In Vietnam
Okay, we've been in Vietnam now for a few days. We arrived on the evening of the 22nd aft the usual 24 hour marathon of airline flights It's been hectic and busy, and I've not had time or energy to post until now.
This trip is different then the rest of my Vietnamese adventures in a couple of ways. First, because I'll have the two children Godot and Wort along, and second, my DAD is coming with us this time.
My Dad, 83 years old, former WW2 vet, ex racer car driver and one time Worlds Best Salesman for his company, now wishes to continue the adventure of his life by coming with us to Vietnam. We first discussed this about 2 months ago, when Me and EBNC (Exotically Beautiful Naturalized Citzen) Bride had called my parents to let them know our plans. Dad mentioned that he wished he could visit South East Asia at least once, and things kinda snowballed from there.
What followed was a rather frantic flurry of emails, form filling and overnight mailing between us, my Dad, the US goverment (passport) and the Vietnamese Consulate (visa). In the end, Dad had all his papers ready to a bare 20 hours before his flight was scheduled to leave.
Now the Dad, he lives in Phoenix Arizona, and the Dad's Elder God Son (that would be me) has his family in Wichita Kansas. (Oh Yes, there are things older then the Elder God.... Don't dwell on that too much, or you'll go insane and have to be stored in an asylum.) Thus a certain amount of coordination was required to get us all to Vietnam at the same time. The way it worked out was for us to fly seperately to Hong Kong, we'd meet there, then arrive at Ho Chi Minh City (Siagon) together.
Another complicating factor was Thu's (and her friends) desire to send "Care Packages" to friends and family in Vietnam. Those "Care Packages" ended up totalling 10 box's at 50 lbs each, plus 2 carry on bags per person (there were 4 of us, so do the math.) I felt like I was on a resupply mission to Afghanostan... Well, we had lots of help at both ends of the trip, and the ticket agent was reasonably tolerant of EBNC Brides abuse of thier airline's baggage allowance policy. So we got all loaded up and headed OFF on our great adventure.
We met the Dad, as planned, and a few hours after that, we staggered off the aircraft in Siagon. The Dad, as befits his status, was wisked through customs on a wheel chair. (It's a sad commentary on the state of the United States, that my father was treated better by an openly Socialist Government, then by his own goverment).
Okay, people are stirring around and it's time for breakfast. Further posts to Come.
This trip is different then the rest of my Vietnamese adventures in a couple of ways. First, because I'll have the two children Godot and Wort along, and second, my DAD is coming with us this time.
My Dad, 83 years old, former WW2 vet, ex racer car driver and one time Worlds Best Salesman for his company, now wishes to continue the adventure of his life by coming with us to Vietnam. We first discussed this about 2 months ago, when Me and EBNC (Exotically Beautiful Naturalized Citzen) Bride had called my parents to let them know our plans. Dad mentioned that he wished he could visit South East Asia at least once, and things kinda snowballed from there.
What followed was a rather frantic flurry of emails, form filling and overnight mailing between us, my Dad, the US goverment (passport) and the Vietnamese Consulate (visa). In the end, Dad had all his papers ready to a bare 20 hours before his flight was scheduled to leave.
Now the Dad, he lives in Phoenix Arizona, and the Dad's Elder God Son (that would be me) has his family in Wichita Kansas. (Oh Yes, there are things older then the Elder God.... Don't dwell on that too much, or you'll go insane and have to be stored in an asylum.) Thus a certain amount of coordination was required to get us all to Vietnam at the same time. The way it worked out was for us to fly seperately to Hong Kong, we'd meet there, then arrive at Ho Chi Minh City (Siagon) together.
Another complicating factor was Thu's (and her friends) desire to send "Care Packages" to friends and family in Vietnam. Those "Care Packages" ended up totalling 10 box's at 50 lbs each, plus 2 carry on bags per person (there were 4 of us, so do the math.) I felt like I was on a resupply mission to Afghanostan... Well, we had lots of help at both ends of the trip, and the ticket agent was reasonably tolerant of EBNC Brides abuse of thier airline's baggage allowance policy. So we got all loaded up and headed OFF on our great adventure.
We met the Dad, as planned, and a few hours after that, we staggered off the aircraft in Siagon. The Dad, as befits his status, was wisked through customs on a wheel chair. (It's a sad commentary on the state of the United States, that my father was treated better by an openly Socialist Government, then by his own goverment).
Okay, people are stirring around and it's time for breakfast. Further posts to Come.