Day Ten -- Bangkok, Thailand, Hoi An Vietnam

We had a liesurely morning packing and showering before heading out for a late breakfast. We couldn't commit to any one place, so we walked up and down Suhkumvit Road nibbling from street vendors. Hot dog pig-in-a-blanket spring roll things, meatball somethings, sweet iced tea, sticky rice (aka "ticky lie") and chicken legs. We are amazed at how wonderfully moist the chicken legs always are. They simply sit over the hot coals until someone comes by, and yet they are constantly delicious and perfectly cooked (and a heck of a lot better than Boston Market or Roy Rogers!).



All the street vendors place your food in a small sandwitch baggie and then in a slightly larger plastic bag with handles and give you a wooden skewer as your utensil. We have also seen many locals with drinks of some sort served in this fashion, walking down the street sipping with a straw out of a plastic bag.

And the fruit! Oh, the raw mango and pineapple and watermelon! Street vendors with fresh fruit are everywhere, ready to serve you up a plastic baggie and skewer of fruit for dirt cheap!

We caught a cab from the hotel at 12:30 and made it to the airport by 1:15 (mind you, it took more than 2 hours from airport to hotel when we first arrived). We checked in with Air Asia and had a leisurely lunch. The Bangkok airport is laid out a little differently. Passport control and then duty free and then security just before the gate, which means no buying water before getting on the plane. Thankfully, we ate well because we were in for an unexpectedly lengthy and arduous day of travel. If you are disinclined to hear about the woes of airline travel, skip to the end :-)

Intitial plan: Air Asia from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City. We have 2 hours in which to pick up luggage, clear customs, and then re-check in with Jet Star Airlines for a 7:15 flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Danang. Take a 45 minute taxi ride from Danang south to our hotel in Hoi An. Wonderful.

Actual occurance: We boarded our Air Asia flight, and just before push back from the gate, the pilot announced "technical difficulties" and that we would need to board another aircraft. So, we all got off the plane and waited at the gate. After a short time, we saw another group of passengers boarding that same aircraft. As it turns out, the pilot and the bags were headed to Cambodia, but we passengers were headed to Vietnam. An employee promised we could get help with our connecting flight when we arrived at Ho Chi Minh City.
Finally, we took off an hour and a half after our originally scheduled departure. So, in Ho Chi Minh City, we looked for the promised Air Asia representative. Nada. We went through passport control and customs. Still no Air Asia representative. Okay, let's go to domestic departures (in another building). No Air Asia desk there either. (P.S. At this point we are jogging through the un-airconditioned airport toting around 15 kilo hiking backpacks.) We get to the JetStar check in desk, just as our plane is taking off. "You late. You take next plane tomorrow 6 am." Vietnam Airlines had the last flight of the night into Danang leaving at 8pm, so we hustle to them, wait until we can buy standby tickets (for about $50 each), check our bags and then SPRINT to the gate, praying to any diety that will hear us that our bags make it aboard. And, what do you know? They did!
So, the JetStar airfare is non-refundable, and we are on the warpath to make Air Asia pay for the additional airfare cost (although, with their customer service thus far, I think it unlikely). We wouldn't be so upset if it had legitimately been techical problems, but it was an organizational SNAFU.

END OF AIRLINE RANT

Despite the exhaustion and frustration with our flights, we took a moment to recognize the gravity and historical significance of landing in Danang and walking across the tarmac to the airport terminal (and hope that one day, our children will want to honeymoon in Bagdhad or Falujah).

We caught a cab and took the 45 minute drive to Hoi an for about $15. (300,000 Vietnamese Dong. The currency conversion is ridiculous, and we feel nervous requesting one million out of an ATM. Yipe!) The Thien Thanh hotel is charming and they know us by name. It is a mid-range establishment, but has a lot of character, and, most importantly, a hot shower and clean bed. Zzzzzzz.