We made it. It's the second morning we're here as I write this. We don't have any internet access from home yet, so I'm writing this from work.
The flight was as smooth and easy as could be expected, considering that it took close to 24 hours to get from San Jose to our home here in Saigon. However, it started out with a little blip. We left San Jose for SFO right on time, when we reached Santa Clara/Sunnyvale, I suddenly got hit with that sinking feeling that I had forgotten my backpack - the one with the passports! I only remembered because Justo kept pestering me for his sunglasses, which were inside the backpack. We still got to SFO about 2.5 hours early - check in only took a few minutes. We got to spend about an hour sitting with Sonia's mom. The security line was really short, so we had some snacks before boarding the plane.
Flight time to HK was about 13 hours. Justo slept about half that time, and Luna slept a couple of hours or so. The rest of the time, she watched TV, read and wrote a letter.
We were in HK for about 2 to 3 hours. There was a play area there where the kids passed the time. Then it was another 2 hours to Saigon. As the plane taxied and took off, Justo said he wanted to watch a movie...but has knocked out as soon as the plane was in the air. He woke up right when we landed and said "wow...that was short!"
The house is the biggest place we've ever lived in. It's a four bedroom place, 2 stories. Luna thinks it's like a "princess castle." It is rather imposing when you first walk through the gate. It's got 12 foot ceilings both downstairs and upstairs - so it feels very airy.
The neighborhood is a gated neighborhood with what appears to be nothing but expats living in it. The street in front is very narrow, and hardly has any traffic, so the kids can ride their bikes very easily.
Initial impressions of Saigon - much like Manila. Traffic can best be described as "organic" with motorscooters occupying much of the roadway. It really does feel like you're in the midst of a river of motorscooters. Downtown Saigon is much like many Southeast Asian cities - hip restaurants and posh shopping right next to hole-in-the-wall eateries, and street vendors. And those motor-scooters.
