“How do you even begin to pack for a six-month trip” many folks ask us. “Same as for a one-month trip” would be our standard reply. Of course, packing for a winter-long trip isn’t the same as for a week-long trip to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico. We have to plan on being more self-sufficient and be prepared for small emergencies, such as road rash from dumping your motorbike in Vietnam, or guarding against infection from a scrape against corals while snorkeling, or treatment for stomach issues as the result of a late-night street food binge (I guess this is something to be considered on a visit to Mexico as well) or even the mundane tasks of doing laundry in your guesthouse’s bathroom sink. To many people’s surprise, it’s not the clothes needed for a trip of this length that fills the space in our back packs. It’s really all the peripheral stuff, and especially in the new age of technology, the laptop, phone, e-readers, cameras and associated charging cords, spare batteries, surge protector and outlet adapters that consume so much of the valuable space that will ride on our backs. One lesson we’ve learned over the years and the course of many extended trips overseas – keep your travels to locations with similar climates and the amount of clothing needed will be minimal. Last winter took us to sunny Greece, southern India, Indonesia and Singapore. But also to Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and New Zealand (during their fall). Having to carry cold-weather clothing like wool socks, pants, hats, gloves, fleece layers and rain jackets filled our packs to overflowing. Don’t get me wrong – each piece was absolutely essential and was worn regularly. But with the itinerary we’re envisioning this winter, none of that gear will be coming along. It’s board shorts, tank tops and flip-flops. Pack a small amount of laundry detergent, a length of clothes line and a sink stopper and you’ve got a wardrobe suitable for an entire winter of travel. Add a few items for entertainment (deck of cards, small journal, hammocks), medical kit, assorted small miscellaneous items and toiletries and we’re set for adventure. One new item we’ll be packing this year: reusable bamboo straws. Our sunset cocktails at the beach bars will be consumed guilt-free, knowing we’re not contributing to plastic straw pollution.

In eight days we leave the mountains and falling temperatures of Colorado once again. Like we’ve done for the past six winters (and most of the last five summers), we’re heading “where the climate suits our clothes”, to the tropics. In 2012, after more then twenty years leading the “ski bum” lifestyle in Steamboat Springs, we became those people whom my in-laws (who winter in Florida) scoffed at – the dreaded “snow birds”. At first we thought we had left Colorado for good. Packed our things into a storage closet in our garage, rented our townhome and headed south, first to Florida and then on to Costa Rica for the winter. The following year we returned to the States, first spending much of that summer in southwest Florida, then northern Vermont (okay, not the tropics) and finally the Hamptons on eastern Long Island for brief stints. A 3,350 mile road trip brought us to the Baja Peninsula of Mexico and a spot on the Sea of Cortez for the next winter. We found ourselves in Asia the following year, Florida the next, the eastern Caribbean island of Antigua in 2016/17 and Asia again last winter. Those summers in between found us traveling through Europe, touring the western US and Canada in a camper, house-sitting in Hawaii (I know, tough gig), road-tripping across the Yucatan or returning for short periods to Steamboat to manage our rental property. Looking ahead to this winter we went back and forth as to where we wanted to visit. South America was the early favorite, as we hadn’t spent much time there before (a two-week trip to Peru, Ecuador and the Galapagos in 2012 being our only time on that continent). But the lure of southeast Asia was too strong and eventually won out. We had been captivated by the remote islands, pristine reefs and amazing snorkeling we experienced in the Indonesian province of Raja Ampat last winter. We thought it might be time to revisit Vietnam. Our friend Rob, who lives in a pretty amazing place in the Caribbean, had just visited Asia for the first time and raved about Pai in northern Thailand, so we thought we’d add that to the list. The islands of southern Cambodia promised easy living beach-side, which sounded like a great place to be over the holidays. Each time we travel to Asia we can’t resist returning to Bali, so of course that would be on the itinerary. Over the last month the plan , or what passes for one, has come into focus. We purchased a one-way ticket from Denver to Hoi An in central Vietnam and decided to “wing it” from there. See where the weather was best, what we were hearing on the ground from other travelers and where the winds took us. Last week we signed a lease with the perfect tenants, found a place to store our vehicle, pulled out our backpacks and started packing up our meager possessions for another winter. Here in Colorado the leaves continue to drop, along with the temperature and snow is forecast for the day we leave. Meanwhile, it’s in the mid-80’s in Hoi An. Time to go.