Arrived in Ho Chi Minh City!

After 10,000 miles of traveling, 21 hours of flight time, 7 in-flight movies, and 6 in-flight meals Kimberly and I arrived in Ho Chi Minh City! We were graciously received at the airport by Fr. Pat, Fr. Trinh, and a selection of young seminarian students. 

On the flight from Washington DC to Dubai we sat next to a sweet grandmother who spoke almost no English, but needed to help care for someone. She kept checking on Kimberly to make sure she was covered by the blanket and was comfy on the flight. I on the other  hand, watched nearly the entire Star Wars Saga (all 7 episodes were available as in-flight movie options!) and slept for maybe 30 minutes.

We took a taxi from the airport to the Spiritan apartment building in downtown Saigon which was quite an experience. The street signs and road lanes are mostly just a suggestion as are turn signals. Traffic moves fast and just avoids hitting things. Motorbikes are the chosen mode of transportation for most because they are easy to park and can actually carry a multitude of items.

Our room in with the Spiritans is quite nice! We have a big comfy bed, a window looking at a brick wall, and air conditioning! As far as I can tell so far we are the only room with A/C. Everyone else is simply uses to the humidity and temperature. Its about 11:30 AM here and the temperature is 90 degrees fahrenheit and about 75% humidity. Inside in the shade with the fan blowing makes it comfortable.

 

First thing we did today was enjoy breakfast with Fr. Pat and go for a short walk around the city surrounding our residence. We did manage to withdraw Vietnamese money from an ATM. The Vietnamese use the Dong for their currency and 1 Dong = $0.00045 US. We withdrew about $25 US and the ATM gave us 1 bill worth 500,000 Dong. This currency thing is going to be confusing for awhile.

We are currently off to lunch! Stay tuned and we will post more as our trip unfolds! 

If you have questions or are curious about anything comment below or send us an email and we will make a post about it! burnworth.christopher@gmail.com