Trip Preparations: Monkeys in Vietnam

Laden with bags for the adventure ahead and loving it!

“Welcome ma’am. Passport, please,” says the attendant behind the airline ticket counter. I hand over my passport, feeling confident that I have all the boxes on my “to do” list checked. She returns a few moments later and says, “Thank you, ma’am, but did you get the email that your ticket was cancelled?” Such is the nature of planning for an adventure out to the field. Unexpected challenges and hurdles always seem to pop up. So what goes into preparing for a 24-day expedition to remote villages in northern Vietnam? A lot!

First there is the task of getting permission to visit the area. Khau Ca, the area to which I am going to work with local communities in support of San Diego Zoo Global’s Tonkin snub-nosed monkey conservation project, is not open to tourists. An exact timeline must be prepared along with justifications for each move one plans to make. Granted, this task has gotten easier since my first trip there in December 2009 (see post Monkey Habitat in Vietnam), but one still has to be certain to think of everything. Once permission seeking paperwork, visa applications, and trip authorization forms are complete and submitted, one can move on to the next areas of concern: health and safety.

What vaccinations are recommended? Am I up to date? Sometimes bellies get upset with the change in food types. Do I have all the over-the-counter meds I need? Are my water tablets current? Is my first-aid kit stocked full, and did I buy travel insurance? Check. Check. Check. I think I’m all set.

Gifts for local people and some of the equipment packed for the trip

Now that the basics are finished, one can move on to the fun part—generating interview documents. During this phase, the brain goes 100 miles a minute. While preparing semi-structured interviews, surveys, and group discussion topics, the wheels are turning. The information gleaned from literature review, discussions with professionals, lessons learned from previous trips—in short, everything—must be considered. Is it culturally appropriate? Will these questions and these techniques address the questions I seek to answer? Have my translators confirmed yet? I’ve wracked my brain and drafted and redrafted these documents. I’ve put my heart and soul into it and collaborated with many others in the process, so I definitely hope so.

Does it end there? Not a chance! What about equipment and gear? Have I packed it all? Grab the GPS units, the water-testing kits, the cameras, the scales, the field guides, notebooks, pens, batteries, more pens, headlamps, flashlights, memory cards, and gifts for the local people. Raingear, warm clothes, extra shoes—do I have it all? Check. Check. Check. I think I’m all set.

And so with all this done and complete, I think to myself “Great! I’m ready to go.” Then I look around to see how much luggage I’ve generated. Holy smokes! Who’s going to carry all of this? And it’s at about this point that a huge smile crosses my face, and I say aloud, “I AM!” In this line of work we must put in everything we’ve got: our thoughts, our strength, our time, and most importantly, our hearts.

So as I sit here on the plane writing this blog post, muscles sore from carrying luggage and my stomach already a little queasy from the airplane food, I am thinking to myself “Gosh, I love my job!”

Stay tuned, as I will be in touch again soon with more information and stories from the field. It is definitely going to be an adventure out there. Wish me luck!

Corrin LaCombe is a conservation education research coordinator for the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. Read her previous post, Leave No Child Inside.

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