Susan's NGTAW Blog: More views of Everest and arrival in Vietnam

Another amazing view of Mt. Everest

Friday, February 23 Bhutan to Vietnam

Today we left Bhutan at 7:30. Mike bought a tile of the 4 friends and I bought a painted stone from the hotel's gift shop - painted by local artisans.

The flight path to takeoff from Paro was incredibly steep, with an extra tight circle to climb even higher. We were asked that we sit on same side as we flew out on, so others could see Himalayas as we retraced our flight path to Kathmandu. I sat next to Marji and Ken Smith from St. Louis – neurosurgeon and former chair of the department. I could see Everest and the other peaks clearly from the aisle seat, but Marji was kind enough to take photos for me with my iPhone from the window seat.

We landed late in Kathmandu due to fog and air traffic. A zoo in the airport again – so interesting. We left about 11:30 for Vietnam on our private jet, which has been in New Dehli while we were in Bhutan.

Leaving Paro, Bhutan - you can see the rice fields (winter now, so grey) which are planted
on both sides of the Paro Chhu River

Steep (!) ascent to leave the Paro Valley - only about a dozen pilots are allowed to fly here

Second viewing of Everest on the way back to Kathmandu from Bhutan.

Our flight was a welcome respite from the chaos at the Kathmandu airport. We were served mint lemonade as we left for our next destination! Lunch was tomato bisque soup and a cold plate of chicken and veggies – good enough. We had an airplane lecture by Carroll on Vietnam – much of it focusing on the Vietnam war. She noted that a great deal of emotional reaction still occurs on this topic. We flew over India, Bangladesh Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia. We saw Everest for the last time – and soon flew over the Mekong River in Cambodia and Vietnam.

Everest's peak is a dark triangle, which was very distinctive once pointed out. We never really saw Lhotse, which is just to the right of Everest - it was behind the clouds blowing off from Everest

On board lecture from Carroll Dunham on history and culture of Vietnam - complex subject for us from USA

We're very pampered on our private jet - the food has been outstanding

Our arrival in Vietnam at about 5 PM was quite special. Ho Chi Minh City is huge – and 95 degrees today– but we weren’t out in the heat. We were welcomed at the airport with a red carpet and bouquets of lotus buds. So beautiful. Very emotional to be here – complex time in many of our lives.

Our welcome to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) included lotus bud bouquets and a red carpet

Wonderful people traveling with us on this trip - many new friends with interesting backgrounds

We drove about 40 minutes to downtown and the Park Hyatt hotel. By the time we arrived, the evening dusk had turned to night. As promised, there were lots and lots of scooters.

The main streets were lined with special lighting decorations for the New Year (Tet).