The excitement of moving to Vietnam a country I’d never visited before was high. I landed in Ho Chi Minh airport and immediately in the transfer bus to the hotel noticed how chaotic the roads were. I’ve never seen so many motorbikes and such lack of rules and direction on a road before.
In this moment, along with the fact they drive on the opposite side of the road, I decided I would not be renting a motorbike here.
My hotel (luxury needed after a tiny flight) Gia Vien was located right off the main road for bars and restaurants and the street itself had pretty lanterns hanging above it.
I immediately set out on an adventure of exploring all of the streets and trying so hard not to get ran over. Theres no crossing systems, you literally just have to walk out onto the busy road and not stop while the motorbikes avoid you. It’s a bit like playing ‘chicken’ as a child.
The main strip was full of Vietnamese and bright lit bars.
I found a sky bar with a slight panoramic view of the city to escape the motorbikes for 10 minutes and even used google translate to attempt to speak to a vietnamese woman, that was fun.
Moving on from the crazy streets and nightlife I booked a full days tour, starting 7am for 12 hours, which for anyone who knows how lazy I can be was challenging.
The first half was a trip was a 2 hour drive to the Chu Chi Tunnels. These were used to win the war in Vietnam against the Americans. The Vietnamese built an entire life underground for people to live in and also for the soldiers to use the element of surprise to disappear. The tunnels had been widened for tourists and I still almost had a panic attack attempting to crawl through one of them. I also got the chance to fire an AK47 which was an adrenaline rush.
The second half of the day which was again a 2 hour drive away was Mekong Delta. We got a boat across to Unicorn Island (adorable name). We then got onto a smaller boat which was paddled by a vietnamese woman through a canopy of plants.
We got to see how coconut sweets were made using the coconut meat and got to taste a variety of honey infused teas and I even held a snake, what an adrenaline filled day!
The few hours i had left on the final day here I again spent a 30 minute walk praying I wouldn’t get ran over so I could walk to the War Museum and also the Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon, aptly named for the fact its a small version of paris’ landmark.
I also visited Saigon Central Post office to send my sister a postcard. This is a large old post office beautifully preserved remnant of French colonial times.
This city was nothing short of manic but was very fun filled with a lot to see and do!
Wanderlust Adventure 