Nonsense Hour: Hey guys!!! We're doing it, we're REALLY doing it: we're backpacking!

Well rested from our detour in Phu Quoc, we kicked our backpacking into high gear. First, we flew to HCMC for a quick stop to meet up with Jeremy's friends Nicolas and Camille. The four of us took advantage of the cheesy aerobics that dozens of locals do every evening to show off some spectacular dance moves to the 80's techno blasting in the park.

From there, we went to Danang, the city where Jeremy lived and volunteered for a summer 7 years ago. The city had changed quite a bit but mostly for the best. We motorbiked around the main sites, including an enormous hilltop Buddhist statue. One morning, we got up at 5:30 to see the sunrise and run on China beach. The most interesting part of this morning was the atmosphere on the beach before dawn: hundreds - no gazillions - of Vietnamese people exercising on the beach before going to work. By 7, the beach was empty.

Hoi An was our next stop. This is the Vietnamese capital of custom-made garments, and Alina took advantage of it... See results in pictures below. We also enjoyed a great day of diving in the Cham Islands, off the coast of Hoi An. A festival celebrating the relationship of Japan and Hoi An (a very specific festival) greeted us upon our return, so we enjoyed some concerts and carnival game activities.

Next stop: Hue, once the capital city of Vietnam, with its Imperial Palace (a nice site, but unfortunately poorly maintained), and tombs of emperors around the city. We stayed at an amazing, brand new hotel (thank you again Nicolas and Camille for the recommendation!), for $14.5 per night. Every time we got back to the hotel, they said: "You look so tired, please sit down" and would bring us fruits and lemonade. This is where Jeremy's sweating definitely comes in handy!

We have just arrived in Hanoi: more on that later!!