FYI

This is a **very** rough guide to where we're heading in SE Asia, my scribbling is not at all accurate, but you get the idea.

Starting in Ho Chi Minh City, heading clockwise around Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam before flying to Bangkok and down to Phuket for some R&R before we fly home again.

Prior to Ho Chi Minh City we'll have flown into Singapore, o/night trained up to Kuala Lumpur for a few days, back down to Singapore, and then have flown from Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City.

We're not having a set itinerary, but rather a rough idea of the places we'd like to see along the way so that we're not 'locked in' to staying places we might not necessarily enjoy, and so that we can spend longer in places that we do really enjoy! The only things set in stone are our flights from Brisbane -> Singapore, train from Singapore -> KL & back, flight from Singapore -> Ho Chi Minh City, the flight from Ho Chi Minh City -> Bangkok, and then from Phuket -> Singapore -> Home.

17 days to go!

Yay for Vaccinations!

I've had to get a LOT of vaccines for our upcoming trip to South-East Asia, which I'm not at all happy about considering how much I really really do not like needles (*shudder*). Right now though, after my 2nd Rabies shot yesterday, I've only got 2 more injections to get before we leave!

So far I've had 2/3 of Hep A/B vaccine, 2/3 of Rabies vaccine, a Tetanus vaccine, and a Typhoid vaccine (I liked that one because I got to take it orally, rather than getting jabbed!).

I've also got to take an oral cholera vaccine before I go, and I've got anti-malaria tablets to take with me.

By the time I'm done I'm going to just be one big walking vaccination!!

My 2nd Rabies injection yesterday was really strange! After getting the needle, my arm started 'buzzing'... it felt like it was vibrating... but above the skin.. it's hard to describe the sensation, but it was very, very weird! And when I put my hand over the injection area where it was 'buzzing'... other parts of my arm starting 'buzzing'! WEIRD! Plus I also broke out in red blotches on my chest that faded after a couple of minutes (along with the 'buzzing') but which have since come back off and on since yesterday! The other strange thing about it is that none of this happened with my first dose of the vaccination!

I'm still deciding whether or not to get the Swine Flu vaccine which is free from the local clinic. On one hand, I've been told I probably don't need it for South-East Asia and it also means yet another vaccination (plus maybe I'm paranoid but I really don't like 'new' vaccines)... on the other hand everyone at the clinic thinks I should get it, and I really don't want to get sick overseas... hmm....

Vietnam Tourist Visas

Vietnam is the only country we're going to that requires you to have a visa before arrival, so we thought it was probably about time that we organised it.

We went to the Vietnamese Embassy website to check it out, but found that we had to ring them as well to find out the visa fees before we could post off our applications. Due to the way we arranged our trip, we need multiple-entry visas with at least a 2 month validity. After a couple of tries at ringing the Embassy, we got through using the 4th number they listed on the website. Turns out that we have to get 3 month visas, and they are going to cost $150 each! Eeeek!

Had we realised earlier, we probably would have planned our flights/itinerary differently, but it's a bit late for that. We're just putting it down to a learning experience! Getting some photos taken today for the visa and hopefully posting the applications off tomorrow.

Travel Shops in Brisbane CBD

Recently I was in the market for some lightweight travel towels for our upcoming trip to South-East Asia and decided to do some shopping in the CBD. There are 3 main stores with similar product lines: Globe Trekker, Kathmandu, and Mountain Designs.

After checking out each of their websites, I decided to give Kathmandu a visit as they seem to have the most expansive range of travel accessories of the three.

You’ll find Kathmandu at 165 Elizabeth St, right next to Mitre 10. They also have other shops at Chermside and Fortitude Valley.

I quickly found my travel towels, but it was the next part that will make me keep going back...

At Kathmandu they have their own loyalty program, the ‘Summit Club’, which allows members the benefits of 25% off Kathmandu equipment & accessories, 20% off clothing & clothing accessories, 10% off all footwear, socks & footwear accessories, and 5% off non-Kathmandu branded products. Usually it costs $10 to join (which is well worth it!) but because I’m a student, they gave me free membership!

In the purchase of the travel towels alone, I saved about $20 just by filling out a membership form!

The travel towels are nice; I bought the ‘large’ size which is still small for a towel, but the ‘medium’ size was just a bit larger than your average hand towel. They fold up and fit into a tiny little carry case; very cute. Will see how well they last on our travels.

10 Things I learnt whilst flying Virgin Blue domestic

1. Apparently, silver bangles can set off metal detectors, but silver bracelets are fine.
2. The metal detectors are temperamental; after taking off the bangle and still setting the metal detector off, the attendants told me to walk through keeping to the very centre, and without pausing, which actually worked!
3. Laptops have to be taken out of your bag and put in a separate tray before they’re put through the scanner.
4. You can be randomly selected to undergo ‘explosives screening’!
5. When they give you a laminated card to read that explains that there will be some physical contact involved (eek!) with the screening, don’t be worried; the ‘physical contact’ is just 2 brief touches on the hips (through your clothes) and then on your bags with some sort of explosive-detecting instrument.
6. Remember to pick up your boarding pass after being screened!! Otherwise you have to walk back down and go through the metal detecting process all over again……..
7. The ‘explosives screening’ guy will generally send your boarding pass with a staff member into the terminal for you..
8. You won’t be able to find the aforementioned staff member.
9. Waiting at the ‘Enquiries Desk’ at 6am with the hopes of finding the staff member with your boarding pass is pointless; no-one comes.
10. Don’t stress. At Virgin Blue (not sure about the other airlines) they can print you a new boarding pass at the boarding gate desk. The male staff member there was very friendly and helpful and quickly printed me a new one, easy!

Naming your Travel Blog

... is not as simple as it may initially seem.
Firstly, you'll spend possibly hours thinking up clever, interesting or funny travel-related ideas for your name.
Then, you'll spend another hour googling those names to make sure that they're not already a name of a business or TV program etc.
After that, you'll have settled on a couple of names and will check blogspot to see if they're available, only to find that they're ALL already taken, and that most of those blogs won't have a single post, or have 1 or 2 posts, dating back to 2004! Such a waste!
So if you don't like "Adventure Happy".. well, it's the best I could come up with!
Seeing all those abandoned travel blogs with catchy names and only 1 post makes me even more determined not to let this blog "die" after the initial enthusiasm wears off!
More posts soon!