Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) considered the economic capital of South East Asia, has a population of more than 9 million people....and approximately 7.0 million registered motorbikes and scooters I would have to do battle with! Stepping onto the streets of HCMC I was mesmerized by the flood of vehicles weaving their way across the city, inches apart. Young women wearing "piss-pot" helmets waiting at traffic lights, families riding pillion 4 up + baby, a bike with a wardrobe passing by. Blasting horns and screeching brakes constantly. Can't wait to enter the fray!

Needing a lift from Tan Son Nhat airport, I used an app called Grab (Vietnamese Uber). Within minutes I was on my way to District 1, the center of HCMC. Before leaving the airport I bought a local SIM card from Viettel - 30 days unlimited data + 100 calls for the equivalent of $12. Drawing money turned out to be a bit of a mission, with the first 4 ATM's I tried "out of order". On my 5th try I got lucky, and became an instant millionaire - albeit in Vietnamese Dong. Really takes some getting used to all the zeros! $1=23.000 VD. The Grab driver didn't speak one word of English, but we managed to have a bit of a "chat" assisted by the Google Translate app that bellowed out my English in Vietnamese.

I had booked a room in the very center of HCMC, only 10 minutes walk from Style Motorbikes where I was going to collect my motorcycle the following morning. District 1 is the preferred hangout for the thousands of backpackers visiting HCMC. (I had somehow hoped that mingling with them would magically reduce my own advanced age!). The area is also famous for a street called  Bui Vien = beer street. In the evening a real party place with bars side by side blasting out music, massage parlors, interesting restaurants, and karaoke bars.

I arrived at my room already 9 o'clock in the morning, and wasn't sure whether the landlord would let me book in, but no problem at all - wonderful with a shower after the long flight! 

I decided to take a quick stroll down to Style Motorbikes to see the condition of the small Honda XR150 I had booked. The bike had only done 12.000km and looked in good nick. We decided to do a full inspection the following morning when I would collect the bike around 8 o'clock. A quick glance at my watch showed 38 degrees and high humidity - no wonder I was sweating!

Vietnam is the world's 2nd largest producer of coffee, only surpassed by Brazil. So I obviously had to try out their coffee! One of the most loved types is called Cafe Da. Hot water is poured over freshly ground coffee through a filter, and into a glass with 2 fingers of condensed milk. Stir this mixture and pour into a glass filled with ice cubes. Delish! I managed at least 2 on my first day in Vietnam.

Tomorrow I will do battle with 7 million scooters!