I slept on the 2 hour flight to HCMC. Upon arrival, I waited in the usual slow line for passport control and then collected my luggage and headed to customs. They scanned my luggage (they scan everyone’s luggage) and then I walked through with no questions. I have never had any problems with customs – I think it helps that I am usually traveling by myself and looking sort of like a back packer. Arriving in HCMC is familiar now as I have been here four times, but it is still so different then America that it is like arriving for the 1st time again. As it was 11pm, the crowds outside the airport were small for typical Vietnamese arrivals, but still 3-4 rows deep of people waiting for friends and relatives. The whole family and distant family seem to show up for anyone arriving. As I followed the gated path through the sea of Vietnamese people, I saw the familiar and friendly Catalyst sign and then I knew I was in safe hands. Catalyst contracts with Eurekaz tourist agency for all of our logistics and they are responsible for meeting all of us at the airport. There were supposedly 3 other volunteers on the flight with me but I had not recognized anyone. They put me in a taxi with one of the Eurekaz staff and they stayed to look for the other volunteers.
Taking a taxi from the airport to District 1 in HCMC feels like the initiation phase and welcome back to Vietnam. Despite how many times I have seen the swarms of traffic of motor scooters and taxis and tuk tuks, it still feels like an experiment in physics as everyone just keeps moving and judging how the others are moving to that no two vehicles end up in the same spot at the same time (crash). My taxi driver was a maniac in American taxi terms, but not so bad for Vientam. Despite closing my eyes a few times on “close” passes, we arrived at the hotel with no dents or scraps. Success!
Check in to the hotel was simple and I was shown to my small, but clean room. I noted that Caroline was in room 903 so I stopped by to get instructions – luggage in the lobby by 6:30 and breakfast done by 7:00 to load the bus. It was 11:30pm Vietnam time. I sorted the goods in my suitcases more so that I could get rid of one large duffel bag of just supplies. I was about to go to sleep and then decided to go cash money at the front desk. There were about 6 Catalyst volunteers just arriving and I joyfully recognized and greeted several. Now to remember everyone’s name is going to be a challenge. Dave Virgil was there and he and I agreed to meet up in 20 mins to go have a beer. Yes, it was midnight already, but as Dave said to me, “I am only here for a short period and I want to take advantage of all the time I have here”.
Dave and I met in the lobby and walked a block to an intersection with several large bars full of small tables filled with a mix of Vietnamese and tourists from all over based on the accents we heard. Dave is father to Maya and Leam. Leam was adopted from south Vietnam at the age of 5 months and Maya was adopted from Cambodia. Maya and Leam and their mom Dorothy stayed home this year due to finances, but their family is very committed to Catalyst since their trip with Catalyst in 2008. I remember hanging out with Maya a lot on the last trip. She was my buddy for several days on the 2008 trip. Dave and I had 333 (Vietnamese beer) and Tiger Beers (Thailand) and enjoyed our conversations about Vietnam and US relations and adoption. After 2 beers it was about 3:00am and we decided it was time to power nap before the 6am wake up call.
Taking a taxi from the airport to District 1 in HCMC feels like the initiation phase and welcome back to Vietnam. Despite how many times I have seen the swarms of traffic of motor scooters and taxis and tuk tuks, it still feels like an experiment in physics as everyone just keeps moving and judging how the others are moving to that no two vehicles end up in the same spot at the same time (crash). My taxi driver was a maniac in American taxi terms, but not so bad for Vientam. Despite closing my eyes a few times on “close” passes, we arrived at the hotel with no dents or scraps. Success!
Check in to the hotel was simple and I was shown to my small, but clean room. I noted that Caroline was in room 903 so I stopped by to get instructions – luggage in the lobby by 6:30 and breakfast done by 7:00 to load the bus. It was 11:30pm Vietnam time. I sorted the goods in my suitcases more so that I could get rid of one large duffel bag of just supplies. I was about to go to sleep and then decided to go cash money at the front desk. There were about 6 Catalyst volunteers just arriving and I joyfully recognized and greeted several. Now to remember everyone’s name is going to be a challenge. Dave Virgil was there and he and I agreed to meet up in 20 mins to go have a beer. Yes, it was midnight already, but as Dave said to me, “I am only here for a short period and I want to take advantage of all the time I have here”.
Dave and I met in the lobby and walked a block to an intersection with several large bars full of small tables filled with a mix of Vietnamese and tourists from all over based on the accents we heard. Dave is father to Maya and Leam. Leam was adopted from south Vietnam at the age of 5 months and Maya was adopted from Cambodia. Maya and Leam and their mom Dorothy stayed home this year due to finances, but their family is very committed to Catalyst since their trip with Catalyst in 2008. I remember hanging out with Maya a lot on the last trip. She was my buddy for several days on the 2008 trip. Dave and I had 333 (Vietnamese beer) and Tiger Beers (Thailand) and enjoyed our conversations about Vietnam and US relations and adoption. After 2 beers it was about 3:00am and we decided it was time to power nap before the 6am wake up call.
No comments:
Post a Comment