We love being 'first class'

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Trip Start Jun 09, 2007 Trip End Jul 07, 2007

  Saigon, Vietnam
Sunday, June 10, 2007

Vietnam......! Well, our flight was pretty cruising, I checked in with Karen Leonard (who runs the Lifestart organsiation my group Ozquest will be worknig with here) and we didn't get first class despite requesting for a sweet as sugar upgrade.  Going through security Karen forgot to take out a letter opener (or Sword, as Vietnam airlines called it!) so we had a bit of trouble going through security.  They were great though and put it with the purser and he was to give it to us when we arrived.  The flight was an hour late leaving, but when we did leave Karen and I chatted the whole way until we realised that she may not catch her connecting flight to Denang (I got off at Saigon but stayed with her to help with her 100 bags of luggage mainly for the kids and disabled people she works with).  About 30 minutes before we were to land Karen went and spoke to the Purser regarding her 'sword' and her connecting flight, which was to leave 10 minutes after we arrived and she had to go through 2 security checks, immigration and national check-in again.............fwewwwwwww....talk about rush.  Soooooo, back on the plane Karen was a bit stressed, it was now 10 minutes before we were to land........and suddenly POW, both Karen and I were wisked off to FIRST CLASS (which was by the way, EMPTY) so we could be the first ones off (and could more easily obtain the 'sword' back from the Purser).      So we laughed our heads off (however with muted frustation) at our luck of spending at least some (if only 10 minutes) of the flight in first class while the other Denang-connecting-flight-suckers had to stress it out about how they could possibly make it from the back toilet row to the exit and thus through all the rig-ma-roll of security, immigration and check-in within 10 minutes. 
We got off the plane and literally ran through immigration (VERY difficult to 'look innocent and ready-to-make-an-honorable-impression-on-Vietnam' when you're puffed, red faced, have darting eyes to the sign 'connecting flights' and trying to smile innocently at the same time), picked up Karens 100 bags (in fact it was 7 but it was still a lot!)  and raced through the terminal.  I think Karen had some sort of 'golden star-treat-her-REALLY-well (including her ontorage)' mark against her name at the Vietnamnese airlines main server computer because by the end we had 3 staff treating us (me too, yay, I know!) like royality and all hoping desparatly for Karen to make her connecting flight.  She did, thankfully, and that was where I had to go and do a LOT of explaining about why I had bought a 'sword-knife' through departing domestures and why I was even in departures when I was only staying in Saigon tonight.  Well, with the grace that only an aussie from a country town can muster, I smiled and confessed my love of Vietnam and small orphan children and made it out the door of the airport. 

Now!  Time to get some money out to pay for all the stuff I need to pay for as a group leader for this trip (20 student architechs designing sustainable housing for kids-at-risk).  But alas.....my good karma had run out and the OzQuest credit pay account was showing signs of 'I have no funds you bloody aussie idiot!'.  So I.......breathed........thought this in fine, I can do these next two weeks with $100 dollars......breath.......let's try my own credit card.  Nope, this little guy had 'an issue with my bank', and so I breathed again..........got a dodgy taxi to Saigon and breathed a sigh of relief that I could pay my accomodation at check-out (hey, dishwashing for the next 2 years in Saigon to pay for 4 nights accomodation isn't too bad huh?).

So, after this I wondered the streets for a few hours, tried crossing the road without fear (yes, yes, you laugh but you'll understand once you are in Saigon), ate some local fare (looking extremly like dog but it may have been my vegetarian eyes responding to a gross non-vego story karne told me on the plane) and then went to sleep.

The next morning Karen's (Vietnamese adopted) son was at my hotel at 9am, saying 'where we go today Jac?' which was unexpected yet gorgoeus and so we wandered around the city for a bit, went to RMIT uni to book some buses ("Sundays RMIT closed lady, don't you know?")  left RMIT thinking 'AHHHHHHHH but I had an appointment which I confirmed last night!' and then ate some more 'doggy' looking food. 

Now I am about to organise our group bike tour for the end of June, and get some dinner with a friend of the other group leader who is arriving next week, Jenny.  Should be fun! Ta ta!

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