Heading to Danang

The teams are leaving out of Danang on Saturday and the entire office is moving down in support of getting our guys out of country. I am looking forward to that because this has been a very long month. I will be in Danang from 1 - 5 April staying at the Furama Resort. Not a bad way to live I suppose, but I would really rather not go.

Since I am going no matter what, I will try to get some good running and maybe even some swimming in while there. The weather is infinitely better there than it is here... at least the dust and other pollutants aren't in the quantity that they are here in Hanoi.

I will be bringing lots of other work down with me. There is definitely no shortage of things to do. The hardest part will be keeping in the coordination loop with our counterparts here in Hanoi. When we get back, the Vietnamese will be on holiday for the Hung Kings Remembrance and our office will be ramping up for some martime talks. That is something else I will be doing: Brusing up on my Navy terminology!

Diep and Megan Return

Diep and Megan got in a little after 8:00 last night. Megan was really tired and went upstairs right away. Diep wanted to chat a bit but managed to go to bad shortly after her return as well. Everyone slept in, which is an unusual thing around here... when I say slept in, I mean past 6:00am, but not much.

I guess we will go eat noodle soup this morning and enjoy the better weather we started getting yesterday. I will be off to Danang on Wednesday for five days, so I want to get some quality time in with the family.

Good to be back together again!

Weekend off??

It looks like I may get this weekend off. It has been a while, but if there is nothing too pressing, I will definitely take it. These past two weeks have been insane and I hope not to duplicate the tempo any time in the near future.

I still have a mandatory dinner hosted by the Deputy Chief of Mission in honor of a visiting guest, but I think I can crawl through that, sleep in late and then get a work out later in the morning. I ran two mornings straight and I feel so much better than when I was out of town. I like the run, take in some orange juice, drink some fiber, shower, dress and get to work. It is invigorating!

Diep and Megan get back tomorrow night. I hope they had a good time! I missed them, but I am a little sad that I didn't get more "me" time while they were gone. Work stuff just got in the way!

Anyway, I am still stoked for the weekend. It will be a short week next week as I may be in Danang for the redeployment of the team starting on Wednesday. There is a small chance I will stay behind to get ready for an upcoming meeting in Hanoi... either way, it is fine with me.

Back in Hanoi

Okay, I am back in Hanoi again. It feels good to be back home, but I do not look forward to the two nights I spend at organized dinners tonight and tomorrow. Fortunately, Diep and Megan are still in Saigon, so I don't have to worry about Diep waiting for me to come home.

While I was in Saigon I tried to call Diep on her cell a few times when she was out and I was somewhere else. She rarely picked up her phone and it made me wonder why she even has a cell phone at all. I guess it could be just to make calls out. Anyway, it was so frustrating that I am trying not to call her at all for the remainder of her trip. I will just text message her and she can read the messages whenever she checks her phone. She gets spun through the ceiling when I don't answer my cell phone, which is very rarely, so you would think she would be a little more careful to answer when I call.

I have felt very tired for the past couple of days. It could be that I haven't had a full weekend for the entire month of March. I did have most of one weekend, but the other two I have pretty much worked straight through. Diep and Megan get back Saturday evening, and I don't see any reason to get up early on Saturday morning, so maybe I will try to sleep in. Yeah, that's the ticket!

Basecamp

Yesterday, we went by Mi-17 to the recovery site in Gia Lai Province. Though the team had withdrawn the day prior, the platforms and some of the infrastructure was still intact. It was pretty elaborate. This site was probably the most interesting I had seen in respect of wildlife. I would have greatly enjoyed the 25 some odd days the team spent on that mountain. They had stories of snakes and a myriad of other creatures that they ran into on a regular basis. The locals who worked at the site were still there when we went up and it was obvious they had a great working relationship with the American team.

Today I go back to Hanoi. Apparently my long layover in Danang was made longer by Vietnam Airlines yesterday because they announced the flight will be delayed. The delays are a direct result of VN Airlines combining flights and changing schedules to gain efficiencies. I understand the need to get more bang for your buck by the airline, but it becomes very annoying when every flight you are scheduled to take is delayed within 24 - 36 hours. It gets to the point some times that I have to make my reservation for the day prior to whatever meeting I have because I am afraid the flight will be delayed and the meeting will have to be postponed or cancelled.

I thought I would have some me time when I get back to Hanoi, but both Thursday and Friday nights I have to attend a dinner for a visiting guest. I really would rather stay home and watch TV or read a book. Especially since Diep and Megan are in Saigon and this is the only time I really get to myslef... a most precious commodity, indeed.

Departing for Saigon

Today I leave for Saigon. Unfortunately, it is an afternoon flight so I won't have all day to bum around in the big city. Diep and Megan are already there as I mentioned in my earlier post, so I am anxious to see them as well. I guess we can get something to eat at a nice restaurant while I am down there.

Things will get busy when I return on Tuesday, or Wednesday depending on the plan and whether it changes or not.

Diep and Megan to Saigon

Diep and Megan will leave for Saigon this morning. Diep was so excited she couldn't sleep well last night. Now she will be traveling and getting home without a good nights rest under her belt. I am just glad I won't be there for that fallout.

I will meet them both Sunday evening, because I am also heading down... the difference is I am working and they are not. I will be staying at the Sheraton, Saigon and hopefully I won't run into any snags with Diep staying with me for the two nights I am there.

On Tuesday morning I will fly to Pleiku, again, and try to get to the site we didn't get to the first time. It would be nice to get there and see what the team is doing there, but if we don't make it I won't be too broken up over it. We really have to get back to Hanoi by that time to receive our VIP from the U.S.

The weather in Hanoi is still pretty much sucking. I don't know how much longer it will be like this, but I will sure be glad when it changes. It is so humid that mold will grow on the walls and on your books if you don't keep the doors closed and AC on.

I found a charge on my credit card yesterday that I didn't recognize from an online game company. I don't play online games so I disputed the charge and was credited for the money that was charged. I asked the credit card company if I should get a new card issued and the lady responded that I should not. It appears the charge only happened once and she felt it could be a mistaken charge, and that there was no need to cancel the card and issue a new one. This online company has a few posts on it from google that indicate many people have been fraudulently charged for services they did not use. In fact, most of the posts were from people like me who had never even heard of them before the charge showed up. Hopefully this is the end of the fraud, but I will be watching my account closely from now on. This stuff really scares me, and makes my stomach uneasy.

Well, it is time to be off to greet the day...

Megan comes home today

Megan has been gone since Tuesday and she is scheduled to return today (Friday). I am sure Diep missed her more than I did because I was gone for a couple of her away days myself. It will be good to see her again and I think she will be glad to be home; if for no other reason than we have TV and common consumer appliances at home as opposed to the very stoic existence she experienced in Mai Chau Town, Hoa Binh Province.

The weather in Hanoi is warmer, but it is still in what seems like a perpetual overcast. Every day somewhat like the other. It is getting old. Where is the sun?

Despite the dreary weather, Diep and I went for a walk / run this morning. After every three inutes of walking, we would run for one minute. It is a basic technique to build up your strength and circulatory system to do longer periods of running and lesser periods of walking. It seems we never do enough days in a row to increase the running portion, but it is still something we can do in the morning. The exercise itself is well below my level of condition right now, but just moving around for 40 minutes before going to work gets the dopamine going and I do feel awake.

Next week is going to be busy! Not only next week, but even the week or two after that. I leave for Saigon on Sunday and return on Tuesday. On Wednesday we have a VIP arriving and she will stay until Friday. The following week I will be concentrating on reviewing maritime vocabulary as we have a big round of meeting that will go off soon after that. Then, the last part of the second week in April we have our round of technical discussions. The work up to that is pretty stressful because no one wants to screw up the schedule when a two-star admiral is in town. Before I know it we will be smack dab in the middle of summer.

Khe Sanh and Lang Vei

I just got back from Khe Sanh and Lang Vei. Both of these locations were important to the Marines and Army during the Vietnam War. Today, I found them to be hot and a long way from where I started out. Nevertheless, the duty day is now over for me and I am at the Airport in Phu Bai (just outside of Hue City) waiting for my flight to Hanoi. It looks like we got an automatic upgrade in the seating again, but I won't be sure until I get on the airplane since I don't know what airframe we are flying back on.

Diep is home alone right now, since Megan is in Mai Chau, Hoa Binh Province with her class. Diep doesn't seem to fair well by herself so I am glad she only has to sleep alone one night. I miss her anyway, and I am glad to be heading home. Megan should be back some time on Friday.

I will go back to work in Hanoi at the regular time even though I won't be in until around 2300hrs. The price I pay...

The good news is I can get a wifi signal here at the airport, so I will check my email and get my internet fix before I get home. Cheers!

The Imperial City of Hue

The plan that we had when we departed Hanoi yesterday has changed dramatically. What was supposed to be a busy day of travel to Dong Ha and Khe Sanh has turned into a liesurely day here in Hue City. I have been to Hue too many times to count, so it isn't like a wonderful surprise, but the relax time is much appreciated.

I am not sure what the schedule is for the day, if in fact there is a schedule. I will just stay flexible and wait to see what happens since this isn't "my" trip. I am here as a "buddy" for the office deputy so I just facilitate when necessary. One of the simplest jobs I get.

The skies are gray and it looks like it has been raining outside. Reading my posts on FB it looks like it is raining everywhere. Not my problem. The weather here tends to clear up after night showers, and I trust it will do the same today.

We got in late last night. We waited a good 30 minutes for connecting passengers to board the plane which was a little annoying, but the upside was the ticketing agent gave us business class seats. On a flight to Hue, there is no real business class, but the seats are roomier. This is the second time in as many flights out of Hanoi that I have been given upgrades in seating. Good for me because my bosses were on both flights and it gives the appearance I have some influence around here. I suspect, however, my growing ass plays a big part in getting the bigger seats.

Like my boss points out, whenever we eat at a restaurant and I ask for a Coke, the question is always "Diet Coke?" He says the table staff are just looking after me because I don't seem to care about my weight myself. He is just kidding, of course, but I really don't know why I keep getting the Diet Coke pushed on me. I tend to not drink more than three cokes in a week, if that, but I have already had two this week and it is only Tuesday. I relax my eating rules when I travel, but maybe I should have a relook at that considering how much I travel around here.

Well, it is getting about that time to greet the day. Until next time...

Heading for Hue

I am heading to Hue this afternoon. The good news is the trip is only two nights, and the bad news is that I have to wait at the Hue Airport on Wednesday for some time before flying back to Hanoi. Waiting in the airport is one thing, the other is that those last flights of the day are often delayed, making for a very long return home.

Though I am flying to Hue, I am actually accompanying another member of the Det to Dong Ha, Quang Tri. He will link up with a group and visit historical sites important to him and his brother Marines. The sites are pretty well-known and are not associated with any unaccounted-for individuals so they are less important to me. It might be interesting, however, to see the perspective of these gentlemen at the site.

The weekend went well, though it was short. I had already worked through the weekend prior and this weekend I missed Saturday morning so I could be at work for a Video Telephone Conference. The VTC, as we call it, was a pretty good waste of time for reasons I don't want to get into here and it has actually left me with a big feeling of dread.

Diep was in a great mood this weekend and I did feeling very relaxed while I was home. I didn't get up early enough to run on either Saturday or Sunday, but I did get to the gym and hit the treadmill. I keep gaining wait, slowly, and now I am at a point that I will have to make a concerted weight-loss effort in the near future. I am eating well and exercising regularly, but the sendetary life my job lends makes it difficult to burn the calories I gain throughout the day.

Heres to the beginning of another busy week...

Gia Lai and Binh Phuoc

I just got back four days in Pleiku and HCMC. I was traveling with two gentlemen from the VFW who were visiting Vietnam. We were scheduled to visit two site before the men returned home, but we only managed to get to one due to poor weather in the Western Highlands (Gia Lai Province). The trip was generally good, but I spent an awful lot of time sitting on my ass. We waited at the Pleiku Airport for several hours waiting to board a helicopter to fly out to the site in Gia Lai and the next day, on the way to Saigon, we waited at the airport for 5 1/2 hours due to a commercial flight delay. That second flight delay took some very premium time away from me in Saigon.

Pleiku was quaint, but not someplace I would want to stay for more than two days. There isn't much to see and the only reason I can think of to stay there would be to bicycle tour the surrounding area.

The four days of travel began on my Friday and ended yesterday (Tuesday) so it was really 5 days, I suppose. I lost my weekend in the mix and get right back to work today. It makes for long weeks doing this, but we often get the shaft when it comes to visiting groups.

Hopefully, this weekend will be somewhat free! Diep and I have plans to go to the American Club to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Hopefully there won't be any green beer.

Pleiku

Two days ago I traveled to Pleiku from Hanoi via HCMC. The day was long and boring spending most of my time on a plane or in an airport waiting to get on a plane. Nevertheless, towards the end of the work day, I did end up at the Hoang Anh Gia Lai Hotel in Pleiku. The hotel is fine, though probably not living up to its four star status they proudly display at the reception desk.

Yesterday, we were scheduled to go out to a recovery site with two gentlemen from the Veterans of Foreign Wars - both of them are Vietnam Veterans. We were prepared to leave the hotel at 0800hrs to be at the airport in time for a 0830hrs take off for the site just outside of An Khe Town. The weather at 0800hrs was not good and we were asked to just hang out at the hotel until 1000hrs at which time we went on out to the airfield to wait some more. By 1400hrs, the leadership called the ball, declaring the visibility at the site HLZ to be to low to land. We all headed back to the hotel... the site visit in Gia Lai cancelled.

Today, I sit in the lobby of the Hoang Anh Gia Lai Hotel waiting to head to the airport for our commercial flight to Saigon. As luck would have it, the flight has been delayed and my 1100 departure has been moved to 1430... at least for the time being. The bad news is that I already checked out of the room before I got the word of delay. The good news is that I have a fully charged computer, ipod shuffle, and free wifi. So, I sit here, writing in my blog and messaging with my sister until I can leave this place.

The VFW guys have a second opportunity to conduct a site visit tomorrow in Binh Phuoc Province. The weather in the southern part of Vietnam is generally more stable at this time of year so I feel fairly certain they will make it. Otherwise this whole trip would have been an absolute waste of time. Of course I can't control the weather so, at least, it won't be something hanging over my head.

I am looking forward to a little time in Saigon. A good meal in a good restaurant and some warm, dry weather for a change. Hanoi has been geting old lately, I am getting tired of the drizzle and miserable weater typical of Hanoi for this time of year.... of course, there are those expatriates that swear by Hanoi. They just love it up there. Honestly I wouldn't even be there if it wasn't for the job!

At the office... Alone.

I am here at the office by my lonesome today. Everyone else is in Danang getting ready to head back to Hanoi this afternoon. Naturally, I would have been down there with everyone else, but I didn't really have a clearly defined reason for going and I figured I would be spending plenty of time away from the house once the Joint Field Activity gets going anyway.

It isn't like I don't have anything to do. I have plenty to do and I know how to manage my time. It was nice to have the weekend at home with no interruptions. The weather wasn't the greatest but there was plenty of time for relaxation. Diep and I did manage to get out on the motorbike for about an hour. She bought tickets for her and Megan to go to HCMC during the school Spring Break. After she got her tickets, we stopped by a local cafe and had some coffee. As I said, the weather wasn't great, but it was good for sitting in the shade and drinking hot coffee.

Things will start to get really busy starting tomorrow. I am preparing my spirit for that now. I am not sure how long it will be before I post another entry, but as I said I am giving this another shot and maybe I will keep with it.