So It Begins

Whenever its time for a trip I turn to my voodoo mama doll I got in New Orleans a few months before Katrina and ask … where to next?

Mama spoke. Tomorrow we head out on an exotic journey to an area of the world neither of us has been to before. On a trip that will take us to Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Hong Kong.

This journey proved to be the biggest trip planning exercise I have undertaken to date. Countless hours of research went into location scouting, selection and logistics. Unlike previous trips, we had zero country knowledge to draw from as a starting point. You start with a blank canvas and you paint your trip onto it. And the more white space you leave the more serendipity can happen.

Going to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos evokes so many memories of my high school years in the US when I came of draft age. The Vietnam War and the music of those times became the formative soundtrack of my life. Seeing it now, not as the Vietnam War but the American War has an eerie feel to it.

I keep thinking about the food. I love food and I plan to try everything. Benita on the other hand is learning how to say not spicy please in four languages.

We will travel light as is our habit. We are taking a weeks worth and what ever we need to replace or add can be picked up along the way.

Mosquitoes are always top of mind when we travel because Benita got Dengue a few years ago in Saint Maarten. We always take extra precaution when it comes to those little buggers. We found some uber powerful DEET spray in the US recently that had our friend Dr. Bob concerned the protection was worse than than the bite. To be used with caution for sure but ample protection is the plan.

Cameras. I’m leaving the D70 behind. No DSLR. No lenses. Nada. We are going to rely solely on an iPhone 5 and a Canon SX240HS point and shoot. It wasn’t a hard decision, the more I see what the iPhone 5 can do along with apps like PS Express and CameraPlus the more it makes sense.

Wheels up Sunday Sept 29 at 21:00Hrs. Next posting from Hanoi.