Thursday, October 27, 2005

Day 1 - Sydney Airport

Well I am going to bodgy this up a bit and post under the dates and times that things actually happened rather than at the time I write it...if it all gets too hard you'll just have to take it as it comes :)

Going through customs turned into a highlight with an asian woman at the xray machine complaining loudly " you make me upset!" to the customs guys. I won the lucky door prize and was pulled aside for a random explosives check. As I was chatting with the customs guy about food in Vietnam the woman finished her ranting and stalked up the fairly steep slope to the departure gates. I was found to be explosive free and followed up the slope, just in time to be confronted by a luggage cart coming at me full pelt. The Asian lady had decided to take the customs agent out using the luggage cart of death (not seen since WWII!).

Doing my bbest Lara Croft impression I spun deftly out of its way and grabbed it as it went past, so saving the customs agent from certain DOOM! Of course they screamed for security in a customs agent sort of way. I chose that discretion was the better part of valour and disappeared into the ladies toilet rather than get further involved. Last time I saw teh Asian lady she was surrounded by a scrum of security and customs agents, I fear for her orifices.

Day 1 - Prior To Departure

Well its 3 hours until I jump in the car to go to the airport. My backpack is mostly packed, shopping for the trip is as completed as it is going to be and children have decided they would prefer to see me off from home rather than late at the airport.

I leave on MH140 that leaves around 10:30pm and head to Kuala Lumpur.

After a 2 hour or so stop-over to change planes it will be onto Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) arriving around 9am Vietnam time. I will hang around the airport a bit waiting for Dawn who "should" turn up about 1.5 to 2 hours later BUT things may not be well on her flight plans as a call to a colleague today to send her her itinerary because the flight organisation was a "disaster" is most worrying.

Then it will be off to our hotel to dump the bags then hit the streets for exploring.


We have no fixed idea of what days we will do what, we only know when we get there and when we leave. Awesome!