I didn't read my first post.  I guess there were a couple things in there I was going to address. 

Terry and I visited Red Lantern Tours.  It is a great place if you would like to have them do everything.  Each day has it's own itinerary.  You're with a tour guide much of the time.  All Travel arrangements, transfers, hotel/dinner reservations are done for you....really.....you don't have to lift a finger.  If you can get yourself on an airline to SE Asia the rest is done for you. It's the no runs, no drips, no errors way to travel.  And Red Lantern knows SE Asia.  

There is an expense to all that.....at the same level of a decent cruise on, say, Windstar.  Besides the increased cost, I really wanted to chart our course.  My wife doesn't have a great desire to do much of the planning.  The research and planning is part of what I enjoy. 

Enough for now. 

SE Asia....the groundwork

Traveling to another part of the world.....that has never been experienced, presents some....issues.  I've researched so many hotels that I am now an expert.....in ruining a perfectly good place to stay because one out of 1600 reviewers identifies that one problem that taints the other 1599.  A review written in 2009 about a bedbug....could it be that the little critter is still living.....?  How can a 5 star hotel on the beach have one bedbug?  How did they get rid of it?  Or did it leave on it's own?  Who knows.......Or a nasty reception person in a Vietnamese B&B....who can't speak English?....is that enough to ruin an otherwise decent establishment in a foreign land?  I don't speak Vietnamese.....has TripAdvisor dinged me?  I hope not. 

Anyway....TripAdvisor, Smarter Travel, and Wikitravel are the sites I used for general information.  They're the best all around and easy to use for me.  Wikitravel can be a little uneven due to it's "boots on the ground" perspective....but that's also it's charm.

This blog is being written for two reasons.  I might happen on some sage advice for SE Asia explorers...which might help them avoid some of the pitfalls of meandering around the countrysides of Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam......or my lovely wife and I might experience something unique and would love to pass that on.  The second reason is to let our friends and family know where we are and let them travel along with us if they so choose. 

We'll there is a third reason.  Humor. I will try to stick a little humor into the blog....about things, situations, or people who are amusing.  The only problem is there are a number of my friends and family that don't think I'm terribly funny, but get a kick out of me thinking I'm funny.....which in the end, I guess.....is funny. 

Another shout-out.  This one to Jessica W. who coined the phrase Edventures, as in
www.edventureswithmoon.com  Very creative.  Thanks Jessica.

Airplane travel is nature’s way of making you look like your passport photo. – Al Gore

 Enough for now.