I can hardly believe I’m writing this sentence, but next month I’ll be visiting Vietnam. I’ve been to Hong Kong but this will be only my second trip to Asia (we’re also going to Singapore).Vietnam is somewhere I’ve always dreamed of going to. It’s on my bucket list of Countries I Want To Visit, and the thought of going to Hanoi and Ha Long Bay is incredibly exciting, and scary, all at once.
Even though I’ll be in no danger whatsoever, and looked after the whole time, it got me thinking about the whole thing of venturing Out Of My Comfort Zone. I’ve travelled to all sorts of amazing places, as far-flung as New Zealand and Mexico, but the closest I’ve come to the wild side is going up in helicopters or, post-uni, staying at a hostel in Houston, Texas, when we were backpacking across the US and being warned not to go out after dark – we could hear gunfire all night long. (Or perhaps it was cars backfiring and over-active imaginations). Apart from that, though, I’ve definitely played it safe.
So I’d love to know. How far have you ventured out of your comfort zone – and which countries are on your bucket list?
Well we just got back from Panama – the remote islands of San Blas. That was fairly different.
Have you seen any of my posts about my latest trip to Zambia?? The one where I am so far out of my comfort zone I am about to fall off the edge of the Victoria Falls?? Or the one where an elephant has broken into my loo and I am shitting myself in a tent? WAY further out of comfort zone than usual and I loved every minute!! Vietnam – lucky you – my son got some great shots of Ha Long Bay – I’d love to go there Lx
Moving to China has taken me so far out of my comfort zone! I had never taught before. Standing up in front of parents and kids and singing or acting like an animal was maybe the hardest part. Speaking Chinese has also been very difficult. I wouldn’t change anything! 🙂 Have a great time in Vietnam!
Oh, I’m very jealous – Vietnam (and Cambodia) is very much on my bucket list. Part of what I love about travel is that it takes me out of my comfort zone, even if I have to ignore a bit of fear. In fact, most of the time, I’ve got caught up in the excitement of whatever I’m doing and it’s only registered later that it might not have been the most sensible course of action – even if it turned out well. Sometimes even the places I’ve been warned about (Rio de Janeiro, bits of South Africa) have been less dodgy than I’d feared as long as I was sensible about what I was doing and not flaunting valuables etc. The one time I’ve felt seriously uncomfortable was in Kuala Lumpur, where despite being covered almost head to toe, I was harrassed, propositioned and seemed to get a general low-level threatening amount of attention the whole time. But otherwise, I love the unexpected – ziplining across a mountain valley in Italy to heading right off the beaten track in Madagascar, even visiting Sri Lanka not long after the tsunami and a Cape Town township.
Oh wow, I’d love to go and visit Vietnam, you’re so lucky! I don’t think I’ve really travelled very far out of my comfort zone – a slightly uncomfortable walk in a small town in Goa surrounded by children begging (upsetting) is as far as I’ve been. Can’t wait to read all about it.