had a great teacher — the best actress in the house, pictured below. If you're ever in the area and want to check out a show, click here to see the theater's schedule. I highly recommend it.
This video marks the end of my Vietnam adventure. We hope you've enjoyed TPGtv so far and are excited for the launch of TPGtv in Japan, which will premiere in a few weeks with a whole new format, so stay tuned. As always, I'd love to hear from you — send me an email with your feedback anytime!
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