Blogs from District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Southeast, Vietnam, Asia

Our two night stay at the four star Grand Silverland hotel cost more than all our other hotels in Vietnam put together, but after all that travelling, interspersed by illness and mountain bike crashes, I think we were due a treat. And still, the nightly rate worked out not much more than something like one of those hotels that Lenny Henry does those awful adverts for. We were supremely well looked after and the room was beautiful; this would be a great place to come back to after a day of sight seeing in Saigon. The fact that Saigon is Vietnam's economic power house is clearly evident, the skyline is littered with gleaming skyscrapers and new ones under construction. On the ground meanwhile, we spotted plenty of upmarket designer retail establishments and coffee shops, and the ... read more

Vietnam so far has been very "go go go". We lingered a bit too long in lovely Thailand and Laos so much so that we had to cut some time from our stint in Vietnam (unfortunately)...So we've been moving from city to city every 2 days or so. We've managed to travel the whole country from North to South in just under 3 weeks! We took yet another sleeper bus to Hoi An which (yet again) is being claimed as one of our most favourite places. The list is growing by the day! Hoi An is a shopper's dream. If you wanted to have tailor made shoes, dresses, suites and just about anything in between..that's Hoi An in a nutshell. Besides the tailors it is quite the romantic place. Located in central Vietnam on the coast. ... read more

Vietnam: Hoi An - Dalat Having bumped into Westerners left right and centre since touching down in Vietnam we decided to throw caution to the wind and get off the well trodden tourist trail to discover what was billed as the 'real' Vietnam. We were looking for a dose of adventure mixed with some authentic culture and a little adrenaline thrown in for good measure, so we decided to hit the road on motorbikes... We hooked up with the 'Easy Riders' who whisked us off on the back of their bikes into the stunning central highlands. We went all out with a 6 day trip covering dense jungle up winding roads, deforested hills and farmland with our fantastic guides Thanh and Kim. Easing us into this new experience from the start and calming our nerves, they ... read more

You've spent 17 hours in the air, excluding a stop at Doha, Qatar. Your legs are aching and you are completely shattered. After arriving at the HCM airport you've waited for 2 hours to finalise your visa and YES, you can finally get your stuff and leave! Now, imagine your frustration when you look for your bag on the conveyor belt, and it's not there. 'Welcome to Vietnam'. Yesterday evening was difficult. It was around 9.00 pm when I made my way to lost baggage, face palming on the way there. I was so annoyed that my first memory of this country was already tarnished with the stress of this situation, which was only magnified when 5 or so forms were dumped in front of me to fill in. This being said, my major worry that ... read more