Saigon has very much lived up to its hype and my expectations. Yes it's a bit touristy and no there's not loads of amazing things to do but it is one of the most vibrant and fun Asian cities I've been to. It's big - a lot bigger than I expected. We took a trip up to the Skydeck (49 floors up!) and the city stretched out as far as we could see. We visited the compulsory night market to let the kids experience a bit of haggling over tat for the first time. Helen's attempt ended with the lady shouting after her calling her a crazy lady for not buying at the price offered. Mine ended with a purchase of 6 items and although the vendor wasn't quite closing up for the month and high-fiving colleagues after we'd finished, she certainly seemed happy enough with her sales. Nice to see all those years of trading in the City weren't for nothing!

Our last day in Vietnam started with the somewhat obligatory visit to the Cu Chi tunnels. Never heard of them? Neither had I until we started our planning for Saigon. But boy is it a big deal here. When Vietnam was split North/South after gaining their independence from France, the North became communist, led by Ho Chi Minh and supported by Russia and China (fellow communist states) while the South became a democracy supported by the US. However some areas of South Vietnam loyal to the North formed a resistance and became something of a thorn in the side of the South. One such set of "loyalists" were located just 50km North West of Saigon in an area of farming land and forests known as Cu Chi. These peasant farmers lacked the sophisticated tools of the US GIs sent in to hunt them out but they knew the land well and were remarkably resilient people. So they dug a network of tiny underground tunnels to provide shelter, storage for weapons (most of which they stole from the US or forged from unexploded US munitions), war-rooms, water wells, kitchens etc. The tunnels measure a quite incredible 250km in total. When you think these were dug out by hand using only the most basic tools and no formal planning or engineering it's quite incredible really. Despite constant pounding by US bombers as well as use of chemical weapons inside the tunnels, the Americans never managed to defeat the Cu Chi resistance.

The visit starts with a lovely old piece of propaganda video about "The American Killers" (which is a little cringe given half the tour are Americans!) which is quickly followed by the tour guide nervously laughing and saying "Please take no notice - now our country loves you Americans!". This is then followed by fairly graphic demonstration of the various traps and battle techniques used by the Vietnamese and finally a chance to experience the tunnels ourselves. The network of tunnels are really small - a grown Western adult barely fits - and by all accounts the tunnels they let us sample have been enlarged to allow Westerners to fit in at all! The tour was interesting and you can only imagine the conditions down there during rainy season (when the tunnels turn to mud and become infested with snakes and scorpions!) whilst being pounded from above by American B52 bombers. It's also interesting seeing the Viet Cong described as heros and liberators having grown up watching Hollywood's version of events seen through the eyes of the American "goodies" fighting the nasty Viet Cong. There really are 2 sides to every story.

And then after one final meal in Saigon on a lovely rooftop restaurant overlooking the impressive skyline, our trip was done. A rather early 5am start this morning and we're now on the plane home. A wonderful 2 weeks, which has felt like a much much longer time away (in a good way!).