Pack Light...Well, We Tried

I'm going to backtrack a little to the topic of packing. I stayed up a good part of the night before getting everything ready, so I didn't have a chance to make a post. However, if anyone is going to do a trip like this, it might be helpful to see what we packed, what we end up using, and what we end up with on our return home!

First, this is the luggage we took:

Two 24-inch pieces of wheeled luggage that convert into backpacks. They are the Victorinox Trek Pack Plus, with a backpack made for women's frames. I figured Kinsey wouldn't be able to carry a heavy backpack for the entire trip, so we needed something with wheels. It adds to the weight of the pack, but if I end up needing to handle the luggage by myself, at least one of them needed to roll.

Two lightweight purses, one for Kinsey and one for me. I invested in a LeSportsac and have not regretted it. However, I would try to buy one with metal slides, not plastic ones. My niece bought one with a plastic slide and it broke. We'll use these as our daybags.

One backpack. The Victorinox Trek Packs come with small backpacks that can be detached from the big pack and used as a daypack. I brought an extra backpack because I had extra things to bring and the small daypack wasn't enough. However, I'm hoping to shed stuff as I go, and the backpack I brought isn't long for this life anyway, so I have a feeling it won't make it back to the States.

Okay, so what went inside the bags?

1. One pair of shoes, each (sneakers and we wore sandals)
2. 4 shirts each
3. 2 pairs of long pants, each
4. 3 pairs of shorts (just mine, as Kinsey doesn't have shorts. I probably overpacked by one pair)
5. 1 skirt each
6. 4 changes of underwear, each
7. 3 pairs of socks, each
8. 1 swimsuit for me, 2 for Kinsey
9. 1 light jacket, each

I think that was it for clothes. I feel okay about the amount of clothes we took, it was just the other stuff that go out of hand.

What was the other stuff?

Shampoo, conditioner, face cleansers, toothpaste, toothbrushes, contact lens solution, deodorant, Woolite, feminine products, medications for any likelihood, mosquito repellent cream with high amounts of Deet (higher than your normal store. Go to an REI or camping store), sunscreen, etc. It was hard to gauge how much of everything to take.... At least that stuff should be consumed and discarded as we go along.

Some of the untangibles that we brought were

1. Permethrin--a big bottle of insect repellent for your clothes. I decided to bring it along instead of treating the clothes before we left, because we won't encounter the buggy regions until later. So no use treating the clothes and then washing out the repellent before we even get there.

2. Prescription diving/snorkeling masks. I made a big money commitment to getting prescription masks, since both Kinsey and I have pretty poor eyesight. One of the big draws in Thailand is the diving and snorkeling. I knew Kinsey wouldn't really want to go if she couldn't see. It was too hard to get contacts for her and I wear semi-permeable (hard) not soft lenses, so it would have been hard to dive for both of us. I'll let you know if it was a good investment!

3. Books. Too many. I brought some schoolwork for Kinsey, some general reading books for long train trips, and of course, too many guidebooks. I didn't write down all the info I needed, so I'm hoping to do that and then discard the books along the way. Anything we read, we'll just leave somewhere for someone else.

4. Cameras (2)

5. A netbook. I debated whether to try to go to internet cafes all along the way, but in the end I bought a netbook. It's an Asus Eee 1005HA and has been working well so far. The big draw is that it has an 8-10 hour battery life. I haven't really tested the battery to its limits yet, but it seems to be holding up well. The big disadvantage is that it doesn't have a cd-drive, so getting software on needs a learning curve.

5. A bag of cords and chargers for all the above.

6. A travel hairdryer

7. Two travel towels

8. Two sleepsacks (If you invest, get silk over cotton. The price is high but worth it. Cotton sleepsacks are so much bigger and heavier to carry, that silk gets my vote.)

9. Snacks, probably a waste of space, but we have a few days of trekking so I thought the Clif Bars would come in handy.

10. A water bottle that filters--also not the basic one, but filters out more of the germs and bacteria. I'll let you know if that one was a necessary purchase too.

11. Converters. I brought two sets because we have so much to charge, but maybe I'll find one will do.

There are probably a few other things that I don't remember right off the bat, but that's pretty much it. International travel allows you 44 lbs per bag. Our bags came in around 36 lbs each. The bags are pretty full, so we won't be able to buy much without getting rid of something!

The All-Night Flight

I never really realized what the flight to Hong Kong would be like. Basically, it becomes an endless night. We left LAX at 11:50 pm--the early flight. Apparently there is a later flight around 1 am. So, we were waiting at the airport for several hours during the evening, boarded the flight, and were served dinner about an hour into the flight. The seats meanwhile seemed more uncomfortable than any other flight I've ever taken--narrower, flimsier cushions, and lots of things poking up. Nevertheless, due to a general lack of sleep the night before, I was able to catch some zzz's, though with a lot of interruptions. When I woke up for good, it was still night with a lot more night still to come!

Eventually, we arrived in Hong Kong at 5 am, but there was no spectacular view of the city from the plane. I learned that everyone who arrives has to queue up to go through a security checkpoint before they are allowed to go to their next departure gate...something that no one seemed to bother to mention, but that all the other passengers seemed to know! There is also a fever checkpoint--everyone is screened with a heat sensor as you walk by in order to find those who are sporting a fever, so don't think you'll be able to slip past if you're feeling unwell!

I have heard that blogs are being blocked in China, so I don't know whether I will be able to post or not. I have heard of a few fixes, but I won't know if they work until I get there! If not, I may have to do a monster post when we leave. Check in now and then to see if I've managed to evade the government dragnet!

Diversion

Sorry, these posts have nothing to do with Asia--they're really a trial for me to try to learn how to add photos and work from this new netbook I bought. More on that later.

Anyway, this weekend, my sister's best friend kindly invited us to stay at her cabin in the woods, stunningly situated on a mountain near Park City, Utah. Made in the best log cabin style, the house is nestled among aspens and pine and remote enough to have only dirt roads for access.

We unpacked Friday night and wandered out to the veranda, a second-story porch that extends the length the cabin. Blue jays swooped in and collected peanuts, and just as everyone was getting ready for a ride on the 4 wheelers, a moose ambled by and stopped to forage just 20 yards from the house. He was a juvenile...probably teenage in moose years, but sporting a nice set of antlers. He didn't seem to mind our presence and kept close for at least 20 minutes.

It was lovely...the kind of moment where you stop and stand quietly and let time slow down because it's just all about that moose.

Bridge to Nowhere

In the interest of trying to have Kinsey learn a little something about where we're going before we go, I picked up a copy of the classic David Lean movie, The Bridge on the River Kwai, a couple of months ago.

I had seen the movie many, many years ago and didn't really remember much except that it's about prisoners of war building a bridge (and the ending which I will not give away). Then, as I was reading some travel books, I learned that the bridge is located in Thailand and that it's a good place to visit.

So I pulled out the movie, and Kinsey and I had movie night tonight, as there are not many nights left before we leave. The movie was great--maybe a little long and in parts a little slow--but there are wonderful scenes with Alec Guinness's, Colonel Nicholson standing up to Colonel Saito and refusing to allow his officers to do manual labor, instead enduring standing in the hot sun for a day, beatings, and a month in the "Oven." The ending is suspenseful and well done, although the ultimate theme of the movie was a bit perplexing for a 12-year-old.

In all, the movie brought out a lot of questions and discussion, but the biggest question was clearly, "How much is true?" In this era of instant answer gratification, I went to Wikipedia...and sadly found that not much is true at all. In Thailand, the bridge itself is known as the Death Railway, so named because 13,000 prisoners of war (plus 80-100,000 impressed civilian slaves) died building the railway. Otherwise, not much of the movie is true.

So, sadly, not the best homeschooling moment. But I know it will make visiting the Death Railway more memorable for both of us. And at least I looked up the facts, so we'll know the truth when we're there.

Mosquitoes Don't Suck Your Blood...It's Money

I dropped by Costco's yesterday to pick up the prescriptions the travel doctor recommended.

"Can you tell me how much these would cost?" I asked, rather innocently.

There were four prescriptions in all, two for Kinsey and two for me. The prescriptions were for Malarone, the current drug of choice for malaria, and Zithromax, an antibiotic for severe cases of traveller's diarrhea--what you use if Imodium doesn't work. The doctor and I had agreed on a three-week regimen of Malarone. You take it the day before you enter an infected area, swallow one pill per day, and then continue treatment for one week after you leave. The prescription called for 29 pills each. Malarone is apparently a huge improvement over the previous malarial drug of choice, which could cause depression and hallucinations. The other drug currently in use, Doxycycline, can cause extreme sun-sensitivity, not a real plus for the beaches of Thailand.

The clerk disappeared for a moment and returned with pen in hand.

"This one," she said, pointing to the Malarone, "is $184. For each prescription. The Zithromax is $34.75 per prescription."

My mouth fell open. "I think I'll shop around and compare prices," I said finally.

The clerk handed the prescriptions back to me. "Call your insurance," she said.

So I did. Today, I had to call two different companies, because Kinsey and I are covered by two different programs. Luckily, I was able to get Malarone from my insurance (Empire) with only a $50 deductible, and Kinsey, who has Oxford, had only a $25 deductible. The Zithromax (or the generic azithromycin) would cost somewhere near $10. For some reason, the insurance would not cover drugs bought online, but I did a little web research, and if you do not have insurance, you should be able to get a better price online.

The travel doctor did mention that prices for these drugs varied pretty widely, so I also dropped by Wal-Mart, just to see if their regular prices were any better. Alas, Wal-Mart was even higher with the Malarone coming in at $208.

So before you buy your tickets to a foreign tropical country, check to see if it's a malarial region, check your insurance, and increase your budget.

Swine Flu Is the Least of Our Worries...

Today we went to the travel doctor. Now, I did not exactly put this off until the last minute. We did go several months ago and I made sure everyone got their Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B shots, as well as updating everyone's normal vaccinations.

But, in light of the swine flu and all the nasty reports I've been hearing about the Chinese government's draconian reaction to anyone disembarking the plane with a cough or fever, I thought it would be best to check in again with a travel doctor in case there was anything we could take to alleviate the symptoms. I also admit, that I thought the Utah doctors would be more prescription-happy than the doctors in New York, who weren't particularly interested in prescribing any drugs at all.

However, rather than just telling the doctor what our concerns were, we had to sit down and wait, as the doctor (who was actually very cheerful and kind) began to detail every single known disease that occurs in each and every country we will traveling in. Most of the descriptions sounded dire and fatal, or at least excruciatingly painful.

We were instructed to buy Permethrin (a powerful mosquito repellent) and soak our clothes in it, eat no salads or fresh fruits (except in Hong Kong and Singapore), not to venture out before dawn or after dark for fear of malaria, and that we had the possibility of contracting worms, tuberculosis, typhoid, malaria, and dozens of other diseases I had never heard of.

Clearly, swine flu was the least of our worries.

After a solid hour of disease recitation, the doctor gave us several prescriptions--none of which were for the swine flu--and sent us on our way. Of course, Kinsey was properly concerned. I told her that the worst we would probably encounter was a day or two of diarrhea.

Still, I'm going to fill the prescriptions tomorrow. It will be interesting to see if we're going to need them. I'll pack them right next to the Permethrin I bought. Too bad there's nothing for bed bugs....

Where Are We Going?

So far, the flight itinerary looks something like this:

September 8 Salt Lake City to Los Angeles (4:40 to 5:40 pm)
Los Angeles to Hong Kong (11:50 pm to

September 10 Arrive Hong Kong (5:25 am)
Hong Kong to Beijing (8 am to 11:25 am)

October 28 Hong Kong to Bangkok (9:10 to 11 am)
Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Thailand (12:50 pm to 2 pm)

December 17 Singapore to Siem Reap, Cambodia (6 am to 7:05 am)

December 22 Siem Reap to Hanoi, Vietnam (6 pm to 7:55 pm)

January 12 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to Hong Kong (11:40 am to 3:20 pm)
Hong Kong to Los Angeles (4:25 pm to 12:55 pm)

(It suddenly occurs to me that I have not booked my return home from LAX to SLC!)

As you can see, there is going to be a lot of overland travel between points.

Also, because I want you future travelers to see how much a trip like this costs, I'm going to be very upfront about the money involved. However, I do need to make a little sidenote here, and that concerns what kind of shopper I am...which is someone who does not do endless research for the cheapest prices. So when I tell you what something costs, you will most likely be able to find it cheaper. I try to do my homework and find reliable quality at a midpoint price, but I lack the zeal to really find the best price.

So, with that in mind, I'll tell you that I used an airline brokerage Air Brokers Intl, a San Francisco based company that specializes in round the world types of airfare. I did not (gasp!) price shop between other companies because I had heard good things about this company and I felt comfortable with the price. (And, I'll admit, I was just lazy.) I did want tickets with flexible dates, and the dates on these tickets can be changed without charge. I've heard that it does get dicey because sometimes there may not be openings for the times you want to change to, so we'll see how this goes. I have already changed one of the legs without a fee, so at least that part is true!

I know. You're asking, so what was the price? For one person, all of the tickets from LA to Asia and back to LA cost $1681.99 using a credit card. This includes all fees. You could get a cash or check price of $1633.00, but I was a little nervous about wiring cash. At least with a credit card I felt like I had some backup if the company was bad. Adding in the one way flights from SLC to LA, and the grand total for flights for both Kinsey and me comes out to $3,533.18.

Originally, I had us traveling from USA to China to Vietnam to Cambodia to Thailand to Hong Kong to USA (a straighter line) and that came out closer to $1500 each. But then I realized that there is a festival in Thailand that I really want to see, so I had to rework the itinerary. It really kind of throws off the schedule, so I hope it's worth it!

The Beginning

After much procrastination, I am finally putting pen to paper (so to speak) and getting this blog off the ground.

For those of you who don't know, I am traveling to Asia with my 12-year-old daughter Kinsey, and I am hoping to learn how to travel on the fly--no real itineraries, no set-up tours, a lot of plans, but nothing set in stone. Anyway, I invite you to come along and see what I learn...especially what mistakes I make...and I hope that I inspire you to try the same kind of thing.

If you have questions as we travel, I hope you'll post them, and I'll try to answer. If you want to come spend some time on the road with us, we'd love to meet you along the way!