Today I have the whole day to myself until I meet the tour group tonight at 6pm so I decide to go out exploring the city. 
My first stop was Ben Thanh market. As only a wandering Hilbeast can I managed to get lost, but I did find it eventually. Along the way you pass a few parks that have exercise equipment ranging from elipticals, bikes and dip bars to things I had no idea what they were even for. Incredibly interesting and somewhat amusing seeing people working out in the street.

If you have ever been to a market in South East Asia, Ben Thanh is much the same. For those who haven't....
Depending on where you choose to enter the market the first thing you will most likely notice is the smell. It is a delicious mixture of the food cooking somewhere in the marketplace, and the raw meat and fish that sits out ready for purchase. Delicious! You will most likely be overwhelmed by the endless aisles of items to buy and have no idea where to begin. 
I walked around the market for a good hour or so to see what was on offer. You can pretty much buy everything from flowers, fruit and coffee, to clothing and every touristy trinket you can imagine. Having had no intention of shopping I headed back to the food and stopped for some Pho Bo (Vietnamese noodle soup with beef). I had heard amazing things about the food in Vietnam from friends back home, and had tried some delicious offerings in restaurants in Melbourne during my studies, so I was excited to have my first real taste of authentic Vietnamese. I'd love to say I was impressed by the flavours and loved it, but I'd be lying. My first experience with Pho had, unfortunately, left me underwhelmed. Perhaps I had expected too much, or my palate is too Westernised, but despite adding herbs and sauces and chili I still found my Pho rather bland. The most exciting part for me was accidentally getting chili oil in my eye. Well done Ash, great work. 

Helpful hint for those of you stupid enough to do this: Wipe your eye with your hair. It sounds crazy, but just trust me it works.  

I left the market with every intention of going to one of the museums. I ended up taking the long way (read 'got lost') and walked through a part of Ho Chi Minh I can only imagine most tourists don't even venture into. By the time I got to the museum it was closed. Fail 2 for the day. Rather than wait an hour for it to reopen I decided to head back to the hotel. 
 Once again, I got lost. Classic ash.  I ended up pretty close to the Reunification Palace, but I'm pretty sure I walked straight past without even realising it was there. This is why they invented maps people! 
I got a chance to try some coconut water from a street vendor. I was hot and it was cold and delicious! If you have had coconut water at home, you havent really had coconut water until you have tried the real stuff. It is so much tastier and definitely the most refreshing thing you can have after walking in HCMC for 4 hours!  
I stopped at a park to try and figure out where I was, super surprised to find a free wifi spot. My parents can't even get broadband internet at home, but Vietnam can have free wifi in the middle of a park. I think we are going severely wrong somewhere. Get your s*** together Australia!

Once I was able to get my GPS sorted I was on my way again. With some sense of where I was I decided to just wander some more. Ho Chi Minh is actually quite a beautiful city. Bridges coated in flowers and manicured gardens really add a little bit of charm.

After a rather uneventful first day in Vietnam I made my way back to the hotel. I don't know if it was the walking or the sun, but I was exhausted and ended up napping.

6pm made an appearance and it was off down stairs to meet the people I will be touring with for 15 days. We are a small group, only 8 of us, everyone seems lovely but I am definitely the quietest of the group. Who would have thought!
Apart from Jon who is from Devon in the UK the rest of us are Australian. I thought this was pretty cool.

Ngoc, our guide for the trip, gave us a run down of the itinerary. Although I had read over it when booking I had forgotten just how flexible the tour was and how little was actually included. I can already tell I'll be spending way more money than I intended in Vietnam.
Ngoc tells us not to eat street food because we will get sick. I think this is just a safety precaution, but everyone seems to agree. Street food was going to be one of the major parts of my trip, I hope someone else is keen to share this with me or I'll be going it alone. He also tells us he will mostly take us to local restaurants for a more authentic experience. This excites me but I can't help but wonder how true this will actually be.

Our first group dinner Ngoc takes us to Vietnamese Aroma, a nice looking restaurant a couple of blocks from the hotel. This is a good chance for the group to start getting to know each other. A few people try talking to me but, socially retarded as I am, I kill the conversation pretty easily. I sit back and listen to everyones stories instead. Everyone seems to lead much more interesting lives than me. Something to strive for when I'm back to reality.

Another day over. Tour begins tomorrow!!!