Flight Home

[Erika found this today and realized we hadn't posted it. So here it is..]

Flight home

Considering we originally thought we were leaving at 1pm the next day, rather than 1am this evening, it was a pretty rude closing to our brief day here. Barely being in HCMC for more than 24 hours, we were not looking forward to getting on that plane.

Oanh's grandfather and Uncle came to see us off at the airport. Many, many hugs. Some tears, and we wave goodbye. The promises of returning soon still remaining on our lips.

We check into the slowest line ever and when we finally reach to the front, we are informed that we have a 7 hour layover in Seoul Korea, AND our current plane is delayed! 7 hours?! E-gad. This is NOT going to be nice. Then a little ray of light, we are then informed that the airline, free of charge, would be happy to send us on a day tour around the city or put us up in a hotel during our stay. Free? There must be some kind of catch. No, no catch, just ask your landing attendant when you get to Korea and all will be taken care of.

Oookay.

5 hour 10 minute flight. A bit bumpy. I clutch on for dear life a couple of times. It's strange how afraid of flying I have become over the years… and we try to sleep. Luckily I was mostly successful and got about 4 choppy hours. Oanh- zero.

Poor guy. We get off the plane and he is cold and super tired. Originally we had wanted to take the free tour, so we could at least say we've been to Seoul, but I was afraid of the lack of sleep might not be the best idea to continue as planned. No… Oanh was going to grin and bear it… What a trooper!

At this point he has started to realize that he might be getting sick. WE hpe that it's just the lack of sleep and weird hours that is running him and myself down. Once we get back on the plane and go to sleep he'll feel better soon… at least we hope right?

Back to Korea. We head through customs and eventually find our way to the airport front desk where we are all scheduled to meet for this tour. We find out that this is a promotional event and not just a normal thing that's done every time you have a long layover in Korea. So, we are slpit up nto groups and our group got onto a large tour bus.

Our very darling guide was dressed in tight jeans, black heals, and a black blazer. Her hair in a French braid and she was very cute. Her English was also very cute, but not the most clear. Let's just say we got enough of the gist of what she was saying but definitely not the entire story. We took a 45 minute drive through very clean, wetlands and eventually hit Seoul. WE were to only be hitting the newest part of the city.

Sights:

1: The Presidents "Blue House" (it was closed, bad luck for us I guess)

2: Policemen guarding grounds on rollerblades

3: Oldest Post office in Seoul

4: a Shrinee with 3 very large sitting golden buddhas

5: The widest street in Seoul

6: The Hard Rock Café Store

7: A Korean Bakery- Chocolate chip muffins, mmm

8: Harley Davidson Seoul

9: A traditional Korean BBQ meal complete with stainless steel chopsticks, a cook it yourself burner, and hot tea served in a can for $4!

10: An Incredible amount of building and apartment complexes!

Though Seoul seems like it could be a bit expensive, it looks like a enat place to come and visit. Good looking food, everything is very clean, the metropolis reminds me of San Francisco, and the weather seems much more tempid. It was a cool 65 that day! We were kind of sorry we didn't have any warmer clothing with us, not to mention it also rained!

Once the tour was over, we were dropped off at the airport again. Back through customs—"My you stayed a VERY long time" the customs lady said with a sheepish grin. "We hope to stay longer next time" we replied with a smile. And we were through. Another 2 hours left before boarding, we hit a restaurant next to our gate and wait it out with the wi-fi and snacks.

All aboard. Here we go again. For this flight Oanh booked us on a 3 person row with an empty seat in between us. Let's hope they don't put anyone in it!

Yay! We have success as the doors are locked and secured. WE;; at least we have 3 seats to ourselves o this long leg of the trip. Thank goodness it's our last! We desperately try to sleep. No go. Ok, we'll have dinner then. Then we'll try and sleep. Decent Korean dinner. Ok sleep now? No go.

So, not to boare you with the next 10+ hours, we both watched3-5 movies, TV shows etc. I finally fell asleep for the last 3-4 hours or so, I think. It's all a little hazy. By now Oanh was full fledged sick. Coughing, runny nose, and VERY UNCOMFORTABLE. Poor guy, only 3 more hours to go!

"We are now approaching Los Angeles, please prepare the craft for landing"--- Could it truly be so? Were we almost there? Our weary hearts rejoice! Mom was meeting us there to take us home. Home to our cozy bed with springs that don't burrow into our backs, home where we can drink out of a cup and not worry if it's been cleaned, drink water from the faucet!

Omph! Bumpy landing, but at that moment I didn't care, I was that much closer to getting home.

We disembark and wind our way towards customs. On this trip we have taken 8 airplanes, been to 5 different airports, and visited 3 different countries. None of those places were as rude or condescending in the waiting line for customs as the US officials. I wanted to tear this one lady's head off. Her condescending tone to anyone that was foreign was exacerbating! Talking to them as if they were children who are hard of hearing. Dear government officials, please fire these people and hire people with compassion and a brain!

At least the Customs Officers behind the desks were kind and straightforward. He even welcomed us home. Thank you Mr. Officer. That is what I expect to receive as a citizen coming home!

Then to retrieve our luggage. Spot one. Great! Only one more to go. Oanh goes to sit down as I wait for the other bag., And wait. And Wait. It must have been another 30-40 minutes by the tiem the other back came out. There was a lot of extra luggage on this plane, and somehow lucky us was stuck in the middle of a gillion boxes. I was beginning to get worried that we might have lost a bag in transit. Thanks heavens not!

Our last hurdle before we can leave, one last customs check. We handed over our declarations paper, he looked at us briefly and sent us on our way! YAHOOO!!! I take the cart and run up the ramp, where's mom? There she is! We made it!

WE get in the car, the weather is beautiful, I roll my window down for a moment before we get out to the freeway, then BAM! Traffic!!! NOOOOOO! We are stuck not moving for the next hour! Oanh and I want to cry, it was so close and then this! Poor mom feeling our pain was trying everything she could to get around the awfulness that was this construction closure, but there was nothing to do but wait with everyone else.

We FINALLY get on the fwy and zip home for the most part.

WE walk in the door and basically collapse. Oanh goes to bed to try and recover, I take a shower, eat a much needed sandwich (I hadn't eating in like 10 hours or so at this point, and go to bed for the rest of the day.

Story should have closed there, but as you all know---- we BOTH got sick and now, after another couple of days, we should be back to somewhat normal again.

But really, can you ever be normal after an experience like the one we've had? We'll always remember this incredible journey, the wonderful friends we met, our families we became closer to, the incredible food we tasted, the amazing countries we've seen and the stories we will have always.

Thank you all for sharing in our experiences. We hope that is was enjoyable to read and view the photos. I apologize again for my long windedness, it's just my way. Oanh helps me edit A LOT and I am grateful to him. I do hope you all have the opportunity to travel somewhere exotic and interesting soon too and tell us all about it!