Busy, Bustling Ho Chi Minh

It was a long, bumpy journey to Ho Chi Minh that was unexpectedly extended due to the rickety, rackety, annoyingly old bus blowing a tyre! Although the recovery team were reasonably prompt, when they all sit down and smoke a packet of cigarettes looking at the tyre hoping that it will miraculously fix itself, you realise why it took nearly 2 hours.  This journey was made slightly more bearable every 45 minites when a collection of locals would bundle on to our bus selling some local delights.

Locals bursting onto our bus to sell snacks.

Sweet bread filled with pork and egg.

Sweet rice topped with coconut

When we arrived, we quickly found our way to Pham Ngu Lao street, the backpacker quarter of this vibrant, bustling city. Here we were greeted by an old lady looking to rent out a room in her house. At $8 a night, we couldn’t refuse! We were soon staying amongst the locals where due to the heat and humidity of the city centre, there seems to be an open door policy. So when we were walking through the little lanes at night, we would find ourselves wandering through a family feast in one house, stepping through a family watching a Vietnamese version of 'The Voice' in another and walking past an old lady snoozing at the entrance to her house. This gave us another insight into life in this fascinating city.

I found Ho Chi Minh to be a perfect cocktail of everything that is great about Vietnam with a few Western comforts mixed in.

The central market was bustling with vibrant food stalls selling local delicacies. They resembled the rustic concept behind the high end UK’s food halls. There were stations specialising in different dishes where food was being cooked freshly in front of the consumer; beautiful smells of garlic and chilli spread around the markets getting everybody’s appetites flowing and a collection of mouths watering as the senses went into overdrive.

The streets of Ho chi Minh were also lined with restaurants severing delicious Vietnamise cuisine.

Garlic and cashew nut chicken

All this food could be washed down with the local beer (at 25p a pop), while you soaked up the nightlife of this bustling city.  

If you were in need of a bit of a snack as the evening went on you could indulge in some boiled quails eggs dipped in salt sold by some of the numerous street venders.

If you needed a pick-me-up in the morning after a late evening on the 25p beer, you could go to one of the numerous Western coffee shops selling the best of Vietnamese coffee. Although I'm not sure about the sweet condensed milk the Vietnamese like to have with the coffee. Something that the French brought over in their colonial rule and that doesn't seem to have faded out unfortunately. 

You can also indulge in a croissant at one of the many patisseries popping up all over town and for an afternoon treat, it is possible to buy cupcakes in this foodie diverse city.

In my eyes this is definitely the perfect mix of the Western and Southeastern worlds.