Affordable guide in Ho Chi Minh

Hi there -

We'll be in Ho Chi Minh during the beginning of June before heading off to Cambodia and Laos. As we've never been to Vietnam ( or that region ) before and was wondering if there was anyone local that we'd be able to spend a day or two with so we can become familiar with the customs and help us get our feet wet? I know that it's affordable to pay a taxi driver for a day so that could be an option and I'm hoping to not spend a lot of money, but just felt it might help us enjoy our time in the region more if we had someone to help break the ice for a few days - we've been backpacking for 6 months around mexico and europe so it's not much finding accomodation, it's more customs, language, etc.

Thanks!

The 'Hanoi Kids' pop up on this site all the time: they are a bunch of students who take tourists out on informal tours in Hanoi for fun and English practice. They sound like a charming bunch, and have been recommended by a number of people who've gone out with them. I'm sure you'd get much more out of something like that than from a formal tour guide. I remember someone - maybe Hongha? - said that there was a similar group in HCMC. It sounds much more suited to your purpose than hiring a taxi driver. You might get lucky, but you also might find someone who quite reasonably thinks his job is ferrying you around, not teaching you about local customs.

Hanoi Kids, you out there? Can you recommend anyone?

That sounds perfect, I'll poke around and see if I can find any more information. Thanks!