Faced with the dodo’s conundrum, I felt like I could just fly

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

I don’t have much to say, save that I’m headed to South Korea (by ferry from Qingdao, China!) next week and I’m very excited about it. I’ll be meeting up with a good friend from college, Liz, which is what I’m most excited about, and possibly doing some more Couchsurfing along the way. I’ve had a really great time hanging out with my friend Mandi and her lovely and gracious friends here in big bad Wuhan, but the weather has been truly dismal and has me in a funk. I am more than ready for sun and sandy shores.

In South Korea, I plan on visiting Insa-dong in Seoul, going to the DMZ, hitting up Gwangju, maybe stopping off in Andong, and sleeping in the Seoul Incheon airport on my way out. From South Korea, I’ll be flying to Vietnam instead of overlanding back through China like I’d originally planned. There are a lot of things I love about China and I honestly wouldn’t mind trekking through a lot more of it, but without a basic grasp of Mandarin, I feel like I’m missing out on so much of what this country has to offer and a lot of fun interactions with local folk. Also, I’m more than ready to feast upon pho and drink cà phê until I get sick.

So far, my plan is to fly to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), find some beaches, head up to Nha Trang, then on to Da Nang (maybe), Hoi An (for sure), possibly Hue, and onwards as I feel like it, zig-zagging through southeast Asia.

Any recommendations or must-sees for South Korea or Vietnam?