The Long Journey Home From Vietnam

We woke up in Saigon on January 3, 2016. Most of our fellow Uniworld travelers were heading home today. So were we, but we wouldn't set foot on U.S. soil until January 5. In my mind, there's a very logical reason for this. While I had secured amazing business class flights to get us to Vietnam, I initially had not had much luck finding return flights. In a moment of desperation, I booked return flights via the Middle East in Canada, in economy. We were dreading it. Over time, we accumulated more AAdvantage miles, which I learned could be used for flights on a variety of Asian carriers, including Japan Airlines and Cathay Pacific. One rainy Sunday morning, I started trying to piece together an itinerary. According to websites, nothing was available, but by studying flight schedules and searching individual segments, I was able to piece together the following itinerary:

Ho Chi Minh City > Hong Kong (overnight layover) > Narita/Tokyo (overnight layover) > Chicago

Sure, it took us three days to get home, but we got to add brief visits to two extra cities, and it was all in business class! We booked it and decided to enjoy the long journey home. I canceled the economy flights and redeposited the miles. We would use them on a future trip.

Final Day In Vietnam

We didn't have any plans for today, and our shuttle to the airport didn't leave until 4:30. We had a leisurely morning and enjoyed another breakfast at the Park Hyatt. My Bahn Mi breakfast was delicious. I will certainly miss those!

After breakfast, we decided to visit the local mall. We're not really mall people, so that didn't last too long. We appreciated the air conditioning, though.

We found a restaurant/pub with free wifi that served German beer, and stopped off there for awhile. The beer tasted nothing like German beer is supposed to taste. A group of local men was celebrating....something. It was mid-day on a Sunday and they were having a very good time.

Google helped us discover that there was an American-style micro brewery not too far from where we were, so that was our next stop.

After exploring an unmarked alley and going up a flight of back stairs, we found Pasteur Street Brewing Company. They combine American craft brewing techniques with Vietnamese ingredients and flavors. I think Aaron was pretty happy to have an IPA. I was happy to have beer that had color and taste. Of course, we tried every single beer they had on the menu, had a few bar snacks, and bought some merchandise to take home with us.

After sampling all the beers we finally knew which ones were worth a bigger taste. Surprisingly, this is when the photo got blurry. Hmm....

Saigon to Hong Kong in Business Class on Cathay Pacific

Late in the afternoon, it was time to stop drinking beer and go meet our driver to take us to the airport. Business class check-in and the business class lounge were nice, although it was a pretty busy travel day. I found this groovy can of 7-UP, and if I remember correctly, it looked a lot better than it tasted.

Our plane was Cathay's "short-haul" business class, which was fine because the flight was only a few hours. They still serve you a great meal for being at 30,000 feet, and we even got Haagen-Dazs ice cream!

For a starter, they served a salmon tartare with creamy potato salad. Was it good? I have no idea...this was 14 months ago. :)

For my entree, I chose the fish in XO sauce with pak choy and mushrooms. It was served with some ham and egg fried rice.

Finishing it off with some ice cream and coffee, which was good because it would take us awhile to get to our hotel. We landed at about 11:15 p.m. and stopped at an ATM to get some local currency.

16 Hours in Hong Kong

Hong Kong seems to be a 24-hour city, similar to New York. This was the line at the taxi stand slightly before midnight.

All things considered, the wait wasn't too bad. We found a taxi, and he found our hotel, the Intercontinental Hong Kong. I had booked this room, which was retailing for $415 per night, with IHG points received from a credit card signup. At check-in we were upgraded to an executive room (we had top-tier elite status, also from the credit card, which was a glitch), which at this point in time was possibly the largest hotel room I'd ever stayed in.

We walked in the door, and the bed was nowhere in sight. Rather, there was a cough and seating area (with a complementary fruit plate) and a desk.

Oh, there's the bed!

Usually this is all I'm used to seeing in a hotel room.

But wait, there's more! The marble bathroom was lovely, with a large shower and separate tub.

More full-size IHG toiletries, which I learned to love on this trip. You know these went right into my suitcase to furnish our guest bedroom. I think Mom loves them too!

Special alcove for the bathrobes...

The toilet had its own separate room. This photo was taken while standing in the bathroom. The door on the far left is the entrance to the room. In between the entrance and the bathroom was a very large closet and dressing area. This is all completely separate from the bedroom and seating area. It's really too bad we were in the hotel for less than 12 hours!

We went to sleep, but woke up at a decent hour so we could explore just a little bit of Hong Kong. I wanted dim sum. Tim Ho Wan at the time was the cheapest Michelin starred restaurant in the world, and just so happened to serve dim sum. We didn't go to the starred location however ... we hopped on the ferry and then went to a location in a mall with the same food and presumably a shorter wait. We figured out how to ride the ferry just fine (I gave my parents a call from the middle of the harbor because the hotel had provided us with a phone with free data and calling). We found the mall. But no matter how hard we tried, we could not find the restaurant. The wayfaring didn't make sense to us, and Google Maps didn't help. After many frustrating minutes, we found the restaurant. Look, we're here! And there's a crowd!

So, we're here. Now what? Things seemed to be happening that we didn't understand. The nice man with his back to us in this picture eventually helped us out. You go up to the hostess stand, forcefully, and demand a number. She gives you a piece of paper with your number on it. We were number 44.

You must choose all of your dim sum while you are waiting for your number to be called. We made an educated guess as to what would be good, since we had absolutely no idea what we were doing. Eventually she will call your number and you better react immediately to be seated. Of course, she will not call the number in English. We hovered at the stand where we could make an educated guess as to what number she was calling, and eventually ours came up. We were ushered into a very busy restaurant and given two seats across from each other, in between dozens of other hungry diners. We just sat there waiting for something to happen, and eventually food came.

The people to my right spoke English, and they were kind enough to tell us when we were doing something wrong or stupid.

First we had a BBQ pork bun. This was delicious. I forgot to take a picture until we'd each already eaten one.

Here's the inside. yummmmmmm

This is a turnip cake. There was a sauce to dip it in.

Next, steamed rice rolls stuffed with BBQ pork. This was delivered to our table as two long, limp rolls. We had no idea what to do. This is when the friendly diners pointed out that we should dump sauce on it and cut it into pieces with our chopsticks. Silly Americans!

Now it's time to jump in the steamer baskets! First, steam spinach dumpling with shrimp.

Next, steamed spare rib with black bean sauce

We finished the meal with pork and vegetable wonton with chili sauce.

It's really too bad we didn't order the chicken feet. They seemed popular! We figured out how to pay our bill and were on our way. People were definitely still waiting. Did they all know to get a number?

On our way back to the ferry, we got a nice view of the ferris wheel. It was kind of expensive to ride, and it was a hazy day, so this is as close as we got.

Lovely, yet hazy morning in Hong Kong.

Next we wandered around for just a little bit to attempt to get the feel of the city. We ended up at McDonald's. We didn't eat anything, but we wanted to see how Hong Kong McDonald's was different from the restaurant in the USA. Apparently in Hong Kong, McDonald's has a farm-to-table motif and a fancy bakery counter. From street level, you go down stairs past this attractive sign on subway tile.

Apparently at the Hong Kong McDonald's, the "chef" has recommendations, including the Mr. Sweet Potato Head and Beefy Cheesy

Unfortunately, the salmon burger was not available today. Crayfish soup was, though!

Wait, McDonald's sells macarons???

The sign on the top of this counter says "create your taste" and there are farm-fresh items in the display case. I would have never guessed this was McDonald's. Maybe next time we'll try the food.

We went back to our hotel, where we enjoyed some complimentary drinks in the lounge overlooking the harbor (another benefit of our mistakenly-awarded top-tier status). Then we grabbed a cab and went to the airport. We had a 3:20 p.m. flight to catch to Tokyo's Narita airport.

Hong Kong to Tokyo in Business Class on Cathay Pacific

Check-in was easy, as it tends to be in business class (gosh, we're getting spoiled). We settled into the Cathay Pacific lounge for some lunch. They cook hot noodle soup to order.

It was time to board our plane and eat some more! Here's our menu for this flight.

I started with a nice glass of wine and a wasabi pea nut mix.

I had assumed that if there were three starters on the menu, you would need to pick one. Nope, they serve them all to each passenger. This is smoked duck breast, salad, and plum soba noodles, served with hot garlic bread.

I chose the prime beef tenderloin for my main course. I was a little nervous, because I can't imagine eating good beef on a plane. But I'd had so much to eat today it didn't really matter.

But look! It's actually medium rare. Very nice.

Also, it's not cheese or fruit or ice cream...it's all of them.

Our flight landed around 8:15 p.m., and we had an overnight in Tokyo.

15 Hours in Narita

Although Narita is Tokyo's largest international airport, it is not in Tokyo. A train into Tokyo would take at least an hour (if we could figure out how to take it), so it would be getting close to 10:00 p.m. before we got there. Then we had to be back at the airport around 9:00 a.m. for our flight. Not happening. We chose to stay in Narita.

But first, we needed some cash for the train and other odds and ends. Pro-tip: If you are an American and you need cash in the Narita airport, go down to the lower level (where the train station is) and use the ATM outside of the 7-Eleven. No other ATM in the airport accepts U.S. ATM cards. Since we didn't figure this out on this trip, we finally gave up and went to the cash exchange counter and exchanged some US Dollars. This made us cranky. We went downstairs to catch a train.

The woman at the ticket counter was very nice and explained how we should use the train to get to Narita Town. Once we exited the station, we could see our hotel - the Mercure. This was the only budget hotel we stayed in for the trip, at a cost of $60. While it was a big let down compared to every other hotel, I wanted to stay right in town so we would have an hour or two in the morning to sightsee. Most of the other Narita hotels are airport hotels that are not within walking distance to anything.

We checked in, and eventually found our room after trying to decipher the signs that were sort of in English.

We walked in, and were repelled by the overwhelming smell of smoke in our non-smoking room. I immediately called the desk. They apologized profusely and said they'd be right up. The hotel employee arrived with keys to a new room that he escorted us too. His explanation of why the room smelled was rather racist and not appropriate for this blog. Let's just say that some Asian countries don't say very nice things about their neighbors.

The next room didn't smell like smoke, but was freezing (we're not convinced it had heat), and had two small beds. We threw lots of layers on and slept.

We left the hotel early in the morning so we could walk through Narita. There was a temple in town, so the plan was to walk there and back in about an hour, then head to the airport. The first thing we spied was a vending machine, which got Aaron very excited. He'd heard a lot about Japanese vending machines. He chose what he hoped was a coffee, and got a fantastic surprise.

As we walked through the streets of Narita, I saw so many amazing foods that I couldn't identify. A man said good morning to me, and the tiny bit of Japanese I learned in middle school came back to me and I was able to reply. I wanted to stop in every store and try everything, but we didn't have time.

We made it to the temple, and it was packed. I didn't understand why a Tuesday morning would be so busy. Later I would learn about the importance of the first visit to the temple for New Year. Since it was only January 5, anyone who hadn't been home the first few days of the year needed to get to the temple today. Booths were set up selling fortunes and talismans, but I didn't understand any of it. We liked it here, though.

Alas, it was time to leave. We went back to the hotel, picked up our bags, and took a train back to the airport for our final flight. It was leaving at 11:10 am. on Tuesday, but we'd arrive home at 7:55 a.m. on Tuesday. Aren't time zones fun?

This tiny little Japanese experience had us intrigued. Just one month later, we would book our fights to return to Japan for Christmas/New Years 2016/2017. That will eventually be written about on this blog, I promise!

Narita to Chicago on Japan Airlines Business Class (Sky Suites)

After all that time trying to find things in the Narita airport after arrival, departure was a breeze. We checked in, dropped our luggage, went through security, and went straight to the Japan Airlines Business Class Lounge. We started in the dining area, because we hadn't had breakfast yet. The food was fine (nothing mind-blowing), but Aaron was enthralled with the automatic beer dispensers. After eating, we went to the other lounge area to wait for our flight to board.

This was the business class experience that spoiled me for life. Aaron and I had chosen to separate so we each got a window seat (he was in front of me). This meant we each had a private suite with two windows for this 14-hour flight. I had slippers, canceling headphones, a pillow and blanket, and all the food I could ever want. This was heaven. Seriously, could I have any more room?

About 45 minutes after we took off, meal service started. This was an experience. I chose to go with the Japanese meal, since I was so intrigued with the country. Of course, they had to put a nice black table cloth down before they could serve me any food. I started with some red wine, and the two appetizers: shrimp salad and a foie gras mousse. Yes. Foie gras on an airplane.

Then, the most beautiful bento I had ever seen. Nine delicate dishes served all at the same time. They are as follows.

• Top, from left: red king crab meat mixed with yam; kudzu starch tofu,;marinated herring roe and potherb mustard with Japanese broth jelly 
• Middle, from left: egg cake with sweet black beans, Japanese ginger, and snow peas; braised duck in soy sauce; fried eggplant marinated in vinegar sauce
• Bottom from left: grilled chicken with Japanese chili paste; simmered conger eel with minced shrimp sauce; smoked salmon sushi

 I am still on an airplane. I'm just giddy.

Oh, this little guy is to hold my chop sticks.

And this is the cutest bottle of soy sauce I have ever seen!

Yes, I ate every single bite of that bento box. Bring on more Japan.

Next is the entree. That's right, that bento box was considered some sort of appetizer.

This was grilled flounder with tomato miso, served with steamed rice.

And miso soup. And some Japanese pickles.

Now it's time for dessert, which was delicious and whimsical. It's a tea pudding. You squeeze the sauce from the little eye dropped into the dessert.

That was the end of lunch. Yes, just lunch. Then you're informed that there's another menu that you can order from whenever you like, using the remote control at your seat.

I read, did some journaling, watched almost an entire season of Downton Abbey.....and because I could, ordered some more food along the way.

Not to be outdone by Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines offers Dean & Deluca ice cream in flight.

When it was about dinner time, I had some beef bolognese pasta with black truffle. Yes, they couldn't just stop at bolognese.

And, for good measure, a cheese plate.

If it seems like this experience was insane...that's because it was. Although I highly doubt a rational person would piece together this itinerary, I was happy to do so for the cost of 55,000 miles and $100 per person (the cost in miles has since gone up). I priced it on Kayak and it quoted me something insane like $8,000 or $9,000 per person (I didn't write it down; I've since kept better records of our trip planning).

This certainly was a great way to see the sun rise back in the USA.

Asia, we like you. We'll be back.

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