What do you mean just walk out into the traffic?' I ask a trader at Ho Chi Minh's Ben Thanh Market who's just stung me for an obligatory hooky Rolex.Apparently it's the only way to cross the road in a city with a population of 10million – 6.5million of whom ride mopeds.I witness one elderly woman navigate her way across four lanes of traffic while carrying six live chickens, narrowly avoiding a motorcyclist hauling four pigs. There's a joke in there somewhere.
Instead, I take a Vespa tour of the city previously known as Saigon. It's the best way to see this insane warren of bars, barbers and butchers, and is also a very typical Vietnam experience.But that could change soon. Since relaxing state control in the 1990s, tourism has been central and now Vietnam wants more from foreign trade: it's working on promoting itself as a holiday destination, like neighbouring Thailand, a step up from its current status as a backpacker stop-off.
Beaches hold the key to this goal, and with more than 3,400km of coastline – 200km more than Thailand – and a winter sun season that lasts from around October to April, it could easily become a reality.Each destination offers a wildly different experience. Da Nang, in the north, has 30km of coastline collectively known as China Beach to choose from. US troops were stationed here during the Vietnam war and, as a result, it offers plenty of bars and restaurants.
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