Getting ready to go

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In the month before my trip, I'll be posting entries about my travel and gear decisions, as well as raising issues that may be useful for travelers involved with human services and counseling education and practice.

My tour in Cambodia was canceled due to low sign-up, so I now have two weeks to schedule on my own. This is not my preferred way to travel, so it will be interesting. I will spend a couple of days in Thailand, then fly to Siem Reap, Cambodia. I have identified some social service agencies I might be able to visit there. I might take a side trip to Laos, but I haven't explored this yet.

In the third week, I'm expected at the Royal University of Phnom Penh in Cambodia, then the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Hanoi, Viet Nam. I'll be doing some combination of talking with students and faculty, presenting lectures, and consulting. What and when are still to be determined, so I'll be taking a small computer and my recent academic PowerPoints so that I'll have a base to work from.

Tasks begun or completed

• Confirm dates
  
• Request Viet Nam visa
  
• Evaluate clothing and gear
  
• Order clothing and gear as needed
  
• Set up electronics for travel (e.g., e-mail account, blog, passwords, etc.)
  
• Get/update vaccinations (Hepatitis A/B, pneumonia, flu, MMR, DPT)
  
• Obtain travel insurance
  
• Offer services to the universities
  

Tasks to begin or continue

• Confirm air travel
  
• Book hotels in Bangkok, Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Hanoi (locally owned and green if possible)
  
• Print all tickets, reservations, insurance, documents
  
• Scan all tickets etc. and save electronically
  
• Obtain visas
  
• Get passport-sized photos
  
• Evaluate luggage: backpack vs. suitcase or duffel
  
• Order vacation pack prescriptions
  
• Request travel prescriptions (antibiotics, anti-malarial, sleep aid, etc.)
  
• Coordinate services with the universities
  
• Prep guidebooks, maps, other travel tools
  
• Print exchange rates
  
• Check camera memory cards
  
• Choose an airplane book (or 3)
  
• Explore Skype
  
• Confirm phone coverage for emergencies
  
• Finish scheduling work and other coverage
  
• Get a haircut
  

There are many more tasks, of course. This is part of what I enjoy about traveling.

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