After countless trips to Bangkok and the Thai Islands, I fancied visiting somewhere in South East Asia that was a little less explored and a little more unusual, so I hot-footed it over to Saigon, in Vietnam.

Officially known as Ho Chi Minh City, this is the bustling principal business city of Vietnam, home to several million motorcycles and few rules of traffic engagement which makes for interesting driving conditions! Luckily I planned to do my exploring on foot! I stayed at the four-star Duxton Hotel for three nights and it was the perfect base to explore Saigon. The front desk was so helpful giving me maps, tips about crossing the road and what street food to eat – which in my opinion was all of it!

Despite its sometimes dubious reputation for food, I found Vietnam to be outstanding when it came to eating out both on the street and in restaurants. The hotel alone served Vietnamese, Singaporean, Malaysian, Indonesian and western favorites as well as having an outstanding Japanese restaurant. And the buffet breakfasts were very good and served a choice of American and European dishes as well as an Asian breakfast and, my favorite, being vegetarian – the Vietnamese soup.

Visiting at the height of summer it was often a relief to get back to the Duxton’s air-conditioning and lovely roof-top swimming pool - and I was always given a smiling welcome. Service throughout the hotel was great including at the hotel spa where I had a wonderful massage. I will definitely use the Duxton as a base in Saigon for our next trip to Vietnam.