SE Asia 2009

FAQ

Where did you go? Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Malaysia. I didn't make it to Singapore.
Did you go by yourself? Yes.
Why did you go? Why not? I love traveling and was getting burned out on work, so it seemed like a good time for new travels to new places.
How long were you gone for? Two months.
Did you keep your job? No.
Are you going to get your job back? No. This is forward progress, I don't plan to go backwards.
How did you pay rent? I didn't have rent. I lived out of my car for a month before leaving, staying with friends most of the time. It was great!
When did you decide to do this? I wanted to do something like this a long time ago, several years, but I decided to finally do it earlier this year, maybe like February.
What's all this about you getting engaged?! I asked a wonderful Vietnamese girl to marry me while I was in Saigon.
What!? You asked some random Vietnamese girl to marry you?! No, I had known her for years beforehand. This was the right time, the right place and the right girl. :)
Did you bring her back to America with you? No. American immigration is not at all what the poems claim. I have an entirely new outlook on the whole procedure. It's incredibly biased against poor countries and individuals who don't have large business interests in America.

The long story

Decisions

At the beginning of 2009 it became evident that parts of my life were not going the way I wanted them to. Recent changes at my employer had left my career going in the wrong direction and taking a heavy toll on my spirits. I needed a change. I decided to quit my job and go to Asia for a while. For how long I didn't know, nor did I know what I would do over there, or even where I'd go, those details would be worked out over time. I just knew I needed a change, so I made it happen. Over the course of several months I helped my employer hire a replacement for me and help train him as I planned my trip to Asia. At the end of May I had my last day at my job and on that same day I flew to Saigon via Tokyo.

The Current Plan

I had originally planned something vaguely like this... Fly to Saigon and spend some time in Vietnam with my friend Tien. From there I wanted to travel through Cambodia, Laos, back to Thailand, south through Malaysia and down to Singapore, then back to Saigon to catch my plane back to America.

The Actual Experience

I got to Vietnam and was greeted by Tien and company. We spent a few days in Saigon and then headed back to Tien's home town. Tien sent me off to Ha Long bay for a week but was unable to go with me. I missed her greatly while I was there and on the plane back to Saigon I made a big decision. I asked Tien to marry me when I got back to Saigon. From there I did travel to Cambodia, Thailand and Laos by myself because Tien had no passport. When she finally got her passport I went back to Vietnam where we celebrated our engagement, then went to Malaysia for a week. We spent one final week in Vietnam together with her family and then I came home to make arrangements to bring my fiancé to America to marry me. This is ongoing as of this writing.