With the prospect of a long haul home we are glad the hotel agree to let us stay in our room til 6pm before leaving at 8pm for the airport. It is sunny and hot, why could;t it be like this for the last 2 weeks?? Oh well, good for our last day here.
We pack a bit, it's looking good really after almost 2 months on the road, not much extra in there. We grab a cab and are off to the pagoda on West Lake. We walk to Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum but don't join the making crowds going in to see him! It's a huge concrete edifice, well guarded by handsome guards in white uniforms with yards of gold tape and red braid. Tons of school groups are there, emerging from the tomb with their new Uncle Ho necklaces, boys & girls both.
We pick up a black Ho T shirt for Mark, who has done airport driving duty back in Calgary. I wonder if he'll ever wear it? I bet son Steve would...
We walk to the small, rather unkempt botanical gardens which also houses some poor animal and bird exhibits. It;s cheap and easy to find cabs here so it's back to the hotel, then next door to the tiny Ms. Dey's Bahn Mi stand, where Ted is determined to try one before he leaves Vietnam. We've heard about these famous Bahn Mi sandwiches, freshest warm French bread rolls stuffed with chicken pate, meat, veggies sauces, etc. If Anthony Bourdain says they are the best....
Ted declares it to the gourmet experience of his life, I have a meat stuffed dumpling with my last Bia Hanoi. We'll miss these lovely cheap beers...
Ted decides he too would like an Uncle Ho T shirt so we walk all over hell's half acre trying to find one! Eventually I fork out $5 (Mark's was $4!) and he's happy.
Its good to have the room at the hotel to shower, relax and then up to Gourmet corner, the roof restaurant at our hotel, for light supper. My mocktail passion fruit mojito is outstanding - I should have been drinking thee before! Green papaya salad, crispy pork/shrimp spring rolls and crispy pancakes wraps was lots of food to get us off.
We check out at 8pm, arrive at the airport to no lineup at the wonderful Asiana check-in counter, where we are greeted by name! The service is what you would suppose they had flying back in the 60's when flying was an event. And I wasn't even wearing a hat!
We are the only ones in the Asiana lounge at first, and enjoyed smoked salmon with a full dinner available if we wishes! at 11pm we fly to Seoul, it's only a 4 hour flight but big comfortable seats and serving dinner (not for me). After arriving at Seoul before to a massive crowd waiting to go through Security, and tight for time to make our next flight, this time there is no-one at Security and we are through very fast. It's a 4 hour layover so I mostly slept in a massage chair. Seoul's Incheon airport is regarded as one of the top airports to spend time in but the food selection at the lounge was poor compared to what we had seen elsewhere and it was busy busy.
It was only a 2hour 10 minute flight to Tokyo so a bit of a waste of the first class Asiana flight and light snack with them.
Into the United Star Alliance found in Tokyo, it was the same story - not particularly attractive place to spend another 4 hours! I whiled away the time shopping for last minute souvenirs from Japan (cheery blossom candies, beautiful tins of green tea, etc.) and later nibbled on some sushi and nuts.
At 4pm (late start) we settle into the comfortable Air Canada sleeper section (not as good a configuration as the Asiana sleepers). Air Canada has good reason for being voted the best NA airline - we had friendly efficient service, lovely dinner of smoked salmon salad, lamb, cheese and fruit and all the drinks you could handle. I finally watched "The Imitation Game" about the cracking of the enigma code, then slept the rest of the 10 hour flight. Ted prefers not to sleep but napped a few times apparently.
We arrived back in Calgary early at 10:10pm which on our brain clock was somewhere else and some other time...in SE Asia...
Our dear friend Mark was there at the airport to pick us up and we were home tired at 11am ready to start on the big unpack, sort and WASH! Lunch was soup out of a can. I wonder if I am going to remember how to cook and clean now??
Overall, a wonderful set of experiences - some amazing places - met some beautiful people - isn't that what travel is all about? - some challenges too. Did I say Ted is still having his rabies shots? He thinks the dogs who were running around and nipping at us in the Hmong village nipped him, so our health department recommended shots to be on the safe side!
We didn't get sick, we didn't get robbed, we didn't have any negative experiences, and we have a far better appreciation for those people who came to Canada as "boat people" all those years ago and left that beautiful land for a better life somewhere else.
We pack a bit, it's looking good really after almost 2 months on the road, not much extra in there. We grab a cab and are off to the pagoda on West Lake. We walk to Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum but don't join the making crowds going in to see him! It's a huge concrete edifice, well guarded by handsome guards in white uniforms with yards of gold tape and red braid. Tons of school groups are there, emerging from the tomb with their new Uncle Ho necklaces, boys & girls both.
We pick up a black Ho T shirt for Mark, who has done airport driving duty back in Calgary. I wonder if he'll ever wear it? I bet son Steve would...
We walk to the small, rather unkempt botanical gardens which also houses some poor animal and bird exhibits. It;s cheap and easy to find cabs here so it's back to the hotel, then next door to the tiny Ms. Dey's Bahn Mi stand, where Ted is determined to try one before he leaves Vietnam. We've heard about these famous Bahn Mi sandwiches, freshest warm French bread rolls stuffed with chicken pate, meat, veggies sauces, etc. If Anthony Bourdain says they are the best....
Ted declares it to the gourmet experience of his life, I have a meat stuffed dumpling with my last Bia Hanoi. We'll miss these lovely cheap beers...
Ted decides he too would like an Uncle Ho T shirt so we walk all over hell's half acre trying to find one! Eventually I fork out $5 (Mark's was $4!) and he's happy.
Its good to have the room at the hotel to shower, relax and then up to Gourmet corner, the roof restaurant at our hotel, for light supper. My mocktail passion fruit mojito is outstanding - I should have been drinking thee before! Green papaya salad, crispy pork/shrimp spring rolls and crispy pancakes wraps was lots of food to get us off.
We check out at 8pm, arrive at the airport to no lineup at the wonderful Asiana check-in counter, where we are greeted by name! The service is what you would suppose they had flying back in the 60's when flying was an event. And I wasn't even wearing a hat!
We are the only ones in the Asiana lounge at first, and enjoyed smoked salmon with a full dinner available if we wishes! at 11pm we fly to Seoul, it's only a 4 hour flight but big comfortable seats and serving dinner (not for me). After arriving at Seoul before to a massive crowd waiting to go through Security, and tight for time to make our next flight, this time there is no-one at Security and we are through very fast. It's a 4 hour layover so I mostly slept in a massage chair. Seoul's Incheon airport is regarded as one of the top airports to spend time in but the food selection at the lounge was poor compared to what we had seen elsewhere and it was busy busy.
It was only a 2hour 10 minute flight to Tokyo so a bit of a waste of the first class Asiana flight and light snack with them.
Into the United Star Alliance found in Tokyo, it was the same story - not particularly attractive place to spend another 4 hours! I whiled away the time shopping for last minute souvenirs from Japan (cheery blossom candies, beautiful tins of green tea, etc.) and later nibbled on some sushi and nuts.
At 4pm (late start) we settle into the comfortable Air Canada sleeper section (not as good a configuration as the Asiana sleepers). Air Canada has good reason for being voted the best NA airline - we had friendly efficient service, lovely dinner of smoked salmon salad, lamb, cheese and fruit and all the drinks you could handle. I finally watched "The Imitation Game" about the cracking of the enigma code, then slept the rest of the 10 hour flight. Ted prefers not to sleep but napped a few times apparently.
We arrived back in Calgary early at 10:10pm which on our brain clock was somewhere else and some other time...in SE Asia...
Our dear friend Mark was there at the airport to pick us up and we were home tired at 11am ready to start on the big unpack, sort and WASH! Lunch was soup out of a can. I wonder if I am going to remember how to cook and clean now??
Overall, a wonderful set of experiences - some amazing places - met some beautiful people - isn't that what travel is all about? - some challenges too. Did I say Ted is still having his rabies shots? He thinks the dogs who were running around and nipping at us in the Hmong village nipped him, so our health department recommended shots to be on the safe side!
We didn't get sick, we didn't get robbed, we didn't have any negative experiences, and we have a far better appreciation for those people who came to Canada as "boat people" all those years ago and left that beautiful land for a better life somewhere else.
No comments:
Post a Comment