Our Rig

Our Rig
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Friday, February 26, 2016

2016 RV summer trip plan

My wife and I are RVing since 2002 every summer for 4-5 months each trip to new to us destinations, at the end of each trip we store the rig and fly home for the winter , in the following summer we pick the rig and countinue from there to other States/Provinces.

During winters we take short trips (10-20 days) to warm countries (with out the trailer) last year it was to the Las Palmas a Spanish beautiful Island and this year we were in Vietnam for 3 weeks.

When our eldest granddaughter reached 12 (Batmizva) we asked her what would she like to get as a present, her answer really surprised us as she said “ I want to join you on your trip with the trailer in North America” , so we took her with us and flew her back alone on a direct flight after a month.

This started a tradition and whenever a grandson reaches 13 (Barmizva) or a granddaughter reaches 12 we take them for a month with us.

This coming summer Zohar will be 12 and we are flying with her to L.A to pick the rig, first we will visit the city and it’s attractions for a few days and then head towards King Canyon+ Sequoia N.P to hike.

 

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Here is the general plan,the first month will be from L.A to L.A to drop Zohar to the International Airport, then we will drive North ending the trip in Oregon in late September.

We love nature, waterfalls,history,natural hot springs and meeting people.

Usually we park the 5W in a central location and explore the area with the truck till we feel like moving to the next stop.

I  publish the plan way in advance to be able to make changes after receiving advise  and remarks from RVers that were there and think that I should not miss this or that.

Thank you in advance.

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

18 Days Vietnam + 5 Days Thailand trip

Vietnam is a Southeast Asian country on the South China Sea known for its beaches, rivers, Buddhist pagodas and bustling cities. Hanoi, the capital, pays homage to the nation’s iconic Communist-era leader, Ho Chi Minh, via a huge marble mausoleum. Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) has French colonial landmarks, plus Vietnamese War history museums and the Củ Chi tunnels, used by Viet Cong soldiers. For the last 15 years our summers from June till October are “taken” by our RV travels in North America, we love it and do not want mean time to change that , but it leaves us enough time to explore other parts of the world, last year it was 10 days in the Canary Islands and this year Vietnam and a a little of Thailand. As we landed in Hanoi and traveled from the airport to the hotel we experienced a culture “shock” while looking from the minivan window to the traffic and the streets, it seems that there are no traffic laws and everything is just a “suggestion", it is an organized mess but we did not see one incident, fight or a quarrel all went in a peaceful way – AMAZINGLY. The hotel was located in a fairly quite alley but close to the main streets, as we arrived we hit the road to get oriented, walking the streets was really an eye opener,resultants,small shops,traffic,noise and nice people were all over. I found it very interesting to look at the people, mostly happy, doing their thing, polite and do not mind if you take their picture. The markets are full of goods and bargain is excepted , some times you can get the 40% off the “original” price. We drove motorcycles, took a rickshaw trip,Elephants,worked in a rice field, visited wedding's that we saw on the way, sailed on a boat spending a night on board ,visited house boats where people live away from the land and had good local food that can coast 4-8 US$ with beer….did I say paradise???? It is a country that is still “authentic” that will change as time goes to be more touristic and run after the $ as most of the Western countries do, this kind of “real” people and countries are vanishing so the best time to visit is before it happens. Most of the hard work is done by women while the men have their tea or dose away, it still a place where the women work, keep the house, take care of the kids and make the men happy.. It is normal to see more that 2 people on a motorbike,it is scary for us the westerns that are for good reasons place a kid in a special chair with a safety belt to protect him, here the kids are born into it and have no fear. We loved the simple food and even took a cooking class in one of the remote farms, what we cooked we ate and it was good…. A 150 Mile Motorcycle day trip was great beside a slight pain in the a…but was worth it. Vietnam is the second largest country exporting rice,the rice fields are every where and it is sure not a picnic to work on the field but for half an hour it was an adventure…. Talking and mingling with the locals was a great experience, they love to hear and tell you all about their country and the living conditions with out to many complains. This beautiful young lady was my personal motorcycle driver in Saigon and she sure managed the traffic like a pro. In this short time we managed to “feel” the beat of the this magnificent country I just hope it will not change on our next trip there…. The beautiful hotel staff. The people in the mountains. Unforgettable….a different view on the country many Americans still remember from the war…