On the Way Again

So here I am with Danny at SFO  after he had driven me up 280 to the airport. It was a warm and dry day in California, the kind that we all enjoy. The check in was a surprise, because I asked for an aisle seat, and after a while the man did something great. I'll share it with you in a moment. Thanks again for the ride, Danny. See you soon.

This is the waiting area for my plane. I boarded China Airlines flight 003 from San Francisco to Taipei, Taiwan. The line ended up being very long (it was a 747), but it did not take long for all of us to get aboard.

When I got to my seat and sat down, this is what I saw. Yes, you can see that I had the best seat in the plane. It is the emergency row, right next to the big emergency door. So, really, I had almost 15 feet of legroom. I would say that's enough even for my long legs. (And it was next to the food so I got served first!)

This is what it looks like to the left of my seat. Lots of room, and there were no stowage compartments above me, so I could stand up right from my seat. I felt pampered.

After sleeping, eating two meals, changing planes in Taipei (sorry, I was too sleepy to take pics there), getting onboard Vietnam Airlines flight 579 and eating another meal, I arrived at No Bai International Airport in Ha Noi. Our plane didn't have a skyway, so we took a bus from the plane to the terminal. Here is a picture of another Vietnam Airlines plane that looked just like the one I took.

When I got to Ha Noi, I was greeted by five good friends: Linh, Huynh, Vinh, Binh, and Nam Vu. This is Vinh. He is an artist who is quite talented. This is a vase he made for my birthday last October. I had only seen a picture of it, and now that I see it in person, I can see how beautiful it is. Thank you so much, Vinh. I will treasure it.

And here we all are, having coffee and juice at the airport. From the left: Nam Vu, Vinh, Linh, Huynh, and Binh. Thank you all for welcoming me back for my eighth summer in Vietnam. I am happy to be here again.