Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Formerly known as Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City was easily one of the most pleasant surprises of my travels so far. While in the city, I hit the eight-month mark and was fortunately able to celebrate with top-notch coffee and bakeries. Saigon's cafe culture was other-worldly, said to be one of the French legacies of the region.

The caffeine did go to practical use, though, as I honed in my motorbike skills on some of the most chaotic streets I have ever seen. The motorbike-laden expressways here are only rivaled by those of Delhi and Mumbai. After white knuckling it for a few days as an influx of Southeast Asian tourists arrived in the city ahead of Tet (the Chinese lunar New Year, Vietnam's largest holiday), I finally got a feel for the way Vietnamese roads work and promptly headed south to explore the Mekong Delta region.Read more