Countries Visited

    Australia
    Austria
    Bahamas
    Belgium
    Belize
    Bermuda
    Cambodia
    Canada
    Cayman Islands
    Costa Rica
    Czech Republic
    England
    Greece
    Guatemala
    Italy
    Japan
    Laos
    Malaysia
    Mexico
    The Netherlands
    Norway
    Singapore
    Spain
    Thailand
    United States
    The Holy See
    Vietnam

    Travel Goals

    1. Climb to Everest Base Camp.
    2. Climb Mt Kilimanjaro.
    3. Learn to Scuba Dive.
    4. Visit every continent.
    5. See the Galapagos Islands.
    6. Sail down the Amazon River.
    7. Climb Ayer's Rock.
    8. Travel on the Trans-Siberian Railroad.
    9. Go into space.
    10. Throw tomatos at La Tomintina in Spain.
    11. See the sunrise from Mt. Fuji.
    12. Try to figure out the Buddhist messages at Borobudor in Indonesia.
    13. Visit the Pyramids
    14. Safari in East Africa for 3 months.
    15. Go to the World Cup!
    16. See Macchu Picchu.
    17. Join the Century Club. (100 countries visited)
    18. Join the Mile High Club. (Hey why not?)
    19. Do development work in a 3rd world country.
    20. See Petra Jordan.
    21. Backpack the Eastern Block.
    22. Go back to Alaska and see the Northern Lights.
    23. Vegas Baby! Vegas!
    24. Greek Island hop.
    25. Cycle Tuscany.
    26. Visit India.
    27. Lounge forever in the Seychelles.
    28. See Morocco.
    29. Oktoberfest!
    30. Caravan across the Sahara.
    31. Visit Tibet.
    32. Go to the Cannes Film Festival.
    33. Go to the Sundance Film Festival.
    34. Eat a sushi meal at NOBU
    35. Pacific Island hop.
    36. Spend a night in the Ice Hotel in Sweden.
    37. Go to Israel.
    38. Carnival!!!!
    39. and it's slightly less cool cousin, Mardi Gras!
    40. See Glacier National Park before the glaciers melt.
    41. Fly first class on some long international flight!
    No Service Fees! Promo Code: NOFEE

The heat is on in Saigon

February 12, 2007

Good Morning Vietnam,

Here’s a quick travel lesson for those who ever go to Vietnam: No matter how many copies of your passport you own, how much backup ID you have, without the real thing, never leave where you are without the original.

Right now, I should be cycling around the Mekong Delta. I was going on a nice four day trip with some cycling friends of mine but instead I am back in Ho Chi Minh City. Why? Because I lack a real passport. The real thing is at the Thai Embassy getting a visa stamp on it so I can stay there until June. (I used all my visa’s on arrival.) No problem right? Usually, copies of your passport are fine anywhere I’ve been. So after biking 77k from Saigon to our first stop, I found no hotel would let me book a room or share a room without the real thing. A copy of the passport, the visa, the reciept from the embassy- none of it mattered. So I had to come all the way back to Saigon where they are less strict and would let me in with just a copy! (No I didn’t cycle back either- I took the bus! 140K in 1 day is way to much for me!)

What a pain in the ass! So instead of enjoying the one section of Vietnam I really wanted to see the most, I’m back in Saigon and decided once I get my passport on Monday, I’m leaving Vietnam. No time or funds to go back and do any organized tour of the Mekong because I really want to spend as much time as I can in Cambodia before I go to Thailand. I’ll be there for 3 months so if you go there from March to May, look me up!! I’ll be living in Bangkok for most of that time.

So that is that. I’m no longer sick. When I die, I need to thank Pastuer for discovering penicillan. That stuff works wonders. I’ve been meeting a lot of Americans here on break from teaching English. Really weird. I never meet Americans when I travel. Saigon is a cool city. It’s like a Asian version of LA. A lot to see, a lot to do- a little for everything. Yesterday, I found the Japanese section of the city so I might get sushi today. My friend Seth and I walked around for awhile. I like Saigon. It’s not too bad if you can get over the crazy drivers here. 1000 people die a month from traffic accidents. Seeing them ignore traffic lights, go down streets the wrong way, and drive on the sidewalk makes you understand why. If you don’t cross the road carefully, you’ll probably die. No lie! I almost got hit 3 times biking out of the city! They just come out of no where! It’s quite scary.

However, I am very ready to leave Vietnam. I don’t think I’d come back here unless I was with someone who was never here before. There are too many places to see and Vietnam didn’t grab as much as other places have.

Posted by NomadicMatt | Filed Under First RTW | 1 Comment