Home Again

I arrived home on Tuesday night, about 7;30 PM.  David, my brother picked me up. The neighborhood looked the same, and my house was still there. The lawn needs mowing and inside, the mess I left was still there. Ha!! Portland is cold, so I had to put on some long pants and find a sweater. Brrrrr! 

I flew through so many time zones, I literally arrived in Portland only  a few hours after I left Saigon. I mean, I left Vietnam on Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 11:35 pm. Then arrived in Portland on Oct. 14, at 7 pm, and that includes a 4 hour layover in Vancouver BC. My longest flight was 11 hours, from Hong Kong to Vancouver, and it seems longer coming back than going, but it is actually shorter, yet mentally it is longer. Hard to explain.  I thought about this long leg ahead of time, so I indulged myself in luxury by upgrading my ticket to business class. This cost me a few $$$ but it was well worth it. I will probably the only time I will get to fly business. I had to use my Asia miles to do this but they were going to expire anyway. In business class, you have "leg room" while sitting in a lazyboy like seat. And the food!!! They never stop feeding you. It was as if I was eating at a 5 star restaurant. Also, the seat next to me was empty. WOW!! It was easy to sleep too. I am spoiled now. 

Before I left Saigon, I stayed in my old hotel. The owner has only 6 rooms, and it is more like a boarding house, as some guests have stayed there over a year. She has a lot of repeat business. I will go back there again.  It is a convenient location for traveling to the airport, or going to Thanh's sister's house.  Thanh, my Vietnamese son, took me her house for lunch. He is a great cook, but first he had to go to the market. He never takes me to the market because the vendors will raise the price if they see me. Ha!! You have to sit on the floor Indian style to eat the food but it is worth it because he made spring rolls and shrimp cooked in beer, plus pork soup, and other food. My only problem is getting up after my leg has gone to sleep from sitting on the floor. Ha!! 

My only scare on those last few days was using the ATM machine. Generally, during the last 2 months of traveling, I had no trouble using the cash machine. I always use a particular bank but a few days before I left, I tried about 5 times, and couldn't get it to work. The bank didn't seem to know what the problem was. I thought maybe, after seeing all the bad economic news on CNN, that maybe my bank account had evaporated!! So this made me anxious and nervous. Finally, by using another bank ATM, I was successful but it seemed to process very slowly. Since arriving home, I am happy to report that my bank statement appears to be ok, other than my actual spending on the trip. 

Now, I am sorting through my box of mail, and trying to make some phone call, visiting my Dad, and planning a trip to Arizona for Thanksgiving. Maybe by next week, I will be back to my normal work, exercise and volunteering schedule...

I have tried to add some photos to previous logs. I will try to upload my photos soon, and email you the URL if you want to view. 

I probably will not write regularly on this blog unless I am traveling, I don't want to bore you too much. True!!  Thanks for your viewing. Have a good weekend... Tambiet (Goodbye, VNese)