I could have written a few blog posts between the packing list (which was not accurate to begin with and then changed ALMOST completely so that entry is as good as useless) and this one but I have been either packing, working, or aggressively drinking. What was I supposed to do, update some blog no one reads during my last few days alone with my boyfriend?
I was a huge worrier this whole trip, of course. I am not, in any sense, a seasoned traveler. I have only traveled outside of the country for the first time this year to go to Costa Rica, and Max (the boyfriend) pretty much did all the mental lifting required for that. I have NEVER traveled by myself by plane, even domestically. And with that caveat:
The trip was not terrible. At all. The whole thing beginning to end was downright easy. Max dropped me off at JFK where it took me a whopping 15 minutes to check in and get through security since it was 11 at night. I flew on EVA air from JFK airport in NYC to Taipei (15.5 hours) and then had a 2 hour layover and then it was another 3.5 hours from Taipei to Ho Chi Minh City. I cannot say enough good things about EVA air: they gave me a pass on my ludicrously overweight luggage and even gave me a pass on an extra freakin bag that they definitely could have charged me another $150 for, the seats were roomy and comfortable, there were lots of movies and games to play on their in flight entertainment system, I pretty much walked around the whole plane with impunity when I got antsy, and the in-flight food was like 4 steps better than a suburban high school cafeteria. Their plane was huge and felt modern and ergonomically designed to make you chill out. The pilot on the JFK to TPE trip even gave this zen little speech about being disconnected from all the problems of the world while you slip the tethers of the lower atmosphere and the busy people and goings-on in the countries below. Which I guess would be true, except you could pay $12 an hour for WiFi. I didn't. I'm cheap. I read 2 books and watched 2 movies and swilled white wine until I fell asleep.
The Visa on Arrival was just as easy as the website told me it would be. All I had to do was hand the person working the desk the some printouts I received via email, a visa application/questionnaire, a photo of myself, and my passport. I waited around for a little bit until my name was called, and then I paid 25 USD and got my passport stamped. The thing that really stood out about this process is that other tourists who were waiting around to get their Visa were assholes. I feel bad for whatever Vietnamese beach village is going to be overrun by those velour tracksuit-wearing, fake eyelash-batting savages. GROWN ADULTS pushing and shoving, cutting the queue, and harassing the staff. Plus I chased down a lady who dropped her passport as she's rushing off toward customs, you would think from the way she looked at me that I was trying to hand her a dead animal.
I thought for sure getting a taxi would be this huge debacle, what with all the complaints online people have about unscrupulous taxi drivers driving you off into Districts unknown and extorting you for a ride to your hotel. This is not how it went down at all. I went to a desk at the airport to buy a SIM card. ($9 for 12 gigs seemed pretty good to me!). At the same spot, I bought a pre-determined taxi trip to my hotel for another $9. The cab, thankfully, had air conditioning and I got to experience the complete free-for-all that is the traffic flow here. Seriously, even though I have seen videos and read tons of accounts of crazy motorbike traffic here, I was still unprepared for how crazy it is. That will probably be a post in itself. Within 30 minutes of constant near low-speed collisions, I was at the front desk of my hotel.
Which brings me to now. I'm in my room, waiting for my various electronics to charge. This place is like a step up from a hostel, maybe a step down from a Motel 6. It is private and looks mostly clean though. I am DYING to explore, but I am pretty much falling asleep as I write this.
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
How to Fit Everything into 2 Checked Bags and a Carry-On
My flight is in 13 days, and I am pretty much done packing.
(I had to pack extra early because my mom is picking up the stuff I am putting in storage this weekend.)
I am a tall chunky-ish chick moving to a country of petite women so I have packed as if I cannot buy clothes for the next year. This means I have mostly packed clothes, not cooking stuff, no backup shampoo and soap, none of my craft materials. Also, about 60% of my stateside wardrobe is neon, furry, shiny, hippie, trippy, or skanky. I decided not to bring much of that with me under the assumption that I will not be attending music festivals or burner parties on the reg anymore. As a result, my luggage is a depressing collection of neutrals made for mixing and matching.
My hula hoops presented a challenge. Hooping is my favorite thing in the world and I have become very picky about what kinds of plastics I will use, what size hoops I'll use, and I have invested about a month's worth of rent into a wicked fancy LED hula hoop called the Hyperion. Since the hoops are a specialty item, they are probably not available for purchase in Vietnam and I have to bring all the hoops I'll want with me. I wish I could bring all of my hoops, but they are extremely bulky when coiled down and lovingly swaddled in bubble wrap. I decided to bring 5 total, including my Hyperion.
With that in mind, here is my master list:
Checked Bags (1 large wheeled suitcase, 1 large hiking backpack):
- Clothes
- 3 dress pants
- 3 work dresses
- 8 work blouses
- silver work flats
- silver work sandals
- 1 black cardigan
- 4 pairs of long jeans (1 wide flare, 1 dark tight jeggings, 1 black skinny, 1 light boot cut)
- tons of bras and underwear
- running/yoga clothes
- 5 pairs running shorts
- 3 pairs yoga leggings
- 3 sweat-tek shirts
- 5 sports bras
- harem pants (2 pairs)
- blue clubby dress
- street-wear shorts (3 pairs)
- 2 pairs sweatpants
- Ankle height minnetonkas (2x)
- High Minnetonka fringe boots
- Calvin Klein Hi-top sneaks
- 1 pair silver flippy floppies
- socks. tons and tons of socks.
- headbands
- tank tops (8x)
- 2 sundresses
- lots of booty shorts for under all the dresses
- shawl/dress thing
- blackmilk leggings (2x)
- tie dye festival dress
- 5 pairs of sunglasses
- red bug honeycomb glasses
- white willy wonka glasses
- polka dot rave backpack
- clubby black purse clutch thing
- bathing suits (3 pairs)
- Yoga Mat & strap
- HULA HOOPS:
- Hyperion hoop plus remote, cord, charger, batteries
- neon green 32” polypro
- translucent blue 32” polypro
- orange 32” polypro
- copper 28" polypro
- fire hoop quick wicks (these are used, I hope they don't get confiscated!)
- Sheets and pillow case set
- Towels (2)
- giant batik tapestry
- Ukulele & tuner in carrying case
- UE Boom & Charger
- REDACTED
- Toiletries
- silk rops
- razors
- shampoo & conditioner
- nail clippers
- lotion
- Clarisonic & charger
- pads n tampons and all that
- perfume
- backups of my eyeliner, concealer, and mascara
- Mehron silver and gold sweatproof body paint
- Bug Spray
- bedazzled flask
- note pad
- pens
- tripod
- converters (3x)
- blow dryer
- straightener
- ENO hammock
Carry-On (rolly bag, Jansport medium backpack):
- passport
- Cash
- plane ticket confirmation
- BoA Card
- photocopies of BoA Card and Passport
- journal
- Required CELTA reading
- Visa on Arrival paperwork & copies
- toothpaste & toothbrush
- Wipes
- Laptop & Charger
- Phone & Charger
- Kindle & Charger
- digital camera & accessories
- Brick phone charge storage (large and small)
- earbuds
- pens
- TEVAs (heavy duty sandals)
- plain black pants
- 2 work blouses
- trail running shoes
- T-shirt
- jean shorts
- travel pillow
- sleeping mask
- my lucky sarongs
- rain boots (because rainy season)
- Snacks
- sectional hula hoop (30" polypro)
- umbrella
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Talking About Money is Tacky
Luckily, so am I.
I wish more people were. I had trouble finding a straight answer on how much this cross-the-world adventure of mine would be. I have heard from r/vietnam and some expat forums that you can move to Vietnam with a CELTA certification and 1000 USD to your name and be totally fine, but I have yet to see a breakdown for that. I am both a worrier and the kind of dumb American that would get totally scammed so I decided to triple that number and allocate $3,000 as survival money.
I'm trying to be an optimist. Even though I am solidly lower, lower middle class, let's talk about some financial advantages I DO have:
1. I have a safety net here in the states, albeit a small one. I have a family and/or a dedicated boyfriend I could probably guilt into helping me if I flunked out of this completely and came back to the US with no place to live. Plus these kind souls are letting me store things at their house.
2. I only have around $6,500 in student loans still due right now, all below 2.5% interest. My monthly bill is super manageable.
3. I have no other debt. No car loan, no credit card, no mortgage, no medical debt, nothing.
4. I am not on any prescription drugs, and have no recurring medical conditions that cost me any money.
5. I am a girl. People buy me things.
6. Somehow, though a clerical error or an act of the merciful flying spaghetti monster, my "2 year" AT&T mobile contract ended early so I do not have to pay an insane cancellation fee.
With that in mind, if you want to do what I'm about to do, here's what I've spent:
Celta class through Apollo in HCMC: 36, 500, 000 VND (1,473 USD) + $40 wire transfer fee
+ Flight on EVA Air: $490. Also I am probably going to get charged out the ass for baggage overages. So another $150? $200?
+ Hotel in HCMC for a month while I take the CELTA: 6,200,000 VND (278 USD). No, that's not a typo. That's less than $9 a night.
+ Large Luggage: $129
+ Clothes: $400. (new running shoes, additional conservative work clothes, sturdy shoes, yoga clothes, and bras and underwear. I am a giant, I heard I will not be able to buy much there)
+ Makeup/toiletries: $200 (stocking up, who knows if they'll have my brands?)
+ Visa-on-Arrival: $30 + $25 "stamping fee"
+ Books for my CELTA Course: $43
+ Outlet Converters: $41
________________________________________________________________________________
~$3,349.
This has been a depressing distraction from packing, I should get back to it.
UP NEXT! How to Fit All Your Shit Into One Large Rolling Bag, One Backpack, and One Carryon! (AKA F*CK IT JUST LEAVE EVERYTHING ON THE CURB)
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