Lets get the gear!

It is now seven days until departure. I've been feeling a mix of excited, nervous (or sometimes elated and terrified) growing in my stomach for the last month. Although my hostelworld.com account would call me a seasoned traveler, I would be lying if I said I felt completely prepared and confident about this trip. I'd also be lying if I said I wasn't out-of-my-mind excited.

Nick and I will be embarking on a month-long journey through South East Asia, visiting Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia, leaving on the 8th of January and returning on the 11th of February.  We're taking this trip for a few reasons- I just finished my undergrad (woo) and have friends from my study abroad year to visit, and Nick is a miraculous yea-sayer who didn't hesitate when I mentioned the idea of traveling after we'd been together for a year.

I'm still not 100% sure why we chose to visit South East Asia. Visiting Anna was at the top of the list  and seeing the Angkor Wat temples was a huge draw, I still feel like we poked our finger at a globe and said let's go there. And as a first big trip being a couple, I'm not sure if we could have picked a more testing place. Trying to navigate planes, trains and automobiles through urban and natural jungles in a variety of cultures and toilets, Nick and I will definitely return to the US changed. For better or worse? We'll see :)

We're going to start our trip in Singapore and work our way North then East, moving from most expensive country to the least. In the middle, we'll be joining a small group tour, visiting parts of Thailand we probably wouldn't be able to see on our own. We'll be wrapping up in Cambodia, spending 4 days exploring the Angkor Wat temple complex and then flying out of Phnom Penh. If all goes well, there will be segways at every stop. We've been pinching pennies for months, milking the customer service for maximum tips (life is so hard) and I can't believe I can count  the days till we leave on my fingers.

We'll try to keep the blog updated as much as wifi/computers are available. Till then, เที่ยวให้สนุก, and we'll see you on the other side!