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It’s never easy to say goodbye. I personally never know how I am going to react until the moment has come. But it might be that the more you think about leaving, the more difficult it gets. My recipe to avoid this? Live your life as normal until the last minute.

Van, Nhan and I promoting JSZ at the pub.

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What will I miss about Vietnam (besides friends)?

1) Fruits. And fresh fruit shakes.
Ooooohh fruits, I love you so very much. I think I have tried nearly everyone of you. I apologize for not knowing all your names, but trust me, I do remember your faces. You were very refreshing, very filling, or both! I’ll miss you so very much.

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Wow…it’s hard to believe that in a few weeks I will be heading to Ecuador to make a life, and hopefully a living, for the next 3 months. I traveled to South America for the first time two years ago, backpacking around the southern parts of Argentina, Chile, and Brazil. Returning to the continent is something I’ve looked forward to ever since I got back and I can’t believe I’ll be calling Quito home before long.

I’ve heard amazing things about Ecuador – for such a small country it contains so many wonders. I have visions of floating down the murky Amazon river, bargaining for colorful embroidered clothing in misty highland markets, facing off with giant iguanas in the Galapagos islands. And following every cobblestone or dirt path I cross to see where it leads.

I’ve been traveling on and off for the past four years – usually working and saving money, then traveling and spending it all. Returning home to California to earn more money, and hitting the road again. Slightly unconventional, but beyond worth it. While my friends have been buying houses, going to law school, and getting promotions, I’ve been sledding down active volcanoes, teaching English in Korea, and trekking across glaciers in Patagonia. Between hitchhiking in Central America and haggling in Athens, I’ve been racking up the memories and crossing things off my life list.

Before long I’ll be headed south, heeding the call of the road once more. I have no idea what to expect…so for now, I’m looking forward to the unexpected.

Wherever I walk in this city, it seems there’s always something new to catch my eye. Or something I had never noticed before.

Où que je j’aille dans cette ville, on dirait qu’il y a toujours du nouveau. Quelque chose que je n’avais jamais remarqué auparavant.

Shadow on rice.

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As you may have noticed there have been a couple of small changes to the site.  Mainly that we’re getting ready for our new cast.  While Serene, Jen, and Kris have moved on Laurene is here to carry on the tradition and join a whole new team headed to explore Quito, Ecuador.  We wish Serene, Jen, and Kris the best on their future adventures while welcoming our new team.

The first member of our new team is Freddie.  We’ve all really enjoyed speaking with Freddie over the past couple of weeks, and couldn’t be happier that he’s part of the new Season Six cast.  Head on over to read his introduction post and welcome him to the team and to Jet Set Zero.

Stay tuned because we’ll announce the next new cast member TOMORROW.

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In the scorching saigonese heat, what’s better to do than going to the waterpark?!
Awesome slides, a zip-line, an outdoors wave pool…! Some of the aquatic attractions are forbidden in Australia- and possibly in Europe (?)- for safety reasons. Fortunately, there was no incident. I felt like a kid. It was awesome!

Sam, Hai and I at the water park.

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Except for sleeping, many Vietnamese do everything on the street.
They squat eating on the sidewalk. They nap on their motorbikes. And, at almost every street corner, there’s someone to fix flat tires and fill up empty tanks with gasoline.

Sitting on the street.

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They are only two covered bridges in Vietnam. The Japanese pagoda bridge in Hoi An, built in 1593 and restored in 1917, and Thanh Toan bridge near Hue, built in 1776.

The Japanese pagoda bridge in Hoi An.

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I am very grateful to Nguyet for inviting me to her village, Tien Cam.
Life is simple and authentic there. They sleep on hard wood beds with a straw mat on them. There is no real shower-yet (Nguyet said)! They use a bucket of cold water and a plastic pan behind a sheet. But trust me, at the end of the day you don’t want a hot shower anyway!

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Our friend Nguyet invited me to her village to celebrate Vietnamese New Year: ”Tet”. During Tet, all the Vietnamese go home to stay with their family for three days. In short, Tet is a family holidays when you don’t do much besides visiting relatives and neighbors, eating Tet sweets and candies, drinking rice wine (or is it vodka?!) and giving lucky money to the youth.

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