Is this a photo of a "magic" forest? Because it looks like something straight out of another world: slanting rays of light, ominous trees and a multi-colored starburst of sun. It's remarkably similar to this other sunlight photo from earlier this month. Congrats to Flickr user kanelstrand for capturing this otherworldly forest shot during her travels to Norway.

Have any photos you want us to consider for Gadling's Photo of the Day? Submit your best shots here.

It's tough to take really good candid photos of strangers. First you have to work up the courage to talk to them. Plus you have to convince your subject not to "pose" for you. It's tricky business. That's why I'm so impressed with Flickr user don.wright for catching this Vietnamese fisherman in action. The toothy smile, combined with the photogenic seaside background helps us catch a glimpse of our subject's true personality.

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I had high hopes for my arrival in Hoi An. This historic city, set along Vietnam's Central Coast, has all the ingredients to be the perfect destination: a charming downtown lined with ancient Chinese buildings, a picturesque waterfront setting and a unique culinary history. So it was a shock when I stepped off my bus to find the city the epitome of a tourist trap, stuffed to the gills with tour groups, souvenir hawkers and pushy tailor shops. Hoi An, in my eyes, sucked. What happens then when travelers come to Southeast Asia with visions of the exotic and come away with a bad taste in their mouth? And how can we manage our expectations to best experience this fascinating destination?

As it turns out, increasingly we have to share the deserted beaches and charming historic quarters of our dreams with other visitors - and there are a lot of us these days. According to Vietnam's Tourist board, the country received 3.7 million foreign visitors in 2009. Thailand is even higher, welcoming almost 14 million tourists. These travelers have left an unmistakable footprint, altering the places we love, the food we eat and the way we're seen by locals. This influx of visitors (and their resulting impact) will only increase in the years ahead.

Yet despite the rise in tourists, Southeast Asia can be and still is the exotic destination of our dreams. You just need to come armed with a few simple strategies to maximize your enjoyment. Keep reading below to see how.

You know when you look at a photo and can't quite figure out why you like it? That's how I feel about today's selection, courtesy of Flickr user zackly76, who took this photo in Tel Aviv. Perhaps its the creepy "stalkerish" perspective? I feel like I'm spying out from behind a bush at this peculiar old gentleman. But more importantly, I like that the image feels like an unfinished story. Who is this man? Where's he going? And why am I spying on him? The answer, it seems, is up to the viewer to decide.

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Welcome back to Gadling's series on backpacking Southeast Asia, South by Southeast. In Southeast Asia, the center of daily life is the street. In Hanoi, pedestrians stop for a trim at sidewalk barber stands. In Bangkok, co-workers gather for steaming street-side bowls of noodle soup. And in Mandalay, men huddle at curbside tea shops, sipping milky-sweet chai while trading stories and gossip. You cannot claim to have visited Southeast Asia without soaking up this unique sidewalk atmosphere. And if you truly want to partake in this daily carnival of the street, you need to be eating the street food. Frequently.

I can already hear the objections. "I can't eat street food, it's going to make me sick. Isn't all that greasy stuff unhealthy? I have no idea what I'm eating – it could be goat testicles or something!" All these fears harbor a grain of truth. But if you've ever had concerns about eating street food during your travels, Southeast Asia is the place to shove those fears down the disposal. Compare plates from your average restaurant in Southeast Asia against a street vendor around the corner and the vendor will win every time. Nowhere on earth will you eat such fresh, well-prepared and innovative meals – all for pennies on the dollar.

Still squeamish? Wondering what all the street food fuss is about? Keep reading for five reasons you should be eating more street food when you come to Southeast Asia.

Gallery: Southeast Asian Street Food

You don't just visit Hanoi. Hanoi visits you. Take a walk down any street of this fast-paced Vietnamese capital of commerce and communism and prepare to be overwhelmed by sensory delights (and annoyances). Motorbikes buzz around intersections like nests of angry hornets. Your feet trip over small plastic stools at street-side noodle shops. Vendors chase you down the street like used car salesmen, endlessly peddling a mish-mash of boat trips, tropical fruits and Lonely Planet guidebooks. It's enough to make a Southeast Asian traveler go mad. But beneath this cacophony of life and movement lies an emerging must-see destination of achingly beautiful architecture, vibrant street life and cutting-edge culture. Get out of the way - we're taking a "hit and run" tour of Hanoi.

For many years, getting to Hanoi was more of a roadblock than a green light. Situated in Vietnam's furthest northern reaches, it was a capital both hard to get to and literally hard to enter. Veiled behind a curtain of communism and painful memories from decades of war, it was a destination most American travelers couldn't and didn't visit. But with the normalization of relations in 1994 and Vietnam's admission to the WTO in 2007, tourism has been on the move. Nowhere is the "new Vietnam" more evident than in rapidly changing Hanoi. Where infamous prisons once stood, there are now luxury high rises. And in place of guns and grenades, you'll find fashion boutiques and trendy coffee shops.

Ready to take another look at this on-the-move Vietnamese capital? Keep reading below for the ins and outs of a proper Hanoi visit.

Welcome back to Gadling's series on backpacking Southeast Asia, South by Southeast. Southeast Asia is modernizing rapidly. These days, malls line the streets of Thailand and WiFi signals and cell phones blanket the cafes of Vietnam. But that doesn't mean the ways of the "Asia of old" have vanished – in fact, in the mountainous northern regions of Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, a patchwork of hill tribe minorities survive by largely traditional means, subsisting on farming in remote villages. Southeast Asian visitors have a unique chance to learn and help these people through numerous activities, ranging from multi-day hikes to volunteering their time or simply acquiring locally-produced one-of-a-kind souvenirs.

Whether you're trekking through the pastoral landscapes of Myanmar, helping school kids with their daily English lesson in Laos or shopping for handmade textiles in Thailand, getting in touch with Southeast Asia's ethnic minority tribes has never been easier or more enjoyable. And though the exploitation of indigenous groups remains a problem, there are increasing signs that tourism offers a great way to help these groups survive and prosper in the years ahead.

Ever wanted to sleep in a traditional village under a blanket of shooting stars? Help a child learn to read English? Drink moonshine with a tribal chief? Keep reading below for our South by Southeast guide to the hill tribes of Southeast Asia.

Gallery: Hill tribes of Southeast Asia

The Gateway Arch in Saint Louis is truly one of our nation's most underrated landmarks. This magnificent milestone towers like a futuristic giant over the Saint Louis skyline, providing an iconic point of reference anywhere you happen to be in this historic Midwestern city. Flickr user SenzEnina snapped today's great shot of this famous structure, framing it perfectly with the city's Old Courthouse building.

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Welcome back to Gadling's series on backpacking in Southeast Asia, South by Southeast. Most visitors in Southeast Asia are on a tight budget. Lucky for you, the prices here are very negotiable. As I've learned during the past two months, everything from the price of my guest house, to my tuk-tuk to souvenirs, is up for negotiation. For a traveler living "on a shoestring," it's a been a useful skill to master. But sometimes there's a difference between bargaining your way to a good deal and just plain "ugly bargaining."

While in Myanmar, I watched in horror as a backpacker haggled with a woman over a dollar of bananas, walking away shouting in disgust that "he'd been ripped off." In Laos, I listened as a girl berated our minivan driver for "leaving 30 minutes late." Ultimately, this kind of "ugly bargaining" gets travelers nowhere. When we get aggressive over small sums of money, it makes locals more jaded about their interactions with foreigners. Not to mention the money involved, while small to you, can mean a great deal to a local.

Bargaining in Southeast Asia need not be an "ugly" affair. If done right, it's an interaction that benefits everybody. You, the traveler, get a good deal and the local merchant earns some much-needed foreign currency. Everybody goes home happy. Wondering how to do it right? Check below for a few tips.