As you may remember, I struggled with trying to decide what to pack for my three-week vacation in December. I was limited to one big bag and one carry-on, and we were going to be in three different climates ranging from hot and tropical to pretty darned cold. In the end I decided to go with a "uniform" of jeans, shirts and sweaters for the colder weather and linen pants and long sleeve cotton tees for the hot weather, with a collection of scarves to mix things up.

The result? I was happy with the cold weather capsule, although I could have used another pair of jeans. I was less happy with the warm weather capsule. I felt like I looked okay but it was a pretty sweaty experience and I had to have a lot of laundry done along the way. Turns out the regular rules don't really apply when you are Traveling With A Capital T and have to contend with dirt and sweat and so on.

Next time I think I am going to bite the bullet and buy some of the super-duper magical travel garments that are specifically manufactured to breathe, be washed out in the sink, and dry almost instantly. The best-dressed lady in our group (photo 1) had a uniform of magical travel pants in black and khaki, magical travel tanks in white and black, and magical travel button-front shirts in white, khaki and a muted stripe, with a yellow raincoat for the cooler weather. She looked fabulously put together every day and had a lot less stuff to cart around than I did!

Also, we were on. the. go. pretty much every minute so I didn't get photos of every single outfit. But I will post the photos I have, although it will take a few posts because I also want to share some of the local fashion scene from the cities we visited! I'd love to hear your input!

1. Outbound flight to Hanoi: Green slouchy pants, LL Bean striped top, Target multicolored scarf, Target boys' chambray shirt, Asos boots. I also wore my lined raincoat because we were flying from one cool and rainy spot to another. This worked out well and I was happy with it!

2. The best dressed lady on the trip. That's her in the yellow raincoat behind our very dapper Vietnamese guide, Hoa. Of course it didn't hurt that she was tall and slim and naturally beautiful!

3/4. First day in Hanoi: J Crew striped sweater, Target print scarf, DKNY skinnies, same boots. Added the raincoat for an afternoon bicycle rickshaw ride through the Old Quarter, which was all kinds of amazing!

5/6/7/8/9. People watching while having lunch outside our hotel in Hanoi. The lady in red was so chic she took my breath away! The park across the street is a popular place for couples to come for pre-wedding photos. Our waiter told us that one day they counted 140 different couples!

10/11. Young people posing for photos at the Temple of Literature, which is an ancient university in the city of Hanoi. It's a popular site for graduation photos, and these students were rocking it!

12/13/14. Over night at Halong Bay, which is truly one of the fantastic natural wonders of the world. We slept on a fantastic luxury boat called a "junk," and the next morning we explored an amazing cave filled with rock formations. Yellow skinnies and boat shoes were the order of the day!

EDITED TO ADD 15 A very fab group having their photo taken by the pool at our hotel as we ate dinner on the patio!

Next up: Cambodia. Stay tuned!