The LONGEST Day.....

Please forgive me if this blog goes into a rambling mess because I have just had the longest travel day of my life!

We started this morning at 5:30 am at the Honolulu airport. China Airlines wins the award for disorganization. The managed to form the queue in a spiral fashion much like the beginning of the "yellow brick road" in the Wizzard of Oz. The problem is it begins in the middle of the spiral so natuarlly people couldn't find their way to the end of the line. Okay, so we didn't move for over 45 minutes and then finally they are trying to rush people in all directions. This, while the Taiwanese people are starting to push their way into any break in the line. Okay, fast forward and we are on the plane. Brian has his window shade open and the sun is shining (it is 9:00 in the morning). The flight attendant then walked down the aisle instructing everyone to shut their window shades (middle of the morning) and she handed out sleeping shades (masks) and they turned off all the lights! They kept the lights out for the next 7 hours and everyone (except us) slept! That is the weirdest thing! I was waiting for them to serve koolaid and tell everyone they are about to receive great enlightenment or something. Anyway, that 11 HOUR flight seemed to last forever. Then we had to change planes in Taipei to another China Airlines flight to Hong Kong. (Only 1.5 hours this time). Well this time, China Airlines decided they were going to sit there at the gate and wait for late passengers. This is nice for them but we had a connecting flight on Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong with only 1 hour connecting time.

So, we get to Hong Kong late and as soon as we step off the plane there is a Chinese woman holding a sign with "TEWS/LOCHRIDGE" on it. She was sent by the airline to fetch us and get us on the flight to Saigon on time. We had Brian, a car seat, stroller, roll-aboard, DVD player, diaper bag, and computer bag with us. She grabbed some bags and BAM, she was off. We were chasing her down the concourse of the Hong Kong Airport. She was moving just as fast as her little pumps would take her (which was very fast). Finally, we thought we were there but it was just the transit desk. She walked us right to the front of the line and said something in Chinese and we were given our boarding passes before everyone in the line. She took us down an escalator and there was another security checkpoint......HUGE LINE. Once again, she walked us right around everyone and said SHAI COK LONG SHE SHAU or something like that and the rock stars again got to circumvent the lines. We got on a train and took it to another terminal and then up 2 escalators and down to the end of a new concourse. Made it just in time for the end of boarding! YEA! Thanks, Chinese lady!

We got on the Cathay Pacific flight and took off for Saigon. All of the announcements were in English, which is funny traveling between China and Vietnam. Joy, our flight attendant, didn't seem to like Vietnamese people much. I guess the Asians have their own hierarchy. She came down the aisle with our meals (Asian Airlines have meals on EVERY flight regardless of length). The Vietnamese guy sitting next to me asked for coffee and she told him to put his cup on her tray and she would pour it. He didn't understand at first and so she helped him out by yelling the same thing, only louder. "PUT IT ON THE TRAY!!". I felt bad for him. He then used his best English to ask for one of the sugar packets on her cart and she said condescendingly "It's NOT sugar! It's EQUAL!!!". Poor guy.

Anyway, we made it to Saigon and were surprised by the beautiful, modern airport. Everyone is SO nice here! So much for the iron fist of communism breaking people's spirits. The passport control people in their official communist uniforms stamp your passport and give you a tourist map of Saigon and a coupon book! So, we got ourselves packed into a tiny taxi and headed into the WALL of motorbikes. It is the funniest sight! Millions of them all going the same direction. They will have a whole family on one motorbike! We saw one guy with a 42 inch LG flat screen TV strapped to his!

So we are here in the hotel (which is WONDERFUL...more on that later) and it is time for bed. We have to get up at 4:30 am for the 3 hour ride to the Mekong Delta to pick up the baby and have the Giving and Receiving ceremony.

Good night, all! Will post tomorrow.