West Coast Islands To put it in short we LOVED the west coast islands. We didn't even plan on visiting the western side because its the monsoon season and prone to days and days of rain. Along our way a couple we met told us that they had just come from the west side and only ran into rain for one day......... we figured it was worth a shot and headed out. Too bad we didnt plan to visit the west coast from the beginning and spend more time..... I think we only did 6 days between Phi Phi and Phuket and we could have spent weeks more jumping to other islands. Phi Phi Island Phi Phi was my favorite of the two islands hands down! The island had one dock for incoming ships and ... read more

I was previously using travelpod but have now changed to travelblog.org (as I'm sure you know) for my entries. I transferred the text from those previous posts here but I lack the patience and the intestinal fortitude to wade through and post the photo's again. For the original Japan and Vietnam postings with photos cut and paste this url in the address bar: http://www.travelpod.com/members/gred78 Vietnam Hanoi Hanoi is a bit of sensory overload and it took a minute to get a hang of things, my first impression wasnt all that great, but it grew on me somewhat and helped me learn a few Vietnam survival skills for the rest of the trek south, first.......... the hotel. The hotel After being picked up from the airport we maneuvered through the city streets to the glorious "Win Hotel". ... read more