After ten years of living abroad, I have finally cracked the jetlag code – the key is to just go immediately on vacation! It’s that simple, folks. Here’s how I did it – I flew from SFO to HKG, which is about a 15 hour flight, about 24 hours door-to-door for me, crossing all the time zones and actually missing a complete day. This time, instead of battling jet lag, I simply went off to a beach wedding week in Vietnam. Ideal.

mornings in an bang

I’ve been to Vietnam before; Hanoi, six years ago. It’s possible that when booking that trip with my friend Rachel, we thought we were going to Hội An. Don’t get me wrong – all the communist monuments and war history and John McCain lore was fascinating, but we did ask ourselves “say . . . where’s the beach?” But this time, two of my HK besties were getting married and I didn’t have to worry about location. I just followed directions. I flew into Da Nang, taxied to the hotel, ate a dinner of Cheetos and sprite and woke up at 3am the next day, ready for six days of celebration.

next time we hang out, remind me to tell you the story of the famous basket boats and how they are a huge “eff you” to the french.

That first morning, I thought I’d be so clever and take advantage of my early waking status to go catch a sunrise on the beach. I never see them on purpose, and I thought it would be a nice, calming way to start my day. I waited until it started to get light out, so I wouldn’t be a creepy person, debated my outfit and brushing teeth and hair but then figured no one would even see me, and then packed my journal and headphones and made my way quietly down to the beach. Where, lo and behold, the ENTIRE TOWN WAS. Unbeknownst to my tourist self, most of the village gets down to the ocean about 4am to exercise, meditate, swim, do yoga, start fishing, play volleyball, gossip with neighbors, etc. It was basically a neighborhood festival. I was delighted. 

Three hours later, about 7:30 am, I realized why the locals did this – the rest of the day was like walking around on the surface of the sun. Only in those lovely early hours was it possible to walk barefoot on the sand or be outside without constantly sweating. It was their way to enjoy their beautiful natural resources before tourists. After their morning activities, I found most of them at the public showers, then off to their jobs or school for the day.

the beautiful couple!

It was so cool to be up that early and watch the world come together at An Bang beach, where we were staying. The water was perfect for swimming, there were friendly dogs, friendly people, swings to swing on, early morning Coke zeros and Pringles, the staple of any SE Asia trip. I wandered the markets, got scammed into buying a super expensive travel adapter, ate pho at 7am even though it was a thousand degrees out, had my pick of beach chairs and was ready for a beer by 9am every day. It was perfect.

islandca survivors club!

After a week of this, I was pretty much adjusted to Asian time again after a summer at home in California. The wedding was gorgeous and meaningful and fun. The jetlag forced me into bed most nights around 9pm, which was a saving grace, as I’m not known for making great decisions in countries with cheap drinks and karaoke bars. People had traveled from England, South Africa, Oz, Hong Kong, and more to be there for our friends, and we were all staying within two minutes walking of each other, so it was just one big fun fest for the weekend, which included an epic dance party and a surprise appearance by an Elvis impersonator. Then I stayed on for a few days with my besties at a resort down the road and reeeally got my chill on to prepare for a return to the work world.

STEVE!

An unexpected highlight of the trip was meeting up with a friend I met in 2008 on my first backpacking trip! I’d met Steve in Belize, and we’d spent time together in Guatemala and Panama. He happened to be in Vietnam at the same time I was, we chatted on Facebook, and he booked a cheap flight to come down to Hoi An so we could have dinner and a wander through the old town. We both declared each other unchanged, despite the changes, and exchanged updates and life philosophies while snapping photos of lanterns and pretty scenes. We ate street food and wandered alleys until our feet ached. It was a heart full moment. 

Although I had been sad cutting my time at home short, it was so worth it to be a part of my friends’ wedding, and also made returning to HK and work a lot easier; decompressing from a relaxing yet busy summer in the States on the beach, catching up with besties, easing back into the time zone, back into humidity and heat so outrageous, I was actually excited to get to Hong Kong where it would be relatively cooler.

Congrats, Ricky and Jodie – thank you for inviting me to be a part of your special day. Solving jetlag was a bonus. :)