Looking out over the Bay of Biscayne, waiting in excited anticipation for hurricane Isaac to make his fateful mark in Southeast Florida, I find myself coming to the inevitable realization that summer vacation will come to a screeching halt in a week's time.

Lush, vibrant, diverse, enthralling, natural, authentic, and downright HOT. After eight days in Vietnam I have to admit I'm smitten, but it didn't come easily. Arriving in Ho Chi Minh City, which is actually still called Saigon in the core districts, was anything but inviting. A miscommunication in the planning stages left us without arranged transportation to the hotel from the airport and neither Melissa, Lindsay, nor myself had the address on hand.

The Grand Palace

Arriving in Bangkok brought a sense of both relief and excitement. It's no question that after a long haul flight lasting ten hours plus another four hours from Barcelona to Helsinki, planting my feet on solid ground for the first time was just what the doctor ordered. Anyone who's traveled with me knows that I can be anything but pleasant when it comes to preparing for a big trip, but I have to admit that I think I've done pretty well for myself all things considered.

Those of you who know us best also know that when Jeff and I travel, we more often than not return with some of the most unconventional stories to share. We have an uncanny knack for finding ourselves in extraordinary situations in otherwise relatively ordinary places. Our recent trip to Turkey, however, takes the cake for extreme vacations. We have not one but three...read it...THREE tales of two tourists finding themselves in rather unfortunate circumstances.