I'm going to Vietnam
I think this is the craziest thing I've ever done. I just booked myself a round trip plane ticket to Hanoi, Vietnam.
Why am I going alone? Well, my mother called me up about a month ago and asked me if she could take Q (my seven year old) for 2 weeks in August. He loves to go to his nina's house in the Maine woods, and is far more interested in camping with grandpa and swimming in the stream near grandmas house then he is in seeing the world. My husband is a slave to the nuclear energy gods, and can not get any time off from work. So, with all that free time on my hands, I just had to go somewhere? But where?
I briefly considered going to Costa Rica, but when all is said and done, it would probably cost me more money, due to Costa Rica's booming tourist infrastructure. I chose Vietnam simply because it is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen (well, I haven't seen it yet... only in pictures). It has green rice paddies, limestone rock formations, and beautiful people. It's also quite an affordable holiday. Because I'm going alone, I am trying to arrange tour guide, which is turning out to be quite a process! They are 12 hours ahead of us, so communication is very slow by e-mail, they all offer similiar packages for different prices. I could arrange a tour with an American or Canadian based tour company, but they will probably just use one of these places anyway and cost twice as much, so I am going directly to the Vietnamese companies.
I have never been to Asia, so I'm prepared to see many things for the first time, and I can't wait! I will update this will my itinerary soon. In the meantime, I need to arrange for my visa get a tour guide :)
Here are some inspiring galleries featuing some beautiful photography from the northern region of Vietnam where I will be travelling:
http://www.pbase.com/tuaminen/vietnam
http://www.pbase.com/arian001/central__northern_vietnam_
http://www.pbase.com/mkelpie/vietnam
Why am I going alone? Well, my mother called me up about a month ago and asked me if she could take Q (my seven year old) for 2 weeks in August. He loves to go to his nina's house in the Maine woods, and is far more interested in camping with grandpa and swimming in the stream near grandmas house then he is in seeing the world. My husband is a slave to the nuclear energy gods, and can not get any time off from work. So, with all that free time on my hands, I just had to go somewhere? But where?
I briefly considered going to Costa Rica, but when all is said and done, it would probably cost me more money, due to Costa Rica's booming tourist infrastructure. I chose Vietnam simply because it is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen (well, I haven't seen it yet... only in pictures). It has green rice paddies, limestone rock formations, and beautiful people. It's also quite an affordable holiday. Because I'm going alone, I am trying to arrange tour guide, which is turning out to be quite a process! They are 12 hours ahead of us, so communication is very slow by e-mail, they all offer similiar packages for different prices. I could arrange a tour with an American or Canadian based tour company, but they will probably just use one of these places anyway and cost twice as much, so I am going directly to the Vietnamese companies.
I have never been to Asia, so I'm prepared to see many things for the first time, and I can't wait! I will update this will my itinerary soon. In the meantime, I need to arrange for my visa get a tour guide :)
Here are some inspiring galleries featuing some beautiful photography from the northern region of Vietnam where I will be travelling:
http://www.pbase.com/tuaminen/vietnam
http://www.pbase.com/arian001/central__northern_vietnam_
http://www.pbase.com/mkelpie/vietnam
posted by Rebecca Picard at 7:07 PM
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