Ha Long Bay Kayaking

So I think I finally found the right tour agency. Handspan was recommended both by Lonely Planet and by a friend of mine who actually went on their trip. Still have to get a response back, but it is looking good.

I figured out the money situation. I'll be using my ATM card for most countries, using it to take money out once I land. I'll have a backup of a few hundred dollars in traveler's checks, and a small stash of US dollars, both for emergencies.

For phone, I got a GSM phone, pay for what you use, just for emergencies. My first plan was to buy a sim card in each country, but this will actually end up being cheaper.

That's all for now. More info to follow.

Chinese Visa

This one was a little tougher than the Vietnam visa. China actually wants you to come into their consulate to get the visa. You can have a travel agency do it for you, but unless you're booking a package with them, you're looking at a pretty hefty markup, not to mention the original cost of $130 for the visa itself. Thankfully I live a short train ride from NYC, and was able to go to the consulate myself. I left the application, photo copy of passport, and the passport itself there for a week, and one week later got my travel visa for my trip to Beijing! As for what to do if you don't live near a consulate..... no idea. They seem pretty strict about not doing mail visas. I would just suck it up and pay a travel agent. The prices I saw were $200-$260 for the agent to do it. Not cheap, but I am really looking forward to seeing China, so definitely worth it!

Final Relaxed and Home

Sorry I haven't updated in a month guys. Graduation and everything else was absolute insanity. But I'm back and I only have 23 DAYS TIL THE TRIP!!! I'm freaking out a little bit. Anyway this is gonna be a big post, so I'll cut into three. I thought I would update you guys on my gear, visas, and hotels. First the gear.

I managed to get a $200 backpack for only $100 thanks to eBags. High Sierra TR102 Railpass. Main Pack is 3050 cubic inches. Day Pack is 976 inches. Adjustable shoulder straps. And metal zippers, for better locking. Heres a pic:

Your trusty computer nerd is also bringing a nice little solid state, linux netbook so he can stay in touch with everyone. Dell is the only one who provides this kind of netbook, which is weird cause I feel like theres a market for this. And of course he is jailbreaking his iPhone so he can

twitter his GPS coordinates as often as possible. This way I can make a map of my whole trip at the end. Here's a picture of the netbook.

Finally I also found a $150 digital camera for $70. 10.1 Megapixels 3x zoom and takes AA batteries. The batteries are much better than charged in an emergency. Here's a pic of that as well.

Coming up after the break, visas and hotels.

Visa Visa Visa

This week has found me being pretty lazy. I gave my project defense Tuesday, and have tried to relax a little since then. I have most of my Vietnam visa setup. Picture taken, form filled out. Now I just have to get the certified check and send it in. Not too bad. The Chinese visa is worse, I have to go into New York City when I get home and spend the whole day getting that one. Hopefully that will be the only visas I need. Meh. A boring post but 58 days until I leave. Very excited!

Insurance, Flights, and Volcanoes

Unless you're living under a rock, I'm pretty sure you know all about the recent volcano eruption this week in Iceland. Apparently the planet Earth is breaking apart at the seams. We've had like 10 quakes in the past month over size 7. And now a nice blanket of ash for Europe. I'm just hoping it doesn't stop my trip dead in it's tracks. I've bought some level of insurance, but that's mostly for medical evacuation and so forth. It won't cover a major natural disaster like this. Sad face. I also bought my flight from Istanbul to Hanoi. A nice little 15 hour travel time. If we're lucky, I'll be going. Until next week everyone.

Cape May = Camp David

Short post today. Kristen and I just got back from Cape May. It was awesome, and the first time we actually used a Priceline reservation. We ended up staying at the Congress Hall hotel, which years ago used to be the equivalent of Camp David. We had a corner room at the top floor, overlooking the town on one side, and the beach on the other. Very romantic. It was a really nice relaxing weekend. Just what I needed to recharge the batteries and get ready for the last 5 weeks of college / grad school.

Choo Choo Train

Trains always remind me of Ralph Wiggum. If you don't get the reference, then me explaining it won't make it funny. I'm a dork.... choo choo choose you.... ahh it slays me. Anyway, I bought a 21 rail pass for europe. Essentially I can get on any 2nd class train for 21 days in 21 countries in Europe. $600 bucks, which seems steep, but again, I will be going on a crazy spur of the moment schedule. Off the top of my head I'm looking at starting in Spain or France somewhere, meandering North to Amsterdam and Denmark, then South through Germany and the alps, enjoying a little bit of Italy, then catching the ferry (also included in the pass) to Greece, where my 21 days end meeting Kristen in Athens! So considering distance traveled, I might actually come out on top here. We'll just have to see.