Plans Plans Plans

Hey all,
Well there is very little to do out here in the land of sheep other than plan, plan, plan, so I thought a post might be in order about what exactly I'm going to be doing when I head out into 'abroad'.

First off is a stint volunteering in the Hanoi Children's Palace, which is a government-run afterschool club for Hanoi youngsters from any age and class, to congregate and learn music, dance, art and English, amongst other things. During the summer months they expand and run throughout the day too. In return for my helping out there I get accomodation and food at 188/9 Quanh Thanh street, otherwise known as 'STA-house' (Alpine VietNam Travel Hotel Tours Volunteer Education). I stayed here two years ago as a volunteer teacher with 'i-to-i', and on my last trip in February was pleased to see that they now had some meeting rooms which could also be used for private language tuition.

In February next year my very good friend Lindsey will be descending into the chaos of Hanoi, which will be a good chance for me to have a break from volunteering to show her round. We'll head out to HaLong Bay, made famous by James Bond films and Top Gear specials, and then to Angkor Wat in Cambodia, which promises to be awesome and beautiful and amazing. I'm told its possible to tour the temples on bikes or elephants, and I think we'll do both!
On the way back to Hanoi, I have strategically inserted 24hrs wandering in Kuala Lumpur between budget flights, which will be amazing and already I reckon not long enough. As long as I see the Petronas Towers though, I'll be happy!

The unexpected break in KL has triggered a travel-goal for 2010....Asian Megacities. I would love to explore the big cities of South East Asia, among them Singapore, KL, Bangkok and Tokyo if I've got time. And home in time for tea...

Thats all folks! I'll add some photographs soon, and also, a post entitled 'Happy Birthday Hanoi', I'll leave you to ponder what that'll be about...

Sarah xx