Hoi An, Vietnam: Days 29, 30, 31

Day 29: Arrival, Under The Coconut Tree Home Stay, Beach, Soul Kitchen

Hoi An may be the easiest to write about because I did a whole lot of nothing...

Early morning flight from Da Lat to Da Nang, shared a taxi from Da Nang to Hoi An, and checked into the laid back Under The Coconut Tree Home Stay.

I immediately dropped my bags and hit the beach. Minutes later, I joined a volleyball game. After that, lounged in my favorite hammock of the trip, drank pineapple juice while meeting new friends from UK, returned to play on the beach.

Beijing, China: Days 7, 8, 9, 10

Note: I did not know that Facebook, Google, and Instagram were blocked in China. The next couple of posts I had to rewrite because they didn't save properly, since my Google platform blog didn't work. Helpful tip: either download and pay for a VPN before getting here, or make sure your email address for travel confirmations is not Gmail. 

Days 3 & 4: Abu Dhabi & Dubai From Cold To Hot

Day 3: Abu Dhabi, Grand Mosque, Observatory at 300

Today we ventured to Abu Dhabi. Up front: I'm pretty sure the first time I heard of this place was on the Sex & the City movie. Apparently that film was not filmed in Abu Dhabi at all because the leadership denied approval. Abu Dhabi holds an even more strict, conservative reputation than Dubai as far as traditions go.

Packing Practice, One Month To Go

Practice makes perfect!

At least lets hope so....

A couple of weeks ago, I did a practice packing of my bag. When I put it on, I instantly got a "holy crap this is actually happening" feeling. Better to feel than now rather then the morning of my flight, right...? Picture below shows all that's inside the bag...

The #1 Most Useful Preparation For Travel

Planning an adventure of a lifetime takes time and research. What should I bring? What do I want to see and experience? How do I get a tourist visa? How do I stay on budget? With each country booked, brand new questions arise with the next destination; not all of which can be answered in a simple Google search. Travelers post all sorts of inquiries on various websites, and tools such as TripAdvisor can be extremely helpful to a certain extent. However, the number one most useful thing I've done in all of these weeks and weeks of planning was to reach out to someone who's been there.

Trip Planning Progress

T-minus two months until I leave this city behind. Actually, exactly two months from this moment I'll be high in the sky on my way to Dubai. More and more details are coming together, and I am more ready than ever to get going!