Honolulu, Hawaii - Never thought I would ever be here!

We sailed into the harbor and docked right next to the Aloha Tower which I remember from my childhood. My mother would often have the Arthur Godfrey radio show playing while she cleaned or cooked. Yes, I am that old. Later it would be his television program and we could finally see the beautiful place he talked and sang about so often. He loved it so much he moved not only his show there but his life as well. When he sang I Want to Go Back to My Little Grass Shack he meant it! (This is a later Bing Crosby Version.)

We set out early on our separate excursions. Carol went out to visit "Monarchs and Missionaries." This included a tour of the city highlights and focused on the Iolani Palce, the only palace in the United States since Hawaii was the only place that had a resident Royal Family before becoming a state. She also spent time exploring an area where Mission houses had been brought and set up in a compound with a still existing mission church. She found the mission houses and the way the missionaries lived most interesting. The palace is elegant and modeled after European fashion by Queen Lilokahlani. For a while the upper tower served as her prison!

 

In the front of the palace is, perhaps, the most famous statue on the islands. That of King Kamehamaha. I am sure you have seen pictures of it in any movie or TV show about Hawaii.

 

My tour was also of the city of Honolulu.but ended at Pearl Harbor. The beautiful National Park is a hallowed place as it surrounds the graveyard of some 1,177 soldiers, sailors, and airmen died almost instantly - hopefully - on The Day That Will Live In Infamy! on that Sunday morning, December 7, 1941 Japan attacked from aircraft carriers off the shores of Oahu and from nearby islands. This battleship and the others were in Pearl harbor. It is not the only harbor and not the one where we are docked. If some how you do not know the history, please , please learn it.

I was very surprised when I thought about that this was actually my fifth (5th) visit to Hawaii, Honolulu, Pearl Harbor but only my fourth, 4th, to the Arizona Memorial. When I brought my grand kids here in 2018 we had tickets and the day before one of the little boats hit the landing dock and disabled it and we could not visit. It was still a very emotional visit. I am very fortunate that they understood the value of Pearl Harbor.

Here are a few of my pictures.

The sign is never free for even a moment of people who think they should be in everyone's photos pictures!

The Arizona Memorial is pristine crosswise above the sunken ship. The names of each fallen heroes is etched into the marble wall of the contemplation sanctuary. Additional names have been inscribed because survivors have requested to be returned to rest with their shipmates after their deaths. The moving ceremony takes place after hours when the family brings the provided urn or cremated ashed to be submerged by a special dive team to be placed within the confines of the ship between the gun turrets. The unique dive team sinks slowly below the surface holding the urn over their heads so the last thing the family see of their loved one is the urn sliding below the surface of the waves! Interment

Oil still drips in visible droplets continually from the Arizona and the oil slick is viable 84 years after the attack!

Visitors to the USS Arizona Memorial can see barbette #3, which held gun turret #3, above the waterline and very close to the memorial.

Do not skip your visit here is ever the opportunity presents itself!!

Carol and I happened to arrive back at the port at the same time. She was on a "short bus" and my full bus. Back on board we had another delicious lunch and set out for a nice walk. Next to us at the port was the University of the Pacific and a small shopping mall to provide for the students. However all the shops in this pretty place were closed because it was Sunday. Only the ice cream place was open. I considered taking the bus around the island to Matsumoto Shave Ice which holds many happy memories but not really enough time for that. We started to walk to Waikiki but that was quite a distance and the nearby places we had already seen or like the capital building were under renovation so after about an hour we returned to the ship.

There was time for a swim before dinner. Dinner was an Hawaiian a very nice luau themed buffet on the pool deck with guitar music and singing by James and with lots of free Mia Tais flowing!

We played Name That Tune Trivia before the evening show which was by a local family. Drums of Polynesia featuring Kauvaka was a local destination performance which is something that Viking likes to provide. This was a family of a Mom and Dad. Some children, nieces, nephews, and even younger ones playing, singing, dancing and sharing the local Hulas and Tahitian stories.

The sail away was very nice as I wandered on Deck Eight (8) and the Aloha Tower bid us a Fond Farewell as well as a Please Return Again!

 

Maui - Our Second Port Day

We arrived Kahului, Maui at 8:00 a.m. for a stay of about 12 hours, Everyone always loves Maui but most people think of Lahaina, the main port and capital city. It was, of course, you may remember, devastated in the wildfires beginning August 8, 2023. These fires destroyed 2,200 buildings and caused damage in excess of $5.5 billion dollars. Yes, that is US dollars because Hawaii is our 50th state.

 

On our included tour we drove through Lahaina on the return from our tour and could see cleared land, the beginnings of new housing which may be way larger than those that were destroyed. Offices and shops downtown are in temporary buildings as is most housing. Temporary shelters are in Church parking lots and on lawns. Vast seaside lands are only staked out as lots and the land itself is being rebuilt. 

A fact that is most interesting to me is that the 'hand of God' reached down and played His cards in those days. None of the many churches, temples, synagogues or buildings of any faith were destroyed in the Maui fire! They did, indeed, become places of physical and spiritual refuge as well.

Again we enjoyed our included tour. First we went over the newly built road to bypass the city looking down on the devastation. We arrived at the Kaanapali Resort. Here were all high end hotels, a fancy shopping center and the Whaling Village and Museum. Most people shopped or checked out hotel lobbies of the Shereton or Westin and others. Some went up to the third floor whaling displays of jawbones and boats. Carol and I walked through the shopping area to the beach and walked along to the end to the strip.

 

We cut through the Sheraton lounge and gorgeous pool area. If I were staying there I might never even want to go down to the beach at all!

 Part of the pleasure of included tours is that we are not out of pocket for our excursion. Our first stop was at the Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary. The mosaic shows the sanctuary boundaries, which encompasses 582,570 square miles of Pacific Ocean waters in Hawai’i.

Mosaic of the map below.
 

Image: NOAA

We went on through the countryside above Lahaina and though a small, I mean tiny old town,looking very 1950ish. We turned off the main road and drove up and up and deeper into the lush green mountains...then down a narrow, winding road past tiny, almost ramshackle houses that we were told cost a minimum of a very cool million dollars each!

We were in the Io Valley. The Io Valley is important in Hawaiian, therefore U S history. A bitter battle was fought here. Kamehameha lost the battle and after three days returned to Hawaii and had to wait until after the death of Kahekili II to finally unite Maui with the Big island and become King of a united Hawaii.

Here are some views of the Io Valley. You can see how difficult a battle here must have been. Lots of high spots from which to attack but lots of crevices and hiding places as well. The beautiful stream is from natural rainwater runoff. There are no springs and, of course, no melting snow.

The famous Io Needle and abundant flowing stream.

 

 

After we left the Io Valley we drove back to the ship through the little town on the sea and did drive through Lahaina which was as I described it in the beginning because I knew that is what would have been of interest to you.

Back on board I had time to both use the bike in the gym and to swim for a while before I enjoyed Afternoon Tea. Viking does a wonderful tea service every afternoon with warm scones, ship made Devon Cream and ship made jam. A classic triple tray with two plates of petite sandwiches and a plate of wonderful cookies and cakes. I always love Macarons and anything with cream!

After dinner our entertainment for the evening in the Star Theater was the wonderful, classic, and very appropriate 1958 movie starring Mitzi Gaynor and Rossano Brazzi - South Pacific! Perfect ending to a great day!

After 6 Sea Days...

 ...We now have had four Port Days. Each sea day had enough variety to keep us busy but enough down time to make us feel relaxed and pampered. Port days have a different effect, although on this trip I think it is a little different. Last time we did this same sailing we did not get into Hawaii because at the last minute there was a pandemic outbreak on the island and of course we could not despite planes, with more passengers than our 259, being allowed entry. Plane people had to quarantine once they arrived which would not work for us although in a way we were quarantined on onboard. 

This time we docked in Hilo, on the big island of Hawaii, from which the state gets its name, at 8:00 a.m. Carol and I are mostly just doing included tours on this trip. They cover the basic, or most important, things you want to see in each port and since they are "included" you sort have already paid for them in your cruise fare. In Hilo we toured the city by bus. 

Polynesian Tours turned out to be the company Viking contracted with on each of the Islands. This first tour our driver/guide was Karen. She was a very in charge person and did not hesitate to call out the poor ladies who were late to return at the first stop - The Queen Liliuokalani Garden. 

This pretty as a picture Japanese inspired greenery offers a true respite from the busy city around it. In the early days many Chinese, Korean, and Japanese workers were brought over to do the hard labor in the sugar cane and pineapple fields. The Queen wanted them to have a place to make them feel at home. It truly is one of the most beautifully and well planned parks I have visited. The stonework statues and bridges over gentle stream and ponds blend the paths into the green lawn perfectly. The native Nenegeese wander unafraid of guests. An originally planted Monkeypod Tree maintained its perfect canopy next to a lavender orchid tree. The marble bench I sat on, to watch a toddler poke a pond with the stick he had carefully carried on his journey along the winding stone pathway, was perfectly placed to inhale the fragrant magnolia, but be shaded by magnificent Monkeypod.

Our next stop was Big Island Candies. Everyone was reminded our time would five minutes less because the ladies had been late returning to the bus from the garden. It was fun for a lot of people but Carol and I were not ready to shop. This is a pretty famous enterprise and we found their product later on other islands. How wrong can you go with macadamia nuts, delicious dark chocolate and Kona coffee! They are known for their first creation, oddly enough, which is shortbread! The sample was really tasty but we have enough good desserts on the ship I did not need to buy shortbread!

 

 

 

Back on the bus, and again reminded that we are running behind, I felt that Karen was being a Karen and kind of rude. She did have an idea I had not experienced before about exiting at the different stops that I really liked. Carol's side of the bus was appropriately the coconuts (with the late ladies) and my side, with the perfect people, was the pineapples. We alternated getting off the bus which actually worked out very well. Instead of everyone getting up and clogging the aisle we took turns. Pineapples first at the garden, coconuts at the candy store, and pineapples, after the we are running late so less time reminder, got off the bus first at the Hilo free zoo!

The zoo is not somewhere I would have thought on my own to visit but this was well worth my time. It is set in a beautiful tropical botanical garden laid out along winding paths. This meandering design lets you focus on what is in front of you, where you are since you can't see beyond to what lies ahead. The clever layout is peaceful, restful for the visitors brain. i can see why it is a popular place especially for families with young children. There were peacocks strolling about and so many colorful and enchanting birds. A Cobalt Macaw was out to be viewed up close as the handler explained how they lived and where their natural habitat was. this one was turned over to the zoo when it was no longer able to be cared for by the owner. The pure white 'coral' cockatoo has its name because it has a tiny coral topknot and when it ruffles its pristine feathers they are all coral underneath as though it is a completely different bird,

 

 

 

I loved the unique benches scattered throughout the park!

 

 

Back on the bus, you guessed it, we waited for the same lady. Karen asked the one person where her friend was and she replied that she had gone to the bathroom. they were sitting across from me so I was aware of the Q&A each time but Karen made sure the whole bus knew the late lady was in the john! Now we might not have time to  go to the last stop! Like I say, Karen was a bit of a bully imho! When missing person returned she again got the ;late arrival lecture.

On we went to Rainbow Falls. We were always going to go there because Viking said it was part of the tour and we had hours before the ship sailed! All along each driving part we did get good information about the island, the history and life now in a popular but still isolated part of the world. I learned many things about the economy, cost of living and how the fact that most everything has to be imported from mangoes and bananas to cars, electronics, building supplies and your basic trip to Walmart.

Rainbow Falls is part of Volcanoes National Park or at least adjacent to it. it is an 80 foot high fall that in the morning mists does delight with a full rainbow. We tricked our eyes into seeing one by starring, without blinking, at the sparkling cascade. 

Having been warned - yet again to return to the bus on time - we made our way back to the Viking Neptune in good time for a leisurely lunch. After that I did my five miles on the stationery bike and spent some relaxing time in the spa pool. 

There ae not as many lectures on port days so I had time for a freshly baked raisin scone and shipboard made cream and jam with tea at 4:00 Afternoon Tea. This is now every day which used to be held only on sea days.  

I am reading a very good book by Sara Ackerman titled Red Sky Over Hawaii which I thought perfectly appropriate for this trip. Not sure what Carol is reading but time on the balcony (verandah) was most pleasant.

After dinner we had time to play Name That Tune Trivia which was Motown centered and tied for first.The girl that represented the other team for the tie-breaker got the answer in 2 notes so no Mimosas for us. Then we all went to see part Terrell Edwards Unforgettable Part II. We were anxious to see if the drunk woman would attempt to attack him again but she was nowhere in site!

South Pacific 2025 - Will this be the Trip of a Lifetime - Redux?

We are well under way aboard the Viking Neptune. The ship, christened in 2022, is newer yet retains the feel and style of the original first ocean ship of the fleet, the Star, which sailed in 2015.  That is definitely part of the charm and magic of the Viking brand.  Every time you board it is a Welcome Home embrace. You feel it from the first glass of champagne (or juice - I usually combine them) handed to you by a smiling crew member. Often they will even remember you from the last time you were aboard any ship. 

It is amazing how often we meet staff and crew that we have met on previous voyages and they greet us by name before we even realize we know them! There is Gloria who greeted us at the buffet on one trip and on the Iconic Med was our chaperone guide to Pisa on the next. She is now a Facebook friend, a story for later in this blog.  Casper, the Restaurant Manager on the Neptune in Canada, is with us again and is making sure our iced tea is dark enough to handle the ice. Assistant Restaurant Manager, Kristina, makes sure we have full staff attention and that they carry our full plates to our table so we have no trouble in the crowded buffet. Dinner at Manfredi's last night started with warm hugs from the Maitre'd, Sachin Jadhav, who we last saw in Istanbul! Either we cause a lot of trouble or possibly we are just very memorably nice and friendly. But as many people as the staff see over the course of a few years --- it is amazing to be so warmly welcomed home.

This trip is a do-over of one we took as soon as cruising reopened after That Which I Shall Not Name. At that time so many islands were closed to us that we decided to try again when we saw Grand Hawaii and Polynesia  "on sale" at Viking! We booked a Penthouse Junior Suite! Big advantage is that they will do our laundry for us! Plus we got to book our excursions and dinner reservations ahead of some others. However about that. No matter what category I have been in in the past I have always been able to do all of the things I wanted to do. It takes patience and speaking kindly to staff onboard once you arrive. (Helpful hint #1 in most things you do!)

On the other hand, I forgot my laundry was a complimentary service and I definitely over packed!! Whatever would happen I brought too much because Viking also has free do it yourself laundry. Part of the problem was that I was completely packed in one suitcase and remembered that we would sail just hours after I would arrive at LAX!  I would be at sea for five days. No access to late arriving luggage if Delta messed up. Hence a 'few' outfits in a second bag, extra swimsuit, extra shoes and away I went!

Flight and arrival all went smoothly and on time. I received a complimentary upgrade to Comfort+ which got me a window seat and a granola bar before take off!

Upon arrival the Viking greeters were highly visible at baggage claim. It was a short wait and a short walk to the comfortable coach ride to the docks at San Pedro Pier. This working port is jam packed with cargo ships but there was the RCL Navigator of the Seas and and our lovely perfect-sized Viking Neptune.  San Pedro is the final resting place of the Battleship Iowa. Maybe next time I will have the time to tour this historical ship. I know battleships were an important part of WW II. I once volunteered on the Battleship Missouri and can really appreciate the sailors who served on these vessels.

Saturday February 2, was our first full day on the ship. We begin with several sea days as we sail to Hawaii to begin our South Pacific adventure. This trip I am beginning each day with time in the very well equipped gym on Deck 1.  About 30 to 45 minutes on the bike with a beautiful view of the frothing ocean waves. On the screen I can choose between a scenic ride along the Amalfi Coast, the streets of Lisbon or Barcelona among others. Or even bluetooth a podcast or movie from my phone.

I follow this with time in the wonderful spa area. I love the large soothing whirlpool-pool!  I have to be careful there with slippery tiles along side it. I wish there were rubber mats all along from, the quiet dressing room.  After some water exercise and soothing relaxation I can shower and dress there and 'salad spinner' my swimsuit to start it on the drying process.

Carol and I usually use the buffet for breakfast but one day ate at Mamsen's to enjoy a waffle topped with fancy Norwegian cheese, cream, and fresh fruit. The sea view from this quiet location at the front of the ship high on Deck 7 is perfect to start the day.

During the day we have at least five lecturers to learn from about things like Happy Humpbacks of Hawaii, A Look of the Night Sky, Oahu -The Gathering Coast, and today Aviation - A Trip in the Cockpit - A trip from Hilo to Maui. We also have a port talk and they have been covering all the ports in the five sea days before we reach land, one at a time in advance, to not expect us to use port time to find about the next day's port. 

In the evenings we have musical performances by the in house performers. Viking has a house band of four and four singers that stage a great hour of entertainment. The first one was an introduction to the officers and the entertainers and lecturers. We already know so many of the Officers. It is great to see them again. Shows so far have been an ABBA tribute and a Motown one. Last night was a guest singer Terrell Edwards, whose tribute was Unforgettable. His repertoire included jazz, classics, and standards like from Sammy Davis, Jr. At the end Terrell said go ahead and get up and dance. The dance floor is open! 

One couple went up on the other side of the stage and Terrell turned to watch them. On his side of the stage, one very drunk woman thought that meant she should go up on and wrap her arm firmly around his neck from behind. She added her very slurred voice to his singing and he could not unwrap her from his neck and microphone! Unfortunately, although all the lectures are filmed and available in our cabins, theater is not due to copyright laws! She will never see how foolish she looked! Her husband did not rescue Terrell very quickly!

So much happens during sea days, lots of chat time, swim time, formal afternoon tea, and Carol and I spent a lot of time today shopping future cruises. Tomorrow we will be going ashore and then I will try to bring you up to date!

Please join, comment, and share!

NEGATIVE!!!

 Yea! Carol COVID tested negative after a day long wait in line and I got my negative results about an hour after my 15 minute wait in my car at Walgreens!  I was lucky (or smart) enough to choose a time right at the end of their lunch break and then went a little early.  Carol didn't have the option to get an appointment where she lives.

Our vacation of a lifetime is full steam ahead...at least until the next test before boarding the luxurious Viking ORION!  Then they will be stuck with us for at least 9 days as we won't reach our first port which is in the Marquesas until then!

And so to quote Sweeney Todd, "Hello old friend!" 

I took a leap of faith and packed over the weekend so I am ready to roll (aboard)!  Carol and I will meet, probably at LAX as our arrival times are pretty close together. So barring flight cancellations due to short staffing (tired of hearing that excuse everywhere I go) or icy runways we will be on our way in less than 48 hours!

Finally Moving On!

 I should have posted this months ago!...But life intervened.

It is official! Our Viking cruise that was first booked for February of 2020 was the one where we gave up our cabin in exchange for a fabulous upgrade to an Explorer Suite with an aft wrap-around balcony. That was rescheduled at the time for a sailing in July of last year to enjoy the upgrade, no issue there.

I don't need to tell you what happened to that voyage to the Land of the Midnight Sun! We again rescheduled, after much discussion with Viking to maintain our upgrade, for July of this year. The Viking Star was totally refitted with a complete lab to meet daily testing requirements. The UV robots were onboard and the temperature cameras were in place. My flights were confirmed and then ---the next day---all June and July cruises were cancelled by Viking if they included multiple countries! Bye bye long awaited and greatly anticipated return to the high seas.

We have confirmation today that we will sail in July of 2023 on the brand new Viking Venus and the Midnight Sun will be shining! Why not in 2022 you ask? All the suites, at any level, are sold out! And that even before this year's cancellations!

My conclusion is that my friends and I are not the only ones anxious to get back to travel and meeting new friends and being pampered on a luxury cruise ship by the finest crew possible. All while enjoying the new experiences of exploring our world: it's history, it's cuisine, and, most importantly meeting its people!

                                                     ----------------------------------

Next up is the cruise my friend Carol and I booked for January of '22.  It also involved lots of booking and cancelling, but this time from another cruise line.  Just confirmed - as much as anything can be in this 'current climate', that will be sailing as expected on January 5.  Round trip from Los Angeles to the long desired South Pacific!  We had been waiting for an itinerary confirmation of changes.  Hawaii is out - extra days in Tahiti, Bora Bora, and Rarotonga are replacing those stops.  Long week of sailing at the beginning and end to cover the distance but bonus of the South Pacific feeling.  And sea days on the new Viking Orion should be excellent.  No complaints with the shipboard experience I am sure.  Our suite accommodations should be as fantastic as the much anticipated ones that Ruth and I have awaited.

It will be a little challenging packing, getting ready, meeting the testing obligations during the already busy Christmas holidays.  Add in that I will be ushering many, many Atlanta Ballet Nutcracker performances and hosting an on-again off-again family Christmas Party.  Fingers crossed you will be hearing from me often in the next few weeks!

Flying!

Flying, Flying, Flying, Still Flying!

Today is Saturday, February 20 and it is also Sunday, February 21.  This is the benefit or bane of flying West. Friday night I took Skeeter to Cousin Dog’s for her vacation, said good bye to Christine, Mac, and Maddie and to Skeeter and Satchel.  Christian was zonked out after a long and week of AP classes and tennis practices.  Weekends are his catch up time for sleep.

Back home in my very clean and very quiet house I cleared out the fridge, watered plants, took out the trash and locked the house up. I downloaded some books and movies to my new Samsung Galaxy Tab, thanks Karen for showing me how.  Then a hot bath, could be the last one for a while, good book and tucked into clean sheets.

 And then it happened.  Eyeballs popped wide open so I put on a boring movie.  Actually it turned out to be interesting so fell asleep at midnight.  And then it happened.  Eyeballs popped wide open.  It was 3:12 am! Tossed and turned, read, took another bath and ended up never falling back to sleep.  So I got dressed and actually repacked my ‘seat bag.’ 

At last it was eight o’clock.   Right on time Skip and Susie arrived to pick me up for a ride to Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airport.  We quickly found the Korean Air Morning Calm check in desk. I had a panic moment when I thought I had left my phone in the back of Skip’s van but just as a very great travel partner, Susie, calmly (we were, after all, in the morning calm line!) was dialing to locate my phone by its ring, a notification dinged and the phone was exactly where it belonged - in the correct jacket pocket.  So now that the trip’s “what did I do with it moment” is over and done with. We got checked in.  I was able to change my seat to a right sided window and we made our way to security.

I always get the pat down, arthritis creates misshapen joints which is what the new scanners pick up. Then my carry on got pulled aside, opened and searched.  The girl didn’t know what she was exactly looking for so after a cursory exam she carried it back to a different scanner and it cleared.

Next stop, The Varsity!  A cheese dog for me and chili cheese dog for Susie.  

We made our way to the Plane Train and settled in at Gate E3.  I talked with all three of my girls and then it was already time to board and settle in to a surprisingly comfortable 46K.  The 747 has Business Class upstairs, and First Class has Lay Flat seats.  Our Economy Class seats do have a little more leg room than many planes.  I love when you recline the back that the seat slides forward.  The seat back screen has view choices for the planes cameras.  The forward camera gives a slightly roller coasterish version of the pilot’s eye view as we took off.  I then switched to the landscape view and enjoyed seeing Atlanta from a bird’s eye view.  I will be checking out Seoul in a few hours from the same vantage point. 

The plane has so many hostesses – 58!  The Economy Class is sectioned into three groups of 90 seats each.  We have six flight attendants at a time and they rotate.  The ladies parade to the Crew Rest door.  The lead attendant unlocks it and down they go to the belly of the aircraft and up come the almost Stepford duplicates.  There were bottles of water, pillows, blankets, and headphones at each place.  We also have a packet wrapped in the lovely turquoise of the uniforms. It has slippers, a tooth brush and paste, and pen for filling out the arrival forms.  The ladies perform even the smallest tasks with an almost Geisha like grace.  Nothing is handed to you, it is presented.

As soon as we leveled off drinks and peanuts were served.  This was followed by a dinner service with several choices.  I got lucky.  I picked beef and it was delicious pot roast and farfalle.  I would have rather had the Korean meal dessert of fresh melon than my brownie but everything was good. The buffalo mozzarella salad was nicely dressed and the wine flowed.  And it flowed in glasses made of real glass! And best of all – real stainless steel silverware including a steak knife!

At exactly 3:20 all the window shades slammed shut.  I think because of the 14 hour time difference Korean air thinks we should sleep. That isn’t going to happen.  I enjoyed my seat companions.  A lady from Alabama who is escorting her mother-in-law back home to Korea after her father-in-law’s funeral.  She had spent three months in America and now the daughter in-law will be with her at her home three hours by bus into the countryside from Seoul.  She was very grateful that Korean Air did not charge them for the tickets. She complimented Korean Air greatly for making a gift of the trip.

I have watched three movies.  The Intern, Steve Jobs, and Room.  Room was very interesting and well done.  The young boy is surely nominated for an Academy Award.  I have walked up and down the aisles several times and stopped in section three each time to visit Susie.  She is enjoying an aisle seat with the middle seat empty. The large man who would have been seated there is in my window seat.

The sunset was spectacular.  Or maybe it was the Sunday morning sunrise!  I am so glad I kept opening and peeking around the shade. The moon is bright and full in a clear sky over the frozen tundra below.  Spectacular pink sky melted into brilliant sharp purple.  The picture will not do justice to the sight so I just enjoyed it while it lasted.

After a snack of a Berok like Hot Bun I thought I would write to you. More to come with any luck at all!

The flight continued along the same vein.  The only drawback was that they kept the blinds drawn most of the time.  Only when serving which they did twice more, were they allowed to be open. Seriously, I know that on planes, those who can sleep do with little trouble at all.  And those of us who can’t need some natural light!

Anytime they passed around glasses of water they also had either guava or pineapple juice or always there was orange juice.  I drank three glasses of what really tasted fresh squeezed OJ. Last time I had that many glasses of orange juice they were laced with champagne!

We landed right on schedule and at Gate 17.  Our connecting flight to Hanoi was leaving from 15.  But we followed the signs to International Transfers.  These led us upstairs where we again went through a security check.  It was very rudimentary so didn’t take long.  We went straight on to our gate and directly into the line.  This led us back downstairs to board.  Susie and I are in the same row.

The second flight was more of a commuter flight.  No bottle of water but still the nicest air blanket I have ever experienced.  Exhaustion smacked me!  I knew I could sleep on this plane with this great blanket.  But no.  As soon as my eyes shut the flight attendant wanted me to put my seat back up because dinner was being served.  I appreciated that nice touch on our earlier flight and it should really be a rule.  So much easier to eat for the person behind you.  But my seat, in this case, was a two person job.  I had it as straight as I could by pressing the button, so I pressed it again and the young lady reached over and pushed it. (I knew this would be a repeated performance later at the end of the flight.) 

As my eyes shut I heard, you can sleep but do you want to have your dinner? It was her again. So I accepted a chicken dinner but could only eat the roll.  It was soft and warm.  The mousse cake was good too, and not chocolate.  The chicken was undefinable.  All around me people were eating fish. Dinner was not going well!  Once the trays were collected I just couldn’t get comfortable and settled.  On the daylight flight they kept closing the shades and turning down the interior lighting.  On this flight, that was to land us at 9:40 p.m., the lights were kept full on and bright!  I may have dozed for a bit but I really am envious of those who can sleep on a plane.  

I was happy to hear the wheels jolt down and see the modern terminal and dozens of parked Korean Air jets.  Not too many of any other airline. It was not long before we were into the customs line.  We got lucky.  They were not a lot of locals on the flight so the Vietnam Citizen line moved quickly and to speed up the process they cut our line right at Susie and moved us to the local’s line.

We made our way to baggage claim and while Susie took ours off the belt I sought out our waiting guide, Phil.  It turned out he was outside the area and was meeting only us. He called the driver who met us outside and we sped into the Capitol City of Hanoi! 

It is easy to see that this will be quite an adventure!  Much like in India, every little shop spills onto the sidewalks.  But here the sidewalks are also congested with motor scooters.  Millions of them literally.  The city has a population of over six million people and everyone is on a scooter!  Phil warned us that the scooter drivers, you have to be at least 18, do not take traffic signals seriously but as suggestions! Crosswalks are for decoration!

Our hotel is in the Old City.  It is near one of the 70 lakes in the city.  This largest lake is natural and is surrounded by parklike walks and lots of flowers.  A red bridge is lighted and leads to a temple on a little island.  Our hotel is the Golden Lotus Luxury and we were very happy to be checked into our pretty room on the 6^th floor near the elevator.  The bathroom features a golden lotus sink but best of all lit has a long, deep tub.  Over there are wooden blinds that covering the large window between the guest room and the restroom.  These seems to be a popular concept in high end foreign hotels! 

It is now 1:00 a.m. Monday morning.  Good night!