South East Asia Adventure | Arriving

We are here in HCMC having arrived and met up first in Seoul and then HCMC. Though a couple of hours late due to de-icing in Seoul (who knew!)  our guide, Dang (say Dong) whom we have come to really appreciate, was patiently waiting for us as planned and in fairly short order the driver pulled up, and took us to our hotel. With a 2 am to bed time, the morning came quickly BUT we were happy to spend a day visiting the market, the Independence Palace, and buildings around the centre of the city. After lunch (not memorable) we easily convinced ourselves and Dang that the War Museum could be traded for a cup of good coffee and a walk around the main sites in the downtown area. So it was an iced latte for me served with sugar syrup and cafe sua (with sweetended condensed milk! and very strong coffee) for Margaret and a relaxing chat in the cafe behind the opera house. We walked through the old post office, around the square, learned about Confucianism and Buddhism and most importantly how to get across the street! More on that later.

We spent the evening downtown, amid the the New Year's Eve preparations with light shows and music and crowds of people checking it all out. We ate familiar VN fare (green papaya salad with dried beef--think Huong Luong's specialty, salad rolls with pork and shrimp). The women are making the rolls in plain view so I was able to get some tips on how to do that.We made the obligarory trip to the rooftop bar at the famed Rex Hotel, successfully crossing the street many times, using the simple lessons taught by our guide. HCMC is a bustling neon city, completely overrun with mortorcycles (but not dangerously so), and young.  Early to bed, early to rise....

South East Asia Adventure | Packing

'Twas the night before...and before me is a stack of tops and another of pants (too many), shoes (many too many), bags and pouches of travel supplies (do I really need all of this?), a  Transport Canada issue bag for liquids (too small) a carry-on sized suitcase (also too small) and a day pack (perfect!). It all fits, but just once I'd like extra room in my suitcase before I leave, a feeling of spaciousness and (I suppsoe) tidiness. It's the scrunching up of things that I don't like. But it's all there, ready to go. Maybe I'll take out a couple of things...that's a good trick to get it down at the last minute.

I first started to think about traveling with less on a business trip to Vancouver many years ago. The Airporter dropped me across the street and half a block away from my hotel and I had to haul my load--waaay too much for me--across the street and down to the hotel before I got any help. I vowed then not to travel with more than I could carry or lift. And then someone put wheels on suitcases, and my first Delsey two-wheeler rolled along behind me as I raced through airports, nearly tumbling along with it as I careened around corners, and predictably, spilling it over on its side. It was still too heavy, and overstuffed. So when we decided to "self-cater" around Greece and the islands a few years back, I knew I needed to do something different. In the end, I opted for an Eagle Creek trek pack that converted to a back pack--without wheels. So I  knew I would have to keep it light. So I started searching for what to take and what to pack, and how to pack that bag, and still have room for purchases. That's when I found onebag.com and I've been a loyal fan ever since.

Now I get by with a carry-on sized Samsonite four-wheeler and I wouldn't trade it for anything. No spills, and I can push it down the aisle of a plane! And even when it's packed full, I can still lift it. I've tried lots of different ways of getting everything in, but mostly I've just reduced and learn to wash a few things along the way, or take advantage of a laundry service. I carry a sink plug and some soft water soap and I can rinse out my socks anywhere. Today I found some new clothes peg/hangers that will please Margaret (try the Dollar Store). I use pouches and bags that I buy at Mountain Equipment Coop and lump things that I use or wear together in sacs. There are only five pieces in my suitcase so if someone goes rummaging, it's not that big a deal to put it all back in. I think when they see my little packages, they get scared and don't look any further because I've never had my bag torn apart, not even at the border between Chile and Argentina along the Cruce des Lagos Andinas where they are known for being meticulous about routing out smugglers of grains, seeds, fruits and other agricultural products (only the queue crashers got checked).

Everything on my official list of things to do is done, but somehow there seems to always be a new list. A house to prepare for the house sitter (thank you Quinn), backups to do, things to store away. Boarding passes - check. Passport - check.  Extra photos - check. Currency - check. Check. Check. Check. check.

With 24 hours of air travel ahead of me, my last "to-do" is to fill up my iPod with music and podcasts.  So I'll hit the iStore and see what's free on CBC, and set the alarms for an early morning trip to the airport.

South East Asia Adventure | Here and there...

I was taking a break from the holiday rush today, sipping a latte and Bailey's, when I came across this in CS Richardson's The Emperor of Paris. It's Grenelle, [the reviews mostly ignore Grenelle, but he's a fascinating character] in response to Octavio's questions about Grenelle's past:

You shouldn't believe all that you hear, my boy, but I have been here and there.

And where, exactly, is that? Octavio said. Here and there.

Here was the place I usually found myself in, Grenelle replied. It wouldn't take long to lose its excitement.  There was the place over the next hill, in the village just up the road, around the next corner. There was never where I was, and there always seemed more promising.

I wish I could do it, Octavio said. Go there.

Leave the bakery, you mean? said Granelle. Why couldn't you?

Look what happened to Maman or Papa.

People leave for a lot of reasons, my boy. Some have no choice. But some just want a bit of adventure, a change from the routine of life. The place I call there is not as cruel as you may think and you don't have to go far to reach it. Sometimes all you need do is walk to the end of the street and turn the corner. And remember, no matter how far you wander, here will always be here.

Madame Lafrouche, a customer at the cake-slice, as the bakery is known to regulars, later encourages Octavio and his father to venture out from the bakery where Octavio has lived since the day he was born on the baking slab in the cellar, and to which his father has recently returned from the war, distressed and disoriented.

 But--where would we go? Octavio said.

Goodness me, nowhere in particular. Just go for a walk, wander around for a while, find some new pictures. You might try the Louvre...

And so  Octavio and his father venture forth, following the precise directions of Grenelle, until they reach the Louvre where the unlikely love story begins.

This speaks to me of the footpath. It may take me far from here, or it may take me around the corner. For me, finding the footpath is about the promise of wonder and awe there, and the familiarity of home on returning here, in Edmonton.

South East Asia Adventure | Winding up and Counting Down

On Friday, my friends Gloria and Ron, who were in Viet Nam and Cambodia last spring, came for a glass of wine and brought their photo album. Ron showed me some of their photos in the spring, when I was deciding that this is where I want to travel next (thank you Ron!). This time I knew what I was looking at, and what I was going to see. It was fun to hear their stories and to get help with my to-take and to-do lists. I now have restaurant recommendations for Hanoi, and a contact.  A long-ago colleague is now living in Hanoi, at least part time, and Ron and his wife Glenda will be there when Margaret and I are passing through so I hope to be able to see them. It's a long way to go to see Ron--they are in Edmonton and Calgary often enough--but  it's exciting to think about seeing them in Hanoi.

It's December, so it's time for making lists and checking them twice. My lists are elsewhere on this blog, but I haven't checked off anything! I did look into a synthetic fill jacket, because my down-filled ones will be too warm, and potentially a problem if it's wet in Sapa. The agent thought we would only need shorts and t-shirts--I like that idea--but at 17 degrees in Hanoi, I don't think so.

Meanwhile here in Edmonton it just keeps snowing.

28..27..26..25..