Counting Down

Weather is changing, and darker mornings mean I sleep longer. It has been a very pretty and mild October, but I'm ready to follow the sun. Approxatimly one more week and I'll be heading South to Ca. Looking forward to seeing Mom, Daryl, Angie, the granddaughters, and friends. Not so looking forward to the LA area and traffic. On the morning of the 13th of November, I will board a plane to the communist country of Viet Nam. Why would I go there you ask? Four reasons, 1. Never been there, but like Asia  2. It's warm and there is a beautiful beach.  3. I can afford it (it's cheap there) and 4. See reason 1-3.
My Visa is a one-year multi-entry (assuming they grant it when I arrive) that allows me to be in Viet Nam, exit, and enter for a year.
My plan is to spend 2 weeks in Da Nang (beach city, almost the center of Viet Nam) to acclimate to the country, customs, culture, language, and money. Then to venture South along the coast, staying at different towns, until I reach the Southern border of Cambodia.
At that point I will:
A. Enter Cambodia
B. Go back North into Viet Nam
C. Enter Thailand
D. Flip a coin
My latest journey/ adventure is more than just quest to stay warm with the sun, the beach and a bar with cheap beer (like that's not enough?)
It is me going out on a limb, challenging my fears of what could (and might) possibly go wrong/ or right. I'm stretching that rubber band called life.
 And as scared as I really am that things could get upside down or sideways,  I'm proceeding into the unknown, hell or high water!
I am pretty confident I'm going to experience a trip of a lifetime, meet wonderful people from Viet Nam, Cambodia, Laos,  and all over the world, will enjoy fantastic food, see fantastic sights, do stupid shit, experience amazing adventures, and just add to this amazing experience of being alive.
If you care to follow along, I'll try not to bore you.

Saturday October 13

It was a beautiful October fall day in Rogue River today. Ray and I cut down some dead trees along the driveway, cut and split some firewood, and did a little organizing around the place today. Probably got into the low 70's today, and will be in the low 40's tonight. Winter is coming! Made a fire at Ray's and watched some TV. Blackie our cat made himself comfortable on Ray's lap. And today is one month away from me boarding a plane for halfway around the world! My checklist is getting close to being complete. Got my acceptance letter from the Vietnamese government for my Visa application, my first 3 weeks accommodations booked, My tickets from LA to Saigon, and Saigon to DaNang.  My $135 cash for the government stamping fee, just 2 passport photos and I'm ready.

Art Along the Rogue

Downtown Grants Pass last week. Went with longtime friend Sandra to the chalk art event. Beautiful weather, fun day with a great sushi meal to cap it off!

Facebook isn't working for me!

Well, it does work, just too busy! I haven't used Blogger for over 3 years now but will try to use it again to keep you posted on what I'm up to.
I used Facebook to keep you up to date on my travels to Thailand last year, and it worked pretty well, it was easy to post pictures and videos. I may try to post on both mediums at first to see which is easier for you the reader to follow.
As most of you know last year was the first year I traveled out of this country alone, it was intimidating, but exciting also. Having been to Thailand before helped because I pretty much knew what to expect, and was comfortable with the people and the culture. I knew the exchange rate for money, and how transportation works there. I did venture out of my comfort zone by traveling down to Ko Lanta Island, one of the southernmost Islands, and a predominately Muslim part of Thailand. Again the people were wonderful, generous, kind and welcoming.
Well, this time I will venture a little further out of my comfort zone by traveling solo to Vietnam, different people, different money, different transportation. I will be staying for the first couple of weeks in Da Nang, a coastal city about the middle of the country and venturing out from there. The prices are looking good compared to Thailand, I have 3 hotels booked for the first 3 weeks, 2 in Da Nang very close to the beach, and one in Hoi An, a World Heritage city about 15 miles south of Da Nang and also close to the beach. The average price per night $12.25. These are small hotels but have the creature comforts, A/C, TV, WiFi, Western-style bathrooms, and have high customer ratings. All are also cancellable at no charge up until a few days before my stays.
I received my welcome to Vietnam letter from the government for my one-year multi-entry visa (my return flight is May 1st)
No one can know the future, but this could possibly be my last big travel adventure. So I'm going to try and make it EPIC!