Ho Chi Minh City, July 19 The city formerly known as Saigon, named after the father of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City was an Indochina destination that we were eager to visit. You could instantly feel the difference between the HCMC and Hanoi the second we exited the airport. HCMC is a bustling city with clear signs of economic progress, but it still maintains its culture and traditions. Like Hanoi, the city is engulfed by thousands upon thousands of motorcycles f...

Hanoi, July 14 Being evacuated from Halong Bay a day early had its advantages. The most obvious being that we were not trapped on a remote island when the typhoon hit, but also because our tour company put us up in a 3-star hotel in Hanoi with a king size bed and a flat screen television with plenty of english movie channels. What more could one ask for when torrential rains are about to hit? That evening the girls decided to have a night out. The night star...

Halong Bay, July 11 We arrived in Hanoi late in the evening and headed straight into the city to meet up with Jackie and her friend. The plan was to head straight to Halong Bay for a few days so we decided to book a tour directly in Halong Bay instead of Hanoi. We did this because we typically get a better deal and, more importantly, we could actually see firsthand what the boat looks like (funny how the brochures rarely look like the actual boats?!). We arra...