Travel to Vietnam

March 2nd and 3rd: Travel to Vietnam. We made 3 hops to Ho Chi Minh City: Montreal to Toronto, Toronto to Tokyo, and Tokyo to Ho Chi Minh City. Last year we followed the airlines recommendation and got to the airport 3 hours before our flight only to find we had to wait 45 min for check-in to open. This year we were there 2 hours early and still had time for a coffee and newspaper. The 1 hour flight to Toronto was a breeze, the 15 hour flight to Tokyo was long, and the 6 hour flight to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) was painful. The seats seemed to get smaller and harder as the long day progressed. But there were no problems, we arrived on time, and we were in bed 2 hours after landing.

March 4: We had a quiet day in HCMC. In the morning we wandered the local market and had tea on the street as we watched the people. In the afternoon we took the bus to Chinatown and visited one of the bigger markets in HCMC. There is no doubt that one of the attractions of HCMC is the hustle and bustle in the streets. This city may not be pretty but it is alive and interesting.