| WHY
NOW, WHERE TO & WHAT MORE
The reason for my trip to Asia Pacific is simple: a strong desire
to explore and experience different cultures. As a child, I had
the opportunity to grow up in Asia Pacific . dad was in the U.S.
Army, and our family was fortunate enough to be stationed in Singapore,
Java, and Guam among other places before moving to the U.S.A. in
1980. I have fond memories of growing up in that part of the world,
where the diverse culture is greatly influenced by the natural and
spiritual world. In my teen and twentysomething years, I often daydream
of how I would have turned out; what kind of job I would have chosen;
and who I would have known had dad's military assignment was extended
in that part of the world.
Flash forward 21 years
to find me working at a large computer company that must make the
painful decision to eliminate positions in an effort to quickly
react to the economic slowdown. Volunteering to be part of the early
workforce lay-off in exchange for the generous enhanced severance
package, I now have the opportunity, time and resource to visit
Asia Pacific as an adult.
I started planning for
this trip in early March, and many questions quickly overwhelmed
me: what about getting a job . what was my budget . where did I
want to go . who do I know . how long did I want to be away . how
soon can I leave? These were just some of the questions that came
to mind as I was sitting at a local coffee house in Santa Cruz.
The Web proved to be a useful resource, and email was another technological
wonder that facilitated my research. Links to these resources are
at the end of this issue.
As interviewed in C|NET
recently, I am starting my trip on 17-April-2001. The full article
can be found at: http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-5522767.html.
I am planning to visit the following countries on the target dates:
18-April: Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
28-April: Taipei, Taiwan
04-May: Bangkok, Thailand
10-May: Singapore
14-May: Jakarta, Indonesia
19-May: Denpasar, Bali
26-May: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
08-June: Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
14-June: home in California
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PREPARATION
With the help of many friends and the Web as a wonderful resource,
I was able to prepare for my trip with confidence. The last couple
of weeks were completely filled with either visiting friends or
preparing for the trip. Anticipating an extended time away from
the Bay Area, I took the last couple of weeks to take day trips
to some of my favorite spots: beach walks in Santa Cruz; early morning
hikes in the Los Gatos mountain; sushi in Half Moon Bay; bar crawls
in San Francisco; and margaritas in Sausalito. Though I managed
to visit some favorite spots in the Bay Area, I knew there were
plenty to do to prepare for the trip: vaccination, visiting friends,
finishing/filing taxes, and taking care of financial responsibilities.
I knew in early March
that I wanted to take time to travel, and decided to asked around
about vaccination requirements. With the decision to backpack in
Asia Pacific (inspired by Ann Finnie, a friend who traveled to Thailand
recently), I went to the Santa Clara County Department of Public
Health/Travel Clinic to begin my regiment of vaccinations four weeks
before my planned travel: hepatitis A, hepatitis B, injectable polio,
tetanus diphtheria, and typhoid. The doctor at my health care provider
wrote prescriptions for Amoxicillin (for respiratory infections),
Lariam (for malaria prevention and treatment), and Noroxin (you
don't want to know what this is for, really). I met some very nice
people at the clinic (travelers and health care workers) who gave
me additional/useful advice to prevent sickness while on travel.
I spent my birthday (Tuesday,
10-April) and Easter with friends and roommates. I had a small dinner
party on each day and talked about my pending trip, plans when I
come back, what I wanted to do before my next birthday, etc. My
family had Federal Expressed a box of gifts that included a photo
frame (of my three sisters and a nephew), chocolate-covered fruit
and nuts, and clothing appropriate for my trip.
Packing for the trip
was relatively simple: knowing the local temperature to be in the
mid 70's to low 80's this time of year, I packed mostly T-shirts
and shorts. One of the travel resource sites had a basic list of
items to pack, including first-aid kit, flashlight, sundries, etc.
One of my roommates is an avid outdoorsman and helped me find a
backpack that suited my requirements for durability, functionality,
etc. The Kelty backpack, Coyote 4500 model was the perfect find
that is comfortable and spacious. To send me on my way, a friend
blessed my Saint Christopher (patron of travelers) pendent for good
measure. Here's a bit about the legend of Saint Christopher:
All that is known for
certain of Saint Christopher is that he died a martyr in Asia
Minor in the third century. The legend that grew up about him
in the Middle Ages was that he was a very strong (and not very
handsome) man, a "dog-faced" giant in fact, who lived
by a fjord in a river. He carried travelers across this river.
One day a child came to the river and asked for his help. When
they reached the middle of the river, the child on Christopher's
shoulders began to feel as heavy as the entire world. As soon
as Christopher realized that the child was Christ, and so that
he had indeed been carrying the weight of the world, the child
vanished.
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RESOURCES
TALKED ABOUT
Courtesy of research done by Siobhan Flanigan and others.
Guides and
Travel Companies:
http://www.travel-library.com/
http://www.iexplore.com/
http://www.adventuretravel.com/
http://www.gorp.com/
http://away.com/index.adp
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/
http://www.travelscape.com
Health and
Safety:
Center for Disease Control: http://www.cdc.org/travel
Medicine Planet: http://www.travelhealth.com/home/
U.S. Dept. of State/Travel Warnings & Consulars:
http://travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html
Santa Clara County Dept. of Public Health:
http://ww.scctravelclinic.org
Converters:
Currencies: http://www.xe.net/ucc/
Time zones: http://www.timezoneconverter.com/
Metric measurements: http://www.wihausa.com/conversion.htm
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