Saigon by Night...by Vespa

The narrow alleyways race past. Colours, sounds and smells rush by. Cries of kerbside food-vendors cut through the chorus of rattling scooter horns. Clouds of smoke and steam swirl through our wheels and spiral off in the dust as we pass. My driver drops down a gear and cranks out a short burst of throttle, expertly threading us through the chaotic night-time traffic of this busy Saigon backstreet. With the bikes around us dancing in and out, avoiding each other with millimetres to spare, we swerve around bicycles, food carts, fruit sellers and parked taxis, my knees brushing past each obstacle, but the driver knows what he's doing. Suddenly, the path ahead narrows to what seems like a dead-end and the world slows as a looming brick wall approaches. Then, like flocking birds, we all turn and bank in unison, bursting out beneath an arch of paper lanterns onto a wide tree-lined avenue. I look back to see the rest of the group pop one by one from the shadows, their fifty year old two-stroke engines ringing clearly above the chaos. We all meet at the next set of traffic lights as a wall of traffic rolls across our path, everyone eyeing the green signal which will send us once again into the bedlam. I spy Rosie through the haze of petrol fumes and we share a knowing smile. We own this night, this perfect night, in this perfect city of noise and dirt and crumbling walls, with history so thick it clogs the air and food so good it could take a lifetime to fully appreciate.

There's no better way to see Ho Chi Minh City than on the back of a scooter, and when that scooter is a restored 1960s Vespa, it's like being part of your own slice of pre-1975 Saigon. Whisked from one food joint to the next, with a few boozy and musical interludes, we really got to see a side of the city we'd so far been missing out on, and with our expert local guide meeting us at each waypoint, we picked up some valuable tips and tricks for our life here in Vietnam. I even decided that life aboard a scooter isn't as crazy as it looks and have since been eyeing up a two-wheeled stallion of my own. 

Vietnam Vespa Adventures operates out of Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An and Siem Reap (Cambodia). We took the "Saigon After Dark" tour. www.vietnamvespaadventures.com