Arrived in HCMC/Siagon on Wednesday 16 June and took a hectic taxi ride to the centre of town (about $8 for a 40min trip – its not far, but traffic is slow, more of this later!). 
Checked into the Lofi Inn, just west of the city centre and right around the corner from Bui Vien (main backpacker strip). The staff at Lofi were awesome and eager to practice their english and to teach Vietnamese. I met Ed from Melbourne in my dorm and we headed out for some dinner and drinks along Bui Vien. Siagon Green Beers for 1000VND (50c). Nice.
The following morning I woke to find a new guy in the dorm, Johnny from Sydney. We get chatting and decide to go for a walk to get orientated and find some breakfast (some food is provided at Lofi, but it’s very basic). We find the ABC bakery and smash some good baked goods for cheap. We spend the rest of the day walking the whole of the town centre and take in; Ben Thanh Markets, Dong Khoi (Main Street), Saigon River, Opera House, Post Office, Notre dame Church, Independence Palace (where we get some coconut juice) and then have dinner at a very authentic road side Vietnamese place where we are sheltered from the incessant bombardment of hawkers sitting behind other victims is the trick. After we headed to Bui Vien and the place with 1000VND beers (now known as 333, its like 399 on William St, but way more classy ;). Johnny and I decide to do the Cu Chi tunnels tomorrow.
It’s Friday when we head off to the Cu Chi tunnels. A minibus picks us up from outside the hostel and we meander though the city to pick up some more tourist. There are about 16 on the tour, including some Canadians, English, Irish and us two aussies. Cu Chi is a tunnel system dug by the Viet Kong (who are apparently NO. 1 in Vietnam according to our tour guide - Elle). It takes about 1.5hrs to drive the 40km to Cu Chi. The tour isn’t that great, but at only a few dollars you can’t complain too much. We crawl through 80m of tunnels, see some man traps, get to shoot M16’s, AK47’s etc (if you want. I didn’t), and watch a great propaganda film at the end. 
After the tour Johnny and I head to the War Remnants Museum. It’s a very confrontational experinace, but a must in HCMC. Drinks at 333 round out the day and I end up meeting Jack and Gemma. An English couple who are planning on buying a bike and riding north, we decide to meet up in the morning to get some motorbike stuff ready.
Jack, Gemma and I meet at Dahn’s (a street side motorbike repairers) where I see a Suzuki GN125 that is getting its carby fixed. As im looking for this bike and have only seen one other in town (which had been lowsided a few days before and suffered some moderate damage), I decide to leave a message for the owner with Dahn. Jack, Gemma and I head off to a place that Dahn recommended to them where we find some helmets. They are rubbish, but there is nothing else. OHS isn’t the in thing in Vietnam. I get a Vietnamese phone card for $5 which proves to be useful. I meet Johnny back at the hostel and he is leaving to get on a bus to head north. We say we’ll keep in touch. I go back to Dahn’s to see if there is any news on the GN – no luck yet. However, I meet Sam and Sean, two English guys who are trying to source some Honda Bonus’s (125cc) to ride north. Finding motorbikes instead of scooters or Honda Wins (100cc) proves difficult in HCMC! We get chatting and then a guy turns up on a bright yellow Minsk. Chris has ridden the Minsk from the north of Vietnam and has just arrived in HCMC. We’re all chatting when two young guys pass by on some Honda Wins. They see us and stop to talk bikes also. We head out for a couple of drinks when I hear from Gary, the owner of the GN125. He’s just ridden down from Ha Noi with his girlfriend on the back. He’s looking to sell the bike! I take it for a ride and its running great. We do the deal (after faffing around with how to actually do this as there is a 2,000,000 VND withdrawal limit (i later find ANZ lets you get 4mill)). I now own a bike. WOOHOO. 
Sam and Sean also buy a Bonus each from Dahn, but they won’t be ready until the morning. Chris and I head out for a night ride around HCMC. Crazy times darting though traffic and filtering though crossings. We stop for a sneaky beer in god knows where. But there are no westerners around so we get stared at a bit. We head back to meet the other boys at 333 and decide to meet at Dahn’s the next morning to check out their bikes.
Its Sunday when I meet the boys at Dahn’s at 10am. The bikes aren’t ready so we have an Irish Breakfast from a Mexican place. We chill for a bit, drinking Café Sua Da (Iced Vietnamese Coffee with condensed milk – AMAZING!) at the Mexican restaurant opposites the bike stall. The bikes take ages so we walk to the helmet shop were Jack and Gemma got theirs and buy some for us. We get back to Dahn’s and the bikes still aren’t ready. A few drinks later and they are so we take Sean to a quiet car park to practice. He’s never ridden before. The afternoon is rainy so we spend a few hours at the bar. It clears up in the evening and we decide to head out for a ride to the sky tower. We get sidetracked on the way and end up at the City Hall (this is where the Top Gear boys headed off from). We stop and get the guard, who tell us not to park there, to take our photo J. The Sky tower gives a great view of HCMC at night. We see some floating bars on the river and decide to check them out. As we arrive the boats pull away – lucky because they are 2 hour karaoke boats!. We find a place selling beers and head on to the roof before riding back to 333 where I meet up with Jack, Gemma and a new addition, Thomas. The headlight on my bike stops working on the ride to Bui Vien. Shit! Jack, Gemma and Thomas have decided to ride to the Mekong. As im heading there myself we decide to join up and head off next day.
Jack, Gemma, Thomas and I meet up on Monday to check out a motorbike shop just north of the town centre. Jack hasn’t ridden much and has only just got his car license. Its an interesting ride though the busy traffic. The bike shop doesn’t open for another hour so we get some café sua da’s and sit on some kid chairs on the street side. When the shop opens I get some chain oil but that’s about it. I still need some basic tools, a chain lock and a rain jacket. I drop my bike off at Dahn’s and the guy says that the light will be fixed in an hour. I walk back to the hostel to see if Winnie (the owner) has had any luck finding some of the stuff i need. No luck, but one of her staff points me in the right direction and soon I have most of what I need. Jack, Gemma, Thomas and I meet up at 2:00 and are ready to negotiate our way though the traffic melee and out of HCMC.
Next up – Mekong Delta (My Tho, Cai Be, Can Tho, Ha Tien and Phuquoc Island)
Learning’s:
- Everything is fake and, unfortunately, most people are trying to rip westerns off, charging 2-4 times the local price.
- Be prepared for hawkers. They are non-stop. Saying no and then just ignoring them seems to do the trick.
- Hide your shit while on the street. I saw a woman putting money into her purse while walking down the street. She got it snatched by the Saigon Cowboys (a guy on the back of a moto). Also met a Canadian girl who ran after these guys when her friends bag got snatched, she got dragged a bit and had a badly grazed leg .
- Moto drivers whisper ‘marijuana’ as you walk off.
- Guys on push bikes shaking a stick of metal rattles are either selling girls or drugs.
- Bui Vien is the best place in the world for people watching, meeting strangers, getting cheap beer, and having an awesome time
- The motorbike repairers on Bui Vien next to the Bull bar is the best in town.
- You can only get one thing done a day. If you want to find a poncho, helmet and a screwdriver, it will take 3 days, unless you get a local to get it for you.
