Hittin' the Road

So I'm off! Vacation time. To the right is a map I shoddily drew on using MS Paint (Totally old school, I know, but I did it at work on my PC that doesn't have Photoshop, so Pbbbbbth) of the route that I plan to take. There are numbers that indicate the order in which I will see things.

Basically, I have an "open bus" ticket, which means I've paid for the whole ticket, which includes certain cities (in this case, Saigon--Nha Trang--Hoi An--Hué--Hanoi), but I don't have all the dates yet. So I have the first leg, Saigon to Nha Trang, which leaves at 7:30 a.m. this Sunday, the 13th. After that, I book each leg in the next city, so when I get to Nha Trang I'll tell the bus company that I want to go to Hoi An on Tuesday, and when I get to Hoi An I'll tell them when I want to go to Hué, etc. I don't plan on using the bus the whole way--for example, I've heard that the train from Da Nang to Hué is really beautiful, so I'll be doing that instead of the bus. From Hanoi to Halong Bay I'll have to take a different bus, probably. Then once I'm in Hanoi I'll take the train to Sapa.

Once I'm in Sapa, I'll have to see how much time I've spent getting there. If I've taken my time, then I'll just go back to Hanoi from Sapa and fly back to Saigon from Hanoi. If it's possible, I'll fly back from Sapa, but I don't think it is.

However, if for whatever reason I've gotten through Vietnam quickly, then I'll figure out how to get from Sapa or Hanoi into Laos, to Luang Prabang, where I'll hopefully do an elephant trek. And see other stuff. But obviously the elephants are the main draw for me. I'm seriously in love with elephants.

But anyway, I'll see. I don't absolutely have to see Laos on this trip--I'll have other times later in the year, for the Tet vacation (depending on if my parents are here or not), or after my contract ends in April, before returning to the good ol' USA.

This trip is about a few things. It's about seeing this country that I'm inhabiting, seeing a lot more of it, and getting a larger view of it. It's about taking a break from work, and from my routine, and just going with the flow, on my own time. I'm traveling alone, so I won't be coordinating schedules with anyone else, and I can see things as quickly or as slowly as I wish. And, lastly, it's about seeing new things, and meeting new people. Shaking things up a bit. Reminding myself that I do in fact know how to keep my eyes and mind and heart open.

I'm seriously looking forward to it. I'll be stopping into internet cafés to check email and facebook, so I'll try to keep those places, and here maybe, updated at least with my location. Then when I get back I'll be adding a gazillion photos, most likely. So I'm not lost and gone forever, don't worry. Just on hiatus.

I'll be in touch. Soon.