Sitting here, safe and snug at the kitchen table I grew up around back in grand old Lacrosse, Wisconsin. This being the first, and least glamorous, leg of my fall 2009 adventure I have decided to take advantage of the down time and let you all in on my plans for the next few months.
Here we go:
Now until Aug 24, I will be reconnecting with old friends and future travel buddies in the great state of WI
Aug 24-29: My mother and I are heading up to Canada to do some camping and general female bonding activities. Climb the Sleeping Giant, swim in Lake Superior, and enjoy some fine car camping cuisine. Some bacon grease pancakes are in my future, thank god!
Aug 29/30: Visit GPW and crew up in Minneapolis for a bit. Fly out at 5pm, arrive in Denver on Aug 30 at 6:15pm (NOTICE THE TIME CHANGE GORDON!)
September 1-September 13: Rejuvenate, restock, and repack in Cotopaxi, C.O. Visit with old rafting buddies, have a few drinks in Salida, and get myself back into river mode.
Sept 14: Magically appear in Flagstaff, A.Z. for rigging, introductions, and first look at the Colorado River.
Sept 16: LAUNCH! 21 days, 16 people, two pairs of sunglasses, and a giant leap of faith into one of America's most treasured natural areas.
October 6: Take out.
October 7-October 11: Meet up with Gordon's parents and drive to Los Angeles. Most likely do some camping on the way, maybe spend some time on the coast. Last minute look around at the United States before flying across the Pacific.
October 12: 3:15 pm. Fly out of LAX airport. Two hour layover in Taipei, Taiwan.
October 14: 1:05 am Arrive at Bangkok International Airport. Gordy and I have already booked a three night stay at the Buddy Lodge in Bangkok, which has airport shuttle service twenty-four hours a day.
October 14-17: Sleep off jet lag, visit some of Bangkok's shopping districts and search for tickets towards Cambodia.
October 17- December 10:
Alright, I know this is the part of the journey that has everyone holding their hat a little tighter. What follows is the tentative itinerary that Gordy and I have created through reading about the area, talking with friends that have traveled in this part of the world, and our own wishes on what to see while over there.
Neither of us are planning on traveling into areas that the US government travel site has deemed unsafe, and we intend on sleeping in hostels, B&B's, and family rooms for rent. Although some of you may have had the notion that 'backpacking' means 'hitch-hiking' or 'camping on the side of the road' (thanks a lot Karena!), I would like to assure you that Gordy and I will be staying only in places we have checked out against friends recommendations or that have been mentioned in one of the many cultural travel books we have read through.
That being said, here is our hopeful journey! : ) I am not going to go into details about the places that I hope to visit, because I would like to share my reflections and insights with you while I am over there.
From Bangkok, we will cross the boarder into Cambodia most likely by a travel bus, which will hopefully take us all the way to our first major destination: Angkor Wat in central Cambodia.
After spending a solid few days in Angkor Wat, possibly even a week, we will then travel south to Phenom Pen. On the way I would like to stop at "S-21" and the Cambodian killing fields for a period of time. During this part of our trip I will be paying especially close attention to where we go and not stray off the well traveled path. Not that I fear for our safety, but because I believe it would be disrespectful to go gallivanting into areas that hold such fresh wounds to the people of that country.
Okay, from Phenom Pen we will cross into Vietnam by bus/travel truck and go to the Mekong Delta floating cities in Tra Vinh. Depending on what we find there we will travel to Ho Chi Min city.
From there we will be traveling by sleeper train north to Hanoi, stopping at different whistle stops to explore a bit and return to the train. After some time in Hanoi, Gordon and I will travel to the coast of Northern Vietnam and visit HaLong Bay. I recommend googling "Halong Bay" to realize what a worthy side trip this will be.
After the bay, it's back to Hanoi and then a flight to the capitol city of Laos: Vientiane. Although a bus option does exist, I have it from a reliable source that it is 21 hours of misery over mountain roads. The ticket from Hanoi to Vientiane is around $50 US, and by this time in the trip I feel a little luxury is in order.
In Laos there are a lot of goal and areas that I want to see. A few days in the capitol will then see us down to Louang Phrabang, for some trekking, tubing, and a possible river cruise to Huay Xai.
Back to Vientiane and then tuk-tuk, bus or truck back into Thailand. I would like to then hop over to the Mae Ping National Park for some trekking/hiking time, but finances and general time left will determine that. Then it's back to Bangkok on a sleeper train, back to the Buddy Lodge and suddenly I'm standing in Portland, OR for my sisters last day of college and my mothers fiftieth birthday.
December 10: 5 p.m. fly out of Bangkok, another layover in Taiwan.
December 11: Arrive at 6pm in Los Angeles, catch connecting flight to Portland.
Well, there it is! The life of Athena Norton until Christmas. I will update this blog periodically during my travels, sans the Grand of course, to let everyone know of any changes.
The next entry will be more enjoyable and less business filled, promise. : )
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