Up, Over, Down and Roosters

OK. Up through Canada, over arctic ice, down over Russia and China -- in the skies -- and descent into Hanoi. Then sleepy travelers obtained visas, met Hui, our tour guide, and headed for our wonderful hotel located on West Lake, a little way from downtown Hanoi. We know our Vietnamese tour guide will be a lot of fun: he fully expects he will learn our names (there are 25 of us on our odyssey) but right now we all look alike to him :) Fresh, wonderful beds awaited us at midnight. Morning came early with roosters echoing over West Lake; lots of cyclists on the roads at dawn.

Seoul Flight

Marianne looked up the numbers: 400 people on our Korean Air flight to Seoul, the trans-Pacific and greatest portion of our trip today. Wow. Water bottles, slippers, pens, and numerous meals awaited us as well as very helpful flight attendants. So far so good! From New York to Seoul is 14 hours 20 minutes flying time; then Seoul to Hanoi is 4 hours 20 minutes.

Time & Place

Time zones are fun to think about. I find it takes real patience, however, to understand fully the Earth's rotation on its axis and around the sun, let alone whether the International Date Line puts us a day ahead or behind on a given trip! But a time zone map tells us clearly that Vietnam is eleven hours ahead of Massachusetts time. So, just as you are thinking about bed, we will be starting off on a new day's adventure. Check out this time zone map. And also take a look at this map of Vietnam. We three (Marianne, Mollie and Rusty) will be moving from north to south on our journey through Vietnam. After leaving New York City, we will touch down briefly in Seoul, Korea, then deplane in Hanoi. Perhaps you can find the place names we mention in our blog as we go.

Getting ready!

There are certainly lots of things to think about when preparing to travel: passport, contact information, packing light, electrical adapters etc., to say nothing about continuing to read! And we mustn't forget money for our destination, in this case Vietnamese dong. Pictured here are two bills totaling 700,000 dong, about $40 U. S. currency. The notes are very pretty. They have small transparent panels plus scenic pictures; on the reverse is an image of Ho Chi Minh, the revered leader who worked during the 1940s and '50s to establish a unified, communist Vietnam. Now, back to my pre-trip "to do" list!