Cho Lon, also well-known as Chinatown, is an area of Ho Chi Minh where many Chinese immigrants reside and earn their living. Within Cho Lon, the biggest and most crowded trade hub is Tan Binh Market, where you can find a wide range of clothing and knick-knacks at very low prices (although be warned the assortment is mostly made up of obscure dried edibles and Chinese ritual paraphernalia). An interesting time to visit Cho Lon is when locals celebrate the Chinese New Year Festival. During Tet, all shops and eateries are lavishly decorated with multi-coloured lanterns, and streets seem to become deluged with the lucky colour red.

This excavation rivals the famous sites of Pompeii. Once home to around 400,000 residents, ancient Ephesus was built around the temple of Artemis — another marvel among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The ruins we see today primarily hail from the Roman era. The remnants of the Temple of Artemis stand outside the main ruin area, while the hill above is graced with the cathedral of Saint John, said to be the final resting place of the evangelist. Legend holds that Saint John lived in Ephesus alongside the Virgin Mary.

There are multiple local companies offering scooter tours of the Vietnam capital. These tours range greatly in thematic focus (street food to historic landmarks) and duration, and depend on the individual provider, but details can often be agreed upon on an individual basis. On these tours, an individual driver is normally assigned to each visitor, who then hops on the back of the scooter as a passenger. Helmets should normally be provided. One motorbike tour of Ho Chi Minh personally tested out by the editor is Non-profit Student Tour, an incredible initiative that works surprisingly well. The coordinator links up tourists with available local student volunteers, allowing the students to practice their English and bringing overseas visitors into contact with locals. Each traveller is assigned an individual driver (this even works with larger groups). Drop them a WhatsApp message to arrange the date and time.