A Journey Through Southeast Asia

As you may already know our next port of call is Vietnam. It is one of the countries in the Indochina Peninsula or Mainland Southeast Asia. This area of Southeast Asia is comprised, not only by Vietnam, but also the following countries:
- Cambodia
- Laos
- Thailand
- Myanmar (formerly Burma)
- Malaysia

We will visit Malaysia after out two stops in Vietnam. As part of my ongoing geography education, here are some of the many things I recently learned about the Indochina Peninsula:

- It extends southward from the Asian mainland, surrounded by the Gulf of Thailand, South China Sea, and Andaman Sea.
- The total land area is around 1.9 million sq km.
- It has a tropical climate influenced by monsoons (hopefully not while we're visiting).
- Major rivers include the Mekong, Red River, Chao Phraya, and Irrawaddy.
- It has diverse landscapes from mountains to coastal plains and river deltas.
- Besides being home to over 300 million people, it has rich biodiversity and numerous UNESCO World Heritage sites.
- The countries share some cultural links due to Indian and Chinese influences over centuries.
- However, the peninsula is quite ethnically and linguistically diverse.

In summary, the Indochina Peninsula is a distinctive southeastern Asian region with immense geographic, cultural, and historical significance. We'll see you there!