Yesterday’s sunshine is a fading memory as we arrive at Danang airport in pouring rain, with the forecast looking decidedly changeable in central Vietnam for the next few days. So we’re delighted to emerge from Ho Chi Minh City airport into blazing sunshine… but oh my God, it’s HOT!!!

Tai meets us once more in the Arrivals Hall, and Hai is waiting with the car ready to chauffeur us through the super modern city straight into District 1, the historic heart of the city and the area that is still referred to as Saigon. Our first stop is the modern architecture of the Reunification Palace, which opened in 1966. Now a museum, it replaced the colonial Norodom Palace which had been home to the French Governor of Indochina, before becoming the base of Vietnamese General Ngo Dinh Diem.

The colonial building was destroyed in 1962 and four years later the modernist Independence Palace replaced it, becoming globally famous when a tank belonging to the North Vietnamese Army crashed through its main gate in 1975, bringing an end to the Vietnam War, as hundreds of Americans scrambled to evacuate by helicopter from its roof. Not only is one of those tanks displayed in the grounds, along with planes and various other armoured vehicles, but the Palace remains frozen in time, a monument to Seventies taste and architecture.

Named the Reunification Palace once North & South joined together, it’s a five-storey building with a cabinet room, banqueting room, presidential office, national security chamber, ambassadors chamber, gardens, cinema, disco and underground bunker, all preserved as they had been at the end of the Vietnam War with original decorations and furniture. Tai leads us around giving us the full history and explaining that its layout is based on Feng Shui characters meaning Good Fortune which is how the building appears appears when seen from above.

We end on the roof where bullet holes and helicopters bear testament to its past, affording us views down the boulevards, giving us a sense of the space and scale of the city. Exiting the complex via basement rooms Hai then drives us over to the Notre Dame Cathedral, which like its Parisian counterpart is currently closed for renovations, but across the road is Saigon La Poste, the old Post Office which is still in use today.

One of the key landmarks of the city it actually looks like a grand railway station, and inside is thronged with visitors buying souvenirs from the vast quantities of stalls and shops laid out. We purchase a cute figurine and then wander along Dong Khoi Street with Tai to the fabled Saigon Opera House, an elegant Beaux-Artes style building.

Tai recommends we purchase tickets for the AO Bamboo Circus show, a dance and music performance tracing Vietnamese history. Having sat through a number of these kind of traditional shows in various parts of the world which incomprehensibly go on (and on and on) we’re not 100% sold, but decide to do so out of respect and also the chance to see inside the Opera House, so book seats for tomorrow night’s show.

Next to the Opera House is a pharmacy and we pop inside as I have a bit of sinus pain and, being aware that we have further flights to come, need to get a decongestant. Despite my best efforts, and Tai’s attempts at translations, we discover when we get to the hotel that I’ve in fact purchased high strength Tramadol pain killers rather than a decongestant. They make for a fluffy afternoon!

Our residence for the next two days is the rather spectacular Hotel Des Artes Saigon. A fabulous 5-star affair, I cause a bit of a scene on check in because, yet again, we’re given a twin room. It’s happened in most of the hotels we’ve been to on this trip but this time I put my foot down and insist we are given a double room in accordance with what we booked.

There’s much consternation on the front desk, not due to us being a same-sex couple as south-east Asia is very tolerant, but because the local tour operators have obviously not carried out the room instructions from our UK travel agents, which is why we keep being booked into twin rooms. And now, unfortunately, there are no available double rooms in the hotel.

Tai gets his boss in Hanoi on the phone and I make our feelings to her very plain, explaining that this trip is part of our joint 50th birthday and 20th Anniversary celebrations and this is no longer acceptable. Informing her that we will wait in the lobby until she’s sorted us the double room we are expecting, I pass the phone back to Tai and we take a seat in the stylish lobby with our luggage sprawled across the floor.

A few minutes later one of the receptionists comes over, very apologetically explaining that they do now have a double room for us, courtesy of our travel agency having just paid (a substantial fee!) to upgrade us. In fact, it’s actually a suite on the Executive Floor, which comes with complimentary access to the VIP lounge, which they’re delighted for us to use.

Not as delighted as we are when we enter the incredibly luxurious suite on the 19th floor, complete with enormous bed gazing out of full-length windows over an amazing panorama of the city, just as the sun is warmly starting to set in front of us. The suite also includes an incredible open bathroom with a fabulous roll-top bath. Sometimes it pays to stand your ground!

Once we’ve unpacked we head up to the rooftop bar, where we drink cocktails by the infinity pool watching the sun continue its glorious descent, painting the sky with orange and pink streaks. Slightly tipsy we decide to pop into the VIP lounge for a glass of champagne before heading out for dinner but discover that not only is the champagne unlimited until 8pm, but they also have a large selection of canapés.

The hostess notices that we only try a couple of the dishes on offer and asks if we’re not hungry. We explain that we’re vegetarian so can’t eat most of what’s on offer and she says she’ll mention it to the chef. Twenty minutes later, she appears with a platter of specially made creations and insists that we stay as long as we want, topping up our glasses of champagne with an incredibly generous pouring arm, and also pointing out the selection of other wines on offer that we are then encouraged to try.

By 9pm we’re stuffed on fabulous free food and, to be honest, completely pissed, no doubt exacerbated by the Tramadol from earlier. With no need to head out for dinner, we instead go for a walk around the block to see the New Year Tet Market in the plaza opposite the hotel, full of artists, street food stalls and exhibitions, and then head back up to the rooftop to get night-time views of the city.

By now the whole cocktail pool bar is full of young, wealthy Vietnamese and ex-pats partying along to pumping dance music. We return to our room instead and run a bath filled with gloriously scented bubbles, sinking into the ridiculously comfortable bed. It’s been a magnificent night!