Photo Essay

As promised, here's a roundup of our last few months - in photographs...

 Nam Cat Tien National Park

 Rosie takes her mum to see Angkor, Cambodia

Dried and candied fruits and vegetables, Ben Thanh Market

Rosie and her mum enjoy a cocktail on the banks of the Saigon River

A Frida Kahlo themed painting party as part of Rosie's Birthday celebrations 

 Our friends Mark and Laura visit from the UK

 Best buds since childhood

Sunset boat trip on the Saigon River

 Painting expedition with our friends Tom and Be Heo

Ho Chi Minh City 5k Color Me Run

Until we get our own GoPro camera, you'll have to watch someone else's video:

A trip to Hanoi takes us to a pop-up beer club spread across several abandoned buildings

 The train-line out of Hanoi runs just a few feet, sometimes inches, from people's homes

Fruit and veg seller in Hanoi's Old Quarter

Back where it all began, revisiting our favourite kerbside Bia Hoi joint in Hanoi

16p a glass

Huu Tiep Lake, Hanoi, complete with a twisted fragment of a US B52 bomber shot down by an anti-aircraft missile during the American War. A nearby museum houses the rest of the aircraft in various chunks.

A visit to the Perfume Pagoda, 3 hours outside of Hanoi and only accessible by boat and cable car

Our new friend Minh

Sara and Louis from Brighton join us on a motorbike trip into the mountains via an obligatory stop-off at the chopstick factory

40 years ago this week, on the 29 April 1975, the US began the final, frenzied phase of its evacuation from Saigon. This image, taken by Dutch photographer Hubert Van Es, shows one of the final "Air America" helicopters on the elevator housing of the Pitman building, a CIA owned apartment block in downtown Saigon. Their aim was to evacuate all US military and civilian personnel, along with various South Vietnamese aides and allies (and their families) whose safety was not guaranteed once the North Vietnamese army arrived.

The next morning, the North Vietnamese army rolled into Saigon, its tanks smashed through the gates of the former Presidential Palace, the government surrendered and modern Vietnam was born.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary, flags and banners have been hung all over the country and a huge ceremony and parade was held outside the reunification palace (formerly the presidential palace). Despite living only 3 blocks from the parade route, this was as close as we, or anybody could get. Road blocks lined with police made sure that this was a strictly closed-door event. Very strange for us and the handful of other foreigners milling around the barricades, all of us having risen early to catch this once in a lifetime event.

Fortunately, a massive firework display was put on that evening. The streets of Saigon ground to a standstill as tonnes of explosives lit up the famous Bitexco building. We perched ourselves at one of our favourite rooftop bars with completely unobstructed views of the show. Surrounded by cheering, happy, excitable locals, all of us looking out over Saigon's ultra-modern skyline, it was difficult to imagine the struggles this country has been through over the past century. The warmth, kindness and hospitality of the Vietnamese people is truly the country's greatest asset.

To read more about the fall of Saigon, click here.

To learn more about the American evacuation, codenamed Operation Frequent Wind, click here