72 Hours and Counting…

Toodle-loo dear Luna…

YIKES!  Verily 2 days: 1 hr: 30 minutes to go and I’ll be (can you spell F.I.N.A.L.L.Y???) winging my way in that silver chariot (ONE-WAY!) to Hanoi!

Can you hear the ECHO as I peck these keys here in my utterly EMPTY (save for this laptop and a lawn chair)?  Yup, just this morning I rented a UHaul truck (and hired a couple of dear, burly street-side workers) and moved every remaining bit of  “stuff” (incl. my bed, etc.) to my wee storage locker (just $30/mo. for a 6′ x 6′ – yay!)  And… miracle of miracles – it all FIT with room to spare!

DEEEEEEEEEEP breath here, Dyanne – inhale… exhale… as it truly sinks in that I’ve now completely dismantled my entire comfy life here in my beloved Seattle – in favor of…

Heading off into (literally!) the “Wild Blue Yonder” on what is sure to be (if nothing else) my zaniest travel adventure yet.

WARNING –  All that follows (hereafter, for… perhaps eternity) shall (must necessarily) come with the following disclaimer:

My mots here may well soon (indeed, kinda have already) get/gotten mighty sparse and/or likely will prove very disjointed.  In short, no way do I guarantee what you might find here (if anything) at any given moment.  Certainly coherence may even prove elusive at times.  But do please bear with me, as I’m certain there will nonetheless be many interesting – nay nutso – adventures in store.
That said – onward to stray bits ‘n pieces:

I arrive Hanoi on Sunday, Oct. 30th, and the “Plan” is to spend a week up north playing “tourist”.  To wit:  1st two nts. accommodations HERE (not too shab for 20 bucks a night with wifi and a/c, no? – ah yes, gotta love Southeast Asia cheeep.) 😉

Then it’ll likely be a 2 nt. Ha Long Bay tour (a World Heritage site and presently on target to be on the list of “7 Wonders of the Natural World”) aboard a Chinese junk (a.k.a. kewl sailing ship) – will probably just book this through my Rising Dragon hotel, but want to wait to see what my options are after I arrive.

Indeed, (as usual for me) I haven’t pre-booked anything save the 1st 2 nts. lodging, but have done a ton of research, and after Ha Long, I plan to take the overnight train to Lo Cai (soft-sleeper thankyouverymuch – a mere $31) then a microbus to Sapa. One nt. in a hotel there, to buy me time to set up an authentic (as opposed to a “toursty”) trek and 2 nt. homestay in a Hill Tribe village.  Then another o/n train back to Hanoi (the Red Dragon hotel btw, will keep my excess baggage while I’m off to Ha Long and Sapa – nice!)

THEN… about Nov. 8th, fly down to Saigon which will give me about 6 nts. to get settled into a long-term hotel before starting the (predicted: grueling) month-long CELTA course on the 14th.

Th-th-that’s it.  That’s all I half-way know for certain at this point.  But that’s the way I like to roll when I travel.  😉

Oh and… before I go – just had to post a sweet pic of my dear blue-eyed Luna – happily I found her a really great home out in the country, where I’m sure she’ll be loved as much as she was here.

Stay tuned…. (just don’t hold-yer-breath!)