Home Again!

What a great day to start July 4th in Saigon, stopover in Tokyo, then land in LA the same day. A bit overwhelming, since I arrived at noon LA time, and did not miss any of the holiday celebration!

Concluding the evening with fireworks could not have been better!

Now my task is to get over this jetlag and 14-hour time difference and celebrate my birthday Monday. Fantastic brunch at Trump National Golf Club, watched Tiger win his AT&T National tournament, followed by hitting balls at Los Verdes G.C..

Looking forward to my trip debrief and a look ahead at what might come out of this trip in the months ahead. Thanks to all for taking time to read this blog periodically. I intend to continue writing in this blog, so keep it bookmarked and please stop back to see what is posted.

Visit to Maison Chance in Saigon

Made it back to Saigon after arriving at the Hanoi airport, only to be informed that my plane ticket was for a flight today from Saigon to Hanoi, not the other way around. And tourism is a university major here?? I left Mike, Tina and Mike P. in Hanoi, where they will soon head to Thailand and China for the last legs of their adventure.

Anyhoo, made it only an hour later on another airline (the refund adventure will be another story I am certain), and was picked up in the trusty Army Jeep again (joined by Tim and Jill, less than a day arrived from America) and headed to Maison Chance, about 20 min. away, through an utter maze of roads that foreigners rarely traverse.

We met Miss Tim Aline at the Take Wings Center and had a nice discussion of the progress of the new Maison Village, where there will be space for up to 150 people, all in wheelchairs. When we started to discuss the specifics of wheelchairs, she explained how important it is to have not only lightweight chairs, but chairs that fit the small frames of Vietnamese people, both as children and adults. So our marching orders (excuse the bad pun) are to locate a manufacturer that can make a chair in the 10-15 kilogram range.

I will post lots more upon my return, but for now, I just want to wish everyone back in America a very Happy 4th of July, since I will be traveling during that time. Especially visiting here in Vietnam, I am blessed to be the benefactor of everyone who has fought for our freedom. The price has always been steep, but freedom is truly priceless. Every trip I make outside of America, that vision is clarified evermore.

Catch you back in the States.

Back in Hanoi

We just made it back to Hanoi from a trip out to the beautiful Halong Bay. To get there, we took an adventuresome 30 hour train from Saigon, followed by a 4 hour bus ride until we got on the boat (like a Chinese junk).

Great trip, but more later tonight after I shower.

Tomorrow I fly back to Saigon, where I will go visit the orphanage and vocational training center called Maison Chance. Really looking forward to it.

Hanoi and Northern Vietnam is markedly different from Saigon and the South. More on that later too.

Hope this finds everyone well.