Travelling is half the fun??!!

Well, I finally made it to Ho Chi Minh City.  I left home Thursday morning and arrived here Saturday morning (Friday night at home).  On my way from Ottawa I had the "opportunity" to stopover ever so briefly in four cities; Toronto, Frankfurt, Copenhagen and Singapore. 

Beautiful flowers at the Changi Airport

I checked out the business lounges in each airport mainly for the free wifi so I could let my folks know that I was safe. I also grabbed a drink because travelling is thirsty business. In most cases my drink of choice was water because I was drinking on the plane and wine at 7:00 am is no fun alone.  The lounge in Singapore was by far my favourite (likely because they had showers and I really  needed one).  Of course, the Singapore airport is fabulous generally.  

Orchid garden at Changi Airport

I experienced business class flying on Air Canada (pods are good), SAS (not so much for domestic international but had a great chat with my neighbour) and Singapore Airlines (just wow).  Generally, airplane food can be less than interesting.  Airlines try harder for their passengers at the front of the plane so I was well fed and watered. I love good champagne. I'm pretty sure it's the bubbles that elevate the experience to the magical realm. 

When you travel you see all kinds of people doing all kinds of stuff for and to each other; babies changed in customs lines, people helping people get where they need to go, people relentlessly getting what they need and the hell with the other guy.   Seems to bring out the best and worst of us all.  I have a renewed appreciation for flight attendants especially those that work the long haul flights.  I thought one of the women on the Air Canada flight to Frankfurt must have been working with her twin because she was everywhere always with a big smile on her face looking fabulous. Wow, that is a tough gig especially when everyone thinks they are the special one.  

Overall, five flights and 33 hours later, I can honestly say my experience was great.  Customs in HCMC was bedlam with thousands of people carrying everything but livestock (there seems no limit on the number of carry on bags) converging on twenty or so border control agents.  The process was fairly intense and there seemed quite a few problems in the line I was in (missing/incorrect paperwork and such) but folks for the most part stayed pleasant throughout the experience.  One of the other lines didn't fare so well. A group of twenty somethings from abroad had finally got to the front of the line when one of their buddies returned from the washroom.  One gentlemen took umbrage on his "skipping the queue" which brought the Vietnamese police into the situation.  After a few minutes of trying to explain, the whole crew got sent to the back of the line.  I hope they got in eventually.  When I made it to the kiosk, the process seemed smooth enough.  I guess I didn't look to be much of a threat.  So off to find my suitcase (or as my sister, Robyn, calls it affectionately "my steamer trunk".  I have not and likely never will master the art of travelling light. Lol, a girl has to have her stuff and it is five weeks afterall.  

Bags in hand, one more line to clear security.  Here they scan your bags as you leave the airport.  Not sure what they were looking for but I guess I didn't have it so soon enough I was in the airport looking for a drive.  I thought that maybe the driver of the car I'd asked Ken to book would be there but when I asked the fellow with the Riverside Renaissance sign, he wasn't there for me so decided to grab a cab.  How hard could that be?   Lol, let's just say after what felt like an hour of trying to figure out the system, a lovely woman helped me secure a cab. 

Driving in Vietnam is not for the faint-hearted.  There may or may not be lines identifying lanes but one thing is for sure, no one bothers with them.  Imagine cars three or four abreast and add in five or six "lanes" of mopeds.  Then imagine that everyone is switching lanes and beeping their horns constantly.  I will try to include a video later but it's insanity.  The other thing is that mopeds aren't just for moving people around. You see families of 4, people hauling 3-4 fifty pounds bags of rice, the old, the young and the infirm.  I saw one moped today with two men on it carrying a twenty foot pole.  Not sure what they were building at the other end but it was quite a sight. 

Made it to the hotel, unpacked a bit, had a long nap and then waited for Ken to arrive.  He got here around 11:30.  We swapped war stories, he had a shower and now we're having a celebratory beer from the mini bar. 

Soon times for lights out to recover from the long flights and jet lag.  Tomorrow adventures await ...