one week from tonight

We're in the final countdown now -- this time next week we'll be getting close to leaving for the airport. All the paperwork is together:

I love this -- he does this preparation for every trip.

Here before we leave, I always find myself imagining the trip and trying to guess what the highlights might be. It's a fool's errand; inevitably we are surprised by something we never expected -- a place is more wonderful than we'd dreamed, a hotel is more charming, or perhaps something is a little disappointing. Still, I find myself doing this before every trip.

One experience I think might be a highlight is the Hanoi street food tour that Marc has organized for us. There are all kinds of tours you can sign up for -- some on scooters, some on foot, some with just a guide, and some as part of a group. Marc has figured out our own and I think that will be much better. We can go at our own pace, linger when we want, split when we want. This will be the first time we really focused on street food in Hanoi; the other times we've been, we ate at restaurants. We'll get little snacks or treats, but this time we are definitely going to be eating on the streets.

I CANNOT WAIT. It will probably be intimidating to start, but I hope we figure out how to do it pretty quickly. I'm thinking it might be a highlight.

We're going upriver from Luang Prabang to a tiny little village that just has a dirt road through it; that trip might be a highlight too. I'm definitely looking forward to eating in Luang Prabang -- I can't wait to eat in that food alley again. I will be having a BeerLao every single day we're in Laos, too.

from our last trip -- my photo

It'll be interesting to be in Phnom Penh; the last time we were there, the Water Festival was getting started, and right after we left for the coast that dreadful tragedy happened where more than 300 people were killed. They haven't had a Water Festival since then, until this year. We missed it, but it will be interesting to see the new bridges they built to replace the one that collapsed. We love Phnom Penh, so it'll just be good to be there again.

And the coast, Kep, I'm looking forward to going back to the crab market and watching Marc enjoy that place. (Plus, it's just very beautiful.)

Counting down.....