Bought my ticket!

I am officially going, people! I purchased my ticket. I depart for Hanoi, Vietnam on June 3rd and leave from Bali, Indonesia on July 19th. That's about 7 weeks away from the US. The flight cost a whopping $1800--yikes! I've narrowed down the places I definitely want to go, but still need to flesh out some of the details-- like will I rely on buses, planes, or ferries to get to all the countries?

I plan on spending about a week in Hanoi, before I fly to Bangkok to meet up with my wonderful and adventurous companion. We'll explore and then head through Thailand to Cambodia, where we will experience Angkor Wat. After that we will bus or boat to HCMC, or Saigon. He'll probably leave before there's time to explore the Mekong Delta, so I'll stay there a few more days before I fly to Singapore. Singapore is small and I still have a lot to accomplish, so I'll probably only be there a couple of days. After that, I'll fly to Medan in Sumatra, Indonesia. There I definitely want to go to Bukit Lawang to make friends with some orangutans. I also want to get to Lake Toba and Pulau Weh, but I'm not sure I will have time for both. Once I've completed my Medan excursions, I'm off on a plane to Bali where I plan to explore ruins, beaches, and dive some great sites. I also want to explore a volcano on Lambok, the neighboring island, and lounge/dive a few days on the Gili Islands. Needless to say, it's looking to be a packed trip even with the generous amount of time I gave myself.

But it will all be worth it when I'm here:


I also just got a Capitol One Venture Rewards credit card for the trip, which can be found here. Why? The only cards I have now charge foreign transaction fees (which would definitely add up), none of them give me airline miles, and none of them have the perks I can get with Visa Signature. More perks on the card can be found at Nerd Wallet, along with information about other good cards to use when you're travelling abroad. I wish I had known about the travel accident insurance before I bought the ticket with another card. However, with Visa Signature I can still use other resources, like translation services or emergency message delivery. I can also get a replacement card/cash advance right away anywhere, any time if my card is lost or stolen. That is definitely comforting. The catch? You need excellent credit, so make sure you check your credit score before you apply.

My next adventure will be to get all needed vaccinations. I'll post more updates on the preparation as I go.