The wheels touched down. Our suitcases did not.

Both of them. Gone. Somewhere in a system that apparently considers "checked baggage" more of a suggestion than a promise. We landed in 32-degree, soul-dampening humidity with the clothes on our backs and nothing else. No fresh shirts, no spare underwear, nothing for a nine-day holiday that was billed, cruelly, as "relaxing."

Here's the thing nobody tells you about losing your luggage in central Vietnam: it's not just an inconvenience. It's a full-time job, assigned without your consent, with no pay and terrible hours.

When "Just