Flights and transits: 18h55m
A very early start to a very long day. Up at 3:45am to be at the airport by 4:15. The day would end for me at 2am the next morning. I was sad to see Wens drive away, I wished that she was joining me but I appreciate that she’s not keen on cycle touring in Asia.
Check in at Brisbane Airport was a bit of a marathon, the cross checking of info on the screen against documents was meticulous and it seemed to take ages. Maybe there were some recent hiccups with entry documents into Vietnam. Hence I didn’t get to saviour my first visit to the Business Lounge for very long, but I managed a yoghurt and juice for brekky. Boarded on time but actually pushed back from the gate 10 minutes before scheduled departure. However it didn’t work in our favour in Sydney as we were placed in a holding pattern for 15 minutes; although the flight was super smooth and the seats in business class were very roomy. I’m starting to get used to Business Class already. In Sydney for about an hour, just enough time for a bowl of cereal and a coffee. Boarded on time and pushed back spot on schedule but then sat on the taxiway for over 30 minutes waiting for our turn on the runway. All the time we were there I could clearly hear a screaming kid in cattle class; it was horrible at this distance imagine it up close. It was in a great deal of stress or pain. Eventually got in the air, hooray. Raining and humid outside but dry and cool in the Airbus A330.
The seats in International Business Class are superb, leg room that not even I could reach the end of, a seat that does everything including lay flat and give you a back massage, bed linen and all the storage you could ever need.
Sydney to Bangkok, then Bangkok to Saigon. I’m not going to bore you with the details. Customs at Saigon were brilliant, took under a minute. Outside I paid for my taxi, got a ticket from the man and walked about 30m to the taxi. Half an hour later I was checking into my motel. Did a quick unpack and climbed into a lovely comfy bed. That’s better!
