We crossed the border to Vietnam on the 15th July. The crossing didn't take long and we were soon in the little town of Chau Doc. Two friends and I decided to explore the area by foot. We looked around the market and along the riverside of the Mekong Delta. Not many tourists stop by in this town and so we became the attraction! People would stare and point and make no attempt to be subtle about it! And both adults and children would wave and say 'hello'.

Early the next day we left Chau Doc and took the 8 hour bus ride to Ho Chi Minh City. Our tour guide took us to explore the city on foot, which involved a much needed lesson on how to cross the road! I don't know how to express how many motorbikes there are in this city but it feels like millions! The roads are engulfed by them! The trick is to step out and walk at a slow, steady pace and let the motobikes swerve around you. Don't speed up, slow down or go back! It's quite terrifying!

Many trees line the pavements in Ho Chi Minh City and there are a couple of parks dotted about. This differs from Bangkok and the cities I went to in Cambodia. Additionally there is room to walk on the pavements in Ho Chi Minh City and it looks cleaner and feels more spacious. Yet compared to Cambodia it seems bigger and busier. There are a couple of beautiful buildings here with French colonial architecture such as the main Post Office and the Opera House. Then there are many high rise buildings including the Bitexco Financial Tower, which attempting to look like a lotus petal is the city's tallest building.

In the evening we went out to a restaurant where Bill Clinton has dined when he came to visit the city. A famous Vietnese dish is called Pho and so I ordered this. It is a clear soup with rice noodles and traditionally beef or chicken. Although I opted for the vegetable choice! It was very tasty and very filling. As it was a Saturday night we went out for a couple of drinks and the bars were filled to the brim, it was manic!

The next day we visted the Cu Chi Tunnels in the War Memorial Park. There is an immense network of underground tunnels in Vietnam and several military campaigns were located here in the Vietnam War. They were used for hiding in combat and also as living quarters and hospitals. Throughout the park we could see some of the booby traps that were set up for enemies and some weapons that were used. We could also enter part of the tunnels. Although, they have been made larger to accomodate the size of an average Western tourist! However, I still had to squat and even crawl at one point. It wasn't a very hospitable environment!

Today was the final day of the tour and I was sad to say goodbye to my group.