All’s Well That Ends Well

I was awoken this morning by a knock on my door, which is never a good thing. I checked the clock and it was 9:00am. My plan was to wake up around 9:30am since my driver was picking me up at 11:00am. I was going to pack yesterday, but since I ended up staying up late, I went to sleep and knew I had plenty of time in the morning to pack. My guide had told me last week the driver would pick me up at 11:00am to get me to the airport at 2:00pm which is the earliest I could check in for my flight.

I opened my door to see Jason, who told me he thought my driver was here. Carrie and Julia were standing with him looking VERY confused. Of course, he didn’t speak any English, but I tried to tell him last week we had decided he would come at 11:00am, but if he wanted to leave now he would need to wait until I packed. Needless to say I wasn’t too happy, because I was VERY disappointed with my guide for the Panda program (who really just left me) and now the driver was all messed up. I packed QUICKLY (just by throwing everything into my bags and we were off!) I HATE being rushed in the morning and then the driver seemed to have no idea where I needed to go. I kept saying Chengdu Airport, but he didn’t seem to know how to get there (we stopped to ask people) which just made me nervous. The car ride wasn’t too enjoyable seeing as I kept my eyes peeled to the road signs to make sure we were heading in the right direction. When we got near Chengdu he STILL seemed lost, but I knew we had plenty of time. We did manage to get to the airport, and all was well!

Of course, leaving today the weather was again beautiful! Cold, but sunny and clear! Looking back I feel kind of silly about being so unhappy at the beginning of the week (of course I say that now that I am gone). BUT I thought it was important to be honest with myself (and you) to really show that it’s not always amazing and wonderful, but it’s sometimes hard as well.

Honestly, I did have an AMAZING once in a lifetime experience with the Pandas. Granted I struggled a lot in the beginning of the week, but it did get better. I don’t think I will look back on the experience and say it was the best time of my life, but it was great. I know I complained a lot, but I think I was surprised that I was NOT having an amazing time. My mom even said, and I quote from an email (Mom I hope you don’t mind!) “It is interesting for you to complain....because that is not like you. But now we know you do NOT like to be cold!!” With all that being said, I feel so fortunate to have had that experience (of hanging out with Pandas in China) and to have met the amazing people I was able to share the experience with.

Once I arrived at the airport, I found someone who spoke English and asked when I could check in. She told me I couldn’t check in until 2:30pm which was annoying because I had to lug my bags everywhere (Mom this is when I miss traveling with you the MOST). They had a KFC near where I was dropped off, so I was able to stop there and grab some lunch.

Around 2:15pm I got in line for my flight. It was nice because they actually “opened” for business right at 2:30pm! I handed the woman my passport and explained I was going through to Ho Chi Minh City. It is VERY nice that you don’t have to bring any paperwork with you (although I always do) to check in, just your passport! She printed out both boarding passes (which was great!) and checked my first bag! I was a little worried because if I had had the time I would have packed my bags according to weight. But, since I was in a rush I literally threw everything in. I knew I would have to pay for my second bag (although I was a bit confused because from Beijing to Chengdu I didn’t..) I put my bag on the scale and she told me it was 3kg (I think 7ish lbs) overweight so I would have to transfer things out and put them in my backpack. I wanted to say that I needed my other bag back to equal them out (my other bag wasn’t over the limit) but it had already gone through and it wasn’t worth the effort to try and get it back. I contemplated trying to figure out what would fit in my backpack etc. but to be honest, it wasn’t worth the hassle. My backpack was already full (and heavy) so I asked her if I could just pay for the extra weight. She told me it would be 200RMB (about $30). I really SHOULDN’T be wasting money on luggage BUT I knew my Dad loves me enough to work a LITTLE bit harder to pay for my bag. So I told her that was fine and handed her my credit card. She seemed confused with the credit card and got on the phone. After she hung up she said, “It’s ok” and I was on my way! I have no idea if people feel bad for me, look at me as the dumb blond American, or WHAT, but whatever the reason is, I am loving not having to pay for extra baggage!

I went through customs and everything else China threw at me with no problems and boarded my flight to Hong Kong. I am a “window” girl, but somehow I messed up (I KNOW it’s hard to believe..) and got myself an aisle seat. Luckily, it was only 2.5 hours AND I was glad I stayed awake because we got food! Wahoo!

Oooh the Hong Kong Airport. I really thought that maybe this whole “plane” thing was a joke and I was walking/taking escalators to Vietnam. I wished I had more time to take pictures because it was like a city! If you ever have to have a long layover, this is the place! I am glad I didn’t stop to eat or do ANYTHING because it took me a while to get to my gate! When I did, I was pretty hungry so I stopped at a place to get something to eat. I realized, however, that the currency was different. I only had 3RMB on me anyway, so I knew I was going to use my credit card (luckily it wasn’t too difficult finding a place to take it..) but I had NO idea what the exchange rate was! I found a burger for $46. And yes it had the dollar sign! I would be the person who said, “But I didn’t think it was REALLY $46!!!!” I figured there was NO way it could be that much so I was willing to take my chances. A hungry (and therefore grumpy) Julie is no fun for anyone..so I thought a nice meal was worth the money. I ended up getting a burger, fruit bowl and water for about $14. A bit expensive I know, but it was AMAZING! I don’t know if I was hungry or what, but it was really a GREAT meal!

I was surprised that the plane to Ho Chi Minh was a big one (3-5-3). When I found my row, someone was already sitting in the window. I could NOT believe I messed up AGAIN! Luckily though she had messed up so I kicked her out. I did feel bad, but then I realized it WAS my seat, and I was dying for a window! The plane wasn’t quite full and we were on our way. Or so I thought..

We did seem to be waiting on the tarmac for a while when the Captain finally came on and said, (I SWEAR this is what he said..) “We are having some problems with the catheter so we are going to taxi back and have someone take a look at it”. Now I don’t know if it was HIS catheter or the plane’s, but either way I thought it was good we were getting it checked out.

We only had to wait about an hour, but at this point I had been traveling for 12 hours and was tired, but for some reason couldn’t fall asleep, so the hour seemed to go on forever. I decided I would call my mom just to check in and when I did..I heard her, but then my phone beeped and said it was out of minutes. I tried to call on my American phone, but that didn’t work either. I panicked thinking maybe she would think that we were crashing and I was calling them to say goodbye. These are the thoughts you think when you are overtired I guess.

The woman next to me (that I kicked out) was VERY sweet, but she was driving me crazy. She was older, retired, and heading back to Vietnam for 5 months (she is a snow bird!) She just wanted to talk (and talk and talk) and show me pictures of EVERYONE in her family. I was trying to be polite, but I was very tired and just tired of traveling and not in the mood to talk.

We landed in Ho Chi Minh around 11:20pm and I was sweating! Oh I had forgotten the feeling! Customs were a breeze and then I went to find my baggage. I was waiting and waiting and then saw a worker taking off baggage, so I went to check that out. My two bags were there! I have no idea why they were taken off the carousel, and it wasn’t a big deal, but wished someone had told me so I wasn’t waiting around.

Luckily I saw Han with my, “Julie Wilson” sign and we were off. Oh it was SO warm! I was VERY hot (in my 2 pairs of socks, sweatpants and LAYERS of tops) but man oh man did it feel good! She got us a cab and explained she had water damage in her house so I would be going to the hostel. Originally, the plan was to live in a volunteer house (with her and her family) and the other volunteers. I was excited because I had not been impressed with the other coordinators and figured she would HAVE to help me if I was living with her. But then I found out that I would only be there a week and then move to a hostel. I was a bit bummed, but then figured it would be ok since the hostel was in the backpacker’s district of Ho Chi Minh. But, because of this whole water thing, she told me I was going there tonight. She said she lived right by the airport and since it was late she told the taxi where to go, paid him, and told me he would bring me to the hostel. I was a little..well I guess I wished she had come with me (at this point I was exhausted and had been traveling for 15 hours..) but if there is one thing traveling alone does to you, it makes you confident. She could have dropped me off ANYWHERE and I would have figured it out. She was really sweet and said the plan was to meet Monday at 8:30am to go to the orphanage. She also told me Ken (in his 40’s from Alaska) was also at the hostel and volunteering. I asked her about buying a phone etc. and she said she would help me on Monday. So off I went!

The taxi driver didn’t speak much English, so when he pulled off and tried to show me we were at the hostel, I was a bit worried. I knew we weren’t on the right road (I had done my research) but ALSO knew we were close. I wasn’t in the mood (at this point it was about 12:45am..1:45am my time) to be dragging my bags around looking for the place. Luckily we managed to figure it out, and the area was HAPPENING! It is definitely party central!

The “manager” came out which was good (Han said she called ahead) and she helped me with my VERY heavy bags to 408. UGHHH the 4th floor. I definitely need the stairs, seeing as I have been eating WAY too much, but it is a hike! I am a girl who likes to unpack and settle in, but after traveling for about 17 hours at that point (I didn’t even go THAT far..) I called it a night and hit the sack!

Hugs and kisses from Ho Chi Minh City!