Local tour

I heard about an organised gathering in the local park where young Vietnamese people meet up with foreigners four days a week to improve their English and learn about other cultures. In return, they give advice about Vietnam and the local area.

Everyone was sat along a path in a line with locals on one side and foreigners on the other. I sat down next to another English guy who had been given a big map of the UK to teach two Vietnamese girls about where he was from and different parts of England. I got talking to the girls and after a while, they asked if they could be my free tour guide for the evening. Obviously I jumped at the chance!

They picked me and an Australian girl (who I met through Couchsurfing) up on their motorbikes at 7pm and took us to Districts 6 & 10, areas where we didn't see any other tourists during the entire evening. But they were full of activity, crowds of people, amazing food options and nightlife. I'd shown the girls a list of street food which I want to try. They took us to two places, each serving only one dish.

The first was a restaurant serving bún thịt nướng, a delicious medley of various meats in a bowl of noodles. Seriously good. The second was a stall on a street corner selling a sweet tofu dessert which I think is called Tàu Hủ Đá. It's served with ice and coconut, similar to Cendol in Malaysia but a very different taste. Delicious again!

Riding through the hectic streets of Saigon on the back of a motorbike was great fun, the food was superb and our tour guides were so kind and lovely. I need to make sure I do more things like this!