Hello from the other side of the world!

Well….I had intended to title this one, “Good Morning, Vietnam, but Korean Airlines and Mother Nature had other plans in store. We actually enjoyed a very comfortable flight from Atlanta to Seoul….15 hours….followed by a five hour flight from Seoul to Hanoi. Vietnamese immigration was quick and painless, and I swear, Charlie’s bag was the first off the belt. Then we waited 20 minutes while luggage of every description made the trip around the baggage island…..every bag except mine.  After enlisting the aid of a Korean Air baggage official, I finally spotted my bag…..on a cart with 5 other bags. Not sure why it was there, but I grabbed it and ran like a scalded rabbit…..a very happy scalded bunny I might add.  We proceeded on toward the exit when we noticed a huge crowd of Vietnamese folks waiving large floral bouquets. In the middle of the mayhem, we were greeted by our local guide, Chung. He explained that there are large numbers of friends and family returning to Hanoi for the upcoming New Year (Tet) celebration. Chung is a delightful young gentleman who kept us entertained, and awake, for the 45 minute drive from the airport to the hotel, The Sofitel Metropole. By the time we checked in, it was past 1 am here. We had now been up for over 36 hours. It didn’t occur to either of us to leave a wake up call……so we awoke at 2pm this afternoon. This was a stunning for two people who routinely get up at 4am.  Ah, the joys of jet lag!  Despite the late start, we still managed to take in a very enjoyable walking tour of Hanoi, including the “old city” and the market area. We ended up at the City Cafe where we enjoyed the view of the city as well as some of the local cuisine. Stuffed and tired, we are spending a quiet evening at our hotel.  What little energy we have left is focused on organizing for  the days ahead. As Scarlett O’Hara was so fond of saying, “Tomorrow is another day!.” Hopefully, we will greet it with a bit more energy and organization. Meanwhile, here are a few highlights from today!

Vietnam prepares to celebrate the New Year 2012