Back to ‘Nam

It seems kind of crazy that less than a month after I left Vietnam, I’m heading back. So yes, tomorrow. My life is over-full these days, with all the visitors we’ve had between the two Vietnam trips. Josh’s family came to stay for two weeks, and my friend Mike is hanging with us for a week too.

At the moment I’m feeling a little foolish that I have gone to the great trouble and expense of organising a trip to Vietnam to attend my grandmother’s 80th birthday — only to end up going for only a bit over two days. I really should have taken an extra day off rather than cramming it all in. Actually, I would normally take more leave for something like this but I thought it might be an issue with work, which is why I only asked for one day off. It probably would have been fine if I had pushed for it but I guess my reluctance to ask reflects the ambivalent relationship I seem to have with my job these days. I was totally feeling the love just before Christmas but coming into 2011 I feel completely different about it all again. It really is time for a change in direction this year. I’ve been hinting about this for many, many months now and I am bursting with news about my plans — but I have to keep it all under wraps for a while longer. Needless to say, behind the scenes I have been busy planning up a storm the past 3-4 months.

But yes, Vietnam…it’s going to be another epic trip. I’ll be reuniting with my grandmother and my aunt and her family — I haven’t seen them in years, even though we live a stone’s throw away from each other in Sydney. And I’ll be reunited with my new found family connections in Vietnam. After the big bash on Friday night, there’s a planned trip to the seaside (Vung Tau) for the weekend. Should be great fun actually, and I might even get a chance to relax in the midst of all the activities.

So even though this trip is ludicrously short, it’s fine because we will be heading back in April for a week so that’s three trips in less than six months — so very much a feast after a famine.