We arrive in Ho Chi Minh City late Monday night via Tokyo via Detroit via Norfolk. The flight is pretty intense, 23 hours in total. Despite walking around the plane several times throughout the flight, my ankles swell up like balloons. So 23 hours, 3 heart wrenching in-flight movies, 4 airplane meals and a pair of cankels later we arrive at the HCM airport - Vietnam. Once we secure our luggage we head out into the steamy tropical night where a chorus of Vietnamese folks await their loved ones. We are greeted with a huge smile and hug from our translator/ fixer, Vanessa. Vanessa is brilliant, I cannot sing her praises enough. From the moment we meet her to the time we part ways, there are no problems, no mix ups, never waited for anything, the trip was seamless. She connects us with the nicest people, the best deals and her language skills are beyond impressive. Vanessa had been working with me prior to the trip, translating emails back and forth between Thao and making all prior arrangements.
Walking into the anxious crowd and greeted by the lovely Vanessa, who has a car waiting for us at the curb, we load up the vehicle and speed off into the night towards our hotel. At this point it is 11:30PM in Vietnam (11:30 AM the next day, East Coast time) but there is no time for jet lag, we have a job to do and our bodies adjust quite quickly.
Vanessa booked us two rooms close to the airport, we pull up and are received by the staff who have been waiting our arrival. We are whisked upstairs to our rooms, say goodnight to Vanessa and prepare to shoot our first video diary. After completing this task, it is now almost 2AM and we are meeting Vanessa in 5 short hours to travel to Cu Chi, finally meeting Thao for the first time. I fall asleep that night excited, anxious, a little nervous, but ready. I know after this experience my life will never be the same.
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