So our impromptu holiday has begun.
It's been a long 5 years since our last overseas trip and it was good to be at the airport for ourselves rather than to see off family or friends.
With the stress' of wedding preparations, it'll be nice to be away for our 9th anniversary (amongst having to doing other Nguyen-y things).
Whilst waiting to check-in, we start with breakfast which just might cause jeopardy on the plane as we aren’t breakfast people :S
After passing the Customs screening area, where everyone seems a tad nervous for no good reason other than the fact that people are watching you,
we proceed through the pearly gates of Duty Free Shopping (cue: Angelic Choir voices and harps) and within 2 minutes our first purchase is made.
(Cat: No they weren't shoes...but it was me)
We board the Airbus A330 to seat row 35... F*ck third row from the back.
Luckily, Cat bought earplugs... ironic that she thought she was the one who needed them, right?
We wave goodbye to Sydney and along with it family, friends and our boy Birdy.
Wasn't long before the thudding sounds of little wheels on carpet announced the arrival of our in-flight meals.
Noodles were also provided on request.
I made sure i got some of those !
Were there any advantages to being seated at the rear of the plane?
One was being able to call dibs on unclaimed seats and not so comfortably sprawl out on them.
Another was not having to share the tiny loos with a cabin full of Viet (Jungle) Nannas and Pops, who failed to notice the Tena Lady stands at the Duty Free pharmacy.
Some people know that I have the attention of a kid with ADHD.
I can't even sit still in a Cinema to watch a movie without twitching and shifting about.
Question: How would I handle this measly 8.5 hour flight ?
Answer: With great difficulty~! (Don't know how I'll handle the long USA flight in a few months time).
I used to think those informative flight maps were cool cause they display how high and how fast the plane was flying, but today... looking at it just gave me the sh*ts ! 4hrs in and we're still flying over the Northern Territory... Hurry the F*CK up !%!^!@.
I ended up having many naps that felt like an eternity but were only 15 minutes long. GrR !!!
I'm sure all of you would have expected Cat to be abuzz and all up in my ears for the 8.5 hours.
She did have her mouth open … but only while she was sleeping.
Today I discovered what flight attendants do after they finish their serving duties.
No, they don't go into the cockpit and have an orgy with the pilots whilst the plane is set to fly on autopilot …
They wrap up in a blanket and sleep.
With a little over an hour remaining before landing, we received our 'Refreshment Meal'
Then we begin to descend...woo hoo !
The flight is over, now it's time to be embraced by the hot and muggy smell of Asia. (A heady mix of unregulated car exhaust and sewers a plenty)
Step off the plane and the airwave hits you square in face.
Immediately I start to sweat and i feel my poor nostrils whince and shrivel.
(I think Michael Jackson never had the nose job we all claimed he did, he was just in Asia lots).
We proceed through the cold, lifeless and uninviting airport to line up for the Customs Officials, dressed in khaki uniforms equipped with everything but emotions.
Cat bounces to the counter first and it seemed to be taking a such a longGggGg time.
Everybody else in the other lines were getting through quickly.
I could see the Official checking her VISA and flicking back and forth through her passport but eventually she's let through without further hassle.
She tells me later "The secret is to pretend you don't understand Vietnamese..and therefore be impervious to bribe pressures...".
My turn comes, no sign of Vietnamese anywhere on my papers sees me breeze through without delay. (How shonky)
Next we exchange some AUD for VND. We iz now carrying 54 million Dong, Yo'. We IZ BALLING. LoL.
Another bout of hostility is experienced as an army of taxi drivers try to rip us off ushering us into to their cabs.
We settle with one old bloke who was slightly less pushy than the others but we later came around to liking.
We agreed on a price of about $20AUD + tolls (which is probably a rip but with the circumstances just good enough to get over with).
Ah yes! ... Saigon welcomes us back..
Back to the organised chaos of bikes, cars, trucks, buses, oh my!
Old buildings, new buildings, parks, bridges, ghettos and palaces.
Everything just works around here… Weird
Whilst in the taxi, Cat asks "Hey Bear, umm do you know where my Insulin bag is ???".
Type 1 diabetic Cat has left her insulin bag on the plane !!!... "Excuse me Mr Taxi driver can you turn around please?”
Our holiday has just turned into HELL after a matter of minutes.
What if the bag's not found ? How would we get replacement medicine?
How long would it be until Cat needed that medicine? How long would she be alive for ?
What do I do ? Who would I contact without a phone ? Who would I speak to in English ?
How do you say my Fiancee's a forgetful pain in the ass in Vietnamese????
Back to the Airport, she runs back into the Arrivals, I stay with our bags in the car.
A little while later, she bounces back out towards the car with the bag...
Thank F*** they took it off the Plane before it left for the Hanoi connection.
So....we start again....back into the city...
We arrive at our Hotel which is located in district 1.
www.namhyhotel.com.vn
We're on the 3rd floor of a "standard 1 room" with a window view of the street below.
We began to explore the neighbourhood … cautiously.
We decided to have dinner at the Sushi place we so favoured from our last visit.
The food was okay this time around not as good as we remember it was last time.
We need to religiously take one of these before eating or drinking anything to prevent the inevitable Traveller's Diarrhoea.
(apparently known to the well travelled as TD).
After dinner, just like a couple of well-fed Nannas, we retire back to the Hotel, jet-lagged, ready for showers and the bed.
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