Welcome to Hanoi, Vietnam
I've finally made it to Vietnam. I arrived around midnight Hanoi time and still there was much to see from the airport to the hotel. Moto's seem to be a common means of transportation, and the dark roads are filled with big bumbling trucks that remind me of cockroaches skuttling at different paces depending on their nearness to death. The driving here is an organized chaos- lanes aren't always acknowledged and when passing, rarely is the blinker used. Rather, drivers flash their brights alerting the vehicles in front of them that they will be moving up or want to. Pedestrians cross at cross walks while cars drive in and out of them. This seems to be normal, as my welcome letter in the very plush hotel room waiting for me instructs "Do as locals do- walk into the road and head for the other side, keeping your eyes on the traffic. You will be amazed how it weaves around you- just walk at a steady pace, don't run, they see you!" This is going to be fun.
My driver was less than happy to see me when I acknowledged the sign he was holding. "J. Denise McCarty." I was one of the last people out the doors from my flight. They had loaded my bag on another baggage belt so I stood around waiting for a bit. I love these perceived hick-ups, though. They give me a chance to sit and observe the culture around me. For example, my cultural experience started in LAX. My flight was delayed numerous times and the gate attendants kept announcing the delays in English first. I would hear it and go back to whatever I was doing, nothing I can do about it. Then they would announce the delay in Korean and about half of the people around me would sigh and shift in their seats. Then they would announce it in Mandarin and that would stir the other half of them. Haha, it was like a button. I'm starting to realize that my 'go with the flow' attitude towards it all is probably a big reason why I was hired for this job. That and my compact size. Man, 18+ hour flights are a breeze now. I find them quite enjoyable.
And it's hard not to when the entire thing is a cultural observation. I've been one of maybe a handful of non-asians in a room since I was in LAX. Asians are a beautiful and diverse people- I wish whites would stop their remarks about how they all look the same. They certainly do not. I do think that the asian airline I flew with though is pretty particular about their pretty flight attendants. Every single one of those women was beautiful and they're all done up the exact same way- clothes, hair, makeup. The only thing that seems to set them apart is their choice of studded earrings and black high heels. This monotony just highlights their individually beautiful facial features, however. Who needs in-flight movies when you can dissect the geometry of foreign faces all day?
Well, it's midnight thirty in the morning and I've already been to an ATM and checked into my room. Everyone at the front desk seems to have known I was coming and were wondrously nice. This place even has a gym (sigh of relief).
Below are some pictures of my room and the only view I got of Korea during my layover.
Thinking of you all. I wish I could just pal all of you around with me.
My driver was less than happy to see me when I acknowledged the sign he was holding. "J. Denise McCarty." I was one of the last people out the doors from my flight. They had loaded my bag on another baggage belt so I stood around waiting for a bit. I love these perceived hick-ups, though. They give me a chance to sit and observe the culture around me. For example, my cultural experience started in LAX. My flight was delayed numerous times and the gate attendants kept announcing the delays in English first. I would hear it and go back to whatever I was doing, nothing I can do about it. Then they would announce the delay in Korean and about half of the people around me would sigh and shift in their seats. Then they would announce it in Mandarin and that would stir the other half of them. Haha, it was like a button. I'm starting to realize that my 'go with the flow' attitude towards it all is probably a big reason why I was hired for this job. That and my compact size. Man, 18+ hour flights are a breeze now. I find them quite enjoyable.
And it's hard not to when the entire thing is a cultural observation. I've been one of maybe a handful of non-asians in a room since I was in LAX. Asians are a beautiful and diverse people- I wish whites would stop their remarks about how they all look the same. They certainly do not. I do think that the asian airline I flew with though is pretty particular about their pretty flight attendants. Every single one of those women was beautiful and they're all done up the exact same way- clothes, hair, makeup. The only thing that seems to set them apart is their choice of studded earrings and black high heels. This monotony just highlights their individually beautiful facial features, however. Who needs in-flight movies when you can dissect the geometry of foreign faces all day?
Well, it's midnight thirty in the morning and I've already been to an ATM and checked into my room. Everyone at the front desk seems to have known I was coming and were wondrously nice. This place even has a gym (sigh of relief).
Below are some pictures of my room and the only view I got of Korea during my layover.
Thinking of you all. I wish I could just pal all of you around with me.
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