XO Tours....You've Done It Again

I have been a little quiet online since we arrived back from Aus as we have had guests from home staying with us.  I really love it when people come to visit because it gives me a chance to see Saigon through fresh eyes and fall in love with her all over again.  One thing I recommend to all of our visitors is that within the first few days, hop on an XO Motorbike Tour.  It really gives you a feel for the city that you can base the rest of your stay on.  

Now you would think after doing a few of these tours with our visitors I would have "seen" it all.  Far from it!  Mastermind behind XO, Tung, is constantly out to improve and add to the experience.  I think this last one I did was the best yet.  Seriously they just keep getting better and better.  Every time I go see, smell, taste and hear something new.  Not to mention meet!  The XO girls are seriously what makes this tour what it is, which is fabulous!  They are bright, young smart Vietnamese girls who obviously have a passion for their country.  By the end of every tour, I, as well as our guests, have lumps in our throats as we say goodbye.  You really feel like you have made a friend.  A lot of people come to Vietnam and do not have many opportunities to speak to "real" Vietnamese people.  To sit down and talk about all manner of things.  Education, politics, music, culture and hopes and dreams for the future.  There may be a few companies around trying to imitate what XO initiated 3 years ago but XO has one thing that puts them ahead in the game and in my opinion, always will. I don't know how they find them but they are just wonderful!  And then there was Tai, our tour leader.  He too was fantastic, meeting us at every stop and explaining everything we needed to know including some history lessons!  The whole operation runs flawlessly.  They make it look so simple and I am sure we don't know the half of what really goes on to make it appear that way.

So, back to our evening.  We decided to do the Foodie Tour.  Four and a half hours of stuffing our face with food and flying through five districts on a hot Saigon night. Could anything be more fun?  The girls picked us up from our place and we hit the crazy peak hour streets.  I can't tell you how it feels to melt into that honking, seething river of bikes.  The girls weave in and out with total confidence, obviously having ridden bikes for all of their adult lives.  I'll not write too much more, rather, let the pictures speak for themselves.......

  

The wonderful Tai who is such a vital part of the evening. 

You just never know what you are going to see on the streets of Saigon!

My driver for the evening...the beautiful and very talented Fi-Fi!

It also happened to be a very special occasion for Nick and I.  We were celebrating 15 years of wedded bliss!  I had organised with Tung, the owner of XO Tours, for the girls to arrive a bit early and collect a bottle of bubbles that I had left at reception.  At one of our stops we pulled it out and surprised Nick.

Vegetarians and non seafood eaters are not just catered for, they are spoilt!

Fi-Fi doing her thing.

Fierce!

Steph not too sure about the jumping chicken.

Nick....no such trepidation!

Apparently, banana wine and.....

Stinger (Similar to Red Bull) make an excellent combination.

Ok, let me explain.  As mentioned I have been on a few tours.  I have always resisted the "temptation" of eating Balut.  Balut is fertilised duck egg that is boiled and eaten in the shell.  You crack it open, drink the juice then down with the duck.  Maybe it was Stinger and Banana wine that got me but I decided that tonight I was going to go for it!

Of course, Nick, not one to outdone, gave it a crack as well (pun intended).  Now nothing against all of you who love balut, lets just say it was not my cup of tea.  

We were then given a wonderful surprise by the team that tasted a hell of a lot better than a fertilised duck embryo!

Before we knew it our night had come to an end.  Our Aussie guests had had a blast and Nick and I a wonderful anniversary.  I seriously cannot think of a more fun thing to do in this city.  I have sent so many people on this tour and without exception they have all said it was the highlight of their time in Saigon.  Thanks again to Tung and the XO team who consistently get it right.

XO Tours
Ph 09 3308 3727
or email
info@xotours.vn
http://xotours.vn