In the south of the country lies Ho Chi Minh City, the largest in Vietnam. Formerly called Saigon it was renamed after the American withdrawal and is a city of never ending action.

Its population of five million people range from businessmen to monks, its traffic from pedicab to Mercedes; it is a fascinating contrast of ancient culture, communism and modern day consumerism.

The War Museum has provoking images of the war and revolution as well as contemporary political art. The Presidential Palace is an arresting place, almost a modern day Pompeii. It was here that the revolution started, with General Minh and his troops storming the building and almost nothing has been touched from that day on. The American Embassy is also of interest as is the Thien Hau Temple.

The Chu Chi tunnels are an unbelievably vast net work of multi storey, interconnecting subterranean passages. A thorn in the side of US troops, being only 30km from Saigon, this tunnel network was almost impregnable, with its series of trap doors and dead ends and entrances to the tunnels were so small that the Americans could not get in. To the north of Ho Chi Minh City, near the Cambodian boarder is a Caodai temple where Caodaism is practiced, an indigenous Vietnamese religion which is a mixture of many of the world’s religions.