VIETNAM - Ho Chi Min City (Saigon) 3rd to 7th March 2026

DAY 15 Tues 3rd March
Ho Chi Min City
Mad queues at Danang, possibly due to middle East conflict? Arrived OK and in a nice boutique hotel in what is a quieter but cool suburb of the city, Ben Thanh. Went for a walk to the main center market, even though I have little interest in markets, and my stomach won, and went for a meal in a small local restaurant....guy showed me how to fold the food up in lettuce leaves with spices and cut veg...it wor alreyt....after, a quick spin around the market, quick! Then decided to head to seedy Street just to check out....this is Bui Vien - and what a shit street....stereotypical of what I naively thought was a Thailand thing, but apparently all of SE Asia has them and the associated sex tourism, including paedophilia 🤷‍♂️🙈(

So, loud neon bars, dancing girls (looking bored and disinterested), mainly tourists of all tribes, groups banging out western rock stuff (one guy did smash the Purple Rain guitar solo) but significantly old single men....had a beer at the Pasteur Ale place (must be a chain, same as Hanoi) and "tribe" watched....had a 2nd walk along it, as even more active when dark....more bored girls out, "mathage Sir mathage" constantly and encouragement to go in bars....

Wandered away, and went to a yoghurt place and read my book, chilled, watching the world pass by occasionally....my gaff, was actually close by (Ben Thanh Boutique Hotel - really nice....very narrow and long...this is historical from French tax laws based on property width!)...and passed a series of cool eateries etc with hardly a western face...and those small child chairs (a giveaway to authentic Vietnamese eateries).

  

DAY 16
Full Saigon / HCMC Tourist Day
Got a Grab bike to the War Museum, was pre- warned about how explicit, draining and emotional....clearly fully biased against the US...but full rooms dedicated to the impact of the war, Agent Orange including birth defects later, the brave journalists and photographers that showed the horrors of what the US were doing to the American people, that turned the US public against the war...including the iconic Napalm Girl photo (we later passed the exact road where this occurred). 

 

 

Had a coffee (condensed milk) at a small chair place....reflected, read up a little on the other side of the coin, atrocities by the Liberation Army, Vietcong....including the Hue massacre....

Next stop the Independence Palace (government HQ)....presidential rooms, office, cabinet rooms and the bunker area below the palace....

 Next stop the Post Office, designed by Eiffel, with tourists, mainly young granary tribes, writing postcards to send home, bless!

 Had a plan to visit a different District, to getaway from the centre (District 1) and somehow the River View Park didn't exist....so eventually I came back (dodgiest Grab bike yet!)....walked across some big roads, one, I jogged to get to the side of a local family...they know how to do it!

Walked across other recommended roads, viewing what was the highest skyscraper (has a sky roof view) called Bitexco Financial Tower...861 feet...architecture inspired by lotus bud....then back to the gaff for a reset, and booked Phu Quoc flights, and from there to Hanoi...all set!

In the evening I used G Maps to pick a nearby Vietnamese restaurant....and had a great meal at the Street, great atmosphere too.

 

DAY 17  Mekong Delta tour
Booked through Klook again, very efficient....guides tend to WhatsApp the night before to update on pickup plan. Full bus with a batch of Indians, 2 young Japanese boys, and a Canadian woman....wasn't expecting not a lot, but in fact had a great day....yes, we did do the tourist stuff: the ubiquitous pagoda stop, although it was very impressive! Eventually we got a boat to Thoi Son Island where we had some musical and singing entertainment 🙄...and all the tourists were taking photos of crocodiles, catfish and even snakes....even though they are bred for farming....food or handbags! Suffice to say, Mr Hypocrit here did have his photo taken with a snake....we then went on smaller traditional boats down the Ben Tre river, couldn't see much, as each side was thick mangrove....visited a coconut candy making place, and it was very tasty...and a decent meal on the way back....a fine day!

BTW the delta was key in the war, the Vietcons used it to hide in the difficult landscape and the Yanks had trouble finding and fighting them...a lot of Agent Orange was used to clear the mangrove...

DAY 18 Chu Chi Tunnels tour
Another efficient 8am pickup with a good mixing the mini bus...with a good 90 min drive to the Chu Chu Tunnels, and for us the less touristy and authentic ones at Ben Duoc.

 

Stopped at Quang Minh Handicapped Crafts centre / workshop where apparently victims of Agent Orange were or are employed to make some beautiful egg shell  based drawings....I bought two, £60 - that is steep for Vietnam...but it was (supposedly) going to a good cause, or was it? Later in the souvenir shop, they were selling for just 300k - but according to ChatGPT there are mass produced cheaper ones...I hope so, it caused some laughter and consternation at the time!

 The tunnels were amazing, that anyone could live down them, and this area there were 250km of them...we all experienced going down, and for me they were very tight...my main issue were my long legs....very sweaty dusty and of course claustrophobic...there was a 60m challenge on one stretch, with 15m escape holes, I lasted 30m! We were also shown the various traps the Vietcon set up, using poisoned sharpened bamboo canes...from false forest floors to swinging mechanisms if a door was opened. They were not designed to kill, but to  make the victims very sick...to destroy their mental health, and for fellow US soldiers to witness their suffering...

We had a nice sociable meal on the way back, and  numbers were swapped for an evening social.

On return I had a first 2 hour siesta, and felt so much better in the evening...

Joe and Otto (Brit and US) agreed to meet at the Street near me, and we had a combo for 4 to 6, and it was excellent...the atmosphere in there was excellent again, and very busy, we managed to get a table only on the 3rd floor. We then each got a Grab bike and reconvened at the Saigon Saigon Hotel roof bar, where the US journalists used to use as a meeting place...we split at midnight. Otto (really cool interesting guy) was catching a boat on the Mekong to head for Cambodia, and Joe was off to Da Nang....best night yet! Shame we had to split....

VIETNAM - CENTRAL - Danang / Hoi An - 27th Feb to 3rd March 2026

 Da Nang and Hoi Ann DAY 11 to 15

DAY 12 - 27th Feb Da Nang
Arrived to a definitely different climate, tropical, although it was raining during the taxi ride to the hotel...which was not only right on the beachfront but I had a 10th floor sea view. I went for a wander along the front ( went out in long trousers and fleece, for 30 seconds....went back for shorts and T shirt!) taking in the high rises along the coast and the large buffet restaurants, and decided this was Blackpool or Benidorm on the South China Sea...I decided to cut into the backstreets, and soon found a Vietnamese restaurant just for me, initially...after, I did more back streets and quickly discovered a much more authentic side to Da Nang! Always tell, no Westerners in eating places and those little chairs are a sign of Vietnamese authentic places....

The following morning I awoke at 6am, and I'd read that the locals were early risers for beach activity....so within 15 mins I was on the beach, watching a glorious sunrise...but yes a very active beach....footy, volleyball, swimming, yoga etc and fishermen bringing their nets in....amazing.

 

 

The plan was to have a quick look, but I ended up paddling quite a distance along the coast....and then went on a motorbike search....I got a Grab bike and eventually after 3 failed attempts I got a scooter...I gave the driver probably too much as an extra tip (as his fare was only to the first place) 100th dongs...about £2.80 but mega for him, as a Grab bike ride is barely anymore than 15th...he did look shocked!

Anyway, freedom! Eventually went around the Son Tra peninsula, with steep coastal roads and great views, and nice beaches...locally called monkey mountain! And I did see one...also passed the 67 metre lady Buddha (which I could see from my hotel room)....met a retired airline pilot from Canada, Milan...we drove back towards the coast road, and agreed to meet up later...but it never happened!

 On my hitlist was the Hai Van Pass over to Hué, 500m at top and took an hour on the lawnmower...and was nothing special at all....the only saving grace was the historical context of defending it from the French back in the day! Oh! And the banana leaf  baked pancakes, amusing the staff, showing me how to eat!

On return I checked out the hotel roof top pool, and got chatting (and eventually swimming) with 4 Poles...who were enthusing about the Ha Giang loop, it got me thinking I need to do it....and this was repeated by a guy I later met in Hoi An...

Planned to go to a steakhouse for some trad food that I'd passed on my morning walk...but it was over £50 per meal....in Vietnam 😳....adjacent restaurants were similar....I did find an ale house and had some nice food, although not enough! Clearly a tourist trap on the seafront.

 

I was keeping my eye on the time, as from Friday to Sunday at 9pm, the Dragon comes to life on Dragon Bridge....so off I set...crossing the  lower bridge into the city of Darang....all lit up, it looked really impressive, a completely different place to the seafront, quite classy in places...eventually a 20 min ride, with mega mental motorbike and car traffic I crossed Dragon Bridge, dumped the bike (did a What3Words for location) and joined the thousands! Got chatting to a Rumanian couple, who were concerned about getting home, due to the US, Israel war against Iran (I had no idea!)....the Dragon spouted it's flames bang on nine, on all the phones were out, mine included....really impressive, and sooo touristy...LOL!

 

I didn't rush to retrieve my scooter, as the traffic was nuts....even after waiting I rode it for barely 300m and dumped it again, to check out the market below the bridge....Great vibe, if not my thing!

Eventually drove back along the prom, and passed a stage banging out dance music, so had a beer, watched that....then headed back to base!

DAY 13 Saturday 1st March
Weather again was nice, high 20s I guess...out on the motorbike, headed straight for Marble Mountain (not!)....expected throngs of people, especially as there was an elevator I'd seen online but but...that was only to the pagoda....to get to the two peaks was by foot, and slightly gnarly. In fact the lower peak was through a cave system, then a narrow squeeze out of it! As a consequence at the highest peak, there was only me and an Aussie (Mikey?) from Sydney....a travelling Business Analyst...his boss let's him travel and work from a laptop...only 30, but been all over....anyhow, suffice to say we spent several hours together....first found a coffee shop (more lovely coconut coffee) and then some eats. We eventually split after about 5 hours, and stupidly we did not swap contact details....as we were both heading in the same directions.

 

 Marble  Mountain had some semi decent views along the coast, but nothing special....more impressive were all the Marble constructs / statues in all the side shops -but were they all really marble, or mass produced casts? 

I was half way already to Hoi An, an hour on the scooters is quite draining especially with all the traffic....so 30 mins later I'm on this stunning secret beach just 5 mins from Hoi An, with wooden cafes that my man tipped me off about....after a slow mango juice and more reading, the sun was starting to set....the exact time to visit Hoi An. Originally a trading / fishing port, with international influences in the architecture as a consequence, from the Japanese, Chinese temples, European style architecture too....no longer a port due to silting, but the historic centre remains, and is an UNESCO Heritage Site....and super touristy, with lantern lit street, and boats at dusk....really lovely albeit packed....and on this evening it was backdropped by a perfect pink sunset throwback....see photos!

Then an hour back to my digs....made it in one piece via scooter lady to keep the machine for one extra day....charged me 150th D, 400th for 2 days before!

DAY 14 Danang
Sadly went searching for nicorette, and fell across another different area, with more of a western demographic...think this was not really backpacker area but certainly a series of boutique type hotels....in fact in one I had two amazing coconut coffees....then went for a wander....cool cafes...had an Egg Benedict (no noodles!) In another cool one, defo with travellers mainly Granola Bun Boys and Girls (Reddit tribes LOL)...
I went back around the peninsula properly to visit the pagoda and the 80m Buddha woman that I could see from my hotel window....

On return there were loads of scummy monkeys on a corner....tried to do some clever trawler photography (never seen so many) then went for a chillax.
Decided in the evening to return to this morning's place, but not so cool this time....this clearly is the western bar area...but bars banging out western rock stuff, and groups of older types, couples and groups, incongruous in Vietnam...when they'd look more at home on the Med...."Cruise and Coach Click Tribes" ....anyway, hypocritically I joined them, and had a burger as a girl belted out some Amy Winehouse tunes - with the Cruise Grannies clicking away on their phones!  I didn't feel my normal self, so dropped the scooter off, and decided to walk the 2 km or more back to my gaff, along the shoreline....my final walk in Danang!