Since we didn't want to ruin the string of good time we had in Ha Long, three hours after we were back in Hanoi, we already boarded a night train to Lau Cai and from there to Sa Pa. Sa Pa is probably the most touristic city in Northern Vietnam, so we weren't sure if we'd like it but from 7am when we started climbing the gorgeous mountains from Lau Cai to Sa Pa, we immediately fell in love with the area, the drive over is simply stunning -but its nothing compared to what we saw later that day! We decided [View Full Entry]

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We left Hanoi with an organized group to Ha Long Bay, for a 3d/2n trip. Many told us to take only 1 night tour but we decided to take it easy and have an extra day. What a great decision. So far this has been the highlight of our stay in Vietnam. We took off with an organized group which turned out great too. In the first day headed off to the beautiful bay, had a good swim and good lunches on our deluxe boat. The second day was even better, with about three hours of biking around Cat Ba National [View Full Entry]

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Well despite hearing some warnings about Hanoi from other travelers, we left Hoi An on our merry way to the capital yesterday. We were sure the other travellers were over exaggerating about the noise,dirt and people just as they had done for HCMC which we loved, but needless to say we were proven wrong!!! As soon as we arrived around 10p.m. we were simply bombarded with a million and one aggressive locals trying to sell us everything from rooms and taxis to posters and lychees. Although we were expecting it as always when getting into a new place, the rudeness and [View Full Entry]

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Got yesterday to Hoi An after a one-hour flight from Ho Chi Minh City. The train was $10 cheaper and 25 hours longer, which made our choice to fly rather easy. Vietnamese haggling is definitely different than what we're used to from Guatemala, Turkey or Brazil. It could be because: 1) the Vietnamese don't know how to haggle 2) Vietnamese are into price fixing (especially the water-bottle sellers and the cyclo drivers) 3) the merchants are used to tourists and know our BATNA 4) we suck at it - that explains why I only got a "2" grade in NEGotiation course [View Full Entry]

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For our second day in HCMC we took an organized full-day tour to the Cao Dai Temple and the Cu Chi Tunnels. Caodaism is a quite a new religion with 4 million strong believers, mostly in southern Vietnam, combining beliefs of Buddhism, Confucianism and Christianity. It was amazing to watch the noon mass inside the main Cao Dai temple. The rituals, colors, temple and people was simply overwhelming. We loved it! The only downfall was the whole tourist side of it. ~50 Western tourists using flash photography during prayers etc. as if they were in the zoo - quite upsetting. (For [View Full Entry]

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Arrived today in Vietnam, and having a terrific time here too, definitely happy that we ignored the warnings about not coming to Ho Chi Minh City . The city is full of life, hassle and noise, and it's wonderful. The first thing that hits you in the face is the traffic in Vietnam. For the 8 million people living in HCMC, 7 million own motorbikes. There are essentially no traffic lights or official traffic directions, and the only rule is "small yields to big" (or more accurately, slow to fast), so you do the math. The photos can't really convey how [View Full Entry]

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So, after a 12 hour flight (despite efforts) we did not get an upgrade to first class - I wasn't willing to spend extra £2200 for that :-) we finally got to Signapore. We originally planned to start here since a) we wanted to tick off another country on our list (yay for us - our 17th together and counting) and b) it's Asia but everyone speaks English! - Definitely the right choice for us. The first day did feel a little like we were visiting Boston's/Vancouver's/SF's Chinatown, but we're happy to have such an easy start. Unfortunately, the jetlag woke [View Full Entry]

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After an amazing week of graduating from HBS and leaving our apartment in SFP4, we've landed today in London. We have some last arrangements to do (like packing our bags...) and tomorrow 21:25 we'd be on our 13-hour direct flight to Singapore. Wish us all the best! Zai Jian Romi and Oded [View Full Entry]

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Welcome to our blog and to our very first test post here... We're just back from Dominican Republic yesterday. We now have 5 days to pack for Asia, sell all our furniture and electronic appliances and prepare the shipment to the UK. Oh yeah, and attend all of Oded's graduation events in HBS. Next week we're already in Singapore! [View Full Entry]

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