I am now settled in my hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam after a long day of flying on May 19th – my birthday! I left Denver at 9 am, connected through LAX where I boarded a Korean Air flight to Seoul, South Korea. This flight was a long one, made easier by the excellent service of Korean Air. The flight attendants were all immaculately dressed and active throughout the flight. The two meals I had on the 13 hour flight were excellent (for airline food). I would fly Korean Air again!
I connected to another flight in Seoul to Ho Chi Minh City, this time a 5 hour flight that arrived at my final destination shortly before midnight. There my Adventures By Disney tour company host was waiting to take me by shuttle to my Sheraton hotel, 30 minutes from the airport. I was surprised with the amount of activity past Midnight on the streets of the city. I saw lots of people on small mopeds navigating the busy city streets.
I shared with my host that I had a special connection to Ho Chi Minh. Growing up in the late 60’s when it was my birthday (may 19th) the news always reported celebrations in Vietnam for this date was also Ho Chi Minh’s birthday. Why did my birthday have to be the same day as the chief enemy of the U.S., I wondered at the time! Those hostilities have long since ended and Vietnam now welcomes U.S. tourists like myself.
Unfortunate for my roommate but fortunate for me, he was a last minute cancellation for this trip. So I have a room to myself for our 10 day tour! That’s better for me as I have unusual sleeping patterns. This morning I was up early to take the picture of the sunrise shown above. I am looking forward to an active day of touring, including a river cruise. I plan to blog about my journey here as I experience Vietnam and Cambodia over the next few days.
