A Dream of Vietnam

There is something to said for Mondays.

Today, for me, it's a fresh start. My back feels much better, first of all. The weather has turned deliciously cool, which is a great relief; and, better still, the boss seems to have felt sorry for me, because he's moved me to an hourly wage (with a different supervisor) this week. Thank my stars.

I drive south with the new crew, in the opposite direction from where I have been working all this time. The road twists through bare yellow hills that seem to roll and peak, like an ocean; they are unlike any I have seen in Canada, all pushed together in frantic creases and folds.

All day long, it's easy work. We work in pairs, taking just six bunches per plant, and after a few hours the boss stops us all for a long break. Everyone lies around, drinking water or just staring at the clouds. In the afternoon, I actually feel confident enough to plug in an audio book. I listen to The Secret Garden and chant to myself: one, two, three, four, five, six, completely relaxed. We're finished the vineyard by 1:00.

The rain starts when I get back to the hostel, small drops that kiss my cheeks. I love a good summer rain (when I'm not working in it), so after my shower I go for a walk, into town to get a coffee. Then I decide to hit up the library, hoping to take out a travel guide on Southeast Asia.

See, John and I have been talking about going on a trip, and although we haven't decided exactly where, we have settled on Southeast Asia for a start. We have even thought about stopping in Australia, to see Sydney and maybe go diving in the Great Barrier Reef. That would definitely tick off a box on my Life To Do List. From there we could possibly travel north to Darwin, where the flights to Bali are very cheap. Once in Indonesia, flights from Jakarta to Singapore are about $50, and from there we could travel through Malaysia and into Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. We guess that this might take a month at least.

All day, I daydream about this trip, trying to calculate costs and planning grand adventures. I hope we at least see Vietnam, which for some reason appeals to me beyond anything. But Indonesia comes a close second.

Whatever happens, this dream will certainly get me through the next few months of working.

If I make it to Asia, it will all be worth it.