After a 7 hour bus journey, I successfully crossed the Vietnam border and reached Ho Chi Minh City.

The first thing that struck me was the amount of traffic (mainly motorbikes) there was. Not quite as busy as what I've witnessed in Cairo, but not far off.

In a 25m radius I believe there were about a thousand motorbikes. If you look closely at the blog picture you'll notice that one man is carrying a 12ft ladder!!

Upon arrival I was greeted by several taxi drivers begging for my custom. I was barely off the bus when surrounded by them.

After they finally got the message I heard a faint sound saying I have a guesthouse nearby. Now someone's finally speaking my language!

Just a short walk around the corner and we reached the Kim Nghan Guesthouse. This is a small family run place, but the advantages of that is that you get treated like a family member.

When I'd settled in I took a walk downstairs and was presented with a bottle of water, a carrot & pineapple smoothie & some salted peanuts. Now that's a welcome! The lady can't speak a word of English and the bloke (Huang) can just about translate. But they seem like nice people & I think I'll be happy for the 3 nights I intend to stay here.

The biggest issue I'm about to face is the currency. A large bottle of water is 10,000 dong (at this rate I think I'll need to remortgage the flat!). However it turned out to be 29p, at this point my heart rate lowered!

I have wasted no time and booked my trip to the Cu Chi tunnels tomorrow (where the Vietnamese shot the Americans in the war) I'm sure this will be a fascinating yet chilling encounter.

Off to sample the local delights of street food and maybe a well earned beer!