Countdown to takeoff

This time two weeks from now I'll be siting on a Korean Air flight headed to Osaka, Japan via Incheon, South Korea. Perhaps it is the excitement of the trip that is keeping me up at the moment despite my body being quite tired.

My first stop is actually Kyoto, but the nearest international airport is in Osaka. It is actually built on a man-made island in the harbor and having watched a show on the National Geographic Channel several years ago, as well as my somewhat embarrassing fascination with most things aviation related, I am as excited to see it as I am for all the other places I'm planning to visit. But why Kyoto and why pass up seeing Tokyo. The simple answer is that while I'm sure there are interesting and exciting sites to see in Tokyo, the city has never been an attraction for me. Perhaps it is because I live in a large, bustling city so when I travel I like to stray away from similar places. But importantly than why I don't want to see Tokyo is that I've wanted to see Kyoto for a very long time.

Many people might only know of Kyoto as the city where eponymous protocols were adopted as part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1997. (They entered into force in 2005 and, to this day, the US has refused to become a signatory.) For me, however, I've known of Kyoto as being the former imperial capital of Japan. I've read of the imperial palace, many awe inspiring temples, tranquil bamboo forests, and twisting streets lined with traditional house. As I've been planning my visit, I've also been discovering a rich culinary world awaits me there and can't wait to sample my way through it.

After several days in Kyoto I will spend an evening and most of a day seeing a bit of Osaka before flying to Hanoi, Vietnam - again via Incheon airport. I will have two days in Hanoi before meeting up with a group from Intrepid Travel. This is the same tour company that Karen traveled to Turkey and Morocco with in 2008 and she enjoyed both those trips immensely. The itinerary for my trip, Indochina Adventure, takes me from Hanoi to Vinh, a city about 200 miles to the south. From Vinh we will head west into Laos, visiting the cities of Vientiane, Vang Vieng, and Luang Prabang before boarding a boat for a two day trip down the Mekong River into Thailand. In Thailand we will spend some time in Chiang Mai before hiking into the rural villages of the northern hilltribes for three days. While my organized tour will conclude in Bangkok, I plan to stay in Thailand for about a week longer and then spend some time enjoying the southern islands and taking in some diving.

For the final stop on my trip, I will be returning to Korea for the first time (not including my two layovers) in about 37 years. My family was living there in 1971 when I was born and I spent the first year and a half or so of my life in Seoul. This chubby little kid, unable to properly use the telephone is me at my dol (돌) or first anniversary of birth:



The odd thing is that while I've always felt a connection to Korea - beyond my love of its cuisine, especially kimchi - it is a country I actually know little about beyond the obvious things. I am finding myself reading through the many tour books trying to decide what to see, but worried that I will overlook something that shouldn't be missed. I suppose that is the problem with just visiting places: you never have enough time to see it all.

So that's the thumbnail sketch of my itinerary. According to Great Circle Mapper (one of my favorite websites, which I'll readily admit is also rather nerdy) I will travel nearly 19,000 air miles and fly over the north pole, a first for me. This isn't the longest itinerary I've had (that would be a trip I took as part of an internship in college when I logged nearly 29,000) but I will certainly eat my fair share of in-flight meals. Depending on internet availability, I will try to post updates from the road -- and not just the flights and airports.

As the days tick by leading to my departure my excitement continues to grow. I absolutely love to travel and experience new places, meet new people, and (you guessed it) eat new things. It has been a long time since I've traveled like this and this is a trip I've been wanting to make for a while. It is also, as I mentioned in my last post, one that Karen and I spent many hours talking about doing with James. This is a trip I need to take...this is a trip I'm eager to take...this is a trip I can't wait to take...for so many reasons.