So the day is finally here....we fly out at 9:20 tonight out of Springfield! We fly from Springfield to LA, then LA to Taipei, Taiwan, then from there to Saigon (the flight from LA to Taiwan is 14 hours!). We arrive in Vietnam at 9:50 am Tuesday morning, which is actually 9:50 pm Monday night in Central time. Hopefully we can update pretty quick once we arrive! Thanks to everyone for all of your support and well wishes, we're pretty stoked! Here's our actual flight itinerary:
China Airlines flight #7
Los Angeles International (LAX) to Taipei Taoyuan Airport (TPE)
Departure (LAX): September 28, 1:15 AM PDT (morning)
Arrival (TPE): September 29, 6:10 AM CST (morning)
Class: Economy
China Airlines flight #781
Taipei Taoyuan Airport (TPE) to Ho Chi Minh City (SGN)
Departure (TPE): September 29, 7:30 AM CST (morning)
Arrival (SGN): September 29, 9:50 AM ICT (morning)
Talk to you from Vietnam! :)
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Unemployment......
is fabulous!! I may not think that if we didn't have a bunch of money saved, but I think I'll get used to not working pretty quick. This last week before we leave has been filled with last minute preparations, tying up loose ends, and spending time with/talking to family and friends that we won't see for awhile. Yesterday we actually packed our packs which went MUCH better than expected, we didn't have to leave anything behind that we wanted! To pack we actually put my pack inside of Jason's in order to save space, save money on checked baggage fees, and make sure our packing stayed under control. We also both have a small backpack we'll carry on the plane, but at this point it all fits! Jason will post pictures of the packing endeavor later. I still have a couple of items I need to get and fit though so hopefully it still works! For those of you that are wondering, here's a little list of clothing I'm bringing:
5 tshirts/athletic shirts
1 pr. convertible pants (they're pants, capris, and shorts, and are amazing!)
1 skirt
1 pr. running shorts (we'll see if I actually ever run)
1 lightweight pullover
1 rain jacket
6 pr. underwear
3 pr. socks
flip flops, sport sandals, and tennis shoes
And that's about it! I need another bottom or 2 which I'm still figuring out, but if you see me wearing the same thing in every picture you know why. We'll do laundry in our room a lot in the sink, and sometimes pay to actually use a washing machine. I'm pretty excited for now makeup, blowdryers, or heels. This week I've been dressing up though since I won't get to for a year :) That's about it for now, it's kind of a sad week with all of the good-byes, but this time next week I'll be in Vietnam!
5 tshirts/athletic shirts
1 pr. convertible pants (they're pants, capris, and shorts, and are amazing!)
1 skirt
1 pr. running shorts (we'll see if I actually ever run)
1 lightweight pullover
1 rain jacket
6 pr. underwear
3 pr. socks
flip flops, sport sandals, and tennis shoes
And that's about it! I need another bottom or 2 which I'm still figuring out, but if you see me wearing the same thing in every picture you know why. We'll do laundry in our room a lot in the sink, and sometimes pay to actually use a washing machine. I'm pretty excited for now makeup, blowdryers, or heels. This week I've been dressing up though since I won't get to for a year :) That's about it for now, it's kind of a sad week with all of the good-byes, but this time next week I'll be in Vietnam!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Less than 3 weeks...
Yesterday was the 3 week mark until our departure...wow! I think we're pretty prepared at this point, this biggest task left is selling/packing up the things we aren't taking on the trip. We have 2 garage sales this weekend (come by if you're in Springfield!) and after that it's crunch time to clean out the house. Jason and I have both been getting a lot of questions about the logistics of the trip, so I figured I'd try to answer some here. Feel free to ask more if I miss any though!
FAQ's
What are you going to eat?
We'll eat local food, often from street vendors. LOTS of rice and noodles. Jason wants to try dog, I'm up for trying most of that stuff! I started eating meat again so I'm ready to eat it there. We're going to try and eat 2 meals a day to help our budget, but I get pretty pissy when I'm hungry so we'll see how that actually goes :)
Where are you sleeping?
We're staying in hostels for the most part. Some people thought we were camping in the jungle the whole time (no way!). Pretty much a room with a bed and shared bathroom, sometimes dorm-style rooms, pretty much the cheapest option we can find.
How long will you be gone?
Based on our budget we could stay for about a year, but we'll pretty much stay until we run out of money or are just ready to come home.
Is it dangerous?
For the most part, no. Of course there will be some places that aren't as safe, just like there are in the U.S. But we're pretty well informed as to where these places are and we'll be cautious.
Where are you going?
We're going to Southeast Asia! Which is pretty much straight south of the Eastern half of China. We're flying to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in Vietnam, then traveling to Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. Then we plan to fly to India and go to Bangladesh and Nepal. This is totally flexible though, so who knows, maybe we'll end up in Iraq after Indonesia!
Are you bringing a gun?
NO
Will you have a phone?
No again.
Internet access?
Yes, pretty regularly. We'll update as much as we can!
How long did you have to save for this?
We started saving in August of last year, so it's been a solid year of working our asses off and saving like crazy.
What are you packing?
Not a lot! We each have a fairly large backpack, and are packing as minimally as we can. I'm bring about 4 tops and 3 or 4 bottoms, and 3 pairs of shoes. I imagine Jason will bring less. We have to carry a years-worth of malaria medication, as well as some over the counter stuff. We'll post pictures of our packs once they're packed!
Do you know the language?
Not a word. But in the majority of places we'll be able to communicate in English with a lot of people, and it's amazing how well you can get by with hand signals. We have a small translation book with 5 languages in SE Asia as well to help us get by.
I think that sums it up pretty well. I'm starting to get a little nervous about it, mostly to leave family and friends. But it's pretty much all excitement! Let us know if you have any other questions, and thanks to those who have been so supportive and helpful! I especially want to thank my parents who are letting me store my car at their house among other things, and are helping with some of the logistics while we're gone. They're also celebrating "Early Christmas" for us this week and taking us to the airport. The trip would be a lot more difficult without them, so thanks for all of your help!
FAQ's
What are you going to eat?
We'll eat local food, often from street vendors. LOTS of rice and noodles. Jason wants to try dog, I'm up for trying most of that stuff! I started eating meat again so I'm ready to eat it there. We're going to try and eat 2 meals a day to help our budget, but I get pretty pissy when I'm hungry so we'll see how that actually goes :)
Where are you sleeping?
We're staying in hostels for the most part. Some people thought we were camping in the jungle the whole time (no way!). Pretty much a room with a bed and shared bathroom, sometimes dorm-style rooms, pretty much the cheapest option we can find.
How long will you be gone?
Based on our budget we could stay for about a year, but we'll pretty much stay until we run out of money or are just ready to come home.
Is it dangerous?
For the most part, no. Of course there will be some places that aren't as safe, just like there are in the U.S. But we're pretty well informed as to where these places are and we'll be cautious.
Where are you going?
We're going to Southeast Asia! Which is pretty much straight south of the Eastern half of China. We're flying to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in Vietnam, then traveling to Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. Then we plan to fly to India and go to Bangladesh and Nepal. This is totally flexible though, so who knows, maybe we'll end up in Iraq after Indonesia!
Are you bringing a gun?
NO
Will you have a phone?
No again.
Internet access?
Yes, pretty regularly. We'll update as much as we can!
How long did you have to save for this?
We started saving in August of last year, so it's been a solid year of working our asses off and saving like crazy.
What are you packing?
Not a lot! We each have a fairly large backpack, and are packing as minimally as we can. I'm bring about 4 tops and 3 or 4 bottoms, and 3 pairs of shoes. I imagine Jason will bring less. We have to carry a years-worth of malaria medication, as well as some over the counter stuff. We'll post pictures of our packs once they're packed!
Do you know the language?
Not a word. But in the majority of places we'll be able to communicate in English with a lot of people, and it's amazing how well you can get by with hand signals. We have a small translation book with 5 languages in SE Asia as well to help us get by.
I think that sums it up pretty well. I'm starting to get a little nervous about it, mostly to leave family and friends. But it's pretty much all excitement! Let us know if you have any other questions, and thanks to those who have been so supportive and helpful! I especially want to thank my parents who are letting me store my car at their house among other things, and are helping with some of the logistics while we're gone. They're also celebrating "Early Christmas" for us this week and taking us to the airport. The trip would be a lot more difficult without them, so thanks for all of your help!
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