First Post. . .

Hi All,

OK Everybody I'm going to give the blog thing a shot and see if I can think of something interesting enough to write and/or photograph on a regular basis to keep you all interested while I spend the next four months in Ha Noi, Viet Nam.

Well, I made it to Viet Nam safe and sound. Somehow I managed to sleep a good 8 of the 13 hours of flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong. The new seat on the Cathay Pacific 747's are, like Nhat said, since he just flew the same flight on his way to and from Beijing, slightly more comfortable than the old ones. Definitely better for the person sitting behind you, as the seats do not fold back, rather slide forward. That way you don't end up trying to eat your meals with the person in front of you fully reclined giving you that awkward 45 degree angle of entry to your tray of food. Hate that! I'm sure the person behind was happy about those seats, since I ended up sleeping through two of the three meal services.

Got into Hong Kong bright and early, 6:10 am, with two and a half hours to kill, and made a beeline for the food court since I had not eaten for nearly 10 hours! Thank God Asian airports, on a whole, are like the rest of the countries they are located, in that, food is everywhere and for the most part good and cheap. Over a dozen places in the food court alone and dozens of other spread throughout the terminal. I ended up with a bowl of Tonkotsu Ramen from the Japanese chain Ajisen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajisen_Ramen)Ramen, mainly because the HK places had big queues and as I mentioned, I was STARVING! Happily sated I headed to the gate to join all the Vietnamese (listening to Dance Music remixes on their cell phones) and Europeans (cool architectural eye-glasses and colorful backpacks) waiting for the plane to take us to Ha Noi.

Now that my stomach is full I focus on the task at hand, getting to Ha Noi and spending time with my lady, and being only hour and a half away I am starting to get excited. Unfortunately, the Viet Nam Airlines Airbus 321 left engine has different ideas, and after making it all the way to the end of the runway . . . we slowly turn back the way we came as the head flight attendant announces that we are heading back to the gate because of a "Technical problem." AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Another 30 minutes on the plane at the gate (satellite gate) before the buses are summoned and we are herded back to the terminal. The new departure time is estimated at 11:30 AM, but I am skeptical, however, my skepticism is mitigated by a $40 HK voucher for our troubles. I quickly jump online to call Huyen to tell her about the delay, but I'm too late as she is already in a cab 1/3 of the way to airport. Bummer. . . three hours waiting for me in the decidedly less tasty Noi Bai airport. My only advice, stay away from the hot dogs! Though I am disappointed that Huyen and my reunion will be delayed another two and a half hours I make another reunion with a bowl of shrimp won ton and HK milk tea up at the food court. Back at the gate I only wait five minutes before we are back on the bus heading towards the plane sitting out on the ever muggier tarmac. It's like deja vu on board, except that the scary looking German guy who was seated in the aisle seat next to me is gone. After we had left the plane the first time and everybody bum rushed the desk at the gate to get their vouchers I saw him gesturing with sternly pointed finger at his ticket as the three poor gate attendants tried to calm him down. All I caught was " . . . I vill not get back on zat plane!" Can't say I missed him, he had that 1970's Baader Meinhof (http://www.baader-meinhof.com/) look to him, save the waist band of his fashionable Diesel underwear just visible because of his low riding super tight black jeans. Would have taken a picture, as he was that, uh . . . unique looking, but I was too scared he might catch me, and then who knows what. Not that I'm saying his bad juju was to blame, but as soon as we were all on board we taxied quickly down the run-way and were off with out a hitch. . .

The small flip down screens on the Viet Nam airlines Airbus 321 were lowered almost immediately after we took off. Not for in-flight entertainment, but for in-flight progress tracked through a very video game like set of animated views. I stared hypnotically up at the screen, first at the very basic flat map view, here's HK, where you just left, and there is Ha Noi, where you are headed. Then to a approximation of what the pilot sees view (very flight simulator like.) And finally to the most interesting of the three. Starting out just off the front of the plane on the co-pilot's side, the camera then does a slow 170 degree spin to end up behind and slightly above the plane with a virtual flight path extending out in front of the plane and Ha Noi far off in the distance. This view then does a power of 10 sort of thing (shout out to Dave Murphy,) stepping back further and further away until the "slightly" out of scale plane is covering most of Southern China in a view that encompasses the whole world. OK, all of this is not very interesting (except that it kept me pre-occupied as I had already read the VN airlines magazine twice,) but what was a bit interesting is the route we took. Not a straight as the crow flies route over the South China Sea, across the infamous Gulf of Tonkin, and then straight into Ha Noi, but a route skimming the coast of Southern China, then a bit of a turn to the North just past Nanning, and finally a 45 degree turn to left above Northern Viet Nam and down to Ha Noi. Wonder what that was all about, and a bit put out as it must have added another 15 to 20 minutes between me and my ultimate destination. Mercifully we are quickly into our descent as my excitement grows every moment as I recognize the Red River Delta countryside open up below me in the seemingly always partially cloudy Northern Viet Nam sky. I dig my "Viet Nam" cell phone out of my bag, and place finger on the power button as our juju-less plane gracefully sets down on Noi Bai's bumpy runway. . . "Hello! Em Oiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii"













1.) Ajisen Ramen.
2.) Table with a view HKIA
3.) . . . bowl no.2
4.) Made it!
5.) She's out there Somewhere!