Good Morning Vietnam

Thanks mum for dropping us off at the airport! We had what seemed like a really long flight from Perth to KL. It's only 6 hrs 50 mins but seemed longer. We arrived safely in Vietnam after a white knuckle flight from Kuala Lumpur due to turbulence. You know there is lots of turbulence when everyone around you puts there sick bag at the front of the pouch (including yourself) and a few people actually use it... When we arrived in Saigon it was raining. We were met the airport and driven to Madam Cuc's. The traffic was incredible; way more traffic than Bali and everyone going in different directions. The boys commented that the scenery looked like Bali; I found it quite different. It's history that gives it a different look and feel.

Opted out of the free hotel meal and had a great meal near the hotel. We ordered 4 dishes (including the local specialty hotpot - opting not to put the chicken's head in the dish) and had drinks, including cocktails - all up it was $25 for 4 of us. We are finding it much better value than Bali.

The people have been really friendly and love kids! This has given us lots of conversation starters; we met a nice group of French girls when Rocco went up to them and said Bonsoir Mademoiselle. The accommodation is clean and great value. We had 2 double beds with very mattresses (I like a firm mattress but this was bordering on bed of nails firm). Frank woke up and said his back has never felt better! It was quite a noisy night but nice in a way because we felt part of something. I looked out the window randomly during the night and at all hours there was lots of activity. The cafe bar on the corner did a roaring trade all night. Had a lovely free breakfast at the hotel. Today we are thinking of going to Cu Chi tunnels but will play it by ear a bit.

We're away

Hi, It's now 9.20pm and we leave for the airport at 3am to catch a 6.30am flight to Kuala Lumpur for a 3 hour stopover then onto HCMC. Already an adventure just getting to the accomodation we are staying at tonight. We went to visit my grandparents in their retirement village and on the out mum nearly ran over this sweet old guy in a gopher. He was sort of hooning (just drove into the street at speed without looking). When he saw mum he tried to correct, went up the kerb and nearly rolled the gopher... all turned out okay. So here's how we are feeling- Sam- I am looking forward to having a fun time! Rocco- I want to eat and enjoy. Do they have pizza? Frank- Excited about the unknown as I have never travelled without bookings and a set out plan before. Angela- Bring it on!!! My only is concern our boys. Would be good microchip them and immunise them against everything...we will stick to them like glue. So tomorrow our plan is arrive in HCMC and have a drive take us to Madame Cuc's. I know, sounds like a brothel and at $25 a night including breakfast and dinner I'm guessing it's not 5 star. But it does have fabulous trip advisor reviews and as we are trip advisor reviewers ourselves I believe in the system. Looking forward to meeting Madame Cuc and hoping this story has a happy ending.

We've finally relented

For months we have been debating laptop or no laptop on this trip. I saw bringing a laptop as being an inconvenience. What will we do with it if we want to go swimming in the ocean? (Keep in mind we have been married ten years and only gone swimming in the ocean together twice). There's the worry about it (and all it's data) getting lost or stolen. Isn't it better to just use internet cafes?

Well we have finally decided to take it with us and I feel relieved. I barely last more than two hours without googling something. Did I really imagine we could travel for 3 months without a laptop. It's not like we're travelling Bear Grills style and the laptop will impede us while we're wrestling snakes. I wonder who carries Bear's laptop.

So a matter of days till take off. It feels pretty sureal. I can't believe we're actually doing this because it was quite a spontaneous decision. It will be awesome to spend this quality time with the kids while they are still young and want to hang around with us.

Thanks to you guys who posted blog comments. It really helps inspire me to write more stuff...am trying to figure out how to comment on your comments the blog won't let me. Any idea what I'm doing wrong?

The Challenge - Carry on luggage only

As a fan of Tim Ferriss, I took up his suggestion and read Vagabonding, the uncommon guide to the art of long term world travel. It is all about travelling light. We won't be travelling as light as the author, Ralph Potts, who travels pretty much with what he's wearing and an iPhone. He carries a spare pair of underpants in his pocket and washes out the pair he is wearing each night...

We won't be going this extreme! But we will be taking iPhones (iPods for the kids) and travelling only with what we can carry on board the plane. One bag has in it phone chargers, fold up wireless keyboard and Rocco and Sam's favourite stuffed toys, Hugs and Tom. Hugs and Tom are already looking worse for wear - hope they will survive the trip.

A small medical kit of medical supplies, toiletries and cosmetics (just a few)are other essentials and ofcourse tickets, passports and paperwork. We will pack minimum clothes as we can buy anything we need over there. I know we are forgetting something...any suggestions?

Getting close now

Only 18 days till we leave on our adventure. We haven't booked any hotels so it's going to be pretty spontaneous - just the way I like it! Frank is stressing as he likes to have everything planned out to the last detail.

So far our itinery is like this: land in HCMC, Vietnam on 29th Nov, make our way down the coast of Vietnam. Head over to Cambodia and leave Sian Reap for Dubai on 23rd Dec. We have a week in Dubai over Christmas then fly to Goa, India. Travel through India, then fly from no pre-determined location to Shanghai. We have a few places mapped out we'd like to see in China, such as Hangzhou and Wenzhou and near Wuhan, in the country side, at the home town of a friend of ours, Sophie. Her grandparents live a very traditional chinese lifestyle and being part of this for a while will be a great cultural adventure.

We will then head down to Guang Zhou, MaCau and Hong Kong with a plan to return back home sometime in February...

1. Florence, Italy
2. Paris, France
3. Big Sur, CA, USA
4. Santorini, Greece
5. Nice, France
6. New York City, NY, USA

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