I'm off.

In 24 hours, I'll be boarding an airplane bound for Phuket and routed from there to Hanoi. We're taking the exact opposite approach of the American military, starting in the communist stronghold of Hanoi and working our way south, toward Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). I'm oscilllating between excitement and nervousness, possibly because this is my first real adventure-trip. I mean, coming to Japan was an adventure and a trip, but in a lot of ways, it's not so different from home. I suspect Vietnam will have more in common with America than, say, the surface of the moon, but I'm still expecting more of an adventure than spending a few days in Tokyo. You know what I mean?

Last night, I went to a nearby city to purchase travel insurance. Travel insurance. I don't know why that phrase sounds so strange to my ears. I suppose I never really thought seriously about travelling, and I've never really had much insurance experience. Anyway, the staff was nice enough. My Japanese progressed to the point that I could tell someone what I want, and ask questions ... I just couldn't understand the whole of their answers without the help of a travel dictionary. But, an English-speaking attendant came to the rescue and began to explain the forms and formalities to me.
It was a peculiar experience, discussing the coverage in morbid, broken English. There can be no euphimisms, no beating around the bush. It's all dismemberment this, and knife-wounds-from-robbery that. I had quite a chuckle on my way home.

I realize that's a poor way to leave the blog before this trip. I assure you, it's going to be an awesome time. Paying for insurance is almost certainly going to mean paying for nothing. ...That's how they get ya.