Vietnam: See it before it disappears

Find the busiest intersection (the roundabout near the markets is a good one). Buy an iced coffee, pull up a banana lounge, watch, and ready yourself for the involuntary ooh aahs! It is illegal to carry more than two adults per bike, but a family of six is no problem.

Cholon's Binh Tay Markets are far better than the touristier Ben Thanh. Get in amongst the hustle-and-bustle. Be on the lookout for the Vietnamese coffee makers. They make a great, unique gift that won't result in excess baggage charges.

The War Remnants museum reminds you that there are two sides to every story. It gives a new and unknown perspective on what led to the "American War."

District 1 is geared heavily towards tourists and gives a false impression of the city, as it is thick with touts, postcard, and book sellers, all pushy but good natured.

Quick Tips:

The best advice I was given before arriving was to walk slowly into the traffic and just keep walking; don't stop, run, or swerve.

The best exchange rates were at the Saigon Jewellery Company during the week. Travellers cheques are next to useless and ATM's have a very low daily limit.

Don't pre-book accommodation, as even pre-paying doesn't guarantee a room and you can always haggle an unbelievably low rate in very modern, clean three-star hotel.

When you are looking at heading out of the city on day trips, don't for a second think it will be cheaper easier to do it yourself. Head to De Tham Street in District 1 and pick a tour. Trips to the Mekong, Chu Chi tunnels, etc., are incredibly cheap in air-conditioned minibuses.

Avoid the T-shirts, as thousands of nylons died in their manufacture and an XXL equates to a medium

Best Way To Get Around:

Taxis are plentiful and cheap. Find a driver you like and negotiate a half- or full-day price.

Once you get used to the rhythm of the traffic, it is a very easy/pleasant city to walk around.

Don't be tempted by the moto taxi, as 56 people a day die on Saigon roads, or so the English-language paper reminds you every day. If you wouldn't get on the back of an under-powered, under-braked motorbike with a total stranger at home, why would you do it in a third-world country with a third-world health system?

We paid A$20 for a double air-conditioned room. It was very clean and comfortable, with a basic breakfast of croissants and eggs. There is a lift. There are safety deposit boxes at the front desk and there is a same day laundry service. De Tham Street is literally full of hotels, intersperced with cafes and tour booking offices all seem to be fairly modern, clean, etc. It is a convenient location to base yourself while in Ho Chi Minh.

The palace itself is quite austere. You won't marvel at the lavish furnishings or see much glittering gold! What is truly worth the visit is the pride with which the tour guides retell the story of the South Vietnamese copter pilot who defected as they show you the exact spot where he dropped his payload.

For the war historian, the war room is lined with maps showing the progressive loss of territory to the Viet Cong, and there is a great array of photos from the period immediately after the American War.

While it is easy to forget that Ho Chi Minh City is anything other than capitalist, it is tours such as this that remind you otherwise.

On the ground floor and at the back of what is one of the main department stores in Saigon are two DVD and CD stalls. Be prepared to spend a couple of hours as they bring you box after box. Make your selections, but before paying, ask, "Are these all very good quality?" The assistant will then swap some for better quality copies or tell you that some aren't so good, but that they don't presently have very good quality in that particular title. At A$0.50 cents per disc, who can complain?

Binh Tay Market and the surrounding area is the "real" local markets, with everything from clothing (don't ask for anything larger than a 34-inch waist, though) to live poultry, paint pigments, and hardware.

The market itself is crowded and hot, with over three tightly packed levels. Stalls are laid out according to their wares; there is a whole row of shoes.

Be on the lookout for the single-cup coffeemakers. Once you have been in Vietnam for a day, you will know what they are. They seem to be unique to Vietnam. I wish I had bought more, as they are a great and lightweight souvenir.

The produce market is vibrant and loud, with every delicacy imaginable. As Binh Tay is not just for the tourists, you won't be hounded any more than the locals.

On the outside of the markets there are rows and rows of food stalls. The surrounding streets are filled with street-front shops. This is the working end of town.

We really enjoyed just finding a cafe and watching a city at work.

Words of warning: Finding a taxi when you are finished can be a little tough. Arrange for the driver who dropped you off to pick you up at prearranged time.