It’s impossible not to be swept up in the pace of life in Ho Chi Minh City, where throngs of scooters traverse boulevards and alleyways at speeds that put passing pedestrians at risk. The city – known to all but government officials as Saigon – is on the move, day and night.

Along with the traffic, new buildings are being thrown up at almost every opportunity; fresh reels of electric cable weigh heavily on the already creaking telegraph poles.