Going to Vietnam to Type on a Computer

Xin Chào! From February 1st until March 9th, I’m working from Hanoi. Why? Allow me to explain!

Traveling a lot is great – in just the past few months, I’ve been in Amsterdam, Mexico City, Morocco and India! But each of those trips has been short, intense, and very “tourist-y”. For a long while (really since our time in Kazakhstan), I’ve been thinking about settling in somewhere abroad for a longer period. However, between Covid and not wanting to leave our aging dog for so long, I’d put those ideas on hold. When Molly passed away in 2024💔, I started thinking more seriously about an extended trip to Vietnam. In a way, it let me turn a sad event into something happier.

I thought about a few possibilities in terms of work – taking an extended vacation, doing a formal sabbatical for research, etc. In the end, I decided to just focus my work on the types of projects I have trouble fitting in during my typical meeting-heavy days. I’m really excited to do (almost) no Zoom calls, and to turn down the work day email volumes. I’m hoping it can also be a model for some of my coworkers who might like to do something similar in the future.

So, I’ve got an apartment booked in Hanoi for five weeks, and I’m aiming to find a “normal” routine. But it won’t be all work – Kat will join for a week later in the month and we’ll do some climbing. My friend Patch will also be coming through, and we’re going to head to Laos for a few days to do some climbing and hiking. Beyond that, I’m trying to avoid packing in too many activities – in addition to getting my work done, I really want to embrace the daily city life in Hanoi.

Right now, I’m still en route to Hanoi, somewhere over Alaska. Look for an apartment tour soon!