Guest post by Roy Ng.

What would you do if you have a 6 hour layover time at Tan Son Nhat Airport before your next connecting flight?

Well it happened to me during my recent trip in Vietnam. After touching down at the Domestic Terminal at 3.20pm in the afternoon, I had more than 6 hours of idle time before my next connecting flight back to Singapore at 9.35pm. While I could have waited for my time to pass by at the modern International Airport, I decided to check out the CT Plaza located within striking distance from the airport.

Getting There:

The CT Plaza is clearly visible as soon as you exit from the Arrivals. I’ve attached a picture to show its relative distance. The building at the background is CT Plaza.

A brief 5 minutes quick walk from the terminal would bring you to the doorstep of the shopping mall.

However, this involved walking through the open air car park in front of the airport. At the same time, you had to jostle for walking space with the numerous taxis making their exits from the airport. There are no proper pedestrian footways leading from the airport to the CT Plaza.

Before reaching, you had to cross a really busy road while keeping your eyes opened for the on-coming vehicles.

However, this would no longer pose a major problem to most travellers who had been accustomed to the traffic situation in Vietnam.

What to expect:

The first three floors of CT Plaza are occupied by the Parkson Department Store which carried a variety of international brands in a neat setting. The real gem lies at level 4 where a nice food court and the Citimart Supermarket were housed.

There was a good mix of western fast foods (KFC and Lotteria), Highlands Coffee, the Coca Group as well as Vietnamese favourites (Pho 24 and Hue Beef Noodles).

In particular, the seats occupied by KFC and Highlands Coffee commanded the best view of the Tan Son Nhat Airport as you could literally watch planes taking off from here. The minor remark was that the maintenance team could have done a better job as the glass panels were tainted with some dirt.

Value Added Services:

Visitors might be pleased to know that CT Plaza provides free regular shuttle services from the shopping mall back to the airport terminals at 20-minute intervals. To utilize the service, just approach the concierge at the entrance and register your name with them for the next shuttle.

There is also a free luggage deposit service at the same counter if you do not wish to carry your baggage around the shopping mall.

At every levels of the mall, there is a flight departure screen showing flight information departing from the international terminal. There is no information for the domestic departures though.

The Verdict:

CT Plaza provided a good option for me to while my extra hours away while waiting for my flight home. It provided opportunities for some last minute shopping at Parksons and the Citimart Supermarket.

Of course, the food court at level 4 was great with a good mix of western fast food and local Vietnamese cuisine – at very reasonable prices. Certainly a pleasant way to end my tour in Vietnam. It would be a bonus if shuttle service was provided from the airport to the mall as crossing the road might pose some problems to travellers not used to the traffic situation.

Roy is a frequent traveler and you can find more of his travel blogs here.

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