Waking up in Hanoi this morning left me with some real anxiety. Today was the day we were to pick up our scooters and ride them out of the crazy Hanoi traffic and into Mai Chau. The rental process took what felt like forever and a number of hours later, we were just getting our […]

We had read reports of the airport being hawkish and local taxi drivers relentlessly soliciting foreigners for rides.  Last night there were a few solicitors, but the “hawkishness” usually went something like this: “Do you need a ride?”  “No, were ok, thank you.”  “Where are you going?”  “We don’t need a ride, thank you.”  After […]

After a long night of pretending to sleep, we got up, checked out, and set to the streets of Saigon.  A cyclone was slated to move into the city, though the full force of the reported 50 mph winds and heavy rain had not yet hit.  Instead, we found a muggy drizzle that made the […]