Saigon

We're slightly apprehensive about going to Siagon - after a couple of weeks of chilling by a pool and on the beach, heading to another city doesn't feel too appealing, but we are looking forward to a bit of sightseeing and exploring Saigon.

We're dropped off a street from our hotel, right in the heart of the backpacker district - a sea of bars with neon lights, cheap restaurants, souvenir shops and touts offering motorbike and cyclo services. Our hotel is down a tiny alley and is a sweet, family-run place - the reception is essentially their living room, and breakfast is served at their dining table!!

Despite being Vietnam's biggest city, it has a really nice feel about it - it's pretty friendly, and unlike Hanoi, it does feel like a city, with a fair few high rise buildings and more commerce than we've seen elsewhere. We spend an enjoyable couple of hours on our first afternoon watching the world go by on the streets outside the bars - or should I say "ride by", as pretty much the whole city seems to be riding around on mopeds - we've seen a hell of a lot of bikes in Vietnam, but Saigon is something else!!

As we only have 2 full days in Saigon, we get down to some serious sightseeing! First stop Ben Than Market - a huge indoor market crammed full of the standard asian-market fare - chopsticks, ornaments and other craft-type items, beer t-shirts, fake North Face rucksacks, fake watches and Tiffany jewellery, plus lots of weird and wonderful foods!

Next we head to the Reunification Palace - possibly our most disappointing tourist attraction so far! Neither of us can quite work out why it's cited as a "must-visit" in the Lonely Planet! It doesn't really resemble a "Palace" - more like a large government building. Inside are a series of conference and meeting rooms where the president used to hold meetings and meet dignitaries, but all are pretty dingy and a bit 70s retro. The best bit is the view of the city from the roof, so we don't bother to linger too long here!

Next up is the War Remnants museum - a museum dedicated to the war in Vietnam. Outside are tanks, helicopters and other boys toys to keep Nick amused! Inside are mostly horrific images with commentary alongside detailing atrocities carried out by US soldiers against innocent civilians. There's no doubt it's deeply moving, but you do feel that there's lot of propaganda in what you're reading. As with all Vietnam's tourist attractions, there is no air-con inside the museum and it's roasting, so we are forced around the exhibits really quickly. Reading about the torture methods used and seeing the torture chambers makes me feel quite sick so we decide to call it a day.

We'd planned to visit the Cu Chi tunnels on day 2 - a network of underground tunnels used during the war, where you can have a go at shooting an AK47 (clearly a trip for Nick!), but being in the heat of a city again seems to ceatch up with us and we're both ill, so we stay a bit closer to home and explore the more upmarket Dhong Koi area with its posh hotels and shopping centres etc.

We're sad not to be able to see more of Saigon, but we've done all the main things and it's time to move on.

We can't believe our month in Vietnam is over and that we're off to Thailand already! Vietnam has definitely been an experience and a great start to our travels - definitely a place to remember!