Vietnam – Kiwi Travel Writer talks food, travel, and tips

I dont like everywhere I visit – but it seems I’m out of step here

Boats pushing a shoving to get the best spot, despite it being a world heritage spot this trip was too crowded for me – most others loved it.

My blog topics to come

Here are just some of the stories I will be blogging about over the next few months – these are about my recent 5 weeks travelling in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Taiwan, but there will also be other blogs about New Zealand and travel tips too.

In no particular order here are some of my planned blogs:

Water puppets in Hanoi
Angkor Wat for my 2^nd time
the Lantern Village
my fav noodle stand in Taipei
staying in a mansion that many locals will not go near
travel and food
what does Visa on arrival really mean?
Hong Kong and protests (FIRST ONE – in a day or two – as current)
travelling by train
a circus in Siam Reap
a train is scarily close
health issues when travelling
postcards and post offices are alive and well in parts of the world
money and borders
. . . and many more 🙂

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How to pack for business and leisure – my Asian adventures

Packing for both business and pleasure is often seen as difficult – I solve the problem by using different packing cells for the 2 different parts. One for business, one for leisure.

One or 2 items may belong both bags, in this instance, it’s a white T-shirt that, once the 5-day business meeting is over, it will be moved into my leisure cell for the month-long exploration in SE Asia at cheap and cheerful destinations and accommodations.

My travel is in Southeast Asia, so will have the extreme heat of July and August, and I suspect, the over-cold meeting rooms in the hotel. This just seems to be what they do in Asia – overcompensating for the heat.

I’m taking 2 pieces of luggage, my trusty red suitcase in the hold, and a daypack no. The suitcase will be left behind in Hong Kong with all my business stuff in it, while the backpack will be my luggage for Taiwan, Cambodia, and Vietnam. My red suitcase will be about 10kg max. (22 lb) while my backpack will be under the regulation 7kg. (15lb). What

It’s always a treat to just have carry-on luggage when travelling – no waiting at the luggage carousel for my red case to appear. I will also use my backpack as my carry-on luggage when I leave New Zealand for Hong Kong. It will contain vital business papers, my camera and tablet, as well as medication, Kobo e-reader and phone.

So what are in those cells? Two trouser suits – a white one with 2 tops to wear with it, and a yellow one with the white T-shirt. So over the 5 days of work, I have 3 different outfits, so one will be repeated, and if I decide to, I could wear my black travel trousers with one of the tops. One pair of black shoes will accompany them all :-).

All these will remain in HK storage when I leave for Vietnam, Cambodia then onto Taiwan, before returning to Hong Kong for a couple of days and pick up my red suitcase, and go home to New Zealand’s late winter weather – and where my daughter will meet me at the airport with a warm coat 🙂

My red leisure cell contains a long sundress, a loose pair of trousers, 3 tops and my trusty Teva’s while the blue one has underwear, swimming costume, and nightwear. So that’s how I pack for a combined trip that is both official and laid-back – very different needs clothes-wise

I hope this helps you keep your clothes to the minimum -after all, we don’t have to dress to impress when we’re on holiday, you will, mostly, see a person only once, so even if you are in the same clothes daily, most of them would not even notice. We, humans, are pretty self-centred and concentrate on ourselves.