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The storm swept away homes and bridges, devastating huge areas in what Defence Minister Perrance Shiri said "resembles the aftermath of a full-scale Wholesale Foldable Gazebos war".Hang En Cave trekCon Dao are a group of little known islands in the South China Sea.Captives were political dissidents, communists and Viet Cong, but also any citizen that the government wanted to break and make disappear: writers, student protestors, Buddhists, people who refused to salute the flag.. Horns blare as locals motor past on a seemingly endless fleet of scooters. We stayed in the Old Quarter, the buzzing heart of Hanoi for more than a thousand years, situated at the north end of Hoan Kiem Lake and still a hub of everyday life for locals.

Our first stop — Bintan market, which by night, transforms into myriad makeshift stalls serving delectable food and cold Saigon beer. It seemed that denizens of Con Dao had not encountered Indians before. We entered through an underground river opening, with torches and other safety gear. 120 chambers and an additional 60 without a roof. Reach it by overnight train or a short flight from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. The Doline we first thought was the entrance, burst into a waterfall of light in the morning.Ha Long Bay (another UNESCO heritage site) located in North East Vietnam, features thousands of limestone ‘Karsts’ in all shapes and sizes rising spectacularly from the water. Tour buses barrel in, carrying a steady flow of tourists, ready to lap up the sights and sounds of this vibrant city. After a few rounds of ‘happy water’ (local homemade rice wine) to help ensure a sound night’s sleep and ahearty meal, we slept in tents.

Back to Hanoi by train, a quick shower in a hotel anteroom, delicious morning pho on the sidewalk and we were good to go on. Mercifully, the prisons were finally closed in 1975, ending a horrifying chapter in history where more than 20,000 people died. Once a major port, Hoi An is known for its well-preserved Ancient Town, cut through with canals and the melting-pot history is reflected in its architecture, a mix of eras and styles from wooden Chinese shop houses and temples to colourful French colonial buildings, ornate Vietnamese tube houses and an iconic Japanese covered bridge with its pagoda. Beetles in Con Dao are big, prolific and misguided.