The Check List

from the crime scene

Preparation check list consist so far of:

• light, quick-dry clothing but including long sleeve tops and long trousers
• sandals and light trekking shoes (for the North!). [Unfortunately I was not given opportunity to enjoy my lime-green new sandals as they got eaten by my misbehaving dog. I found them in the crime scene - in his bed, the day after I had bought them. Well to give the dig justice this was my fault - never trust your pet that they will not destroy your new pair of shoes... of course there was also an old pair of Nike shoes standing just next to it, but they weren't so tasty.. obviously...]
• passport copy and e-ticket copy, visa recommendation letter
• a torch
• small rucksack and main backpack

• plastic cover for backpack and plastic bags for packing
• currency & debit card
• first-aid kit
• refreshing tissues and antibacterial hand liquid
• a sheet (instead of a sleeping bag)
• a towel (potentially made of microfiber)
• camera, memory stick and additional memory card                               
• sun protection (50+)
• sunglasses (!)
• repellents




recovering diving gear


• at least two passport photos

• snorkeling gear (diving mask and snorkel pipe), this is the only pieces I can carry with me.. Btw. if you find yourself in a situation where your mask and pipe are out of shape a bit, due to long time in a closet for example, I recommend to put it in warm water with a delicate liquid wash. Let it soak in for some minutes and then give it a clean. Once you are done with it, should be like new :). All the yelIowishness should go away.

This weekend I will be trying to fit it in my backpack to see how I am managing in terms of space and weight.

Picture soon to follow!

Brand New Shoes

One of the big question marks, among hundreds of course, is what type of shoes should you bring for this kind of trip. To satisfy comfort, safety, hot and humid weather.. and to look kind of nice.
Being a bit nosy I asked a couple of people who travelled in Asia and their answer was "sandals".
Sandals??!!! OMG this is like a big offense to any woman who is wearing high hill shoes for every day work. The sandals are the kind of trekking ones that usually look ugly and there is nothing fancy about them.
Never having a pair of my own, at least this is what I have had in my mind.

And so I started looking around for the right pair for me...

I don't know what's your experience with shopping but I tend to have a sort of focus with shopping for specific objects. It looks like this, I enter a shop, I have a look around and if nothing is "talking" to me I am not making my decision there. Once I spot the right object it is like "this one and no other" and if it is within my price range, I am getting it. It takes from 5-15 minutes from trying on to decision and it is done.
Of course sometimes you have to try on more things to validate your choice but usually the "talking object" is spot on and gets confirmed :).

Weird isn't it?

Coming back to my sandals.. here they are. I took some risk with getting a pair with party closed toes but first test has been successful. Check this out, was it a right decision?

I hope so, otherwise I will be stuck in the middle of Indochina with desperate sandals :).
And here is something for fun: what kind of scary animal left this trace ?

Well it is my doggy who will have to stay here when I will be off travelling Vietnam...

The Big Planning

The last and the final stage is to prepare the route. This is the most fun and helps to think in advance of what you want to see and how to spend your time. At the very beginnig I was thinking of booking first 2 nights in Hanoi and taking it from there. However after reading all the comments of endless options, I decided that thinking in advance will not do me any harm. I am the kind of a control freak person, so I could not relax without having all the facts in my hand. But you may go wild and think every day what you want to do next. For me I prefer to have a plan and then change it if I want to. Not having any plans means being stressed (!).
I have also a printout of a self-made calendar for my three weeks, where I marked the places and the timing for every day. Additionally I keep also a free-composed paper sheet with sections for:
* What is worth seeing (like the "must see" and things like: "quiet from tourists beach because I'd like to take some rest"),
* What is not worth seeing (another words don't get tricked in any trips offered by agents to these places),
* Food dictionary (basic staff like local daily food, tea, coffee, beer, cold drinks, food specials
* Accommodation (recommended hostels, hotels, home stay),
* Transportation (how to get to city from airport, taxi rates, bus and train info),
* Health (list of hospitals and medical centers, there is for example one hospital in Saigon where there is a Polish doctor, so obviously if I make an appointment I will be able to speak native language).

For the book-guide I am thinking of getting National Geographic - Polish edition. (No, not the Lonely Planet!)You need to organize yourself as you wish. Not organizing yourself could be also a way of organizing...



Lucane travel route in Vietnam

So anyway here it is, announced for the first time. This is my way of doing things on the paper, I am so talented, I know :-). For my three weeks I am planning to get around:

HCMC (Saigon)

Can Tho + The Mekong Delta Mui Ne
Nh Trang
Hoi An
My Son & My Lai
Hue
Nihn Binh
Hanoi
Cat Ba + Halong Bay
Lao Cai + Sapa
Mai Chau

I will use domestic flights on the long routes (Hanoi / HCMC and possibly Hoi An/ Nihn Bihn or Hanoi).
The rest of the travelling will be done with overnight trains and buses.

At least this is my initial plan!
Reference links where you can find nice information:

Savourasia.com
Vietnam local travel tips
Vietnam travel route planner
Lonelyplanet

Visa....

Planning needs to start with a question in mind - can I enter the country without visa?
Vietnam law requires you to obtain the visa before you arrive at the airport. It is said to be impossible to receive visa at the airport (except of some rare cases which need to go through formal embassy procedures) UNLESS you have obtained a letter of recommendation in advance. You can apply for this through many agencies and it takes few days between the submission and receiving papers. Once you have the paper in hand you need to go to "visa on arrival" window at the airport, fill a questionnaire in two copies and attach 2 passport photos, pay visa fee ($25) and that's it, hopefully you are allowed to enter.
Various sources say that on occasions visa is refused, but this happens rarerly and I have not come accross such a case when looking up forums. As I udnerstand the process, it is much more probable to be refused if you arrive at the airport and try and enter without the recommendation. That is why embassy should get involved in that process, to avoid chances that you will be dismissed because of a bad mood of one officer. I guess since there is a yes/no decison for visa admission, statistically there must be cases where "no" decision happens. Hopefully I will not be this statistical occurence, neither you!

For my visa process I used http://www.myvietnamvisa.com/ and the guys were very helpful and responsive. The service fee is $20 which you can pay on-line with your credit card. Then wait for 2-3 days of processing. Don't get surprised when they email you with your papers and there will be a dozen of other names on it, including yours. This is normal and it is explained in the message that comes with it. You just need to print it (colour printing is preferred) and have it with you together with 2 photographs.
You can also use http://www.polviet.com/ which is also recommended by people who used it. However the service charge is higher: $30.

General information & Health and safety in Viet Nam

If you are interested in Vietnam I am sure you have done your own research already a bit. The first reference point is Wikipedia, where you can find a handful information about the country origins, geography, politics etc. I recommend you read it to put a solid fundamental for your future reading. For example did you know that the official name of Vietnam is actually Socialist Republic of Vietnam?



So here is the basic stats to make it easier:
Official country name: Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Capital city: Hanoi
Population estimate:  90,549,390 (13th)
Largest cities: Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Hai Phong, Danang
Official language Vietnamese
Currency: dong (VND)
Time zone: ICT (Indochina Time) (GMT + 7). For referencing Poland it translates into +5 hrs (summer time), +6 hrs (winter time)
Climate characteristics: North Vietnam - tropical with four seasons, South Vietnam - tropical with two seasons (dry and wet).
Obligatory vaccinations: none
Drivers: on the right
Calling code: 84

I spent relatively  enormous time trying to understand the weather conditions, and here is the most comprehensive information I could find. Many sites will give general information like above which is hard to "translate" into the real weather conditions.
The information below is a combination from Buffalo Tours and Travelfish.org, which I found the most explanatory and helpful.

The beginning

So here I was...sitting on the sofa...surrounded by two cats and a crazy dog.
A new year has just started and I wasn't sure what did I want from it.
I turned 30, I had a relatively secure job, and I was singe again. I had a good life overall.
So it though it was time to take a chance and plan a big holiday trip. ON MY OWN.
No boyfriends, no friends, no agents, no pets...JUST ME.
I have always dreamt of travelling South America (who hasn't?), so that was my first direction. You know, the Ancient Indian Trails, hiking in the Andes, discovering the beauty of long lost civilisations...Machu Picchu, and all the natural beauty...Salto del Angel, Laguna Verde... I don't need to say no more.
Anyway that was my first direction to exploit, as it has always been my "place to be".

But this time I was not brave enough to choose this destination.

What I selected was quite the opposite side of the globe (!),
Vietnam here I come!!
Or maybe not quite yet.
I made my decision there and then, sitting on the sofa. Just few comparisons for safety, cost, overall level of difficulty and the tourism level. And Viet Nam seemed like the place to go for a beginner.

And so I booked the tickets.

Fortunately I leave in a capital city so I am not restricted so much by the travelling direction network. I was  also fortunate because the same year LOT launched new expantion program, look up info at Forsal.pl. They opened a direct connections Warsaw-Hanoi (!). But as you can read in the article (if you can read polish), their strategy meant competing with Russian Aeroflot. And so I checked also what our Russians friends have to offer...and I found it cheaper. Not direct though, but still around 120 € less amd with one stop in Moscow. Not a bad connection, with 13hrs there and 16 hrs return.

Already I recommend a wonderful application on iPhone, Sky Skanner, it works perfectly for European and not only connections. It is user friendly, trust worthy and very convenient. This is always my first information source for any flight booking. Sometimes I would go and check also the traditional flight search engines just to compare.. and very rarely there are discrepancies, Sky Skanner works every time! Then I go and check airlines that are not listed (like some local Asian etc.)

Because it was such an important thing for me to make the right booking, I spent quite some time scanning available flights, destinations (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh) and the most important - rates. I even took some effort and asked an agent to check out what's available, but it turned out I could get it cheaper through Sky Skanner.. So it was all working well.. Finally I made my decisions: 3 weeks in September/October time, Hanoi, Aeroflot.

Vietnam here I come!!!

But it was still only February when I booked it. Cost: PLN 1,880  / € 470 / $ 620.

How it all started

Welcome in my little blog. I hope you will find it enjoyable and helpful.

I have started this blog mainly for organizational purpose, to gather in one place all my thoughts, notes, advices, and most of all to keep all my friends updated on the progress.
I have selected this communication type as the most convinient way to give signs to people concerned about my safety and to share any news, photos and everything that I come accross beofre, during and after.

So enjoy!
Marta