Guiding Light

For planning purposes we have been using the Lonely Planet Guide to Vietnam Cambodia Laos & the Greater Mekong and the Eyewitness Vietnam and Angkor Wat.

Lonely Planet is great for general information and places to stay while the Eyewitness has amazing pictures and great details about historical sites.

Changes

Kim and Demi both moved out today. I have the whole place to myself, for 24 hours. Kim will be back tomorrow for the theatre party and I think we will probably be seeing a lot of each other over skype as we plot our summer travel plans.  I am also hoping to get up to Port Alberni before I go to Vietnam to see Demi perform at Tin Pants.

I need to get started on my to-do list...ugh.

I have half a paper left and I will be finished with all of my homework for my Undergrad degree!

I have to get the car insured.

I have to start lessons, the brave and wonderful Wendy is going to supervise.

I need to get passport photos taken for my entry visas to Cambodia and Vietnam.

I need to re-organize the house.

I need to work on the garden.

Summer Reading

Kim's Father just bought her a Kobo ereader for her birthday. I am jealous and it has made me think about:
A) Getting an ereader
or
B) Putting together a reading list for this summer.
I don't really have the money for A so maybe I will focus on B while I still have my employee discount at the Bookstore.
My list so far:
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Tiger by John Vaillant
Room by Emma Donoghue

That is pretty much it. Any suggestions?

Postcards from the Edge

Just got a postcard from Valerie that she sent while she was in Angkor Wat. She says the ruins are even more spectacular than those along the Nile! I am so excited now!

Where oh where shall we stay?

There is a rather large complex of apartments called the Sky Gardens where Valerie already has a three bedroom apartment there which can be seen in the picture. Two of the bedrooms are upstairs and a third is downstairs. This would be ideal however there is also a possibility that we might be staying in another apartment in the same complex, only it is a two bedroom place. The area around Sky Gardens is very nice there are many restaurants, spas, grocery stores, toy stores, and parks. There is a pool in the complex that we may use as well. It is very safe, there is a security system in place. And yes, there is a place for Kim to wash her underpants.

This website here has some images at the bottom of the page showing what the exterior of the complex looks like.

Sunshine and Underwear

It is a beautiful day out! Spring is here! I'm happy and optimistic! Mostly.
I spoke to my Father about Vietnam. Let us say it could have gone better, but it also could have gone a whole lot worse. I now have to figure out when I will be able to talk to my manager at work. I feel bad telling them that I'll be leaving for a month, and in the same breath asking for as many hours as they can possibly give me. But, this is life.
I've begun to get incredibly excited. June really isn't that far away. But there is so much I will need to do! Where to begin?! How many pairs of underwear should I pack???

Hue and the river tour

We may not make it here. However it is definitely something to consider.

Kim's comments and other such things

I obviously feel a bit behind Naomi in terms of my.... enthusiam in blogging. I admit, I have never blogged before. Although I had a livejournal once, which thankfully is lost somewhere in the world wide web because I wrote it when I was 16. Let us just say, though humourous to read, I would be incredibly embarrassed at the things I dubbed important at that age.
But I digress.
Vietnam! It really seems like it is happening. I still need to figure out a few things. One, my Father. So far, he hasn't been too pleased with the idea. But I'm chipping away at his resolve and hopefully by my depature he will be well versed in the wonders that are Vietnam.
All I can really think about is going to Angkor Wat and pretending to be Mowgli. Because as Nomi informed me today, that is where the Jungle Book is based. Except, I wouldn't enjoy meeting Kaa. We would not be great friends.
Also, I have tried to begin thinking about what I shall pack, but so far have not been able to get past the decision of just how many sticks of deodarant I will be bringing. As, it is quite hot there. If you were unaware of that.
School is almost over. I am very close to having my Bachelor of Arts. So is Naomi. I feel like this is important to state due to the fact that once I finish the 101 things I have due in the next two weeks I will be able to dedicate far more time to dreaming of just how big our adventure will be.
Question to ponder tonight: What to do about employment after Vietnam?

Latest Update

1. As far as the organizer is concerned both Kim and I have been hired. Yay!
2. Summer school will probably be just for July rather than July and August.
3. We will teach English in the mornings and anything we want :) in the afternoons.
4. We will hear more soon!

Vietnamese Trivia

"The purpose of this one was to terrify the enemy. Imagine you're in the front line of an arm, and you're amassing against the front line of another army, and the front line of the opposing army does something so extraordinary that you think, "Oh, my God, we're never gonna to beat them."
496 BC, the army of King Goujian of Yueh in Vietnam, he had convicted criminals in the front line and told them they had to cut their own heads off. You may say, "Well, why would they do that?"  If they didn't, then all their families and all their children would be massacred as well."


-QI Stephen Fry

Archaeological Wonders of Angkor Wat.

It is a little bit ridiculous how much I am looking forward to seeing this site.

Mekong Delta

This is what part of the boat trip in the Mekong Delta is like.

A whole lot of information

This is note format of my conversation with Valerie and stuff you and I decided this morning:

• We will go to Angor Wat probably on the 25th or 26th of June. This involves bus travel and will cost about $270 for the bus/accommodations, and about $50 to get into the park.
• We will each need a passport photo to get into Cambodia.
• We will either be staying in a three bedroom or two bedroom apartment, both are very comfortable and in the sky gardens complex. There is a pool!
• We will go to Ha Long Bay at the end of our contract this will cost about $500.
• We have no word on contract length or specific dates yet, however it is likely we will start on the 4th of July.
• It is possible we will have a 6 or 5.5 day work week...bleah.
• We can do a lot of one day trips from Ho Chi Minh City to places like the Mekong Delta, the Cu chi tunnels, and the markets.
• We will also probably be doing a lot of field trips around the city, last year we did one a week.

Passport photos

You will need passport photos for your passport, obviously, but you will also need one for your work visa and another for your park pass at Angor Wat.

You will also need $50 American to purchase your work visa.

You can not get Vietnamese cash outside of Vietnam but you can get it at the airport in several places so have some Canadian or American money with you to exchange.

Don't worry we will pick you up at the airport :)