Countdown to Asia

Hi all: chalk this brief entry up to my excitement to depart for South Asia...no other motive...no other excuse...school ended for the summer on Tuesday with little fanfare...teachers and students eagerly exiting the building...some destined for the halls of academia as freshman this fall while others left no clue as to their destination other than a rye smile and a discernible briskness of step.

My first two days of summer vacation allowed me to finish--at last--Silas Marner and I instantly felt the need to order three other Eliot novels to accompany me to Singapore. Other than that...navigated the crowded Point Pleasant boardwalk last night with three of my beautiful nieces and my sister Karin. I watched as they happily made the rounds of the kiddie rides and devoured with wide smiles some tasty ice cream to end the night...

Ever since I first set eyes on Paul Theroux's book "The Great Railway Bizarre: By Train Through Asia " the idea of spending extended time hop scotching across South Asia with a backpack filled with the requisite light clothes and ample supply of blank notebooks has greatly appealed to me. That dream will come true this summer as I pack my bags and head for the Malaysian peninsula. The plan is to land in Singapore, get acclimated for a few days and then cross the border into Malaysia. Mersing, a small village on the east coast and some four hours or so by bus (God willing...) will be our gateway to a week or so of island hopping in the South China Sea. Kuala Lumpur will then beckon and a flight will be caught to the northeast part of Malaysia where we will settle on the island gem known as Perhentian Besar. More snorkeling, trekking, and reading will follow. The final portion of the journey will take me on a roughly two-hour long flight to Ho Chi Mihn City (Saigon), Vietnam where I will take a boat ride along the Mekong Delta and soak up the dizzying energy of South Vietnam's largest city. I'll try to post an entry with pics whenever I have computer access.We will be arriving in Singapore on July 8...so stay tuned for the first dispatch from that steamy, malaria-free (so I'm told...) south Asian country shortly thereafter.

Cheers,

Keith