April 26 was the night. my boyfriend and I will be visiting Vietnam for a week-long relaxing vacation. I changed to my backup phone just before heading to the airport as the streets of Saigon isn’t forgiving when it suddenly disappears. Some say Ho Chi Minh (or Saigon) is a place of scams because of rigged taxi fare, jacked up tourist prices, fake alcohol and valuable snatching; I would say knowledge is power and with the right information plus common sense, you can have a safe trip:

• Bags close to your body and at sight
• Phones are hidden until you are in a lively establishment
• Passport in the safe while you carry a copy with you
• Get the names of the places you want to go in Vietnamese and the trusted taxi companies to take

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