Before I go....

Hi everyone,
I'm leaving in a few days. I can't believe it's almost here. My plane takes of Tuesday night from Boston, going onto Frankfurt then to Singapore. I have 22 hours worth of flying and a layover to look forward to. The 12 hour leg from Frankfurt to Singapore is the most exciting *sarcasm*. Fortunately, I'll be flying on Singapore Airlines, which has an excellent reputation (they even have free Singapore Slings!). An interesting note, due to the length of the flight and the disparity of time zones, I'll land Thursday morning around 6:30.

It's been over a year since I started to get ideas of putting together this trip. I'm just about ready to go. I finally got the last visa I needed from the Lao Embassy. I have nearly all my stuff ready to be packed, just need a few small things. All my other preparations are done (I think).

I've gotten quite a number of questions about my trip, so I figured I'd post a few FAQs here.

1. Q: Why did you choose Southeast Asia?
A: Why not? It's very affordable (perhaps the most affordable destination in the world for travel). I LOVE food, and Southeast Asia has some of the best. I especially can't wait for street food and Hawker fare (Singapore and Malaysia's answer to street food). The region boasts a wide variety of cultures. It's supposed to be pretty easy to travel around. There's a ton of history.

2. Q: Aren't you afraid of getting robbed, killed etc.?
A: No. Southeast Asia is pretty safe. Of course I'll be taking appropriate precautions. If it were too dangerous, I wouldn't go there.

3. Q: You're going in the summer?!?!? It's gonna be HOT!
A: No. Yes. While technically it may be summer (leading into Fall), in all practicality, it's not. I'll be in the tropics, so the four seasons don't really apply. It's the rainy season for a while during my trip. Nonetheless, it will be hot. Really hot. And I'm not a warm-weather guy. I love snow and sub-freezing temperatures. New England summers are too hot, if you ask me. Nonetheless, I'll adjust (I hope).

4. Q: You're going for 3 months?
A: Certainly, I'm done with school, I have no job, I'm young.

Well, I think that does it for now. I might fit in one more post before I leave, not sure. Anyways, check back soon, I'll try to give an update when I arrive. Feel free to leave a comment.

Thanks for reading,
Mike