“..but that’s not how it used to be…”

It’s been a tough week, getting ready to leave. Although traveling is not new to me, I am surprised at how mentally unprepared I am to leave.

Why is it so hard this time? Maybe it’s old age. But I’m thinking it might have something to do with the fact that this time, I’m leaving a relationship at home. I started dating my now-boyfriend when I returned from South America two years ago. Two months later, I was supposed to leave for an English teaching job in Korea. I was torn between the traveling plans I had made and this completely new thing called love that I hadn’t even believed in before.

What did I do? The only thing I felt I could do. I’ve never been the type of girl to put my life on hold for a guy. And so, off I went. After a few months of teaching the overworked, overachieving youth of Korea and surviving off of kimchi and Korean bbq, I was ready to come home. I used to think of home as a place where I could recharge and get ready to launch my next adventure. Coming home to my boyfriend – and actually staying home – gave the idea of home a whole new meaning.

Now that I’m finally heading out on the road again, I’m finding this whole up-and-leaving thing isn’t as easy as it used to be. I blame it on a little thing called putting down roots that I used to swear I’d never do.

A lot of people don’t travel because they think it’s hard to leave home. Of course it’s hard. It’s only easy if you’re not leaving anything behind. But just because it’s hard doesn’t mean you stay home.

So I’m pushing myself forward, propelling myself into this next, life-changing chapter and stockpiling my boyfriend with an arsenal of calling cards and Skype credits.

Dear people of internet, Hello my name is Ryan Preciado and I was told to write an introduction about myself. I Like long walks on the beach, ice tea, smooth jazz and fireplaces. My spirit animal is a sabertooth tiger and I am a Sagatarius.

I think you should know up front I will most likely be the dumpster fire of the show, and here’s why. Although I have a deceiving appearance I in fact do not speak any Spanish. Also unlike Everyone else on this cast I’ve never been on an airplane much less out of the country. Another reason is everything that could go wrong has, as far as getting my passport expidited , losing my birth certifacate and driving to LA to get it, forgetting about two tickets I have to pay off, having problems with my car right before I am selling it, and currently my ankle resembles a really bruised mango. So things seem to be going awesome.

I leave to Quito in what should be a week. Lets see if I can make that happen.

Two days until departure. They say no day is more productive than the day before you go on vacation. That’s the day when everything that has to get done, gets done. It’s one of those times when clarity is forced upon you, when you realize that the world will go on even if half of your to-do list doesn’t ever get done.

For me, that day is always frantic, because I am the kind of person who is always running late and breathlessly apologizing for it. And to be running late on the last day before you leave for a trip is stressful, despite having experienced it so many times before. This past week, I have lost and found my passport, broken my phone and reactivated my previous, incompetent one, and written and rewritten my to-do-before-I-leave list. I have finally booked my flight, bought the guidebook, and set aside the clothes I want to pack. At the moment, I’m trying to decide on a netbook to buy before I leave, contemplating whether I’m packing too much, and calling the airline to see if I get a free checked bag with my international flight.

Not enough time! So many people to say goodbye to. I said goodbye to two of my best friends last weekend as we shared some laughs and frozen yogurt. These are girls I’ve known for over half my life, who have seen me through my previous trips and welcome me back with open arms on every return. They were not surprised when I told them I was leaving for Ecuador as it’s a story they’ve heard before. My family gathered over a delicious meal of Japanese tapas, showering me with well-wishes and instructions to come home in one piece. My phone has been ringing with calls from friends wanting to get in a goodbye before I take off. It’s heartwarming to know that the people I will miss, will miss me too.

That’s all for now because as you know, I’m running out of time.

It’s my first time traveling to Asia. Despite the stories I had heard about Viet Nam from friends and family, I felt very unprepared. So, call me an over planning-girl if you’d like, I simply couldn’t leave without a guidebook. My bible is called ”Le Guide du Routard,” and it’s an excellent one for people who travel on a low-budget, just like us.

Being healthy

Before I left, my first concern was to ensure-as much as possible- that I’d be healthy during my entire experience in Viet Nam. After several talks with my sister who studies medicine, and with a very good friend who seemingly knows it all about tropical medicine, I paid a visit to my doctor to get vaccined against typhoid fever and rabies. Luckily, I was almost immune to rabbies already. Had it not been so, I would have needed two more shots- which are expensive. (Besides, I was already immune to Hepatitis A and Meningitis.)

I know it is unlikely that I come across a rabid dog or get the malaria in Ho Chi Minh City. But since I’m hoping to travel to the countryside, I decided to protect myself from rabies and to bring a box of malaria treatment, as a precautionary measure.

Malaria treatment and mosquito repellent for future explorations of the countryside!

Next thing I checked in my guidebook: which currency should I come with? Vietnamese Dong? U.S. dollars? Euros? Apparently, you can easily get around with dollars, but shopkeepers round up prices to your disadvantage. You might save a little money if you pay everything with Dong. So that’s what I’ve been doing so far.

From the airport to our guest house

I was lucky to land in Ho Chi Minh City around 1.30pm. I thought to myself: ”All right, you have plenty of time to get lost and find your way to the guest house. You are carrying this 17-kilo backpack, so don’t even consider taking a moto-taxi. Cabs usually overcharge. Your best, cheapest bet is bus #152, which departs the airport every 15 minutes, costs 3,000 Dong and takes you right dowtown.”

And indeed it took me right downtown! Only 500 meters away from our guest house! They made me pay for two seats because my backpack needed one of its own. But hey, it came up to 6,000 Dong altogether! Thirty-three cents! Quite a start for a low-budget traveler!

* * * * * * * *

PREPARATION MINI POUR DEPART SUR CHAPEAUX DE ROUE

C’est la première fois que je voyage en Asie. A quelques jours du départ, malgré les récits de voyages au Viet Nam entendus ici et là, mon manque de préparation devenait flagrant. Donc, peu importe si je me taille une réputation de fille- qui- planifie- trop, il m’était tout simplement impossible de partir sans mon guide du Routard, qui m’a prodigué de précieux conseils.

Santé

Avant mon départ, mon principal souci était d’assurer mes arrières en matière de santé. Après quelques conversations avec ma soeur étudiante en médecine, et une amie étudiante en pharmacie qui semble connaître la médecine tropicale comme sa poche, j’ai rendu une petite visite à mon médecin pour me faire vacciner contre la fièvre typhoïde et la rage. Par chance, j’étais déjà quasiment immunisée contre la rage et n’ai eu besoin que d’une injection au lieu de trois- lesquelles ne sont pas bon marché! (J’étais aussi déjà immunisée contre l’hépatite A et la méningite.)

Je sais bien qu’il est très improbable que je tombe sur un chien enragé ou que j’attrape le paludisme à Ho Chi Minh Ville. Mais vu que j’espère me rendre dans la campagne vietnamienne, j’ai tout de même décidé de me protéger contre la rage et d’emmener une boîte de traitement anti paludéen, par précaution.

Devises

Deuxième question: quelle devise devais-je avoir en poche? Dong vietnamiens? Dollars américains? Euros? D’après mon guide, on peut se débrouiller sans problème avec des dollars, mais l’arrondissement des prix se fait à notre désavantage. On peut donc faire quelques économies substantielles en payant avec des Dong. C’est ce que j’ai fait jusqu’ici.

De l’aéroport à notre guest house

J’ai eu la chance d’atterrir à Ho Chi Minh vers 13h30. Je me suis dit: ”Ma petite Laurene, tu as largement le temps de te perdre puis de trouver ton chemin vers ton nouveau lieu de résidence. Ton sac à dos pèse 17 kilos donc, le moto-taxi, oublie! Les taxis normaux vont profiter de ce que tu es une touriste pour demander plus cher que le prix normal. Ta meilleure option- et la moins chère- c’est le bus 152: départ de l’aéroport toutes les 15 minutes, 3000 Dong la place assise, et il t’emmènera en plein centre.”

Et effectivement, en plein centre je suis arrivée! Ce sacré bus m’a déposé à 500 mètres de notre guest house! On m’a fait payer deux sièges, car mon sac à dos en occupait un à lui tout seul. Mais bon, en tout, ça m’a coûté 6000 Dong, 22 centimes d’euro! Un sacré bon départ pour une voyageuse low-cost!

You should check out their site at www.spacecaptain.net — if you live in the North Eastern United States you stand a good chance of seeing them play, and, as indicated by the above candid, they do a pretty killer live set.  And if you’re out of range from Northampton, MA, order up a copy of their new album Opposite Day.  I have it on my iPod.  Why don’t you?

While Rob flies back to America to finalize his divorce, Brian & Matt embark on a magical journey from Saigon to Tokyo.

And that’s all, folks.  Jet Set Zero Season 1: Saigon is a wrap.

It’s been a bizarre, eye-opening experience from the beginning of the pre-season to this huge milestone for me.  Considering that I had no idea what I was doing when I slapped Episode 1 together four months ago, the following 8 episodes fell in place with such a fluid blur that I hardly even remember assembling them.

Partly that could be the result of the bleary, coffee and beer filled all-nighters which have commonly constituted my Sunday night editing experience since September.  This final episode was no exception: as I watched the sun rise through the dirty frosted glass of our mostly unheated guesthouse common room where I’d spent the past 14 hours, I knew that as Season 1 drew to a close something else had begun:

Season 2: Tokyo.

The city is amazing and overwhelming, but in entirely different ways from Vietnam.  We’ve already managed to find our way around the local transit system, explore a few areas, get housing sorted out and unpack into our rooms.  This is a feat that took almost a month and a half in Vietnam.  We’ve got a couple of advantages here in that we were able to do a lot more research and prep online, and I’ve got some previous knowledge, but the real challenge here still lies ahead.  Its quickly becoming very clear to us that the biggest challenge with living in Japan is going to be financial.  There are amazing things to eat, see, and do everywhere but they are all incredibly expensive.  The sooner we can find work the sooner we can really start to see what the city has to offer.

Tomorrow we’ll start some initial searching and see where it takes us.  Hopefully straight to high paying jobs with flexible hours, but at this point I think we’ll settle for paying jobs.