After the craziness of big cities like Bangkok and Hanoi, we chose Hoi An because it’s small and approachable, and it has a well preserved historic ancient city. It’s a bit touristy but very charming, and was a nice contrast to the hectic pace of Hanoi.

The town is known for its talented and quick tailors — you can have a garment made in a day. Since we probably won’t be back I decided to have a dress made for the fun of it. After a lot of searching for the right fabric and shop, I was convinced to have two made. Neither one came out perfectly (and there were a few language miscommunications about the styles), but I like them both well enough to wear. And after wearing the same dress for almost a month it was nice to have options!

We were feeling like we needed some exercise so we took a bicycle tour to visit the villages outside of the city. We met craftspeople making straw mats, mother-of-pearl inlaid carvings, basket boats, and got to see how traditional Vietnamese people live. The ride wasn’t as much of a workout as I’d hoped but ended up being much more interesting that I’d expected.

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Out of all places to be, blocks away from where our two most esteemed world leaders met to solve maybe one of the world’s most important crises. A historic meeting that was symbolic to the world showing that a former communist country can change its ways and thrive. Just kidding. Build those fucking nukes lil Kimmy. Fortunately, Donnie abruptly leaving the meeting allowed us to see his caravan heading out and I briefly saw a tall man with small hands in a presidential limousine. — Kyle

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I was worried that Hanoi would be as crazy as Bangkok but was pleasantly surprised. Sure, it was crowded, and crossing the street in the sea of motorbikes (and very few stop signs or traffic laws) was terrifying at first. But something about this city charmed me from the start. It probably helped that our first activity was a walking street food tour led by a local, so we were able to quickly orient ourselves on the map and feel more comfortable with the food options.

That tour was memorable for a few reasons. First, our tour guide, Moon, had an amazing (and surprisingly dirty) sense of humor. She shared lots of info about Vietnamese culture, families, women’s rights… as well as the delicious Hanoi food. Then, about halfway through the tour, when we were already feeling we couldn’t eat anymore, we were interrupted by a roped off street lined with security officers. Guess who on his way? We waited for almost half an hour to get a glimpse of Trump’s motorcade. Later on we found out this was just after he’d walked out of negotiations with Kim Jong Un. At the time, we wondered why the convoy was there when Trump was supposed to be in talks all day. Our detour was a welcome break from the food and we pressed on to eat more yummy Vietnamese foods. — Katy