Monday, February 27, 2012

T-21 Days

On March 19, Eric and I are leaving for Southeast Asia.  We're flying from New York to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and plan to travel around the area for the rest of the year.  (If you read Eric's blog, The Wandering Lawyer, this may be old news.)  We'll be back in December — I don't want to miss Christmas at home — but so far the itinerary is intentionally vague.  Depending on employment opportunities, we may stay in one city for a longer period of time, but so far nothing is decided.  There are a lot of places to see.  I'm ridiculously excited.

A photo of Eric's from the Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia.
Eric has reasons for wanting to travel long term, many of which match up with mine, but I also feel that I'm fitting into a family tradition.  My grandparents moved to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in the 1950s with two daughters under the age of six.  My grandfather was a teacher at a school there.  When they moved back to Illinois, my grandfather still traveled occasionally to teach overseas.  My uncle (who was born in Zimbabwe) taught in West Africa with the Peace Corps.  My aunt taught in Turkey and Germany for years.  Another aunt and uncle sold their house, bought a boat and sailed around the Gulf of Mexico for several years.  International travel and adventure seem to exist in my genes.

I'll do my best to post regular updates about our adventures here with as many pictures as possible, and Eric will be doing the same on his site.  Please feel free to send emails and schedule skype dates - I'll do my best to keep in touch!

Have you been to Southeast Asia? Have you done long-term travel before?
I'd love to hear any recommendations you have!
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6 comments:

  1. UnknownFebruary 27, 2012 at 11:44 PM

    I have family in Taiwan, and formerly Shanghai.... big cities are fun but just be careful of tourist traps, and as always, ask the locals whenever possible! Love , love, love the food in SE Asia though :P wish you bon voyage!

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    1. Laura ChanouxFebruary 28, 2012 at 6:32 PM

      Merci Kevin!! That's great that you have family there! It's nice to have an excuse to visit. :) I'm really excited to try all the food! I'll keep an eye out for tourist traps. I've heard of a few, so I'm going to have my guard up - thank you!

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    2. Justin SchonFebruary 28, 2012 at 7:22 PM

      This trip sounds great Laura! When I was in Zambia in November, I was surprised to meet a ton of people that kept telling me to visit Cambodia. Apparently you can see a lot of cool stuff quite cheaply in Cambodia too. Enjoy the trip!!!

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    3. Laura ChanouxMarch 3, 2012 at 10:09 AM

      Thanks Justin! I hope we get to hang out soon and I can hear much more about Zambia!

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  2. AnonymousMarch 13, 2012 at 11:11 PM

    As far as long term travel, I'm totally serious when I say the best thing you can do is roll with the punches well. Especially in the "third world", I've come across SO many situations where things just don't work - the Internet, water, electricity, ATM, washing machines, etc. - and the people have an attitude like "oh well!", which can be incredibly frustrating for our American yes-we-can mentality. Other than that, just take advantage of every opportunity. You can sleep when you're dead (or, you know, on long bus rides, etc.). Talk to everyone. Take in everything you can - food, music, art. Eat where there are locals, not just tourists. Take lots of pictures! I'm so excited for you and jealous at the same time. Can't wait for your updates!

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    1. Laura ChanouxMarch 14, 2012 at 9:27 AM

      Thank you so much! I'll do my best. There's going to be so much to see and do and so many people to meet. It's not always easy for me to relax and just enjoy what's happening, but I'll try and I'm hoping it will get easier as I go! Thank you again.

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