It's all in the planning

Planning to travel is a complex process. Our upcoming adventure is no different. These are our simple steps to planning a Adventure.

Set a budget
This is always the first step for us, because how much we want to spend determines a lot of the other planning components. Thankfully this adventure struck a little bit of financial support from G's parents. Instead of contributing to our low cost wedding celebrations they contributed to our honeymoon instead. This allowed us to think a little bit further outside the box when choosing a destination.

Decide on a Destination
The decision to travel to Southeast Asia was a no brainer for me, After spending a month there in 2012, I was very keen to head back that way, G had previously not travelled to this part of the world and was excited about the opportunity.

What time of year should we visit and how long should we stay?
Timing was everything for us when planning, we needed to take into consideration not only the best time weather wise to travel but also when would have the least impact on our employment (being a teacher, having leave outside school holidays takes some coordination for G) and also the impact on our children. September seemed like a good time, the weather shouldn't be to hot and it falls partly in the school holidays.

What are the must sees and do's
Blessed by my previous experience I told G there are 2 places that are imperative that he visits;
Halong Bay and Angkor, so we planned about this. We added in some extras like the DMZ and the War Remnants Museum because we are both passionate about history and G has a particular interest in war history. On my previous visit to Cambodia i had not made it to Choeung Ek, and we hope to do so this time.

What about those staying at home
Because this is our honeymoon, we decided that Miss L and JD should stay and home and carry on as close as possible to their regular routine. They will spend the time they usually spend with us staying with Nanna Robbie and Pop-pop. Praise the lord for wonderful grandparents. Thi is of course requires it only special plan, setting up skype for Pop-pop so we can chat, making a calendar with all the children's after school commitments, drop offs, pick ups and all those things that as "the mum" you just know need to happen.