It is kind of amazing this is happening, actually, at least in regards to the two of us joining together on this trip. We met in kindergarten in the small city of Nanaimo and quickly became best friends. And of course we did all the best friend things - had sleepovers, chatted about topics we would not think of bringing up to our parents, and made a BFF club (obviously). Until her dad's job got transferred. It was a sad occasion, her moving an hour and a half's drive away down island in the first grade. But we managed to still see each other every few months and wrote letters and made friend packs for the stretches in between. If you are curious as to what a friend pack might be, it is basically a bundle of pure joy. It contains all things wonderful - letters, cards, stickers, handmade games, pictures, friendship bracelets, etc., all in a single envelope sent in the post. Then, a couple years later it became even tougher to keep in contact when she moved to the mainland. There were quite a few years during our teens where we lost contact all together, until we reached our late teens and met up again for a spontaneous adventure in the big city. For the next few years, we saw each other maybe once a year for a quick visit, if that, but with busy lives didn't really stay in contact in the periods between.
A couple summers ago, however, we went on our first big adventure together. A trial run, I call it now. It was an awesome two-week escape to Quebec and Chicago to end the summer. I think that's when we realized we were perfect travel buddies.
Planning this trip coming up has been a balance of extensive research and the attitude that we are going to wing it when we get there. Not quite anything like any trips I have taken in the past. I bought the Rough Guide book for Vietnam, as that is the first country we will be visiting, for the duration of about three weeks. I figure that reading it thoroughly and taking notes now, while not exactly making an itinerary for the trip, will at least give us some solid knowledge about what our options are when we get there. As I've continued to read it, I have received its message loud and clear: we probably need three months to explore the country, not three weeks. Which is exactly why we will have to be very selective on where we choose to visit and what we choose to do, so that we can take those places and activities at a leisurely place and really get to know those areas. And also which is exactly why having this background knowledge will save an immense amount of time on the ground.
We have three weeks left to research, buy all the necessities, pack, get immunized, and be all round prepared. Then off we go. More to come on our adventures...
