Goodbye

Good Morning!!!!! I am packing for this trip. I need to be able to wash things enroute and wear again. 7 days worth of clothing. It feels freeing. I have a new backpack, thank you Hollie, my joyful niece for the secret santa gift! I never pack usually until the last minute. I am this time! Yes!

Our Itinerary:

Feb.5, 2011 (Sat.) Lufthansa #0443 from Detroit @ 6:50 PM

Arrive in Frankfort, Germany Feb.6 (Sun.) @ 9:15 AM

Feb.6, (Sun.) Thai Airways #0921 from Frankfort @ 2:10 PM

Arrive in Bangkok, Thailand Feb. 7 (Mon.) @ 6:20 AM (...over the International dateline...)

Feb. 7, (Mon.) Thai Airways #0431 from Bangkok @ 8:50 AM

Arrive in Bali, Indonesia @ 2:15 PM

We then travel to our hotel in Ubud, Bali.

Hotel Tjampuhan & Spa

Phone # 0361-975368

We leave Bali on Feb.11, (Fri.) and fly to Wakatobi Dive Resort, Sulawesi, Indonesia.

We arrive mid day.

We leave Wakatobi for Bali on Feb. 22, (Tues.) and spend one night.

Feb.23, (Wed.) Thai Airways #0432 from Bali @ 4:10 PM

Arrive Bangkok @ 7:25 PM

We travel to our hotel in the city. Chatrium Suites Bangkok, 28 Chareon Krung Soi 70,

Bangkholame, 10120 Bangkok.

We plan to stay 5 days.

Our schedule is open here. Either Angkor Wat, Cambodia and/or Chaing Mai in the north of Thailand. Both come highly recommended.

We leave Thailand for home on March 6, (Sun.)

Mar. 6, Lufthansa # 0773 @ 11:55 PM leave Bangkok

Arrive Frankfort, Germany 5:35 AM (Mon.)

Mar. 7, Lufthansa #0442 @ 1:50 PM leave Frankfort

Arrive Detroit @ 5:00 PM

HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are still here. We are not there.

Leaving for a whole month....how does a person do that? We have gotten all our scuba gear together and checked. Check. We have Jake with his generous spirit care taking our home. Check. We have done reading about where we are going. You can never do enough. Sorta check. We have hotel reservations in Bali, Wakatobi and in Bangkok!!!!!!Check, Check, Check!We have wiggle room in our trip, where we don't know where we will be yet. We want to go to the Air Force Base where Walter Hoerler was base commander.

I can't believe the way the world works sometime because I remembered my friend "Pom", Prapaiparn Vattasingh, from St. Margaret's School class of '70, emailed her and she immediately emails me back! She happens to be in Bangkok visiting her mother and HOPEFULLY we will reconnect in Bangkok.

I write today with a sense that I will look back on how I felt before I journeyed and it will be like a vague dream. It will be fun to see how I have changed, how it will be nothing like I imagine, but more.

Ok, so here goes. My husband always says to me, that once you commit to a trip, the trip has begun. It's January 25th and we are preparing. Ordered Baht yesterday from the bank. Thai money in low denominations. Ahhhhh!!!!!