Sunday, September 16, 2012

It Begins!

It's my last day in America for a long time.  Adam and I are spending the day packing up and getting the house in order for our house sitter.  We spent yesterday hanging out with friends and eating great Berkeley food.  Tonight we depart on a flight to Ho Chi Min City (Saigon).

I'm excited and nervous about the next 10 weeks.  We don't have that much planned ahead of time, just hoping to go with the flow and see where our whims take us.  There will be a lot of beach stuff and trekking through the mountains.  There will be temples and amazing food.  There will be beautiful remote islands, rivers trips, and caving.

If anyone reading this has spent time in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, or Thailand and has recommendations of things to do, please post them below.  Wish me luck!

11 comments:

  1. The cooking class I was telling you about was A Lot of Thai Cooking Class (http://www.alotofthai.com/) in Chiang Mai. It was really great and I highly recommend it. Also though, for whatever reason there are a ton of cooking classes in that city, and I don't remember exactly why we picked that one, so it's probably worth checking the Internet a bit.

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  3. Left coast is dad, dont know how I got this name.

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  4. These suggestions from my very well traveled friend, Sandi who is in Vietnam right now. Have the time of your life! --
    "Other travelers told us about an organization that hooks up University students who want to practice their English with tourists - no fee except to pay for costs of the student as they take you aroud either Saigon or Hanoi. We would have done it in Hanoi had we known about it. Ho Chin Minh City -Saigon Hot Pot; Hanoi - Hanoi Kids
    - Halong Bay boat tour north of Hanoi is worth it, albeit a bit touristy. One night is fine.
    - We are in Hoi An now in Central VN; very lovely and a nice break from the cities. We took a great cooking class today.
    - Laos is amazing! I don't know if she is planning on going but I highly recommend it. It is very slow with a relatively new tourist industry. Luang Prabang is one of the nicest SE towns I've been in. I could easily stay there for weeks exploring, hanging out.....
    - Laos - river trip on the Mekong River; we did it in the south....amazing!
    - Last word on Laos - it is what VN was like 15-20 years ago and it is bound to change over time.
    - Massages - fabulous and cheap! In both Laos and VN; I preferred the one in Laos so far, but only had one in VN.
    -Thailand - if she is in Bangkok, a few words of caution. If she goes to the Grand Palace and Wat Po area - don't believe people if they say it is closed and they can arrange another tour...it is likely not true. ALso, if someone asks them to go on a river ride, negotitiate the price first!"

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  5. Hey Jess, Ive been to vietnam cambodia and Thailand about 2 years ago! it was fantastic, my fav was Vietnam. In thailand if you are in an area that has an elephant refuge I highly recommend going! I went to one in Northern Thailand and fell in love with these animals. Have fun!

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    Replies
    1. Rowie, we'd love to hear more about what you did / recommend.

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  6. Looking forward to reading about your travels!

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  7. Jessica what great pictures and stories of adventures. I read with great interest your perception of feelings toward Americans, the pride of the tales of the viet cong,the millions killed and those disabled by chemical warfare,yet still alive today.

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