This is the third of four short blogs to fill the two week gap between Kampot, Cambodia and Dalat, Vietnam. While I still count HCMC in the nothing-to-write-home-about category, hence only blogging about it as we prepare to leave Vietnam, I did enjoy this energetic city.

Yes, much like Hanoi, you can still be hypnotised by the perpetual whir of its orbiting motorbikes, but if you venture out beyond backpacker central you can find some almost peacful boulevards, a wealth of history and some delicious food.

Walking Tour

HCMC is hurtling into the future at a thrilling rate but ghosts of the past still linger in the heart of District 1. We followed the Lonely Planet's suggested walking tour (with a few additions from our own research, like Fanny's, the best icecream parlour EVER) to get a taste of this historic city.

Once you've got started, mustering up the courage to cross the unbraking streams of motobikes that take up most of the larger roads (the trick is to just walk into the traffic, keeping a steady pace so that they miss you...we got so good at this we actually got a round of applause from some not so practiced travellers), you'll find: tiny streets lined with antique shops; grand boulevards, one of which was once a canal, lined with everything from Prada to Gucci; beautiful, original architecture pre-war hotels; contrasting with the glitzy modern skyscrapers.

It was on the 23rd floor of one of these skyscrapers, the Centec Tower, that we found Shri: the ultimate bar with a view. A very nice end to our tour.