Travel Stories | Expat Life
Glowing.
After dinner we continued to wander around town. A tripod would have been nice to have, but not so nice to carry for the remainder of the trip.
Don’t you love those lanterns? Mike and I discussed how a billion of them look cool, but just one or two is a little too dorm room. We didn’t buy any.
xo, jill
Gray and yellow.
We entered Vietnam at Da Nang* and continued directly to Hoi An. It was only about 30km but still included two different touts hopping into our taxi for a ride…and to pass off their business cards.
When we reached our hotel I was delighted to find flower petals and swans on the bed. Then I immediately felt a little awkward because I desperately needed a nap but didn’t know what to do with the petals!
After resting up we set out to explore the town. Recent rains caused a bit of flooding but nothing too troubling.
Despite being quite the tourist town today, Hoi An was once a major international sea port before being passed over for Da Nang in the 18th century. While trade in Da Nang began to prosper, Hoi An was largely forgotten. Changes began happening all over Vietnam, but not in Hoi An.
Hoi An is considered to be an extremely well-preserved example of an Asian sea port during the 15th to 19th centuries. The town is a UNESCO World Heritage site not only because of the high level of preservation, but also for the fusion of cultures displayed in the architecture.
The yellow buildings were certainly something to look at against the gray skies.
After our walk around town we stepped into a small restaurant for dinner just as the sky went dark.
*I was later told that entering via Da Nang is incredibly unusual. The proprietor at one of our hotels asked me repeatedly where we got our visa and then explained that he’s never had a guest who entered the country the way we did. It felt pretty normal to us!
I think I’m owed an upgrade.
I’m hoping those flights in and our of Bangladesh weren’t the beginning of an awful flight pattern, but it’s starting to look that way.
I’ll only share a brief overview but getting to Vietnam went like this:
On our way to Colombo for a layover I sat in the most uncomfortable seat ever created. Something in the back rest was broken and sticking into the width of my back. Since it was the middle of the night, sleeping would have been nice. Unfortunately, the “massage” kept me up most of the time.
Our second flight to Kuala Lumpur was also uncomfortable, but in a different way. I won’t say too much because I know it’s a touchy situation… but, I was sat on. The whole 4 hour flight. The man next to me would have benefited from purchasing two seats but instead used about 1/3 of my seat in addition to his own. I scooted over to Mike as much as possible and remained polite but it was awkward. I couldn’t fully lower my tray table to eat because his leg blocked it. Has anyone else been in this situation? What do you do? (Oh yeah, and the person in front of us was puking. Repeatedly. Actually, nearly all our flights involved pukers nearby.)
We had an overnight stay in Malaysia and then an early flight to Vietnam the next day. This was perhaps the most stressful part of our journey. Despite having a receipt from the airline showing we paid, the company claimed we each still owed the full balance. In cash. It was a lot of waiting in long needless lines, running around the airport, and sweating. Luckily, Mike made a quick dash to the ATM and all was well.
So I won’t be flying with those two airlines again, but we made it to Vietnam!
xo, jill
“Loans that change lives.”
Over the course of 2011 my goal was to fund one Kiva loan per month. I’m happy to say that I stuck with it and funded a total of 12 loans over the year. While some goals (or resolutions) are easy to forget, lending via Kiva had me feeling excited each and every month.
Here’s what my loans look like on the map:
Not too bad!
For the coming year I’ve decided to do things a bit differently. The new plan is only lend money that I’ve already invested. So instead of paying more money into Kiva, I’ll use the repayments to fund more loans. I hope to have enough repaid to fund a loan every two months.
Do you have any Kiva plans for 2012?
xo, jill
Too many time zones.
I’m back from Vietnam and Malaysia. Now I have all this to tackle and a whole lot more on the horizon.
xo, jill
Keepin’ it compact.
If you’re like me, packing is your least favorite part of travel. (Ok, unpacking is actually just a bit worse but you can put that off for longer). Luckily, a few years ago a friend gave me a gift that makes packing so much easier: packing cubes!
Have you ever used these? The cubes help to keep my clothing organized in my backpack as well as keeping everything compact. I use one small cube for socks and undergarments and one large cube for everything else. If it doesn’t fit in the cube, it’s not coming (with the exception of a jacket). This way I won’t over pack for a trip (at least not with clothing).
The cubes also help me stay organized once I’ve reached my destination. I don’t have to dig through my items. I just take out the cube I need at the time and slip it in my bag when I’m finished.
If you’ve never used packing cubes, I highly suggest you check them out!
Now tell me some of your travel essentials!
xo, jill
