I'm always hearing warnings about keeping your belongings close to you [in Ho Chi Minh City] as thieves who ride motorbikes are adept at snatching things off a person as they ride by, but I personally have never seen it. Funny though, I don't hear folks talk about pick pockets but it's happened to me twice. Beware of that cute little sweetheart and stay away from those talented little hands.

Some 30 years later I found myself back here again [in Vietnam] on what was to be a short visit that lasted months, and since then I've been living my life with one foot in Ho Chi Minh City and the other in Fair Oaks, California.

On my discharge, I had the challenge of putting my life back together but Vietnam stuck in the inner recesses of my mind.

I'm divorced and have a son and a grandson and it is a problem being away most of the time. Living as I do, if I had a wife and children I think it would be really hard to do.

For me making friends with locals is hard, mostly because my lack of Vietnamese language skills and being retired I have limited access to locals in the work place. Though for me it is hard meeting expats as well, as most expats work here and make friends through their jobs.

Thailand has good medical care and even though I haven't tried it, Singapore is said to have high quality care also.

For the most part Ho Chi Minh City is safe but like any large city you need to pay attention to what's going on around you.