February 21, 2010 OK, OK, try #3 on trying to post this blog. Yes, my technical skills in regards to "tech" leave a lot to be desired; son Ryan had to come over and fix my Skype connection. I couldn't even do a simple thing like that without buggering it up.

We have been busy getting ready for this 7 weeks away from home. Today it was celebrating the birthdays of 5 year old Cammie, 3 year old Maicy and the christening of 6 month old Leslie. And what a beautiful day it was! Crystal clear blue skies, relatively warm, plenty of food and lots of family. Great fun and a perfect time to hear "Bon voyage".

Two more nights and we fly out. I don't know how long the entire trip will be, but we have about a 5+ hour layover in Seattle, of all places. Why not that much time in Seoul, South Korea, our next stop?

One of the couples with whom we will be traveling with the first part of our trip, spent 30 hours of travel time getting to Bangkok. Ugh! We will be landing in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, recover from jet lag, see a few sites there, then travel up to Siem Riep, our base for exploring Angkor Wat.

Next on our itinerary is Luang Prabang, Laos. I am looking forward to reconnecting with Toon, a Laotian friend I spent time with on my last trip. Laos is a beautiful and laid back country, and LP is very interesting in its own right. I am sorry that we won't be able to spend more time there. From there we fly to Hanoi where we will meet up with Phong, one of my interpreters from my Quy Nhon stay. Phong and a friend have started a small travel company and has made the arrangements and will be traveling with us around Hanoi and Halong Bay. After we return, they head for the south, while Peggy and I go up to Sapa, in the Northwest part of VN next to the Chinese border.

On our return we will travel with Phong to his family's village to the south of Hanoi, and then be going south on the train to Hue. After that to Hoi An, Phu My, Quy Nhon and Saigon. We will be visiting with my Vietnamese friends all along the way.

So, stay tuned and check in on this site for our progress, commentary and photos of a beautiful and intriguing part of our world. Perhaps it will build a desire in you to consider traveling to this lesser known destination!