PSA's and Pictures of Lady:Edition Four

Not so much of a PSA in the same sense of previous PSA's, but perhaps some helpful information nonetheless. Many of the following 'service announcements' may warrant a more full-fledged blog regarding the ins and outs of how the Harrington's accomplished the following tasks, but for now, this is more of an area to find some helpful links when preparing to leave Korean Public School and/or travel from Korea to the USA with a dog.

Speaking of the dog, the above photos are bit old and the Lady is now sporting a much more cropped hairstyle allowing her to feel a bit fresh in this humid, Korean summer heat!

Preparing to leave Korea is filled with the need to sell, pack, apply, meet for final dinners, say good-bye and try to organize something that resembles life after departure in whatever corner of the world you've decided to tackle next.

Travel Tips: Vietnam Edition

Similar to our previous article Travel Tips: Taiwan Edition, these tips are a mix of tips truly specific to Vietnam whereas others are more general and all-travel encompassing tips - Enjoy!

Specific to getting a Vietnam Visa: For American citizens at least, there are basically two options 1) Go/Send passport and required paperwork to a Vietnam Embassy or 2) Use an online service provider to do paperwork before hand and receive your visa upon arrival. The Harrington's used myvietnamvisa.com and had no problems. Simply fill out an online form, pay a fee (US25$) then receive some confirmation work and forms in your email, print and fill out anything, present it to the fine folks at the "Landing Visa" window upon arrival in Vietnam (cross your fingers your one of only a couple people needing the visa), pay an additional US25$ and your finished. Note of caution/warning: When you fill out the paperwork, you will receive an email confirming you will receive a visa upon arrival, your passport number will be in this email. So will about 20 other individuals. Suppose it's just expected that there will be a mutual level of trust and respect amongst all recipients on the list, plus it's only the number, not any expiration dates or other info, but still, good to know. Another good site for answering questions about the visa process is: vietnam-visa.com

Specific to Sunscreen: Purchase brands you know, even if it feels too steep a price to pay. Or just take plenty with you.

Specific to Avoiding the Foreigner Tax: No matter what, you're going to be ripped off. Usually it's about the equivalent of a dollar, so relax. However, when chatting up with a friendly coconut salesmen on the popular tourist streets of Ho Chi Minh City, fake like you've been there a while - maybe as a teacher or long-staying tourist. Answering the question "How long have you been here?/How long will you stay?" with the answer "Oh, just a day/couple days/etc," is sure to result in your paying a ridiculous foreigner tax.

Specific to Staying at Hotels in Vietnam: They will want your Passport at the front desk. And they want to keep it while you are there. It's regulation. Have no fear.

Specific to Packing - Accessories: If you have an old, airplane eye mask lying around or another small, easily folded piece of thickish fabric, it'll make for a great way to keep your earrings from becoming a mess while also packing quite compactly.

Travel Tips: Taiwan Edition

While some of these tips may be specific to Taiwan, they are denoted as the 'Taiwan Edition' primarily because they are tips which got the Harrington's from plans to arrival and most of them would prove effective for travel to most locations, not just Taiwan. That being clarified, here are some tips for travelling Harrington-style to new and exotic locations.

• Specific to those travelling from Korea and whom have a Korean bank account: Check out Kangsan Travel - the Harrington's had an absolutely amazing experience with this travel agency. Not only could they purchase tickets using Korean Won, which happened to more abundant due to poor conversion rates throughout the fall, but the tickets were well priced AND if that weren't enough...After sending in a notice of confirmation to Kangsan, the Harrington's received an email from Kangsan claiming another ticket was available for a slightly cheaper price, with more desirable departure/arrival times and with a better airline, and the couple could choose to change over to this ticket before depositing their money! FANTASTIC!

• Specific to travel during Chinese New Year: Assume that everything will book up quick and make a decent plan, stick to it and book accommodations and transportation if you can. Consider staying in the capital cities of countries that celebrate the Chinese New Year and doing day trips from the city as most families return to ancestral homes which are rarely in the city. A helpful site the Harrington's have used for booking accommodations is www.agoda.com

• Specific to Packing - Clothes: Melissa's personal, slightly vain packing practice is to take clothing she feels comfortable and confident in. Once-upon-a-time it was old t-shirts and awkward fitting bottoms, but that all changed upon the realization that when travelling, pictures will be taken, lots and lots of pictures - you'll enjoy the memories more if you feel you were looking your best. For this trip, Melissa included a dress and a couple of long shirts, a couple pair of leggings, a long cardigan, a scarf, a pair of jeans and a pair of shorts. In this way, she was able to adequately layer and avoid wet pant bottoms (by opting for leggings and shorts) throughout the course of their trip. Mike generally takes one or two pairs of jeans and a selection of soccer jersey's since the jersey's are lightweight and quick to dry should he get soaked.

• Specific to Packing - Accessories: This trip, Melissa wanted to take some bobby pins to tuck away unruly hair, not an uncommon item to take on a trip. However, wanting to prevent the pins from floating about all willy-nilly, Melissa opted to put the pins (as well as a few other hair accessories) onto an old gift card to keep them contained.

• Specific to Keeping Records/Journaling: As is evident in the keeping of The Harrington Times and the perhaps overly detailed stories from past travels, Melissa has a particular love for writing. However, while in the midst of travel adventures and misadventures Melissa has no desire to keep a detailed record of the events unfolding around her. It has therefore become her custom, since the World Tour of 2010, to record the days events in a sort of short-hand or single words commentary in a small daily planner. Upon returning home, this can then easily guide Melissa in creating blog posts or recording an even more personal and detailed travel journal while allowing travel to be relaxing and rejuvenating.