Exploring Ho Chi Minh

After returning from the Cu Chi Tunnels in the late afternoon we visited Ben Thanh Market, Nguyen Street and explored the city by scooter, riding to a couple of bridges to watch the sunset. Starting at one bridge we realised this was not the best spot to see the sunset, so we raced to another and made it just in time. It was beautiful; so many pink, red and orange colours as the sun set behind the skyline. As usual photos never do sunsets any justice. Then it was time for a little more exploration of the city by scooter - without a clue where we were going we eventually came across a busy set of back streets all connected with more street food carts, this time having a very local vibe. Sure enough we tried some more food which was delicious.

We finally arrived back at the hotel and decided to have a night out so showered off and left at 11pm for a night down Bui Vien street with a seemingly never ending happy hour. Whilst sitting in the bars, children as young as 6 years old would be walking around trying to sell items such as chewing gum or fans to tourists. It filled us with great sadness that children of such a young age were having to do this (with many parents out of sight) and even at 2am we could still see street children wandering around. Absolutely heart-breaking.Read more