Located just a 6-minute walk from the Notre Dame Basilica, the Independence Palace, also known as the Reunification Palace, is another not-to-be-missed destination in Vietnam’s second city. The Independence Palace was first designed by a French architect and originally given the name Norodom Palace; it once served as living and working quarters to French and Japanese colonist-generations.

The coastal towns along the Fraser Coast offer plenty of in, on and high above water activities like diving, jet skiing, hang gliding, deep sea fishing, paragliding and more. You name it, it is all here!

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.

Where else can visitors sulk in the sordid past of Park City? Park City Ghost Tours takes guests on a 75-minute walking tour of historic Park City while sharing the ghost stories and history of Main Street’s haunted buildings. The tours leave daily from Miner's Park at 7pm, and reservations are required 24-hours in advance.