Ho Chi Minh City - there are 9 MILLION motorbikes in Ho Chi Minh!!!

It's really hard to put the amount of moped and bikes that are scooting around in to perspective! But trust us - it was craaaaazy! 

We started our journey into Vietnam by staying at a local villagers house in small area close to the Cambodian border.  

A quick stop-over only lasting one night. We have stayed in similar “local houses“ on other tours and in our opinion they are wasted journeys. 

The tour companies, G adventure etc use these home stays to give you a cultured, more traditional experience whilst backpacking. In theory the idea is perfect but in practise it doesn't work. 

We think the time should be spent getting to know the family, maybe helping out on the farm or getting involved in some traditional past times. Instead we tend to arrive late normally at night time, eat straight away then go to sleep on something that vaguely resembles a bed. This isn't enough time to fully immerse yourself in their culture or really get to know them and enjoy it.

Ho Chi Minh city itself is not too dissimilar to many other asian cities. They tend to be heavily populated with very bad traffic and have one area where all the western backpackers stay, get drunk and eat full English breakfasts. 

The business in the city!

Vietnam is our first destination that were not on an organised tour but instead travelling on our own and so far loving the freedom that it gives you. 

Never underestimate the exterior of a hostel down a back alley! The front of the hostel we stayed in was actually the family's living room, which we thought was weird but the  owner and his wife turned out to be the nicest owners we've met. 

As he took us to our room we were greeted with an ensuite, double bed, fridge/freezer and a balcony all for £12 a night. This was the cleanest, safest and nicest place that we've stayed in so far. 

We had the chance to visit the Cu Chi defences - a vast network of underground tunnels that held the Vietcong during the Vietnamese war with America. 

These tunnels held the American army at bay for years, by using the environment to their advantage. We were shown a demo of all the nasty hidden bamboo traps they used and also the clever inventions they used to keep themselves alive and unnoticed. 

After the tour we had the opportunity to go to the gun range and experience firing the guns used during the war. We both got the chance to fire AK47's!

I then went to the war museum which the Vietnamese have officially named it the "American war crimes museum" an incredibly bias view on the war. There were no pictures of the Vietcong soldiers, only women and children helping the war effort.

Even though I could tell it was very bias and mainly propaganda against the Americans, no one can deny some of the horrible things the Americans did during this time. The use of agent orange, a chemical weed killer which was supposed to be used to clear the jungle, had some horrific side effects on the human body and even today children are being born with severe health defects. 

I am currently looking into the Vietnamese war more closely because both sides used heavy amounts of propaganda and the media to portray two very contrasting opinions on the war.

In general Ho Chi Minh City was suited more for my interests than Steffie's but entwined with the cute hostel and nice food we both had a short but enjoyable time. The only sad bit was saying goodbye to the new friends we had made during the tour of Cambodia.

The sign for another hostel - questionable...?

Enjoying his Vietnamese food :) 

Now a quick flight to Hanoi and Halong Bay!