Ms Saigon

I'm going to Vietnam. For work. Hey hey. In less than 2 weeks. Eek. Was that loud enough? Let me try again - EEEK!! I'm in denial (yes the Nile is in Egypt), because... it's been a couple of years since I've been OS, this was decided only very recently and it feels like I haven't really had time to get my head around it. I suppose now is a bad time to confess that I couldn't even point out Ho Chi Minh City on a map (um, unless it was labelled, in which case I could). Today I had to get passport photos taken so I could get my Visa sorted. The photos were crap (oh, now there's an exciting and unusual observation - passport photos that are unnatractive, ho ho, write that down for posterity); I look mega nerdy, and kind of tentative like a meek myopic pale bunny with wispy hair sneaking out of its pony tail. But at least I got it done, so here I am, on the way to having the Visa sorted. My flights are kind of half organised, there is travel insurance still to do for my personal chunk of travel after the work stuff (thinking around 5 days at this stage), ditto some kind of accomodation for after the work leg.

I know this is dorky, proper slick professionals who travel for work don't get all excited about it and write about it on their blogs. They don't have blogs. They're probably busy pressing their suits, finishing their reports and reading the fin review. But that aside. I am a bit excited, and seriously need to very quickly get my shit together work wise and washing-wise and maybe even map wise so that come next week I can shove that suit in the bag, pop the report on the stick and use the fin review to line the kitty litter tray. I love interstate travel just for that little window of resting, the opportunity for reading and daydreaming, the excuse to write postcards. So longer flights are even better. Having never been to Vietnam, my vision is all very 'Scent of the Green Papaya' - I see crumbling colonial buildings, elegant women in long flowy white pant suits, streetside snacks. I love the idea of havinng a few days by myself as well, time to explore and muse in a new place.