I saw this woman on the street and just had to take a picture – I did ask first though! I think it’s the expression on her face I like, as if you have no real idea what she’s really thinking. And of course the cute puppies are a big draw!

When I arrived to the city, the cheapest place I could find to stay was $7 for an 8bed dorm at a place called YellowStone hotel, as featured in Lonely Planet. I got off the bus and was surprised to be surrounded by dozens of Western tourists, but which was a signt that things probably wouldn’t be as cheap as what I’d grown accustomed to in Cambodia.

HCMC struck me as a cleaner place than many other Asian cities I’ve experienced… the only problem there isn’t really much to do here other than get drunk at dodgy bars targeting Westerners! On my first full day I visited the War Remnants Museum, which was really moving and made me appreciate the ongoing troubles that Vietnam is experiencing via Agent Orange Contamination. The pictures of limbless children and other disturbing images are not recommended for the faint hearted, but all in all I’m glad I visited.

I was told by a few travellers that the Reunification palace is a bit boring and not worth the money so after a quick snap I walked on back down to the market Ben Thanh, where I scored a cheap (possibly fake!) bottle of Daisy by Marc Jacobs perfume for $6. You can buy all sorts here; the place also has a food section which reeks of freshly killed meat and fish. Here there is also the chance to buy Vietnamese coffee, something which I haven’t tried yet but hope to as I make my way through the country. For $31 I now have an open-bus ticket, I can now travel to Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue and Hanoi.