Preparation

This is not the most fun part of the process, but doing a proper job makes the trip go better.

We will be flying on China Airlines; leaving Seattle at o'dark thirty on the 29th of October. Passports, tickets and visas are all in order. The flight is non-stop to Taipei. That's kind of a misnomer, since every flight should have one stop at least ( and that at the appointed destination). Anyway, we change planes in Taipei and continue on to Saigon (aka Ho Chi Minh City). We are scheduled to arrive at 10AM Monday morning. That would appear to be nine hours but is more like an 18 hour trip.

Packing - Ugh
Normally we like to travel light. It's less work and we don't like to lug any more stuff than is necessary. But this is a little different since we plan on having a home there, it seems appropriate to bring some twigs and feathers to stick in the nest. We are each allowed 2 checked boxes. The maximum weight per box is 70 pounds. The sum of the length, width and height must not exceed 62 inches or we'll have to walk. Finding out that your package is oversize or weight at check-in is no fun.

We are both really jazzed about seeing our new home. It was under construction when we were there last year. The pictures we've seen look nice, so we are anxious to be there. There is so much that we want to do that the mind races and you wonder where to start. I think I'll be starting with plans for a swimming pool and refining the plans for our landscaping. The swimming pool is how we plan to stay in tip top athletic form.

There is also much to do in the area of service. One must never forget that this is a communist country and they take control very seriously. We want to start a reading room for the local kids. Permission to build a school is still going through the department of red tape. It seems ironic to me that the officials we met were very excited about our intention to build a school, yet there is no fast track or sense of urgency about approving our moving ahead with the plan. We need to work on networking to establish ourselves in the community. That part's kinda tough for me since my command of the language is so weak, but I continue to study.