Soooooo, it is finally almost time to get moving. In 2 days I will be on a plane again on my way out into the world. And this time for a month! I can remember when I last took the time off travelling for a whole month, but wauw I’m excited! The itinerary is Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma (Myanmar) and Vietnam.
I had totally forgotten how much work, that goes into getting everything in order, for a month in South East Asia. And although I have the worlds best sidekick with me, who works amazingly without plans, we have still had to plan a few things.
Visas
First, I got to say, that the concept of e-visa is a real game changer when it is possible. Luckily I don’t need reentry visas on this trip so I could order everything online – it’s nice to be an EU citizen. And the service in all 3 countries has been amazing! No problems with payment or approval anywhere. I opted to use the 3 countries official immigration platforms, and that worked flawlessly! True, there is a charm to going to embassies, but the time spared is well spared.
Route planning
With the general concept of the trip in place, it was time to do route planning. We had such great plans and a bucket list the size of The Bill of Rights. But at some point, it became clear, that we had to kill darlings. And the best part is, then there is plenty of places to go next time 😀 The Qatar Airways route to Ho Chi Min City / Saigon was a dead giveaway, after searching the web for the best prices out of Copenhagen. So with Saigon as the start and end point, we went a little more into detail. I won’t bore you with all our ideas, just say unfortunately the Mekong Delta cruise was taken out of the equation, both because of time, but also because of the cost. Also, I have meetings at work, so my girlfriend is travelling ahead, and I will follow. Meeting up with her in Siem Riep, for the number one experience on my bucket list, Angkor Wat. So far the plan is to head from there to Mandalay, then Bagan, then NgapaliBeach and on to Rangoon (Yangon). Then we will fly back to Saigon, to meet up with our sons and travel on to Phu Quoc for a week. And ending up, with a couple of days in Saigon together, before heading home.
Packing
This has by far been my biggest headache because I really suck at Keep It Simple Stupid. On purpose I chose an 80L backpack so that there were some physical restraints on my packing 😉 I will keep the suspense and hopefully do a triumphant post later, in which I share to the world what a great packer I have become – but more on this later 🙂
