Given our love of food and exploring off the beaten track, I searched high and low for a different kind of tourist experience to undertake while we were in Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon, depending where you are!).

Trusty ol’ Tripadvisor came up trumps again for this, this time delivering me to XO Tours who were “the first all-female motorbike tour company in Vietnam, offering the most unique and highest ranked tours in Vietnam”. After reading the reviews, it did not take long for me to register and confirm our bookings on the “Foodie Tour” – seemingly they most popular. Founded in 2009 by a native Vietnamese guy Tung, who grew up in America after fleeing with his family after WW2, the concept is simple, but really effective, and very fun! We were collected up two lovely Vietnamese girls dressed in the traditional Ao Dai outfits, and after popping helmets on our heads, we jumped on a scooter each, behind the girls, and we were off!

What was unique about this tour compared to others in HCMC, was that we were tearing through the bustling traffic with millions of other motorbike riders through districts of HCMC that other tourists never really get to experience. The food stalls were rarely restaurants, but more like the stalls and open air eating places where the locals go to meet their friends and family and have dinner – no silver service here!

Tung was a fabulous host and his explanation of the different districts, complemented with the girls’ local knowledge and cheeky comments made the tour enjoyable and informative. And how could i forget to mention THE FOOD…. WOW. Definately smashed my expectations to smithereens.. frogs legs, crab, goat, scallops… and thats just to name a few of the amazing culinary delights we got to try. I would definitely  recommend anyone interested in getting to see beyond the ‘usual sights’ in HCMC give XO Tours a go. Five stars.

 And for the finale… Dave eating the Balut Egg (a developing duck embryo that is boiled alive and eaten in the shell) eeeeewwwww!!