Planning ahead

We just booked flights from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) to Bangkok on Septmber 19th. The fees they charged on top of the price of the tickets are as follows:

Administration Fee 16.00USD
Airport Tax 28.00USD
Fuel Surcharge 56.00USD
Insurance Surcharge 3.00USD
Total: 103.00USD

Checked Baggage Handling Fee 6.00USD (for 3 bags).

Funny about that last one...American airlines are charging a lot more than $2USD for a checked bag. Pfft. When we flew from Vientiane, Laos to Ha Noi, Vietnam, our 70 minute flight included a full meal, something you couldn't get on a regular 3-hour flight from say, Seattle to Denver. Our long flight from Seattle to Taiwan came with 3 meals, free headphones, and a full list of movies, music albums, pillows and blankets.

So the plans for the remaining portion of our trip are starting to solidify. Em has one more day of diving, then we're hopefully hopping aboard a night bus to Saigon. We have to book that tonight (reminder hint). So Saigon ETA is September 16th. We'll spend a few days checking out the museums including the Museum of War Crimes, now renamed the War Remnants Museum. Oy, "museum" is starting to look like a funny word, so I should move to another subject. I hope to get the rest of my shopping done as well.

We fly to Bangkok on the 19th, where we have to spend at least one night. In Bangkok, flights to Chiang Mai are only in the morning while flights from Saigon are only in the evening. The amusing part of this is that we are trying to get back to Chiang Mai only to fly straight back to Bangkok before heading to Taiwan.

Anyhow, we're in the homestretch...one week to go before we start the 30 hour process of coming home. I am torn between wanting to come home and wanting to stay longer. Home means commitments, schedules, homework for me, massive amounts of on-the-job training for Em, but it also means our family, friends, dogs, low humidity, Autumn, peanut butter, and anything else we've missed in the last 5 weeks. I'm also hoping to regain my pasty skin tone before the holidays, as I am quite tan now.